Elderly woman rescued from over 100 cats
Newark, NY (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 8, 1997
County: Wayne

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Carol Elaine Soliman

Carol Elaine Soliman, 56, was arrested and has been charged with criminal nuisance and 100 counts of animal cruelty. Soliman is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $10,000 bond and is undergoing psychiatric testing.

Carol Soliman's mother, Flista Soliman, 86, was also found in the house with the more than 100 malnourished cats. Flista Soliman told police, "I'm glad you people finally came." Her mother lived in the house and competed with the cats for food. The cats would try to eat her food while she was trying to eat her meal. Flista Soliman said, "She would have fight them off for her meal."

Flista Soliman is confined to a wheelchair and has been placed with a relative. The cats were climbing up and down the woman while she was seated in her wheelchair. It appeared some of the cats were using her legs as scratching posts.

The home on Peirson and Woodland Road is in a neighborhood of large homes and well tended lawns. The odor of urine and feces could be smelled from the street. The floors of the home were covered in animal feces, mountains of open cat food cans and overflowing litter boxes.

There were fleas and insects crawling along the floors, counters and the furniture. Twelve dead cats were also found.

Approximately 80 cats were caught and taken to the humane society. The cats will not be available for adoption immediately, they will be checked out by veterinarians. There were about another 20 cats left in the home and they will be trapped and removed to the humane society.

The house is to be boarded up.

Neighbors said they knew there were a lot of cats in the home but most of them did not know Flista Soliman lived in the home with her daughter. One of the neighbors, Mary Cook, said she used to see Flista outside before the daughter came to live there about five years ago. "I'm so glad Flista got out of there. I knew things weren't' great there, but I never knew it was so bad."

The police got a search warrant and entered the house after an anonymous tip told them the mother might be in danger.

References

• Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Oct 9, 1997

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