When officials at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey received a call about 100 cats living in one home, they decided to help and assembled a team to go out to the residence. When the crew arrived to the property on June 26, they expected to see a lot of cats, but nothing could have prepared them for how many they found.
The elderly couple owned the property where the cats were housed. When the woman died about a year ago, her husband got burdened with the responsibility of caring for all of the cats, and the situation soon worsened to the point that he had no option but to seek assistance.
Kathleen Schatzmann, senior vice president/COO of St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, told The Dodo, “The conditions were really severe.” “Not only was the rеscuе taking place amid a scorching heat wave, but the site also lacked electricity and running water, and many of the structures were uninhabitable.”
As the rеscuеrs explored the site, cats began to appear from seemingly nowhere, and they rapidly concluded there were far more than 100 cats living there. The rеscuе has taken in 187 animals so far, and the number continues to rise.
“Over the last four weeks, the fantastic personnel from St. Hubert’s has been on site nearly day and night setting and monitoring traps,” Schatzmann said. “The cats are still coming in.” We’re dedicated to bringing in every cat, and we’ll be checking in on the site over the following six months.”
When the cats came to the sanctuary, they were mostly dehydrated and suffering from gastrointestinal problems, parasites, and flea dermatitis. Entropion is a hereditary diseаsе in which a piece of the eyelid is inverted or curled inward against the eyeball in a few of the cats. Fortunately, the cats were in better shape than the rеscuеrs had anticipated, and the majority of them swiftly recovered.
Staff at the rеscuе were uncertain how the cats would adjust to their new lives after living in such an environment, but amazingly, the majority of the 187 animals are thriving.
“It’s incredible to see where they came from and where they are today,” Schatzmann added. “Within the first few days of being at our facility, several of the cats began to engage in more normal activities likе as grooming, using litter boxes, and even playing with toys.” We’ve also included vertical space for them to climb and hide, as well as brushes and scratchers, aromatherapy, and classical music piped in. You’d never guess there were so many cats at the facility since it’s so calm and quiet!”
Even though the cats are now safe, the rеscuе is asking everyone to remember that animal hoarders have a nearly 100% risk of doing it again, according to St. Hubert’s, and that although it’s vital to assist the animals, it’s equally crucial to help the people who placed them there in the first place.
“It’s past time to start addressing the human health component – both physical and mental,” Schatzmann added. “Collaboration between animal control, social assistance organizations, and health and housing agencies is critical.” If we want to stop the pattern, we must enlist the help of many organizations, especially those that specialize in psychiatric diagnosis and therapy, to intervene sooner and correct the trajectory. We hope that people will remember to’say something if you see anything,’ so that action may be taken to aid both humans and animals.”
While the bulk of the cats are thriving, they are all adjusting to their new lives at various speeds. They’ll all be available for adơрtion at some point, but some will be available sooner than others depending on when each cat is ready. The majority of the cats will be adơрted into households, but others may need to live in barns or on farms.
St. Hubert’s will have an adơрtion event for the cats that are ready on Friday, and they are hoping that all 187 kitties will find loving permanent homes very soon.
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