68 cats recovered from van

I'm not sharing this article for shock value, but rather in a plea to anyone in the area, or just anyone in general anywhere, to seriously consider donating food, supplies, money to the shelter taking care of these cats. This is a lot of cats in poor shape that need help badly, it cannot be anything short of massively expensive for the workers.


Also, heed the editor's note. The pictures are hard to look at, but one in particular towards the bottom of the article is simply heart-wrenching

Editor's Note

One of the following photos, toward the bottom of the story, shows a cat whose eye has swollen out of its socket. The photo illustrates the extent of the suffering the cats suffered in the situation, but it is difficult to look at.

68 cats recovered from van

Volunteers are caring for nearly 70 cats recovered from a van in Ontario Sunday.

The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint about a bus full of neglected cats Sunday. When a deputy and sergeant arrived at the Freedom Drive address, they found a Ford E350 full of felines.

When volunteers arrived Tuesday to assist with rescue work, they found five dead cats along with the 68 living. There were only three litter boxes on the bus.

“It’s bad enough that we are cleaning one cat box for every three or four or five cats. That’s bad, but that was really horrifying,” said Lyon.

All of the cats are being treated for Giardina, a waterborne parasite. The medication will also kill any worms that might be living in the cats’ intestines.

Many of the cats have lost one eye and a few have lost both eyes due to upper respiratory infections. One small, male cat is waiting for surgery because his eye has swollen out of its socket.

I know they're saying the woman responsible can be legitimately called a hoarder psychologically, but this still makes me incredibly angry that so many kitties suffered so badly at her hands, good intentions or not

Edit: Forgot the link, thanks Domo!

a reply to: Nyiah

I have a female family member who is a hoarder. She takes care of the animals but she still creeps me out and I avoid her as much as possible.

Also here's article on how cats can make you crazy because their poo has a parasite...scary! Thankfully I'm a dog type woman but I wonder if being around cats of my ex might have exposed me to this.

www.theatlantic.com...

If I feel a sudden urge to start stocking up on kittens I'll let everyone know...

So while I'm upset with people that do this, I also recognize they must have a real problem mentally. I know that I could easily become a crazy dog guy. Love dogs, want to save all of them. One screw loosened just enough and BAM! House full of dogs.

I'm mad at her actions, but, while difficult, remember that sometimes people are just nuts.

a reply to: Domo1

Thanks for that. By the time I was done C & P'ing paragraphs for the OP, I must have forgotten to make sure I had the link in there. Edited it in up there.

Oh man...this breaks my heart....I wish I could save them all....I love cats. ...but I am not near there..

Thanks for doing this OP. Perhaps some member with a big heart in the area will be able to go pick one of these little guys up and give it a home it deserves.

It doesn't matter what kind of mental issues the person has, a family member, friend or neighbor had to have known what was going on. The smell alone must have been unbearable. How was this not caught sooner??????