Animal Abuse: 32 cats rescued from motel, 4 dead - Columbia, MO

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Case ID: 16910

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: cat

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Attorneys/Judges

Defense(s):	Steve Wilson
Judge(s):	Robert Aulgur

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Case #16910 Rating: 1.3 out of 5

32 cats rescued from motel, 4 dead
Columbia, MO (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010
County: Boone

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Susan B. Kohler

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Investigations regarding why Susan Kohler kept 32 cats -- 28 of which were alive and four of which were dead -- in a Motel 6 room are ongoing, and many questions remain unanswered.

After receiving a call and obtaining a search warrant, Boone County Animal Control removed 28 cats from room 328 at Motel 6 on 3402 I-70 Drive S.E. on Wednesday.

"Somebody just called our office and said there's a lady staying at Motel 6 on the east side of town, and she has a lot of cats," Molly Aust, supervisor of Animal Control, said.

Although 28 of the cats found were alive, four were found dead. Three of these cats were in a freezer; one was in a crate in the room, Aust said.

Aust, who was one of the people to carry out the search warrant, recalled a terrible odor upon entering the room. She said urine was sprayed throughout the room and feces was everywhere.

"The litter boxes were so full, in fact, that they weren't even using them anymore," Aust said. "The bathtub was overflowing with empty cat food cans and trash."

There was no food or drinkable water in the room, Aust said.

The cats were taken to the Central Missouri Humane Society. Typically, rescued animals are held for five days, said Gerald Worley, environmental health manager of Boone County Animal Control, but with this situation, it is complicated.

Kohler is scheduled to appear in court June 25. Her actions are in violation of a
Cats needing immediate assistance were taken care of Wednesday, Aust said. Thursday, Animal Control conducted a more thorough investigation of each cat to determine which ones needed veterinary care.

Aust hopes to speak with Kohler about relinquishing rights to the cats and hopes Kohler will cooperate.

"I don't know that I'll be successful, but I can always try," Aust said.

"The longer they stay at the shelter, the possibility of them becoming more feral will kick in," Aust said. "If they're not being handled any more than just to clean their cages, they will get to where they don't care if they have human contact or not."

Aust said Kohler seemed surprised when Animal Control arrived at the motel room. Aust repeatedly asked Kohler why the cats were being kept in the room but got no answer, he said.

"I wouldn't say she was uncooperative either, she just didn't have anything to say," Aust said.

Employees at the Motel 6 where Kohler was keeping the cats and might have been residing, declined to comment.

Aust said she was aware Kohler had another address and said she thinks Kohler was not actually living at the motel. As of Thursday afternoon, Kohler's actual residence was not confirmed.

"We believe that she would come to the hotel and spend the day with her cats," Aust said.

The question of why Kohler was keeping so many cats in the Motel 6 room remains unanswered.

Worley and other members of Animal Control are continuing to investigate the incident.

Here is the

Case Updates

Wednesday was a difficult day in court for Susan Kohler, but Friday could be a lot tougher. That's the day Kohler, who pleaded guilty to animal abuse months after Animal Control discovered 33 of her cats in a filthy motel room, will have to pick the three she can keep.

"It's going to be a really hard choice. It's going to destroy me," Kohler said in an interview after her court appearance.

Kohler of Columbia appeared in municipal court on Wednesday and entered her guilty plea. Judge Bob Aulgur suspended imposition of her sentence, dismissed three other charges and placed her on probation for two years. He warned her, though, that she'll face consequences if she fails to comply with the conditions of her probation.

Municipal Court Clerk Shara Meyer said Kohler could face a full range of punishment if she violates probation. That could include a fine of up to $500 plus up to 30 days in jail.

Under the terms of her probation, Kohler, who has paid more than $40,000 to keep her cats at the Central Missouri Humane Society's shelter since they were seized in June, will be allowed to have three of her cats. She'll also be allowed to keep her Pomeranian dog.

Kohler's offenses include keeping more than four animals and failing to provide adequate water, food, vaccinations, clean shelter and veterinary care.

Animal Control Supervisor Molly Aust, who was responding to complaints when she discovered the cats at Motel 6, 3402 I-70 Drive S.E. in March �" and again in June �" described the conditions in the room in a June 10 report to the city prosecutor's office.

Aust reported finding four dead kittens: three were in the freezer of the room's refrigerator, the other was in "a urine soaked crate."

The room, Aust wrote, was filthy.

"All of the crates were completely urine soaked. The bed (mattresses) was yellow and soaked with urine. There was vomit and feces all over the room. The walls of the room were yellow with streaks of urine running down the walls from where the cats had sprayed. There was no food or water present."

Aulgur's decision to suspend the sentence went along with an agreement among city-county Public Health and Human Services Director Stephanie Browning, Animal Control, defense attorney Steve Wilson and City Counselor Fred Boeckmann.

Kohler has been diagnosed with depression, according to court documents, and Wilson said she has been under psychiatric care for 15 years.

She normally showed and sold cats, Aust said.

Wilson said Kohler had stopped taking her medicine and was caring for a sick father and injured mother when the situation with the cats exploded.

Kohler told the Missourian that she received financial help from her mother and took money from her retirement account in order to pay more than $45,000 to keep the cats at the Humane Society shelter and to provide them veterinary care. She said she is devastated about losing her cats but thankful she can keep three.

Kohler said she stopped taking her medicine in April because she has Type 2 diabetes and one side effect is elevated blood sugar. Kohler said she returned to taking her medicine in June.

"I kept it a secret from everyone. ... I was ashamed to tell my psychiatrist about the cats and stopping the medicine," Kohler said.

She said she paid $850 a week to keep the cats at Motel 6. The motel is not seeking restitution.

Kohler disputed some of Aust's findings. She said her cats did get veterinary care and that she fed them and gave them water regularly. The kittens died, she said, because Oriental shorthairs are a fragile breed.

"I am not saying I didn't do anything wrong," Kohler said. "I did. I stopped taking my medication, and the cats suffered directly because of me. I didn't mean for that to happen. The cats are like my children."

Kohler had hoped to get all of her cats back. Since they were seized, she has remodeled her house. And she had planned to make her garage a "cat habitat" and to pay a service to clean once a week.

Aulgur ordered Kohler to continue seeing her psychiatrist and to comply with prescriptions. She must notify the court in writing within 72 hours if she switches doctors or medicines. He ordered her not to harbor or possess more than three cats over the next two years or to own any other animal beside the three cats and her dog. She also must notify the court if her address changes, and she must spay, neuter and vaccinate her cats as needed.

Finally, Aulgur ordered Kohler to allow Animal Control to inspect any building, office or shed in or outside the city where she might be keeping animals.

After Kohler selects her three cats on Friday, the Humane Society will neuter or spay, vaccinate and microchip them, Aust said. Animal Control has scanners that will allow them to verify whether any cats she has over the next two years are the same ones, Wilson said.

Aust seemed optimistic. "(Kohler) has a plan, and with (Animal Control) monitoring her and getting those numbers down, she should be able to follow the conditions and maintain adequate care for the animals that remain in her custody," Aust said.

Animal Control is working with The Cat Fanciers' Association to find appropriate homes for all the remaining cats, Aust said. People from all over the United States have been coming forward to claim some of the cats as theirs. Aust explained that there is a lot of networking and animal sharing among people who show and sell cats.

Source: columbiamissourian.com - Nov 17, 2010
Update posted on Nov 20, 2010 - 7:41PM

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Every Monday for the past 10 weeks, Susan Kohler has given the Columbia/Boone County Animal Control a check for $1,995.

Kohler, 52, has been dropping off weekly checks for the care of her 33 felines �" 29 cats and four newborn kittens �" since June 28, about a week after she was charged with animal cruelty and keeping too many animals within city limits.

Animal Control discovered Kohler with 33 cats, four of them dead, in a room at the Motel 6 on I-70 Drive Southeast. Kohler wasn't living with the cats at the time of her arrest.

Animal Control initially reported that Kohler had 32 cats, four of them dead, in the room. But as Animal Control workers cataloged and named the animals, Animal Control supervisor Molly Aust said, they found there were actually 29 live cats in addition to the four dead animals.

She in 19 cages, and each cage is rented at $15 per night.

"Some of them are doubled up and get along real well," Aust said.

All but two are spayed or neutered, she said.

So far, Kohler has paid $19,995 for the upkeep of her cats, Aust said. With her trial more than six weeks away, Kohler's cost to house the animals �" and maintain some hope of getting them back �" could reach almost $42,000.

Kohler is also paying for the cats' veterinary care as needed, Aust said.

Many of the cats, almost all Oriental shorthairs, were in poor health when Animal Control took them into custody.

"There was lots of illness there, but they're all healthy now," Aust said.

The incident drew media attention over the summer, and some of it upset Kohler, her attorney, Steve Wilson, said.

"The implication was that she wasn't paying for her pets' veterinary care and that her cats were taking up cages that could be used for other animals," Wilson said. "We offered to acquire as many cages as would be needed, and they have received full medical treatment. This is not being put on the city."

Kohler was unavailable for comment.

In the weeks leading up to her trial, Kohler has the option to , to regain custody of her animals. It's up to Browning to make a decision after meeting with Kohler and her attorney and inspecting the animals' intended home.

"It would be up to Ms. Kohler to prove to me that the threat against her animals is gone," Browning said. "How? I don't know. What would be different?"

Browning hasn't received the request, but Wilson said he plans to submit it in the next few weeks.

"Of course, we will have to meet about what led to these circumstances. Someone who is functioning normally," Wilson said, with a pause, "it wouldn't get this far."

Source: columbiamissourian.com - Sept 2, 2010
Update posted on Nov 20, 2010 - 7:38PM

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32 cats rescued from motel, 4 deadColumbia, MO (US)

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32 cats rescued from motel, 4 dead
Columbia, MO (US)