42 Cats Removed From Woman's Home (House full of feces)

[matcom]

:popcorn:

<snip>

Lynn Rettig was given her first kitten when she was 5, and she knew right then her life would never be the same.

"Annie" seemed almost human - so capable of love yet also independent. Rettig was smitten.

At 18, she owned three cats, a perfectly reasonable number, she says today. Then things got out of control.

By the time a city of Middleton building inspector declared her house uninhabitable due to feline filth three weeks ago, Rettig owned 40 to 45 cats. The exact number eludes her.

"It's sometimes hard to keep count," said Rettig, 48, a part-time college student who is unemployed. "They move so fast."

The Dane County Humane Society, acting under contract with Dane County, seized 42 cats and is housing them until a March 20 custody hearing. Rettig, who may face animal cruelty charges, can't imagine life without her pets.

<snip>

Unfit for habitation The stench of cat urine and feces overwhelmed authorities when they entered Rettig's home Feb. 13.

They had gone there after being contacted by Robert Rettig, Lynn Rettig's brother, who was concerned about his sister's welfare. The house was owned by their mother, who lived there until moving in October to a nursing home.

According to a police report, most of the rooms were covered with cat hair and had areas of cat feces overflowing litter boxes.

In one room, "only the portion immediately inside the swing of the bedroom door was clear (of feces)," the report stated. "The feces appeared to be at a depth of one inch to an estimated six inches against the far walls."

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=75142

[Strong Atheist]

1. Bah, that's nothing. In our area every few years there is a

story of some old lady with HUNDREDS... There was just such a story a few months ago... she had 493, with about 200 dead...

[XemaSab]

2. .

[Divameow77]

3. I think a person has to be

mentally ill to live like that, ick. I have 2 cats and if the litter box gets too dirty it drives me nuts.

[flvegan]

4. Animal "hoarding" is a mental illness.

Also called "collecting." I feel for folks that suffer from this.

[philosophie_en_rose]

5. That poor woman and the poor cats.

Hoarding animals is part of a mental disorder. I feel really bad for her, as well as the cats.

I can only imagine what it would take to clean the house.

[lovelydem]

7. yuck

yuck yuck, wow

[FuzzySlippers]

6. Big deal. My house is full of feces,

and I don't have any pets.

[meow2u3]

8. 42 cats? That's all?!

I knew some lady who hoarded 125--you heard that right, 125!-- cats and kittens when I was a kid.

She gave us two of the kittens. The other ones were too feral to handle, much less adopt. Needless to say, the house stank of cat pee and crap, so much so that I could no longer visit. And I thought my house was a mess!