Donations pour in for rescued "bait kittens"
VALLEJO, Calif. - Animal lovers are pledging donations after a Solano County animal cruelty incident involving two newly born kittens last month.
"Will" and "Grace" were taken by a woman to the Humane Society of the North Bay on Oct. 16 just as the Vallejo facility was closing.
The woman said she suspected the severely injured kittens were bound as bait for dog
fights, according to Leona Edejer, manager of a Pet Food Express store in Benicia and a member of Solano County Friends of Animals.
Another woman who was at the Humane Society of the North Bay to adopt a cat as it was closing on Oct. 16 took the two injured kittens to a veterinarian.
Both the 3- to 4-week-old kittens' legs were tightly bound with rubber bands. The injuries to Grace were too severe, blood tests showed sepsis and she was euthanized, Edejer said.
"All four legs were necrotic and gangrene spread to the shoulder," Edejer said.
Will's injuries were less severe but he may have his right rear leg amputated to the shoulder, she said.
Nearly $7,000 has been pledged for Will's medical care and recovery via a campaign on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.
Edejer said three more kittens with similar injuries were taken to the Humane Society of the North Bay about a week after the cruelty to Will and Grace came to light.
The owners of Pet Food Express Benicia have offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
The Solano County Sheriff's Office's criminal investigations division is investigating the incident, Sgt. Tim Baffico said.
The woman who took the kittens to the Humane Society of the North Bay denied she rescued the kittens from a dog fighting ring, Baffico said.
"She said someone did bad things to the kittens that she found a field," Baffico said. "It's obvious someone was cruel to the first two kittens. It's still an open case," he said.
The report about three other kittens with similar injuries involved a male who dropped off three kittens that were tired and had fleas, Baffico said.
"There was a hair tie on one of the kitten's legs," he said.