30 Cats Taken From 'Urine Lacquered' Home [View All]

[matcom]

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MISHAWAKA, Ind. --Authorities have removed 30 cats from a northern Indiana house and say as many as 40 more cats may remain.

Representatives of the St. Joseph County Humane Society, Mishawaka Police Department and Mishawaka Code Enforcement went to the home on Friday after receiving a complaint from a neighbor. They discovered cat urine and fecal matter throughout the house, where three people lived.

"Everything was covered in a lacquer of yellow urine," said Eric Durcinka, executive director of the Humane Society. "You were better off standing outside. The smell was nauseating."

Throughout the house were cats running from room to room and using floor vents as tunnels to navigate, a police report said. Several of the cats seemed sickly and a couple of them had eye injuries, possibly from fights between the animals.

Durcinka said the cats were in terrible shape, covered in parasites and suffering from diseases.

The police report estimated that between 50 and 75 cats were found inside the house in the city just east of South Bend. Durcinka said the other cats hid under the house and that the Humane Society would return to try and catch the rest of the cats.

Mishawaka police turned the case over to the Humane Society and other local agencies, including the health department.

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2005/06/07/authorities_remove_30_cats_from_ind_home?mode=PF