200 Dead Cats Found in N.J. Woman's Home

Yahoo/AP ^ | 5/23/05

[Clemenza]

A woman who founded a "no-kill" animal shelter was charged with health code and animal welfare violations after 200 dead cats were discovered rotting in garbage bags in her backyard.

Marlene Kess, who has built a reputation in Manhattan as a caretaker of homeless and dying cats, had 48 cats inside her house, including 38 in one room, authorities said.

Out back, 200 vermin-infested cat corpses were stuffed into garbage bags and apparently were going to be buried in a large hole that had recently been dug, said Sgt. Joseph Bierman of the state's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The cats were discovered after neighbors complained about the stench.

"Oh my God, it was awful," said Michael Fowler of the Associated Humane Societies. "The smell was horrible."

Kess, 56, is the founder and executive director of Kitty-Kind, which runs one of New York City's few no-kill shelters.

She said the cats died of natural causes. State SPCA spokesman Matt Stanton told The Star-Ledger of Newark an investigation into the death of the cats is "ongoing."

A longtime resident of Greenwich Village, Kess moved to East Orange in July.

"I take very good care of them," Kess told reporters Friday. "People who know me know there's no cruelty involved."

Kess was cited for health code violations, including keeping an unlawful number of animals, harboring dead animals and causing an environmental hazard with the corpses. The SPCA, which enforces the state's animal cruelty laws, charged Kess with 38 counts of failing to properly shelter cats.

Authorities are allowing Kess to keep the 48 cats in her home because she promised to separate the sick animals from the healthy ones, Bierman said.

[billorites]

[Sloth]

I'm reminded of a joke with the punchline, "a tragedy."

[Finger Monkey]

cats are varmints

I think you are chumming, but just in case:

[USCG SimTech]

Although the majority of animal hoarders are older women, men are also hoarders when it comes to just about everything else. It is a mental illness and is said to have started at childhood. Besides animals, people wll hoard newspapers, magazines, MacDonalds bags, styrofoam, things they pick up in the trash, etc. until it fills their homes, garages, and basements. They are very similar to the bag people on the streets. The only difference is they have a home.

Is there some org that I can join whereby if I begin this form of behavior I'm immediately dragged into field and executed... please?

[FormerACLUmember]

Typical PETA whacko. They are all the same.

[andyandval]

:o)

[theFIRMbss]

>meow!

112. The Hidden Tiger

gs: Ronnie Barker (Cheshire) Lyndon Brook (Dr. Manx) John Phillips (Nesbit) Michael Forrest (Peters) Stanley Meadows (Erskine) Jack Gwillim (Sir David Harper) Frederick Treves (Dawson) Brian Haines (Samuel Jones) John Moore (Williams) Reg Pritchard (Bellamy) Gabrielle Drake (Angora)

The mauling to death of several members of the committee of PURRR (the Philanthropic Union for the Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats) exposes Steed and Emma to a diabolical scheme to take over the entire country.

b: 04-Mar-1967 w: Philip Levene d: Sidney Hayers

[Froufrou]

FNL - Hi again. I think you are correct about the mental condition, but I think it may be a variation of OCD. People make the mistake of thinking obsessives are just horrific hand-washers. It has really different manifestations. I know someone who claims to be claustrophobic and yet fills the space around them with so much cr@p they can barely navigate the space in which they live.

[Lady Jag]

Sad. She probably ran low on donations and got stuck between a rock and hard place.

[Centurion2000]

Fluffy is pleased ....

And Moses Kitty screams "LET MY PEOPLE GO !!"

[xJones]

Writing in Haku, taking off from an article concerning 200 dead cats in a back yard....was it really worth the effort?:)

[fatnotlazy]

Hi, Frou!

You're probably right about the illness being some form of OCD. I know from what little I've read on the subject is that it seems to be somewhat poorly understood. As I said, the animal hoarders do tend to start off with seemingly good intentions (and they really believe they are doing something good), but then it just gets out of hand. It's unfortunate, but counseling and other treatment may help.

[mmercier]

>> Doesn't look like a "no-kill" shelter to me...

In fact, "no kill" shelters get feral or old house cats, many of them diseased. They are segregated, evaluated and dealt with in whatever manner necessary; none are put down, all eventually see a vet (paid through Strays In Need}. Usually the healthy young ones are put out by their original owners and retrieved years later in traps as aging feral. I have trapped cats for years with my mother.

I have seen this my whole life, every year I bury several kittens, several old feral that just die, and several extremely old house cats that are put down as a last resort (when their kidneys fail usu.). It is a sad business, and I can see how this woman in such a congested urban area ended up in this situation.

There is no excuse for hundreds of dead anything in any residential area, regardless of the motivation or intention behind the fact.

[RichInOC]

That's not how you herd cats.

[flada]

She said the cats died of natural causes.

I guess starvation is completely natural.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I have two relatives who have exhibited animal hoarding, although there aren't any dead ones stashed anywhere. It's been really sad .. both are elderly women living alone. One has children, the other doesn't, and the children have tried talking, cleaning, etc.

[reg45]

If they starved to death, then she technically didn't eeally "kill" the cats . . .

The Michael Schaivo Animal Shelter.

[tutstar]

I get it!

[fatnotlazy]

I'm sorry for your relatives. And it's tough for family members to get the relatives to someone who can help.

A neighbor came very close to this situation. At one point, she had something like 40 cats. I believe someone got her to seek some help before it all got out of hand. I know she still goes for some sort of counseling or therapy. But she's now down to 8 cats (which she can manage since she has a large house and the financial means)...the rest I believe were sent to shelters. She does from time to time trap some wild ones, take them to a vet and have them spayed/neutered, but she doesn't keep them. At least now, she doesn't have a house full of cats.

Your relatives' loneliness may be something contributing to this. Seems to me that most hoarders are alone. Like I said, I don't know if anyone knows for sure what causes this...perhaps there are a myriad of causes...who knows?

[reagan_fanatic]