Hoarding - 25 cats, one litterbox
Toms River, NJ (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008
County: Ocean
Disposition: Not Charged
Abuser names unreleased
In all, about 25 cats were living in one apartment and sharing one litter box before being rescued from the Silver Ridge Apartments complex by an animal rescue group earlier this month.
"You could barely walk in the place. The smell was so bad," said Barbara Egan, adoption supervisor for Tails with Happy Endings Inc.
The group was started about 15 months ago to help keep animals out of the Toms River Animal Facility, members have said. Animal rescue workers and shelter volunteers have been lobbying for a larger and more up-to-date shelter for years.
As a volunteer with another area animal rescue group, Egan has seen situations similar to the Silver Ridge one. The cases are known in the animal rescue world as "hoarding."
For other members of Egan's group, however, this was the first time they encountered so many animals living in one place, she said.
"It was a rude awakening for them," Egan said.
Beth Bonomo, group member, said: "It was something I don't even want to see again. I couldn't breathe."
The group learned of the apartment through a telephone call.
Members then went to the apartment and set traps with food in them to catch the animals.
Citing confidentiality issues, neither Tails with Happy Endings nor the Toms River Animal Facility, which was made aware of the situation after the animals were removed and the tenant evicted, would provide the names of those who lived in the apartment or the specific address.
No charges were brought against the owner of the cats.
"We don't have much to go on. The cats were already removed. The woman was already removed," said Jim Bowen, manager of the Toms River Animal Facility.
The Toms River Animal Facility handles such situations on a "case by case" basis, Bowen said. Sometimes, charges of animal abuse or animal neglect are brought, he said.
The mission of the rescue group, which does not euthanize, is to simply get the animals, said Donna Oliver, a member.
"We don't judge," Oliver said.
"Our purpose is to get the animals. We don't make waves. We want the animals," she said.
Nine of the cats are now living in blanket-lined cages in Oliver's garage. Others are living with other group members.
They must be quarantined for at least another week because they need vaccinations and other medical attention and need to be spayed or neutered before they can go to foster or adoptive homes, according to group members.
Tails with Happy Endings is looking to find permanent homes for the felines - a combination of males, females, kittens and adults, including pregnant cats. The group is also seeking donations to be used to pay for the medical attention.
"We don't want to see them again. We want to see them placed forever," Oliver said. References |
