Police: At least 150 cats removed from Winsted home in ‘cat hoarding’ case
WINSTED, CT (WFSB) – At least 150 cats were removed from a Winsted home in what police are calling a “cat hoarding” situation.
Winchester Police Chief William Fitzgerald said cats continue to be removed from the residence.
Multiple agencies are assisting in the investigation.
Fitzgerald said the cats removed from the home are brought to Batcheller School where a veterinarian inspects them for injuries or sickness.
The cats are being brought to different locations for adoption.
According to police, they made this discovery after the owner of the cats in the house called about a sick cat.
When officers arrived they saw just how many cats there were.
“I think it’s a very unfortunate situation,” said Ken Miller of Winsted.
According to Fitzgerald, the owner started taking the cats in and things got out of hand.
“The owner stated that they were just trying to help the animals from freezing outside. One thing led to another and started feeding them. All of a sudden it got out of control,” said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald said he has never seen so many cats.
He said, “they’re in the walls. "
“Obviously with 100-150 cats, obviously there’s some issues in the house,” Fitzgerald said. “The whole purpose of this is for the safety of the people living there and the safety of the animals”
There were also two dogs found in the house.
They have been sent to get checked and then hopefully rescued.
Shelters are overwhelmed right now because of “kitten season.”
“Very few shelters that have available spaces for these cats to go into. It is going to take an amount of time, we’re not sure what that amount of time is yet,” said Joshua Steele Kelly, Winchester Town Manager.
The hope is that it will take a week or so to get the cats put in the correct facilities.
Winsted residents hope they find a home.
“I think they need a lot of love. Hopefully somebody will adopt them all,” said Chad Reeve.
“I hope they get adopted I mean that’s always I hope that there will be homes for them. I mean there’s a lot of people looking for pets. I know 150, that’s a lot, so I hope they have community outreach to have those cats placed in proper homes,” said Miller.
The town is accepting litter boxes, cat food and anything that cats like.
Winchester Town Manager Josh Kelly says the town is also looking for volunteers. He says anyone who is interested in volunteering can email townmanager@townofwinchester.org.
More information will be released in coming days, but right now police are trying to ensure the safety of these cats and the owners.
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