As the readers here know, I’ve devoted a lot of time to exposing abuse in U.S. shelters. This is one of the worst cases of neglect I’ve ever come across.
Meet Monte Cristo, who was left as a “bite hold case” after a child picked him up and was bitten. Monte is a stray, and wasn’t used to being handled by anyone. So on November 21, Monte Cristo is put into quarantine at the Columbus County shelter in Whiteville, North Carolina. He was eligible for rescue on November 30. According to information provided on Facebook, Monte Cristo was a scared stray/semi-feral who would need socializing.
This did NOT give the Whiteville shelter the right to ignore his health issues. Thankfully, Suzy’s Zoo Sanctuary for Special Needs Kittens in Saint Stephens, South Carolina rescued Monte Cristo on December 2. What Suzy found amounted to horrific neglect, as you can see by the photos above.
According to a post on Facebook: SuzanneSuzysZooMelton, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture rules haven’t been followed by the shelter in this case. It’s alleged that only once when a volunteer was asked did this poor cat receive clean bedding to sleep on. The rest of the time he lay in his litter box.
Suzy updated her friends and supporters December saying (and I AM leaving this in all caps as it appeared)
“THIS IS HOW MONTE CRISTO WAS FOUND TO BE AFTER 11 DAYS IN SHELTER – EVEN THE FEET ARE BLISTERED ..PENIS SWOLLEN AND CANNOT BE RETRACTED.. THIS KITTEN WAS LEFT AS A BITE HOLD CASE AFTER BITING A HUMAN CHILD WHO PICKED THIS KITTEN UP.. WAS NOT A PET.. WAS STRAY.. FOR AN INITIAL 3 DAYS WITH NO BEDDING OR EVEN DRY PAPER IN A CAGE.. SO LAY IN LITTER ALL THE TIME.. ONLY ONCE WE ASKED A VOLUNTEER TO PROVIDE BEDDING DID IT HAPPEN.. THIS KITTEN HAS BEEN NEGLECTED .. SHELTER CARE HAS BEEN MUCH LESS THAN IT SHOULD BE.”
No one at all at the shelter noticed how infested and damaged this cat became. That’s neglect, and shelters who neglect the cats in their care should be called out and held responsible.
Suzy posted a more positive update Wednesday night:
“We did only sitz baths until tonight to not “torture” him. But tonight when we did his full bath, the water turned red from flea blood (we put Revolution on him yesterday)! He is so happy and is purring gently! The first purr I have witnessed from him! His meds are taken and a bit of nutrical too. Ointment on his bottom and he is so much happier! I think he will recovery completely and I am hoping his little penis will be fine. It is also much less swollen and seems to be sliding back into the sheath.”
The best course of action is to notify Pat Sholar at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. The email is AGRAWS@ncagr.gov. Whiteville has been developing a bad reputation this past year, and perhaps farther back than 2014. Perhaps others familiar with this shelter can leave a comment.
Monte Cristo is safe with Suzy, who will see he’s given the best of care and never feels unloved again. If you’d like to help Suzy with this kitty, and the many others she pulls from South Carolina and North Carolina each month, please donate a few dollars to suzieszoo2@outlook.com or straight to our vet at 843-797-1493.
Is this an isolated case, or do the readers visiting this page know of other shelters who neglect the animals in their care? Please leave a comment. And please thank Suzy for saving this precious baby.
NOTE: The tiny photo in the collage is a tick.
I love birds too we have feeders all over the property one of our biggest problems is protecting the smaller birds from HAWKS so we place the feeders carefully! My love of birds does not take away from my love of cats or dogs! It seems people who love cats care about all animals. Its not so much with the others I feel. A lot of dog people say they hate cats too (then when their dog does something wrong its in the pound) One of my cats was killed by a giant owl I still love owls. His love of birds? Brad just sounds like a FOWL mouth misfit with a bad attitude to me probable the only activity he is welcome at is solo bird watching!
Thanks for the updates Elisa.
RIP little kitten. I’m sure Suzanne must be devastated, but I hope she can take some comfort from knowing that his final days were spent being loved and cared for. If she hadn’t stepped in, I dread to think what a lingering and miserable death he would have suffered at the shelter.
I’ll make a donation in Monte Cristo’s name to show my support for Suzanne and the fantastic work she does.