A case of cat hoarding is breaking in Iredell County, North Carolina, where 90 cats were rescued from a home in Mooresville. Sadly, every cage at Iredell County Animal Shelter in Statesville is full as workers try to save the cats.
The cats were discovered following a visit by animal control officers to a home on Pinewood Circle to pick up a dog that had bitten someone about two weeks ago. Animal control wasn’t invited into the home at that time, but could smell urine coming from the home. The woman at the home originally claimed she had 20 cats living inside. Instead, 90 cats were found in the house when police returned with a warrant on Wednesday afternoon. Two dead cats were found and another had to be humanely euthanized shortly after the cat arrived at the shelter.
Brad Gates, director of Iredell County Animal Shelter, calls this case “the largest in years” and stated “these cats were living in conditions that were just creating a factory for disease.”
The home was so filthy it took animal control several hours to locate all of the cats, as many were hiding in furniture and living in dresser drawers. Upon examination at the shelter it was discovered some have ringworm, some have respiratory infections. It unclear at this time whether more of the cats will have to be euthanized.
Gates said about this tragic situation
“Most hoarders think they’re doing the right thing. They don’t see the situation that they have the animals in. They don’t see sometime they’re doing more harm than good.”
The cats who are healthy enough will be sent to nearby rescue groups and will soon be available for adoption. At the time of this article the owner’s name hasn’t been released, but charges against her are pending. She officially surrendered of the cats on Wednesday.
The issue that distresses me about this case is the thought of these cats living in the home for two weeks after the officer noticed the urine smell. Why does it take so long for officials who can help to actually do something? I’ll be updating this article as more information comes in on how we can all help these cats.
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About to kill them http://www.crosspostingsavelives.com/2016/03/urgent-plea-to-save-remaining.html
Here’s an update on how people can help. The best way to share is to go to my Facebook wall at Elisa Black-Taylor and share from there so the photos show up correctly.
http://www.crosspostingsavelives.com/2016/03/how-you-can-help-90-cats-rescued-from.html