On the 12th of Feb the weather here in Georgia was beautiful. In my backyard (which is FENCED in securely) I have a cat kennel that I built to keep the cats contained, but allow them to enjoy pretty weather for an hour or so outside on pretty days. So on the 12th, I had let them go outside. I had a bit of an emergency pop up and had to run out the door. They are in a fence in a fence and I figured they'd be safe. What I didn't realize was I basically left them abandoned in a death trap. A small / medium sized black dog (according to neighbors) managed to get into my back yard and then proceeded to destroy it's way into my cat kennel. My black cat (torrent) made it up a tree without injury, our white and brown tabby (athlon) only received one puncture wound to her leg and was stuck in the kennel despite the top of it being busted open due to her hurt leg and our blue and white tuxedo kitty (nvidia)...well... he is lucky to be alive. He received multiple lacerations on his body and his skin was ripped off one part of his tail to the point his bone was exposed. 

Neighbors seen the owner of the dog go into my back yard to retrieve the dog...this is the part that makes me the maddest. She came into my backyard, saw what her dog did...and just left them there. No note, not apology... nothing. For this reason alone, I am actively seeking the owner to achieve the proper legal process. Anyways, back to the story... I rushed Nvidia and Athlon to the vet they looked over both and said she wasn't injured (they missed the small punctures due to her fluffiness) and that he needed a lot of treatment. I reached out for donations that night as we just bought a truck that day (it was the emergency that popped up...we finally got approved for a loan and had to go sign it and put our down payment down ($500, everything in our bank...we didn't have a vehicle until this happened my sister had to give us a ride to pick it up). Because I couldn't come up with half the vet bill they sent both home without even starting treatment on Nvidia. The next day I reached out for help and I received some. I also received my last paycheck from my job I just lost and put all that towards the bill. They begin treatment finally when I took him back the next day. My vet bill was $857.58... because someone was irresponsible and their dog got into a fenced in yard and into a secure kennel. Because I was doing the responsible thing the local Animal Control told me I had to do to let my cats enjoy warm weather and I had them contained or on a lead. Even though my cats were spayed/neutered and they were only out with me and stayed by my side. So far, I have paid a good bit of the bill, but I am still $299.18 short... Do you guys have any idea? I've already exhausted all my resources and I am trying so hard to come up with the rest of it...

I'm so sorry!

I'm not sure on coming up with the money :(. Our vet has a payment plan, does yours maybe have something like that? Or even the local shelter which can sometimes have an emergency fund to help out people in similar situations.

I WOULD go after the owner of the dog, though. That's ridiculous. They should have to reimburse you.

I'm glad your kitties are okay! Overall, that is.

yeah i would go after the dog owner...and the owner for their dog and trespassing on your property....although that would also cost money....have you tried the gofundme site?!

my vet has a payment plan for larger animals..like my horses...but like payment up front for small animals...although i took a cat in one time and didnt have the funds till the next day and they were hesitant..but let me do it since we do most of our business with them....

i also have 5 cats who live in an indoor/outdoor cattery and i worry about them too....luckily the cats go inside and hide from the dogs so the dogs dont bother them...

That is crazy! I would go find a shotgun and shoot that dog if they ever got ahold of my cat! Im pretty sure almost all cities have a leash law of some kind (obviously the dog was not on one), and threaten to turn them in for trespassing and animal abuse unless they do not pay for the ENTIRE vet bill. 

I am so sorry about your kitties, see if the vet office has some kind of payment plan. 

1. Find the owner.  Your neighbors saw them, so go there first.  See if they known them, if not get a discription.  However, make sure that your neighbors will be willing to testify or put in an official statement to the police against this dog and owner.  If they aren't willing to do that, then unfortunately it isn't worth your time.  SOOO make sure and confirm that before you put in the foot work of tracking them down.

2. If 1 doesn't work out, I agree with Azalie.  Start a gofundme.com project.  They seem to be pretty darn succesful!

3. I AM SO GLAD YOUR KITTIES SURVIVED!  That's such a crazy freak accident.  Porr things. :(

It really irritates me that they were DOUBLE secure, or so I thought. I feel so bad and guilty. I locked them in a death trap thinking it was containment for their safety. :( 

Azalie, how did you build your indoor/outdoor cattery? Can you send me pictures of it? 

The  neighbor says that they aren't sure who exactly it was, just that it was a woman driving a dark blue suv. I've been all around my neighborhood and I am not finding it. I am about to go to the neighborhood that is behind my house at some point today to see if I can find anything. I have a post on CL asking for donations and I put a picture on my flickr asking for donations as well. I am about to upload one to DeviantART for the same thing. 

As far as GoFundMe, I don't like the idea cause they charge a percentage (I believe all together it's 15%) and the funds get put in my bank account. I would much rather people know they are really going to the vet bill and call the vet directly. I know it sounds stupid (kinda) but I am also hesitant to make donations via GoFundMe unless I know the rescue or person involved in raising the funds. I am considering making one though....cause I am running out options. I have a follow up vet appointment on the 17th and I need $18 for that, to have the drain removed... -.- It sucks cause I literally just emptied my bank account. The only things I have left of value to sale for this is my wedding ring and my digital camera, both of which rarely leave my hands. :( 

The vet knows I am raising the funds and that I am trying, so they did not want to let me go, but ended up treating him before funds were raised so that he wouldn't loose his tail. I was treated like crap up there, despite using them before. It really annoyed me. The bill itself kind of confuses me so if there is someone knowledgeable about vet lingo that wouldn't mind me emailing them a copy to go over with me I'd appreciate it. I know they charged me for two days of boarding and he never spent the night in their facility. 

Oh, and thank you guys for all the advice, kind words and your caring-ness (if that's even a word). It is so different from what I keep hearing from my family. I have been talked down to about not using a bullet to save the money cause he's "just a cat". Apparenlty I am also a bad mom cause I am 31 weeks pregnant and I put so much money towards a vet bill. -.-; It's really annoying to me that way some people just don't understand 

Oh my :( So sorry this is going on dear! I hope you find the owners and can get them to pay the bill. That's just awful, poor kitties didn't deserve that! No idea on how to raise the money.. We used GoFundMe to help get our home ready for my dad, they took take a percent but I'm pretty sure it was only 10% and not 15%. Good luck!!

Paints since 6-8-14

I know my work accepts carecredit, it's basically a credit card for your pets. We offer 12 months no interest payments in bills over $200 but each place is different. You can check it out at carecredit.com and of course ask if your vet takes it.

That is awful. I'm very sorry your poor kitties had to go through that! Hope they get better soon!

I completely agree with trons plan of action! Make sure the neighbours are willing to testify then go mental - that is absolutely not okay and that dog is bloody dangerous! 

As for the vets, ours does a payment plan but we've been going there for 15 years or so and its never longer than a few days - but if they're charging board for 2 days that might be the first day you brought him in and the second where they treated him? Absolutely question what they're doing as I know some vets have an awful rep for over charging.. We had a vet come out who was terrified of horses and just went oh he's fine in a colic case and charged us for drenching and an xray.. he hardly touched the poor gelding (who was fine thank god!) 

I'm so sorry :( This is horrible.. The owner obviously has no conscience.. I can only imagine how they treat their own dog if they allow it to run around wild and show no remorse when another animal is hurt and it's THEIR fault. If you can get enough identifying information, you should definitely try and go after them and make them pay for all the vet bills. Also, they should be required by law to keep their dog leashed and muzzled since it's clearly a danger. It's never the dogs fault, it's the dumb owners, but unfortunately the dog always gets the blame.

That being said, I'm glad your kitties are on the mend, and that the vets are a least working with you somewhat.. I'm very happy that I have a good relationship with my vet and I know he would let me take a credit or even not charge for certain things. I would start looking into other vets in the area and see if you can build a relationship with them so they are more linient with payment.. I know that's how they make their living, but sometimes the animal needs to be looked after regardless of the money. I'm not formally experienced with vet billing, though I'd be happy to take a look at it for you to help understand it. Or, there are lots of vet techs on here, so they may be of more help than me.

I'd definitely look into a gofundme. They do take a percentage, but it's pretty small and most campaigns that i've seen get the required amount and beyond, so it's not really a huge deal at the end of it all.

I really hope you're able to track this person and their dog down, both to get money for your cats and also to prevent any other animals being harmed in the future! The dog needs to be controlled and the owner needs to have some consequences.

Ooof, I forgot that part. Back in 2013 I filed for Bankrupcy and I JUST started rebuilding my credit. Sadly, Carecredit is only looking at that big scary B word (Bankrupcy) and they are denying me and my fiancee. :(  

As for gofundme, I am going to call tomorrow and talk to the vet for a few reason... 

1) I am hoping some more donations have been made and the vet bill has gone down some. I had one organization pledge to donate $50 ... not sure if they have called it in yet or not. But that helps out a lot. I wasn't even expecting that much, but I am forever grateful. 

2) Kitty pulled his drain out! It was just placed in on 02/13/2015 and now I am really worried about it. two days in...is that enough? I've called and left their hotline and let a few messages...I am sure they hate me. I can't get him to eat either, but he is drinking... is that normal? I am so worried. I just want him to be 100% better...

Normally we leave drains in for 3 days, 5 days max. Of course, I don't know what your lacerations, ect look like so I'd still try to contact your vet. Could you put any type of baby shirt/onies on to keep any other drains/sutures from getting pulled out in the mean time? Or an e-collar if you have one would be good too

If the neighbors are willing to testify, post on local sites (facebook groups locally, craigslist, etc) describing the woman, the car and the dog. I would word it as "I'm looking for this woman, if you think you know her please contact me) 

Im happy this isn't me. if so, that dog would be DEAD. I don't handle things attacking my animals well.

prayers for kitty!!!

The e-collar i had on him was cloth, it was ripped to shreds. We went out to eat and came back 45-60mins later. Going to try to make one. The damage was done to the rear end of his body (back legs, stomach, sides) somthe onsies dont really work. I could send you pics trig, if you wanted. I just wish he would eat. I bought him those expensive $2 packets of broth cat food. He used to devoure them... He wont touch it :(  

And to clarify, since i realize how odd it sounds. We went out to eat at my dads. I consider any meal away from home that i dont have to cook 'out' to eat lol. 

Warm his food up to body temp. That used to help tempt them to eat.. Idk it smells better or something? 

Also that sucks with bankruptcy :( I'm sorry this had all happened to you :(

I hate to rant about this, but this vet has been straight up crazy. I will not go back to them again. I will be looking for another. I guess I was suppose to have nearly $900 laying around for this to have happened and to be treated with respect. :( 

Even though were the drain was smells like infection and he pulled it out they told me there was nothing they could do about it. Not to bring him in until his follow up appointment tomorrow. He still won't eat. I have tried human food, wet food, kitten milk... nothing is working and they don't seem to give a darn about it. He IS drinking water and I am thinking of borrowing a food processor and forcing food. Any opinions on this? Or would baby food wrk? Like the kind in the little jars? 

Anything is better than nothing. Cats can get "fatty liver" from not eating and then they feel crummy and don't want to eat. I know it would be another expense but does your vet have something like Hill's A/D? It's easy to syringe and is predigested so he doesn't have to use any energy to break it down. Are you cleaning the drains with anything? 

get pate food. and stick it in a blender and either add water or make chicken broth. get it to a consistency that can get through a syringe and force feed if you have to. cats need to eat period. 

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear about all of this. ): I can't imagine what you're going through...I know it's a small consolation, but know that you are in my thoughts.

As far as my suggestions... are there any "nonprofit" type vet clinics in your area? Consider changing to them, when possible... 

Is there anyone in your family that can help you out, even if it's just a loan? Do you have anything you can sell or pawn? I know that's a crappy option, but it's just a thought...

It is so sad to me that you are getting treated this way by the vet; he is supposed to be a professional :/

The dogs came back today... I say dogs cause there were two... one with a red collar, one with a faded red collar. They got back in my backyard and into the kitty kennel. They where here for around 50minutes, it took animal control a little over an hour to get here, so they missed them. You know what they told me? Tough luck. That there was nothing they would or could do. Today, I went out in my own yard and almost got bit. It's how i found out they were there. My level of annoyance has surged through the roof. 

...I've never felt this helpless about anything. My vet, when I called him (before animal control got here) and asked if I could bring in a hair sample from each dog to see if they would do dna test said YES so we knew which dog it was that did it... and then I had to call him back to tell him that AC told me they wouldn't allow me to have even a small piece of the dogs hair for dna testing told me to buy a gun then, take care of the issue, call them to pick up the 'result' that would be their fault anyways and then bring him the fur. These things almost bit me today and they went after another cat (a stray, but still a cat). They are a danger...and i just can't believe all they had to say is 'tough luck' ....