Hello, my name is Joseph Del Priore and I’m fundraising for my long-time friends, the Judson family. The Judson’s are a caring family that are too polite and humble to bother others for help. I’m starting this GoFundMe because there are very few of us who can absorb the kind of unanticipated financial burden, especially with a young family to care for, as they have.

The Judson family are huge animal lovers with exceptionally big hearts. Already with a full house of pets (a cat, a dog, and some fish), they opened their home to help a pet in need. Melody, a foster cat from the Euclid Beach Cat Foster, was a pregnant cat they were caring for. During the Judson’s time fostering Melody, she gave birth to 5 absolutely adorable kittens.

The whole family (but especially the kids) fell in love with one particularly sweet black kitten, Zed, and they decided to make him the newest member of their family. The family had recently lost another family cat a few months prior, and Zed helped fill that void purr-fectly.

Zed fit in great with the family and their other animals. He enjoyed an indoor-outdoor life in the suburbs exploring his backyard during the day and cuddling up with the family at night.

Everything was great until about six months later when little Zed started vomiting and became very lethargic. Like most pet parents, they racked their brains trying to figure out what could be wrong. Was it something he ate? Did he have some unknown disease? Without any improvement in his condition, they had to take him to the vet.

After performing an x-ray, the veterinarian identified the issue as a potential blockage in little Zed’s intestines; this was a life-or-death situation. Without hesitation, the Judson’s chose to help their newest family member and approved the operation; they immediately prepped him for surgery.

After hours of waiting, they received the good news: Zed was okay…but there was something else, something seemingly worse. The image on the x-ray wasn’t a blockage, it was a hole where a .22 bullet had passed. Someone had shot the 6-month-old kitten point-blank with a gun, and the bullet had passed through Zed’s abdomen. The best they can determine is that during Zed’s kitty adventures through the peaceful suburban backyards, some deranged person decided to shoot a little kitten.

Pet ownership is hard and expensive enough without random acts of violence on your animals. Some of us may have opted not to go through with the costly x-ray and surgery for some rescue cat that has only been around for a few months, but the Judson’s hearts are too big to allow a poor, injured kitten to die senselessly. Unfortunately, due to someone else’s cruelty, the family has now been saddled with $5,100 worth of veterinary bills.

All donations will go directly to Zed’s veterinary bills. Any and all help is appreciated and will help ease the strain and stress of the situation on the Judson family.