Hoarding 60 cats in storage unit
Milford, NH (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006
County: Hillsborough
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Charles Adams
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
More than 60 cats were rescued from a storage unit in Milford, N.H.
The animals were discovered when the facility owner went to evict a man who was living illegally inside the unit.
Maureen Prendergast of the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire said workers had to wear masks to remove the cats.
Most of the animals had severe respiratory infections and several were pregnant.
They were taken to to the Animal Rescue League in Bedford and the Humane Society for Greater Nashua. Both groups are seeking donations to help pay for their care and treatment.
Case UpdatesPolice have an arrest warrant for a Hampton man who they say kept cats in deplorable conditions in a storage unit.
Charles Adams, 46, was notified he is wanted on 17 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals but has yet to turn himself in, according to authorities.
Police said Adams is also a suspect in a similar case in Milford where more than 60 cats were found living in a storage unit in similarly deplorable conditions.
On Oct. 4, police and the animal control officer went to Uncle Bob's Self Storage on Policy Street for a report of cats living inside a unit.
While looking for the cats, police first came across a large artillery shell. The New Hampshire State Police Bomb Squad was called to remove it.
Once the search resumed, authorities found 13 cats and removed them from the 10-by-20-foot unit. Eight more cats have since been found, police said.
The cats were turned over to the custody of the Salem Animal Rescue League for care and adoption. | Source: Pet-Abuse.Com Case #14783
Update posted on Oct 28, 2008 - 12:47AM |
The shocking discovery of more than 60 cats living inside a Milford storage unit led to a massive rescue effort for two area animal shelters.
So successful was the rescue effort that now the Animal Rescue League on Route 101 has more than 200 felines in its care.
The cat population typically increases in the fall as kittens and cats are left at the shelter, but this latest rescue - still in progress at this writing - has aggravated an already very serious situation.
On Oct. 31, the landlord of a storage facility found a man living in the unit he rented. When the owner went to evict the man, he discovered dozens of cats and kittens in the unit with him.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department was called and they contacted animal cruelty investigator Maureen Prendergast of the ARL.
The stench of cat urine was so pungent, the sheriff's department and Prendergast had to wear protective masks to enter the dark, unventilated unit.
Prendergast removed 29 of the cats the next day, and contacted the Humane Society of Greater Nashua to help remove the other 31 cats. Nashua took in 16 of them.
This is being considered a case of hoarding, where well-meaning but mentally ill people keep acquiring animals in the belief that they are saving them.
The ARL expects to get more cats back from the Nashua shelter, which is also overpopulated. Plus, there are still cats with the man, who has not been identified.
No criminal charges have been filed against him, because he is cooperating, Director of Development and Community Outreach Robin Ahlgren said Friday.
"Because he is willingly giving up the animals, it's a positive thing that we don't have to go through a court case," she explained.
"But because the eviction is still in process, we don't have a final count" yet. The felines ranged from kittens to adult cats, with several pregnant cats and litters.
"It was hard for Maureen to count that many cats" in the closet-like space, Ahlgren said.
This latest influx of refugees is another very expensive strain on the nonprofit ARL's budget.
"Our greatest need at this time is financial help. All of them have to be fed and medicated every day, tested for a variety of illnesses, and they'll all be spayed and neutered" before being placed for adoption.
"About 29 of the animals were found to be healthy," Ahlgren said. "So they didn't have to be quarantined. But it costs about $2,200 to test them for disease, vaccinate and spay and neuter them. And these are the healthy ones."
Many of the cats and kittens are suffering from serious upper respiratory infections, which can take from six to eight weeks to treat, Ahlgren said.
Also, living in those terrible conditions and now being caged stresses the animals, adding to their recovery time, she added.
"But fortunately none of them has tested positive for feline leukemia or feline AIDS," both devastating diseases.
"Because of the length of time these animals need to recover, they probably won't be up for adoption until January. But we have many other healthy cats that would love a good home and are ready to be adopted."
The Milford cats will most likely be adoptable, Prendergast said, "but it's going to take a long time. I'd like to see a happy ending for all of them."
In the meantime, any cats that are adopted out of the general population of healthy ones will help make room for these recent rescues when they are well enough to move out of quarantine, Ahlgren said.
If you want to help, you can send a donation to Animal Rescue League of NH, 545 Route 101, Bedford, NH 03110, or donate online at www.rescueleague.org. You can also see photos of the animals that are available for adoption at the site. Call 472-3647 for their hours. The shelter is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays. | Source: Cabinet.Com - Nov 23, 2006
Update posted on Nov 24, 2006 - 12:56AM |
Officials say about 60 cats were kept in unsanitary conditions in a shed. They don't know the exact number, because they're still trying to catch them all.
Maureen Prendergast, animal cruelty investigator for the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire, said the animals are in poor condition, many with widespread respiratory illness. But she said she probably would not ask for criminal charges because the owner tried to take care of the animals and is cooperating with officials. She said he's even delivering many of the cats to shelters.
His name and the location of the shed have not been released. | Source: Boston.Com - Nov 10, 2006
Update posted on Nov 10, 2006 - 12:36PM |
At least 60 cats are being taken from a barn-like outbuilding in Milford, where they were kept in unsanitary conditions by a man who was exhibiting classic signs of "pet hoarding."
"When you're dealing with a hoarding situation, you're not always dealing with intentional neglect and cruelty. Often, people think they're doing the best thing for these animals," said Maureen Prendergast, animal cruelty investigator for the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire.
Officials are still trapping cats, some of which are half-wild and all of which are dirty and in poor condition, and won't know the total number until this is finished.
The man who owned the cats and was living in the shed did not own the building.
"The smell is indescribable . . . This is probably the worst smell I've ever encountered," said Rachael Lastoff, director of development for the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, which is taking about half of the cats. "We've had to section off where we're keeping them because of smell, fleas and who knows what they've got."
The semi-wild condition of some of the cats is complicating the pickup, because feral animals are much harder to catch, and can't be kept in standard cages "or they'll go nuts," said Prendergast.
Despite the animals' poor condition, which includes widespread upper-respiratory illness, Prendergast said she would probably not ask for criminal charges to be brought by Milford police because the owner tried to take care of the animals, and is cooperating with officials, even delivering many of the cats to shelters.
Neither the name of the middle-age man involved, nor the location of the shed, which is somewhere in Milford, are being released.
The situation came to authorities' attention only because the owner of the shed decided to evict the resident, who had been living there for several years. Sheriff's deputies discovered the situation when they served the eviction notice
"This would still be going on today if he hadn't been evicted," said Prendergast.
And while it may seem unusual that scores of cats in a single building could go unnoticed, Prendergast said she isn't surprised.
"Sadly, it's very common – it takes someone to call it in before it's known. . . . Unless you're living really close and you can smell it, nobody knows," she said, pointing to several similar cases that have happened this summer.
Prendergast said the case in question had all the earmarks of hoarding, in which people find it difficult to not care for every stray or homeless animal they encounter.
"Everyone has that person that they know to say, 'So-and-so's an animal lover, I'll bring him or her this stray.' Some people can make the rational decision, 'I can't take that one, I can't take any more' . . . but for some people this becomes their world," she said. | Source: Nashua Telegraph - Nov 9, 2006
Update posted on Nov 9, 2006 - 7:31AM |
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