Hoarding - 54 cats seized
Sadsbury, PA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 18, 2008
County: Chester
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
The Chester County SPCA removed 17 cats from a township resident's clutter-strewn home on Thursday.
This comes a week after the SPCA removed 37 cats from the same home.
The latest cat roundup occurred because the resident, whose name is not being released until charges are filed against her, did not meet the terms of the agreement she made with the SPCA following last week's animal removal.
The resident had told the SPCA that within a week she would get veterinary care for one cat that had severe upper respiratory problems. But as of Thursday, the cat had received no such care, according to Chuck McDevitt, a spokesman for the Chester County SPCA.
Of the 17 cats taken Thursday, seven were feral. McDevitt said those cats would have been removed whether or not the woman had obtained care for the sick cat.
Acting on a tip from a neighbor, the SPCA obtained a warrant that led to the Sept. 11 cat removal. The latest cat removal was also the result of a warrant.
SPCA agents had difficulty removing the cats because the clutter in the woman's home provided many places for them to hide, McDevitt said.
"There was a very strong odor, and the house was crowded with boxes and things," he added. "When our agents moved the boxes, they found fecal matter under them, which the woman was either unwilling or unable to move."
The woman, McDevitt said, is in her late 40s or early 50s and lives in a smaller single-family house with her husband, an adult child and two boarders.
McDevitt said the Chester County SPCA did not take all of the woman's cats last week because its shelter is already crowded with cats and kittens.
"We were going to try to work with her," he said.
But because she didn't abide by the agreements she made with the SPCA, all of the cats are now out of the house, McDevitt said.
The woman gave the SPCA ownership rights of the 37 cats taken last week, but she did not give ownership rights of the 17 taken Thursday. This means that those cats cannot be put up for adoption until such rights are obtained.
The 37 cats from last week's roundup suffer from ear mites, fleas, malnutrition and gingivitis, McDevitt said. Some, which were given to the Delaware Humane Society, were also found to have ringworm.
SPCA veterinarians have not yet determined which diseases afflict the cats from Thursday's roundup. References« PA State Animal Cruelty Map
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