Hoarding 70 cats Two Rivers, WI (US) Incident Date: Monday, Jan 15, 2007 County: Manitowoc Local Map: available Disposition: Not Charged Persons of Interest: » Mark L. Rink » Peggy C. Feldhaus

Case ID: 10592 Classification: Hoarding Animal: cat View more cases in WI (US) Login to Watch this Case

A couple with a history of not paying rent and damaging rental properties surrendered about 70 cats after being evicted for the fifth time in less than a year, according to authorities.

On Jan 15, Mark Rink and Peggy Feldhaus were kicked out of the home they rented at 1523 19th St., Two Rivers, for failing to pay rent and ignoring a no-pets rule, according to property owner Jerry Messman.

Two Rivers Police Lt. Scott Gerard said the couple elected to surrender the cats to the Lakeshore Humane Society rather than take the cats with them. Neither Gerard nor Messman knows where the couple is moved.

Linda Willman, the executive director of the Lakeshore Humane Society, said the cats are healthy, but thin. Most of them are Siamese, she said.

�Some of the cats are very traumatized,� Willman said. �We�re working with them and monitoring them.�

The cats caused extensive damage, leaving feces and urine on the floor, Messman said.

Messman tore out all of the carpeting and padding and will have to replace the floorboards in the first-floor living room.

�The urine soaked through all the carpeting and padding and into the floorboards,� Messman said. �For the couple of months they were here, I didn�t think it could get that bad.�

Rink and Feldhaus moved to Messman�s property on Nov. 15, after they were evicted from a Two Rivers apartment for not paying rent and having too many cats, property owner Don Wergin said.

The cats caused about $8,000 worth of damage at that apartment, which Wergin remodeled just before the couple moved in in August, Wergin said.

Prior to moving into Wergin�s property, Rink and Feldhaus lived at 1113 S. 13th St., Manitowoc. They were evicted from that property for not paying rent, owner David Klein said.

Klein said neighbors complained about the stench coming from the house. Klein said he thought the smell was coming from the accumulation of garbage at the home and that he wasn�t aware the cats were using the entire first-floor apartment as a kitty litter box.

After the couple moved out in early August, Klein removed about 6,000 pounds of garbage from the apartment and incurred about $4,000 in damages.

�I had to replace all the carpeting and all the padding,� Klein said. �I had to repaint all the walls.�

�They were cool people, but they had too many cats,� said Jon Lutterman, who lived above the couple at 1113 S. 13th St. �It was gross.�

Lutterman said he could smell the cats and garbage in the shared hallway and in the immediate area outside the home. He couldn�t smell the cats in his upstairs apartment.

He now lives in the remodeled lower unit.

�When I moved (into the lower unit), I washed all the walls, ceilings and cleaned all of the floors,� Lutterman said.

Prior to living on South 13th Street, Rink and Feldhaus were evicted from two other Manitowoc properties, according to court records.

Despite the damage sustained at properties in Manitowoc and Two Rivers, there is little authorities can do.

The couple was never charged with animal neglect or abuse, because the cats were fed and water was made available, Gerard said.

No property-damage charges were issued because prosecutors would have to prove the couple brought the cats into the homes to intentionally damage the property, said Two Rivers Capt. Robert Kappelman.

"A civil suit is about their only recourse,� Kappelman said.

Willman said many of the cats don�t use litter boxes. Humane society workers found two litter boxes at Messman�s property. Willman said she recommends one litter box per cat.

Willman said some of the cats have been euthanized because of behavioral problems.

�Basically, some of these cats are wild,� Willman said.

Humane society workers found cooked spaghetti on plates for the cats to eat, Willman said. No cat food was found in the house.

�I don�t know why this can�t be classified as neglect,� Willman said.

Willman said some of the friendlier cats will be available for adoption as early as next week.

In the meantime, the shelter is seeking donations of Purina cat food, canned cat food, kitty litter and cash to help care for the animals, Willman said.

�We have all of these cats and we need help,� Willman said.

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References

	Manitowoc Herald Times - Jan 20, 2007
	Appleton Post-Crescent - Jan 20, 2007

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