In a bizarre case that is still unraveling in the California town of Seaside, workers with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) discovered more than a hundred dead kittens and cats on two adjoining properties this past Tuesday.
The SPCA had been alerted to the harrowing scene by the company that manages the properties. Upon finding that the situation was more complicated than a standard neglect and abuse case, the SPCA workers called California authorities, who then conducted a raid on the property. Once the final count was tallied, 113 dead and 51 living cats had been recorded. Of those dead, many were newborn or small kittens that had been wrapped in towels and placed in boxes and containers.
Of the live cats, some had apparently been moved from one property to the other and locked inside two rooms of the home with the resident cats. Many were infested with parasites and were suffering from other severe health conditions, as well as being underfed and living in filth. Five of the living cats were pregnant; none of the living cats were kittens.
In addition to the bodies of both dead and live cats, 40-50 boxes of cremation ashes were found, apparently packaged by professionals, with the names of the cats and dates of death on the boxes.
The names of the properties’ residents have not been released yet, but one resident was present at the time of the raid. The resident could not confirm the actual number of cats that had been locked into two of the rooms in the house, so officers had to carefully search the home to be sure they had rescued all of the cats.
It is believed that some of the cats were taken from the neighborhood. Local authorities are urging community members who have lost a cat to get in touch with them.
Image: Unrelated rescue cat
Photo credit: Dean Thorpe, Aspex Design / via Flickr