Hoarding Suspected at Non-Profit Cat Rescue
Woman kept 49 cats in Northeast Philly home
NBC Philadelphia, Byron Scott
The SPCA says that the woman had good intentions.
The SPCA was at a house in Northeast Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon, expecting to rescue more than thirty cats.
They wound up taking 49 felines out of the home including two dead animals.
The woman, who lives in the house with her husband, is licensed to rescue animals and was running a non-profit rescue, according to officials.
Animal officials checked out the property just last month but they only found a tidy second floor with less than a dozen cats. It wasn't until SPCA investigators returned to the Walker Street home after getting an "animal hoarding" complaint that they found dozens of cats living in terrible conditions in the basement.
Investigators tell NBC10 that the upper portion of the house, where they say the woman keeps eight of her personal cats, is in very good condition. But the basement of the home, where the majority of the cats were found, including the two dead cats, is in very poor condition, according to the SPCA.
Despite the deplorable conditions, officials stressed that the alleged hoarder's heart was in the right place.
"No matter how horrendous the conditions are when you go in... their intentions are admirable," said PSPCA spokesman George Bengal. "They want to do the right thing -- they want to save these animals."
The homeowners -- who weren't immediately identified -- have lived in the home for three decades and raised their children in the home, neighbors said.
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
Top Stories
