Saturday, April 23, 2011

Ex-renter sought in cat hoarding at N. Philly rowhouse

By PHILLIP LUCAS

Two upstairs windows in a rowhouse where a man was hoarding sick and dead cats were briefly open last night, venting the smell of cat feces and urine along 12th Street near Jefferson in North Philadelphia.

The man, who had been renting a room in the house, will likely face animal-cruelty charges after 29 cats - 17 of which were dead - were removed from his quarters.

Officials said the man, who was in his 30s and had not been located as of last night, had been renting the room for about six years before the landlord evicted him about a month ago.

The landlord eventually noticed a smell wafting from the room after the renter was put out, and called the Pennsylvania SPCA.

When investigators entered the room yesterday, they found cat feces and urine along with a few of his personal items, and a small refrigerator and freezer where he had stored the 17 carcasses, Wendy Marano, PSPCA spokeswoman, said.

"The small room and conditions these cats were living in was unbelievable," said George Bengal, director of Humane Law Enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA. "This is definitely one of the more bizarre cases we've seen."..." More

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