Media365
At least 28 cats were found dead and another 100 were rescued from a Bohemia home in New York after neighbours reported a strong, unpleasant odour emanating from the property. The house, once worth $7,25,000 (approx. Rs 6 crore), has now been declared unfit to live in.
The Bohemia Fire Department reached the property for investigation when they saw dozens of cats roaming freely, living in filthy and overcrowded conditions. Upon investigation, the BFD found about two dozen dead cats stuffed inside the freezer and the bodies of baby kittens in old pet boxes, reported The NY Post.
They also said the state of the house was so filthy that one of the rescue workers threw up after going inside and had to be taken to the emergency room. Roy Gross, the chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, said the rescued cats were in poor health.
John Debacker, head of Long Island Cat and Kitten Solutions, said, “Someone who was in there yesterday started vomiting and had to be taken to the hospital.”
Tammy Gatto, a volunteer with Long Island Cat and Kitten Solutions, said, “It was crazy. There had to be like, a hundred Chewy boxes in the entire house. They were scattered in every room, and there were little bodies, dead bodies, inside.”
Mr Gross said that over 50 cats were immediately taken to the vets; three had to be euthanised last night because they were very sick. He said, “We were called in and we found 28 dead cats, over 50 cats alive. Those cats are right now with volunteer veterinarians, and they have a long road ahead of recovery. They’re all very sick – three of the cats had to be euthanized last night,” he added.
Ms Gatto said that she had to take five breaks in her two-and-a-half hours spent in the house. Even though they were wearing hazmat suits and had respirators on, the smell was too much to handle, she said.
Rescue workers found frightened kittens attempting to escape through the windows. When they caught them, many of the workers ended up with scratches.
The neighbours told the authorities that the owner of the house, identified as Steven Glantz, 75, had been feeding stray cats in his backyard for years who were eventually taken inside. But after his wife died a few years ago, he felt alone and couldn’t take care of the felines.
With help from the Town of Islip Animal Shelter, the cats are being kept and cared for in the mobile clinic run by the animal rescue group. The SPCA is looking for $10,000 (approx. 8.2 lakh) in donations to help in the treatment of sick cats.
