When it comes to cats there are lots of pleas for funds. The fundraising website is growing in popularity. Anyone can post a fundraiser. I don’t want to be cynical about this but…we cannot make the assumption that every request for funds on one of the many fundraising websites is genuine.
These sites get a hell of a lot of visitors. Millions per day some of them. The website, itself, has to be funded. It probably takes a proportion of the donations. That encourages a website to have lax controls. Cats are very popular on the internet. Cats are more popular on the internet than in real life!
What made me think this dark thought was the request for donations to “Save Snuggles”. Snuggles is a sweet looking long haired calico cat who scratches herself.
The cat’s caretaker, Beth Kululu Berryman, states that she wants funding to declaw Snuggles because it is the only way to save her life. Here is part of the request, verbatim:
I am honestly begging for your help in possibly saving her life. For reasons we have been unable to determine since I found her 2 years ago, Snuggles will scratch at her skin until it is raw..
Sorry, I have great difficulty in believing this because it is so stupid and using “declawing” makes it very emotive. It does not make sense. If a cat is scratching herself you take her to the vet and diagnose the reason, which will be itchy skin caused by an illness such as a flea bite allergy (a typical reason but one of many).
As a cat caretaker you don’t hold your hands up in despair on the internet and ask for money to declaw your cat!
Bizarre — and for me unbelievable. Think about it. It is so easy to post a picture of a sweet cat and plead for money. Where is the evidence? Don’t get me wrong. I am sure most requests for money are genuine. You can normally tell. However, there has to be a proportion of fraudulent requests. The Snuggles campaign seems to me to be one.
There is a lot of fraudulent behavior on the internet. Beware.
Note: I could be wrong about Snuggles. Of course. But if I am wrong then Beth is stupid. Sorry Beth.
Scrool down until you see her comment beginning…
“So did you keep the cat or not…”
I’m not seeing that onsite, Jo.
I still see her request to rehome or she will take to a shelter. She hasn’t reached her $800.00 goal, has been bombarded with pleas not to declaw, and has been challenge to produce evidence.
$170.00 won’t do the deed!
If she is concluding, then, I say it’s a case of “take the money and run!”
Dee, I trust your judgement. Could you provide a link to the page where you got the information? I can’t find it.
Sorry, but something is amiss.
After not nearly reaching her $$ goal to have Snuggles declawed for some mysterious ailment, she writes that, unless, someone adopts her, that she will surrender her to a shelter. She, further, writes that she cannot afford to sustain herself, much less a pet.
Again, I see no evidence of a distressed cat and no copies of vet visits to support her claims.
I have a pretty good gut when it comes to things like this. My younger years were, well, interesting.
As they say, you can’t con a con!
Just an update. Apparently it’s a done deal and the cat is going to be declawed. That was the most recent post that she made. Her offer of rehoming the cat has disappeared as well. This is very, very sad. It is just breaking my heart.
I am eagerly looking forward to reading your article on this very disturbing information. In the many cat communities to which I belong, ACA has a stellar reputation. This is highly alarming.
Thanks Michael.