Muldersdrift cat hoarder gives a whole new meaning to the term crazy cat lady
"If only the stench of the house could be captured. A whiff of the pungent smell would tell a tale of suffering and pain."
On January 27, the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA obtained a warrant and confiscated over 90 cats from a cat “sanctuary” in Muldersdrift.
The SPCA asked the public on their Facebook page, “What possesses a person to ‘hoard’ innocent cats in such disgusting filthy conditions?”
As stated in the post, a cat is an inherently clean creature.
“When the SPCA inspectors entered the house, they were horrified to find a number of cats confined in each of the rooms,” Mandy Cattanach, manager at the Roodepoort/ Krugersdorp SPCA, explained.
When the SPCA inspectors arrived they found that all the windows in the houses were tightly shut, cat litter trays were overflowing with faeces and urine, cat faeces and urine in corners of the rooms and splattered nasal mucous from the cats’ sneezing on the walls and counters.
The ammonia stench in the house was overpowering, forcing inspectors to dash outside for a breath of fresh air.
“We discovered cats hiding in and under kitchen cabinets, couches, bed bases, drawers, TV cabinet drawers full of cat faeces, behind an old fridge, and even on top of kitchen cabinets!” Cattanach elaborated.
Adult cats were kept in filthy cages in the house. ‘Nasty fluff bunnies’, which are made up of a combination of cat fur, dog fur, dirt, and other disgusting rubbish rolled together over time, were in every corner and under every piece of furniture.
“If only the stench of the house could be captured. A whiff of the pungent smell would tell a tale of suffering and pain. The house was only the beginning of the shock and disgust,” Cattanach continued.
Wire enclosures were found at the bottom of the plot. In these enclosures they found many, many more cats living in their own waste, filth and squalor.
According to the SPCA, the enclosure was closed in with thick plastic sheeting which turned the enclosure into a sauna. The temperature inside the one enclosure reached 33 degrees.
Blankets and bedding were drenched in months of cat fur, vomit, faeces, and urine. Domestic cats were thrown in with feral cats, resulting in bullying and cat fights. The timid, docile cats hid behind wooden boxes, under rotten wooden pallets, and inside filthy, dark kennels.
Two feral cats were kept in small cages with no litter trays and filthy bedding. When they were taken out of their filthy hiding boxes, they urinated nonstop for at least half a minute, and because there were no litter trays available, they held their bladders in. These terrified cats had been kept in these dreadful conditions for months.
Every cat that was removed from the property reeked of rancid ammonia.
None of the cats had groomed themselves, as if they had given up trying to clean themselves because it was a losing battle. Bags of filthy old cat litter were piled next to the enclosure, and filthy old cat litter was simply thrown in the veld next to the enclosure.
“Cats that died in this hell-hole were simply burned in a fire pit.
“There were three flea-infested dogs on the property too. One very ‘old man’ was so infested with fleas that he had lost clumps of fur from scratching all the time,” she added.
Not only were the fleas causing severe irritation, but his hind legs also had major medical issues that were causing additional pain and suffering.
Anyone who witnesses an animal suffer and die on a daily basis should never be allowed to have another animal in their care again.
According to the SPCA, the cats have been examined by a veterinarian and are being treated. The veterinarian confirmed highly contagious feline diseases such as Feline Aids, Leukaemia, snuffles, gum diseases, ear mites, and skin problems.
The “sanctuary’s” owner will face charges under the Animals Protection Act. Innocent animals have been harmed as a result of financial greed and carelessness. All cats and the dog will be cared for by the SPCA until the case is heard in court, which could take two or four years.
READ MORE: Well-known SPCA Senior Inspector of 25 years steps down after performing heroic act
“We are pleading with all cat lovers to donate cat litter, high-quality cat food, cat beds, brushes, cat jungle gyms, toys, cat nip to calm them down, litter trays, and other feline necessities,” Cattanach explained.
At the time of going to press the Northsider could not print the name of the sanctuary as this is an ongoing investigation by the SPCA.
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