Hoarding 46 cats
Prunedale, CA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007
County: Monterey
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Marjorie Nordhaus
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
In one of Monterey County's worst animal hoarding incidents in recent memory, humane officers found 46 cats living in confined squalor in a house near Prunedale Wednesday evening.
One of the cats later was euthanized. A malnourished horse also was found on the property.
Officials with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Monterey County did not release the names of the people living in the house, but they were described as an elderly couple and the couple's adult son.
Judi Adams, a social worker with the county Health Department, was on the property to check on the son when she smelled a rancid odor from the house, said SPCA executive director Gary Tiscornia. Adams then contacted authorities.
Humane officers were called to the scene, and after negotiating with the couple they convinced the occupants of the house to relinquish the animals, SPCA spokeswoman Beth Brookhouser said.
All the cats were found in large pet carriers - with up to three cats to a carrier - filled with feces and newspapers, giving the caged felines no more than six inches of vertical living space, said Brookhouser.
"It was just a horrific hoarding situation," Brookhouser said.
"We've had bigger," she said, referring to the 132 cats found in a Pacific Grove home in 2005, but the conditions of these cats was much worse. "It's amazing how well they are doing," she said.
Each cage had food and water bowls, Brookhouser said.
SPCA veterinarians had to euthanize one of the cats, Brookhouser said, because it was so badly emaciated it was unable to stand. The other 45, including four kittens estimated to be 6 to 7 weeks old, are in "surprisingly good shape," she said.
"We're hoping we're going to be able to rehabilitate all 45 cats and kittens," Brookhouser said. "It really depends on any underlying medical conditions."
The 41 adult cats were all determined to be between 1 and 6 years old, Brookhouser said.
The horse had not arrived at the SPCA grounds by Thursday, Brookhouser said, but it is believed to be "very thin," she said.
A crew of two veterinarians, one veterinarian technician and dozens of staff members handled and evaluated the cats Wednesday night as they arrived at the SPCA. The top halves of most of the 35 carrying cases had to be removed because the filth inside was too high for the cats to be safely removed through the gates of the cases.
"Some of the cases were so heavy, I actually had to take the lids off of some of them at the (house)," said SPCA staff member Adrianna Bogaards.
Some of the cats' tails had to be shaved because they were so thickly matted with feces, Brookhouser said. None of the cats have received baths yet because of their fragile emotional states, she said.
Failure to provide veterinary care and improper confinement of animals are misdemeanors under state law. But since hoarding is considered a mental illness, criminal prosecution is rare, said Tiscornia.
Besides, jail time is ineffective, Tiscornia said, because in nearly all cases it proves not to deter hoarders from acting again.
"There's an extremely high probability they'll repeat this activity," Tiscornia said. "They feel like they are the true saviors of these animals. People with this mental illness become reclusive and exclude others for fear of discovery."
Because in this case the occupants of the house relinquished the cats, charges are unlikely and the cats will not be held as evidence, Tiscornia said.
Before the SPCA can develop adoption procedures for the cats, Brookhouser said, staff members must first "monitor and test them over the next week and let them get used to normal life."
Most of the cats appeared to be rather skittish on Thursday, their first full day outside of their muck-filled cages. But "some are feeling a little more comfortable" than when they were first removed, Brookhouser said.
During their confinement the cats were unable to stand, let alone run around or groom themselves, for an extended period of time, Brookhouser said, and it shows in their movements. Walking, jumping onto counters and detangling claws from scratching posts all proved to be difficult tasks for the cats.
The SPCA is seeking donations to help with veterinary costs, as well as donations of toys and cat litter, Brookhouser said. Food is not on the list, she said, because "they're all on a special diet."
Case UpdatesA Monterey County woman who kept nearly 50 cats in a filthy home pleaded guilty to animal abuse and abuse of an adult son who lived in the unsanitary conditions.
Marjorie Nordhaus entered pleas Tuesday before her trial.
The 72-year-old woman was arrested in October after a social worker went to her home in Prunedale to check on her 31-year-old son.
Authorities said they found 46 cats that apparently had been kept for months in filthy, waste-filled crates. Forty-five of the animals survived and will be put up for adoption.
Prosecutors said Nordhaus will be sentenced next month to probation and will be barred from having animals in her home.
Nordhaus and her disabled husband have been staying in a motel while their home is cleaned and remodeled. Their son remains in the custody of the county Health Department. | Source: Fresno Bee - Jan 17, 2008
Update posted on Jan 17, 2008 - 4:05PM |
Six weeks after nearly 50 cats were rescued from waste-jammed crates at her home, Marjorie Nordhaus, 72, of Prunedale, pleaded not guilty Friday to a felony charge of animal cruelty and a misdemeanor charge of improper confinement, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said today.
Nordhaus has no prior convictions, the office said. Her next hearing will take place Jan. 16. If convicted, Nordhaus could be sentenced to probation or as much as three years in prison. | Source: The Salinas Californian - Dec 11, 2007
Update posted on Dec 12, 2007 - 5:52PM |
The Monterey County District Attorney's Office has filed charges in what officials have described as a horrific example of animal hoarding.
Marjorie Nordhaus, 72, will face at least one felony count of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of improper confinement. Nearly 50 cats were rescued from her Prunedale home Oct. 24.
"The felines had been kept in animal crates ... filled with feces, newspapers and old cat-food cans," the District Attorney's Office said in a statement Friday. "Humane officers who responded to the home also observed maggots and rats throughout the areas where the cats were kept."
One severely ill cat had to be euthanized upon arrival at the SPCA of Monterey County, but the remaining 45 are adapting to life outside crates. They cannot, however, be adopted from the shelter until the case is resolved, an investigator said.
Deputy District Attorney Marie Aronson said Nordhaus could face up to 46 counts of animal cruelty. The maximum sentence for felony animal cruelty is three years in prison, while the misdemeanor could result in up to one year in jail, she said.
Nordhaus lived in the San Miguel Canyon Road home with her husband and an adult son, officials have said, but Aronson said she doesn't expect the men to be charged.
It's unusual for the office to file a felony charge in an animal cruelty case, she said. "We just don't get that many cases that rise to that level."
Still, she and SPCA Humane Investigations Supervisor Judi Adams said the goal is not to send Nordhaus to prison.
"Most people don't want to see a 72-year-old woman put in jail," Adams said. "But we do hope that it gets publicized and prosecuted, and that she will be required to get mental health treatment as a part of her sentence."
Treatment and supervision are critical, the two said, because animal hoarders almost always repeat their crime.
"They have the misguided notion that they're saving animals," Adams said, "but in reality, they're giving them the worst life possible."
She said the 46 cats were kept in 35 crates, while about 60 more waste-jammed crates were found in a garage. The cats appear to have been rotated to new crates as the months passed, once no more food or newspapers could be crammed in, Adams said.
She said it was difficult for staff who saw the cats' conditions at the home.
"You have to focus on the fact that you saved them," Adams said. "We know we can't save them all, but we save the most we can."
Nordhaus is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 29. | Source: The Salinas Californian - Nov 11, 2007
Update posted on Dec 12, 2007 - 5:52PM |
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