Dead and dying cats found at home of ‘rescuer’

Days ago, dozens of dead and dying cats were rescued from a Pennsylvania non-profit cat rescue agency. According to a release from the Huntingdon County Humane Society (HCHS), over the Labor Day weekend more than 60 cats were rescued from the Rose Cottage Cat Sanctuary.

HCHS board president Sandee Warsing, a long-time veterinary technician, described the deplorable conditions:

The house is unliveable between the urine, the feces and the flies, maggots and fleas. As soon as you pulled up in front of it, the smell hit you. Those poor cats had been breathing that for months or even years.

According to the animal welfare agency, a total of 38 felines were removed from a van, and 22 from the residence. Three of the animals within the van were found deceased and in a state of decomposition and one cat was discovered deceased in the residence. Nearly two dozen cats were in such poor health that a veterinarian deemed euthanization as the only humane course of action.

Warsing described the squalor which left many of the cats in pitiful physical condition:

“We had to gear up with masks, gloves and boots and had to take frequent trips back outside to get fresh air as we worked. The house had no running water and there were only a few rooms with electricity. There were cats in the basement, first floor, second floor and in the attic. All were malnourished, dehydrated, anemic and had severe respiratory issues. They had chemical burns on their skin from the urine and feces.”

Sandy Hess, HCHS treasurer and a veterinary technician, describes what the cats endured after being confined inside of a van:

When they loaded the van onto the flatbed, we observed large piles of maggots on the pavement under it and they were falling from the crevices of the doors,” Hess said. “When we started removing the cats, feces covered almost all of the interior surfaces of the van and it was soaked in urine. Some of the cats were in crates. The only food was in a bag with maggots all through it and there were no litter boxes or water.”

Donations can be made to the Humane Society caring for the surviving cats at this link to the agency’s Facebook page.

(Image via Facebook)

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