PIQUA — Nearly 40 cats, some of who were on the brink of death, were rescued from a home in Miami County.
Piqua police executed a search warrant at a home after a complaint of a large number of cats living in “deplorable conditions,” according to the Miami County Animal Shelter.
>> RELATED: Area animal shelter seeking donations after 39 cats rescued from Piqua home
“Nothing prepares you for the smell,” said Abigail Dautherty, an animal control officer at Miami County Animal Shelter.
Dautherty is the one who filed a search warrant after getting a tip about the home.
“Based on some of the pictures, I immediately reached out to my prosecutor,” she said.
After walking in, she said these were the worst conditions she has ever seen.
“There were several different kinds of bugs crawling all over the walls and all the surfaces over the couch cushions,” Dautherty said.
The conditions were so bad Dautherty says all the animals need treatment.
Two of them were taken to the hospital where surgery needs to happen. One cat had an infected uterus and another one is expected to lose one of its eyes, she said.
News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott knocked on the door of the home and asked the owners why they had 39 cats living with them.
“A lot of them were strays on our porch feeding them and it was cold,” the owner said.
The shelter says the living conditions were just too bad for them to stay.
The cats will all soon be available for adoption.
“All of them are extremely friendly. They were even purring,” Dautherty said.
This is all thanks to the woman who decided it was important to email the shelter.
“We have to check up on every complaint we get because the one time we don’t cats could be dying,” Dautherty said.
With so many cats coming to the shelter at once, they are asking for help with donations.
Those interested in donations can be dropped off items at their shelter at 1110 North County Road 25A or view their Amazon wish list here.