Is this kitten rescue a fake?

You’ll see this kitten rescue in the video. I believe that it’s a fake. I think the lady wanted to make a bit of money so she decided to make a kitten rescue video which she could sell to the local news media. Perhaps I am being very cynical but to me it looks like that. I explain why below.

She has an old car from 1995 (a ’95 Monte Carlo) parked next to her home. To me, the car very much looks like it is totally derelict and unused. The dashboard looks messed up and incomplete.

She says that the car was all right (“definitely unexpected, it was good the night before”) and then suddenly it wouldn’t work so she sought the help of friends on Facebook and what appears to be a local garage stepped up to the plate and helped. There is no discussion in the video about how they intended to fix the car and how they then discovered the kitten. If a car doesn’t work mechanics normally try and fix the mechanical and electrical parts of the vehicle and don’t go straight to looking for a kitten stuck behind the dashboard.

We see the garage mechanics ostensibly cutting into the dashboard and then pulling out a kitten. You see the man the left fiddling around with a part of the dashboard trying to pull it off and then his colleague extracts the kitten from behind the dashboard.

It all looks staged to me although I am not 100% certain. In addition, a kitten in that position would not stop the car working. Further, I don’t see how a kitten could get into that position behind the dashboard but that’s a minor issue because the other thoughts about this, I think, are pretty conclusive. What do you think?

If it is a fake and has been set up then it wouldn’t surprise me. This sort of thing happens all the time. The lady in question does not seem to have a lot of money. Whatever, if it is a fake then it has worked out very nicely. I presume that she was paid a little bit of money for the use of a video.

My thanks to Dee for telling me about this video. Incidentally, Dee Dee thinks it’s a fake.

Please comment here using either Facebook or WordPress (when available).

I don’t know if there’s as much money being scammed from people via gofundme campaigns as there is being spent overall on veterinarian costs. I struggled for a long time trying to get a handle on my debt. I finally opened up an account last year. My expenses for 18 cats over 19 years totaled almost $150k, and I was circling the drain with about $6k owed. I collected less than $1k and closed it, and while I only have 4 cats now, the bills keep piling up fast when taking care of one dental case can (and has just cost) $1.5k on credit. I haven’t even taken care of my own health. I think for the most part as in my case, your friends will donate once and that’s it. I know there are scammers out there, but that there are many more pet owners who pay more than they can afford for years and years without asking for any help at all. I mean, if vets like Kristan Lindsey (notorious cat killer from Texas) could secure a position right out of school and beat a grand jury for her animal cruelty crime, then I think there’s enough routine money flowing on a daily basis. In other words it’s really hard to get help paying your vet bills even when you have the proof you paid it all out. As for cases like this lady’s car, yeah it doesn’t make any sense. It’s difficult but dash assemblies or sections thereof are removable without destroying the car – I’ve done it. And if you do, perhaps you’ll only nee a second-hand replacement part – hardly worth starting a campaign over. Sometimes just removing something like the glove box creates a big hole where a stuck cat could find it’s way out. But yes, some hideous cruelty cases are exploited by people who are just sucking money from sympathetic people, and it doesn’t go anywhere near where they think it’s going. You don’t know because emotion overrides your thinking. If someone can’t prove they are helping any animal(s), I don’t donate… I can’t afford to anyway.

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Comments

Is this kitten rescue a fake? — 6 Comments

Dee (Florida) on August 20, 2016 at 8:45 pm said:
I hate these scams when so many animals are in need.
If any $$ was made, these scam artists should be forced to devote it to a charity.
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- M E King on August 20, 2016 at 10:50 pm said:
  You can avoid scams by donating to your local shelters. I have never understood the need to donate to someone you don’t know when there is just as much need in your own community.
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M E King on August 17, 2016 at 6:13 am said:
Many gofundme give me money for my sick pet have the donations go directly to the veterinarian. And a vet you can check on any SVB website. If you can’t verify the vet and the clinic and I advise calling and talking to someone, don’t donate.
I am not heartless. We have had massive vet bills this last year. We put aside things that were nonessential and paid them off. Like it or now if you can’t afford your pets massive veterinary bills euthanasia is an acceptable treatment according to the AVMA. We have a basic pet policy for 25 dollars a month. It pays a max of 8K with us picking up the 500 and then 20%. Still a hefty sum.
Albert is correct. You can find a dash at any junkyard and there was no reason to destroy the car. To be quite honest. I’m sick of being hit up for donations at every turn.
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Albert Schepis on August 17, 2016 at 1:48 am said:
I don’t know if there’s as much money being scammed from people via gofundme campaigns as there is being spent overall on veterinarian costs. I struggled for a long time trying to get a handle on my debt. I finally opened up an account last year. My expenses for 18 cats over 19 years totaled almost $150k, and I was circling the drain with about $6k owed. I collected less than $1k and closed it, and while I only have 4 cats now, the bills keep piling up fast when taking care of one dental case can (and has just cost) $1.5k on credit. I haven’t even taken care of my own health. I think for the most part as in my case, your friends will donate once and that’s it. I know there are scammers out there, but that there are many more pet owners who pay more than they can afford for years and years without asking for any help at all. I mean, if vets like Kristan Lindsey (notorious cat killer from Texas) could secure a position right out of school and beat a grand jury for her animal cruelty crime, then I think there’s enough routine money flowing on a daily basis. In other words it’s really hard to get help paying your vet bills even when you have the proof you paid it all out. As for cases like this lady’s car, yeah it doesn’t make any sense. It’s difficult but dash assemblies or sections thereof are removable without destroying the car – I’ve done it. And if you do, perhaps you’ll only nee a second-hand replacement part – hardly worth starting a campaign over. Sometimes just removing something like the glove box creates a big hole where a stuck cat could find it’s way out. But yes, some hideous cruelty cases are exploited by people who are just sucking money from sympathetic people, and it doesn’t go anywhere near where they think it’s going. You don’t know because emotion overrides your thinking. If someone can’t prove they are helping any animal(s), I don’t donate… I can’t afford to anyway.
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M E King on August 17, 2016 at 12:14 am said:
I don’t know. I do know in older cars it was very easy to reach up and access the wiring harness.
All that said. Rescue has become big business. Gofundme type sites have thousands of pages soliciting money. Want to know if it’s legit. Get the registration and proof of insurance. They should both be current if the car was running. Most of us pay our car insurance on a monthly or 6 month premium. I’m guessing she paid by the month on an older car.
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Eva D.Ritchie Force on August 16, 2016 at 9:52 pm said:
This type of story should start with the word start, as in my car was acting up and wouldn’t start? or does it even start up at all?
The only thing that could stop it from going is human intervention , as in I heard this meowing sound and scratching inside the dashboard of my car and turned off the ignition to investigate.
The ‘Big’ question mark is how in the heck a small kitten hidden somehow inside the plastic dash area could prevent the car from running in the first place.
This must be staged.
Eva
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