Police: Man Put 18 Dead Cats In Garbage; 21 Cats Found In Home
59-Year-Old Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges
POSTED: Tuesday, November 27, 2007
UPDATED: 7:24 am EST November 28,
2007
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A man was arrested on Tuesday after he placed about 20 dead cats in a garbage can and 21 cats, including two of which were dead, were found in his home, according to Daytona Beach police.
Gerald Clayton Holst, 59, was arrested on charges of animal cruelty. He will also be issued citations for exceeding the maximum number of animals -- four -- allowed in a residence, not giving the animals rabies shots and not having a city license, police said.
According to Daytona Beach police, officers responded to 221 S. Oleander Ave. at about 2 p.m. in reference to a call regarding dead animals. An investigation revealed one dead cat and at least 18 dead cats placed in the garbage, which was taken by waste control workers, on Monday, police said.
The investigation led police to 224½ N. Hollywood, where Animal Control officers said they found 19 cats running loose and two dead cats in cages inside the home.
"We could smell (the stench) from outside, so if you can smell it from outside, you can imagine what it smelled (like) inside," an unidentifed official said.
"They say it's smelly and dirty. I just cleaned (the cats') boxes last night at 11:30 before I went to bed," Holst said.
Holst told Animal Control officers that he did not have money to take care of the sick animals, but officials said he had a large sum of money in his possession.
"They have that cat disease. They have a bad cold," Holst said as he was being taken away by police. "I love my cats. I loved every one of them. I didn't want to part with them."
Live pigeons were also taken from the residence, officials said.
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