Hoarding - 240 cats seized from storage unit
Pasadena, CA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Dec 15, 2010
County: Los Angeles
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Tanya Regan
Animal control officials rescued 238 cats from a squalid storage facility Wednesday evening - and desperately struggled Thursday to house the felines, some of which are suffering from eye and skin infections.
A pungent smell wafted Thursday through a hallway at the Pasadena Humane Society, which already was filled to capacity before officials served a search warrant Wednesday at a former residence-turned-storage unit in the 000 block of North Altadena Drive.
"Now we're desperately looking for a way to house them - maybe a double-wide mobile unit," said Ricky Whitman, spokeswoman for the Pasadena Humane Society, where rows of crates filled with cats lined a wall.
"They seem to be in reasonably good shape, (although) some have eye, skin and respiratory issues," Whitman said.
Officials on Wednesday cited the animals' owner, Tanya Regan, 62, 9800 block of Olive Street in Temple City, who could face charges of animal cruelty and neglect.
Humane society officials continued investigating the case Thursday, Whitman said.
"Once the investigation is completed, we will hand it to the district attorney, who will make the decision" on whether file criminal charges against Regan, she said.
"We want to make sure the case is solid," Whitman added.
Tipped off by volunteers who had helped care for the felines, officials discovered hundreds of cats - and two dogs - living in filth-crusted crates stacked one atop the other inside the Altadena Drive location.
Another nine cats and two dogs were taken from Regan's home in the 9800 block of Olive Street in Temple city, officials said.
Rescuers also discovered 34 animal carcases in a freezer, Whitman said.
More than 20 gas-masked Pasadena Humane Society employees rotated in and out of the locations Wednesday night, carting the cats into transport vehicles.
Neighbors said they were never aware of the extent of the horde of cats.
"When she moved here she told us she had only 10 cats, but she came late at night so no one would know," resident Wilfred Duran said Wednesday.
Regan refused Thursday to release the cats into the custody of the Humane Society, Whitman said.
That could trigger a protracted and potentially costly legal process that could take up to 18 months to resolve, she said.
"Ideally, we'd love to obtain custody of the cats - 100 percent," said Pasadena Humane Society President and CEO Steve McNall. "The process can take a year to a year and a half and will be a heavy financial burden on the society."
At Regan's Temple City home on Thursday a woman who answered the door identified herself as Regan's mother but refused to give her name.
She said her daughter had tried her best to care for the cats and explained Regan took in dozens of felines to save them from being euthanized.
"People have declined to take care of them - and the animals came," she said.
The woman ran her rescue operation under the umbrella of the rescue group Cats in Need.
McNall said he has never seen a case of animal hoarding on such a large scale.
While cat and dog hoarders often believe they are helping save animals, they quickly become overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of animals they bring in off the streets, he said.
"Ultimately, it's the animals that pay the price," McNall said. "Squalid conditions, inhumane treatment - the list goes on."
Animal hoarding expert Catherine Toft, professor emeritus at the University of California, said the Pasadena case fits a common profile.
"More women than men hoard animals and more elderly people than young people hoard animals," she said. "Typically, cats are the most common animal hoarded."
Hoarders often keep dogs or cats even after the animals have died.
"For an animal hoarder and a stuff hoarder it doesn't matter if they are living or dead. The person can't part with the object," Toft said.
Hoarders are also incapable of acknowledging their squalid living conditions. "They are living in garbage and don't see it as that," said Toft.
The Pasadena Humane Society is seeking donations to help care for the cats. To donate, or for more information, call 626-792-7151. References |
