RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Hundreds of cats and kittens were rescued from a hoarding situation in Texas. On Wednesday, a Wake County shelter took some of those animals in.
It comes just one week after 250 animals were rescued from a home in Cary.
Two hundred cats and 10 dogs were all rescued from a tiny home in Texas. Authorities say the cats were stacked in crates, had no clean water, and desperately needed medical assistance.
Last week, the humane society reached out to safe haven for cats in Raleigh.
“They asked us if we could possibly make space in four days for 30 cats from Texas,” said Pam Miller, founder and president of SAFE Haven for Cats.
Miller quickly put the word out to the community. She said they were able to get 28 cats adopted this weekend to make space for the Texas cats. The cats arrived Wednesday morning in a van.
“They drove all night long,” said Miller.
Miller said she’s had to rescue pets from hoarding situations more than once in her career.
“It is a mental illness,” Miller explained. “They might start with a few animals and then a few more and a few more and they’re oftentimes not just hoarding animals. They’re hoarding other things too. Eventually, they lose complete touch with the reality of what’s happening to the animals.”
She said these cats were living in unsanitary conditions with no medical care and a lot of them weren’t fixed, so several of those cats are pregnant. It’ll cost them about $500 for each cat’s medical care.
“If the humane organizations don’t step in, a lot of times those animals will lose their lives,” said Miller. “So, it’s also good when the no-kill organizations, like SAFE Haven is considered, step in because we have a little more time in order to get these guys well.”
For anyone interested in taking home any of the 30 cats, they’ll be available for adoption in the next two to three weeks.
