Drop box kitten loses fight for life

The six-week-old striped kitten abandoned in a drop library box in Cheltenham died Wednesday night at the Montgomery County SPCA, the organization's director said this morning.

"I am very down as well as our entire staff.. we did our very best. We were hopeful for a happy ending, but the cards were stacked against him," said Carmen Ronio.

The 15-ounce cat, which the shelter staff had named Hemingway, had come to the Conshohocken shelter suffering from severe dehydration, diarrhea and a respiratory infection.

Ronio had said early on that he wasn't sure the cat would survive, but it rallied briefly on Wednesday morning from treatment including fluids and antibiotics.

The cat was shoved into the library drop box at the La Mott Community Center last Thursday and discovered by a maintenance worker early Friday. During the time the animal spent in the metal container, temperatures soared into the 90s.

No arrests have been made by the SPCA's humane officer in connection with the case.