300 Cats Found In Feces-Covered Central Florida Home
Homeowner Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges
POSTED: Friday, April 13, 2007
UPDATED: 6:25 am EDT April 16,
2007
OCALA, Fla. -- A Central Florida man was arrested on animal cruelty charges after officials said they discovered as many as 300 cats -- dead and alive -- inside his house with a layer of animal feces between two and three inches deep.
IMAGES: Photos From House
Johnathon Terpstra, 61, was charged with animal cruelty, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice after Marion County authorities made the discovery at his house, which is located at 8345 SW 146th Court in Florida Highlands. The cats and some other animals were found by a sheriff's deputy at about 10:30 a.m. Friday while she was serving civil papers to the residence in connection with another matter. She said she saw the remains of a cat in the yard of the house before finding hundreds of animals inside the home. The deputy requested a hazmat team due to strong fumes inside the house. A hazmat team tested the air quality and the ammonia level was at 31 parts per million, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The lethal level is 20 parts per million. Animal control officers were gathering the live animals from the home late Friday. They will be kept as evidence or taken to an animal shelter, officials told Local 6 News. Watch Local 6 News for more information about this story.
IMAGES: Photos From House Johnathon Terpstra, 61, was charged with animal cruelty, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice after Marion County authorities made the discovery at his house, which is located at 8345 SW 146th Court in Florida Highlands. The cats and some other animals were found by a sheriff's deputy at about 10:30 a.m. Friday while she was serving civil papers to the residence in connection with another matter. She said she saw the remains of a cat in the yard of the house before finding hundreds of animals inside the home. The deputy requested a hazmat team due to strong fumes inside the house. A hazmat team tested the air quality and the ammonia level was at 31 parts per million, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The lethal level is 20 parts per million. Animal control officers were gathering the live animals from the home late Friday. They will be kept as evidence or taken to an animal shelter, officials told Local 6 News. Watch Local 6 News for more information about this story.
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