145 Cats Found In Home

[bloodrayne]

Sixty Felines Euthanized

Mother, two daughters living in $500,000 house strewn with animal feces, garbage

Vernon Hills, Illinois — More than 130 live cats and about 15 dead ones have been removed from a half-million-dollar home where a mother and her two teenage daughters were apparently living in squalor.

Lake County Health Department officials said Thursday animal feces and garbage were strewn about the house in one of the worst scenes the department has witnessed in 25 years.

"The conditions were really pretty awful," said Health Department spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski.

"We call it animal hoarding," said Health Department Executive Director Dale Galassie. He said the department runs across two or three cases a year in Lake County, usually involving less than 20 animals, often belonging to an elderly person with mental disabilities.

The case in Vernon Hills is significantly more serious, Galassie noted, and he said behavioral health services and counseling are being made available to the family. He said a Vernon Hills social worker is also working with the woman, who is believed to be staying with her daughters in a motel.

The Vernon Hills Police Department contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, which is now involved with the case. Police Department spokesman Kim Christenson said that due to the circumstances of the incident, the woman will face no charges for violating a village ordinance on the number of animals residents may keep in a home.


Complaints from neighbors
The matter was called to the attention of police last Wednesday when neighbors of the home, located on the first block of Brookhill Lane, complained of a large number of cats in the area. Some mentioned unpleasant odors as well.
Two Health Department animal wardens removed about 130 cats from the home, as well as several dead cats. Also removed were a rabbit, two guinea pigs and a chinchilla.

Piotrowski said about 70 of the cats were taken to the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter in Riverwoods while about 60 had to be euthanized due to their condition.

Some cats gained access to the home's duct system and were still in the house Thursday, although officials were in the process of trapping them, Galassie said.

Whether the family returns or the house is sold, cleaning and rehabbing will be necessary before the village Building Department will allow it to be inhabited.

"The house in its current condition is unliveable," Galassie said.

Living in such conditions can make people vulnerable to several illnesses, Piotrowski said, including salmonella, gastrointestinal problems, parasites, fungal diseases and cat scratch fever.

Although access to spaying and neutering services was not a factor in the Vernon Hills situation, Galassie said he does want residents to realize that Lake County is one of the few counties that offers free spaying and neutering services to those who need them. For details on the program, residents should call (847) 377-8029.

[horror_master]

That is all of cats to have in one at one time.

[Horrorfiend]

That's nothing. The guy down the street has 689 cats. He was on Donahue or Maury once too. The Tragically Hip also shot a video there.

My friend lived in the apartment on top of his house and he had to have 15 air fresheners going at once to get rid of the smell.

"You can visualize a hundred cats. Beyond that, you can't. Two hundred, five hundred, it all looks the same. -- Jack Wright (of Kingston, Ontario, the Guinness Book record holder for the owner of the most cats at one time [689])"

http://www.kessels.com/Hobby/cats/Quotes.html

I drink with him occasionaly, but not in his house.

[taylorsmommy]

I'm a big-time cat lover, but even that's too much for me! I'll just stick with the 3 that I have.

[horror_master]

Originally posted by Horrorfiend
That's nothing. The guy down the street has 689 cats. He was on Donahue or Maury once too. The Tragically Hip also shot a video there.

My friend lived in the apartment on top of his house and he had to have 15 air fresheners going at once to get rid of the smell.

"You can visualize a hundred cats. Beyond that, you can't. Two hundred, five hundred, it all looks the same. -- Jack Wright (of Kingston, Ontario, the Guinness Book record holder for the owner of the most cats at one time [689])"

http://www.kessels.com/Hobby/cats/Quotes.html

I drink with him occasionaly, but not in his house.

:eek: 689 cats! Man that must cost him an arm and leg for food, not mentioning if he had to get them all fixed.

[The STE]

Originally posted by horror_master
:eek: 689 cats! Man that must cost him an arm and leg for food, not mentioning if he had to get them all fixed.

Given the number of cats, I think it's pretty obvious that he didn't get any of them fixed

[NirvanaNole]

That's a lot of pussy.

Man, I hate people. Poor animals. :mad: