FARGO – In one of the largest cases of animal hoarding in recent history, police have removed 68 cats from a south Fargo home, and the total number of animals is expected to top 100, city police say.
Authorities learned of the case about three weeks ago after a 911 misdial brought police to the gray, two-story house at Seventh Avenue and 11th Street South, and officers spotted a number of cats around the residence, Lt. Joel Vettel said.
Inside, officers discovered the throng of animals, some hiding under furniture, in closets and within walls. “There was a pretty horrific smell,” Vettel said.
The homeowner, a woman whose name was not released, has been cooperating with police as they use traps to catch the cats, some of which had medical problems and were euthanized. Others were put up for adoption, but some are too wild to be pets, he said.
“They don’t have the proper temperament for many families,” Vettel said of the cats. “The vast majority have not found homes.”
Logan Macrae, 27, has lived across the street from the house for more than a year. He’s noticed cats roaming the neighborhood in packs, as well as an odor emanating from the house.
“It smells terrible,” he said. “On certain days, when it’s balmy enough and the wind’s going in the right direction, you can smell it from, like, three blocks away.”
On Wednesday, the undeniable smell of cat urine and feces could be detected from the sidewalk in front of the house, which is obscured by trees and overgrown bushes. The stench on the front porch was almost overwhelming.
Through a picture window, a handful of cats could be seen in a disordered front room. A light was on, but no one answered the door. An animal trap sat empty on the back deck.
Vettel said the owner, who lives alone, continues to reside in the house. Neighbors told The Forum that they had never seen her.
“I think she kind of sticks to herself a little bit,” Macrae said.
Vettel said police have found what appeared to be cat remains in the house. He said charges against the woman are possible, but that so far, authorities have not taken steps in that direction.
“Our first priority is to get the animals removed,” he said.
The lieutenant said police believe the woman was not purposefully trying to harm the cats and that she was attempting to provide them with food and water.
“She now recognizes that things just got out of control,” he said. “I don’t think she had bad intentions.”
The woman could be held responsible for the cost of dealing with the cats, a weeks-long process that has taxed local resources, he said.
Given the condition of the house and the psychological nature of animal hoarding, police are concerned about the woman’s physical and mental health.
“We want to be conscious of her well-being,” Vettel said. “We’re dealing with somebody that obviously got themselves in relatively deep into a situation.”