The man who allegedly kept dozens of cats -- some living, some dead -- inside a small North Philadelphia boarding room was arrested Sunday after he reportedly tried to get his felines back.
Jun Takese, 44, went to the Pennsylvania SPCA headquarters on E Erie Avenue after hearing that his cats were taken there, officials said.
Instead of getting his 12 living and 26 dead cats back, Takese was arrested and charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty, SPCA officials said Monday.
The cats were found Friday afternoon in a small filthy room rented by Takese on 1500 Block of N 12th Street, according to the SPCA.
Takese's landlord had alerted officials after he allegedly smelled a strong odor coming from the room.
Once animal officers were let inside, they found a dozen cats living in filth and more than two dozen dead cats -- many of the deceased animals were kept inside the freezer portion of refrigerator, according to the SPCA.
"This is definitely one of the more bizarre cases we've seen," said George Bengal, Director of Humane Law Enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA. "The small room and conditions these cats were living in was unbelievable."
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The felines were in poor physical shape -- many had flea conditions -- and were taken to the SPCA to be evaluated and treated, officials said.
The alleged hoarder wasn’t around when the raid happened and was being evicted thanks to the animals and being late on his rent, according to Takese's landlord.
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