‘What we walked into was something I had never experienced’: Nearly 120 cats rescued from Iroquois County apartment

IROQUOIS COUNTY – More than 100 cats were rescued from a two-bedroom apartment in Danforth. It took two days and two animal shelters to get them all out.

Cats, including pregnant ones, moms, and kittens, were all kept in carrying crates. Now, the shelters are asking for help to care for and re-home these animals.

River Valley, an animal rescue in Kankakee County, got a call from Iroquois County Animal Control to help in a sanctuary rescue of 50 cats in Danforth. The rescue said yes and spent the next two days preparing.

“We rented a van, said we’ll come down. We converted areas for them so that we would be able to take in as many as possible,” said Joey Goering, River Valley Animal Rescue volunteer.

They didn’t expect their shelter numbers to nearly double from the visit. All 118 of the cats were kept in a single two-bedroom flat.

“Kittens, mamas in kennels with their babies. They were attempting to keep them separate from the boys and the girls,” Goering said. “There were no rugs on the floor the house did not look good at all.”

But she says this wasn’t a case of owner neglect.

“I think her heart was really there, it was really difficult for her, and this was something that was way beyond her means and she got way too far into this and couldn’t let go.”

Goering says the woman was taking in and trying to care for strays.

“She had them all by name. She could tell you about them. So, she really did care about them,” Goering added. “It’s just, this was too much. She took in too many.”

River Valley was only able to take 47 of the 50 they prepared for and the next day — Iroquois County Animal Rescue took the rest.

“We had to really talk to the daughter and the mother to try to let them know that we were really doing good by the animals,” Goering added. “And we were going to take them and take good care of them.”

She says the non-profit shelter already goes through 280 pounds of litter a week and 40 cans of food per day. Now, with a total of 92 cats and more on the way, more help is needed.

Both rescues are no-kill shelters. They’re asking for items like cleaning supplies, clumping litter, cat and kitten food, and money donations for medical care.

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