Dead Cats Packed In Freezer Of Feces-Filled Home
POSTED: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
UPDATED: 6:43 am EDT August 18,
2005
Sheriff's deputies in Sumter County, Fla., removed 80 sick cats and another 12 dead cats packed in a freezer in a home filled with piles of feces, according to deputies.
Humane Society and Animal Control officers said an elderly Sumterville couple's home located on county Road 543A was overrun with cats and kittens.
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Local 6 News reported that the smell from the cats reached down the street from the couple's house."We got the local fire department to bring some exhaust fans for us to try to ventilate the house were we could breath," Sumter County animal control officer John Hezlep said. "We had to have masks on to go into the house."Animal control says the floors of the home were covered with feces and urine, where maggots and flies hovered thickly," Local 6 News reporter Jessica Sanchez said. "They also made a gruesome discovery in the freezer where the bodies of nearly a dozen cats were found."The couple said they were waiting to bury the cats.Police said pools were used as litter boxes."They went as far as to buy wading pools to put cat litter in," Hezlep said. "The cats were using them for litter boxes. A lot of them have feline leukemia.""This is an elderly couple and I think they were doing the best that they can," Sumter County sheriff's Lt. Bobby Caruthers said. "I just think they got in over their heads."Sumter County investigators said there was no criminal intent of animal cruelty. The Sheriff's Office has not yet decided whether the couple will face animal cruelty charges.Many of the cats found in the couple's home will have to be euthanized, Local 6 News reported.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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SLIDESHOW: Images From Story IMAGES: More strange images on Local6.com NEW MOST POPULAR: House Of FedEx Furniture MOST POPULAR: Ice Cream Stick Ship Local 6 News reported that the smell from the cats reached down the street from the couple's house."We got the local fire department to bring some exhaust fans for us to try to ventilate the house were we could breath," Sumter County animal control officer John Hezlep said. "We had to have masks on to go into the house."Animal control says the floors of the home were covered with feces and urine, where maggots and flies hovered thickly," Local 6 News reporter Jessica Sanchez said. "They also made a gruesome discovery in the freezer where the bodies of nearly a dozen cats were found."The couple said they were waiting to bury the cats.Police said pools were used as litter boxes."They went as far as to buy wading pools to put cat litter in," Hezlep said. "The cats were using them for litter boxes. A lot of them have feline leukemia.""This is an elderly couple and I think they were doing the best that they can," Sumter County sheriff's Lt. Bobby Caruthers said. "I just think they got in over their heads."Sumter County investigators said there was no criminal intent of animal cruelty. The Sheriff's Office has not yet decided whether the couple will face animal cruelty charges.Many of the cats found in the couple's home will have to be euthanized, Local 6 News reported.Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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