SPCA prosecutes woman in 'worst case' of animal hoarding, 32 cats seized

Thursday, 30 May 2019

A total of 32 cats were seized by SPCA and 18 had to be euthanised because of ill health.

A woman has been prosecuted by the SPCA after 32 cats were found living in squalid conditions.

SPCA said inspectors visited a property owned by Jane Whitworth in 2016 following a complaint.

The south Auckland property was littered in debris, SPCA said.

Inspectors arrived to find the south Auckland house 'heavily littered in debris' and a large number of cat litter bags piled outside the front door.

Multiple enclosures with cats in them were spread around the house and at least 10 cats had obvious signs of sickness.

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Many were thin and their grooming was poor, while some cats had eyes missing, eye and nasal discharge, difficulty breathing and they were unsociable, SPCA said.

'When approached, the cats retreated in a frantic manner.'

The inspectors continued to investigate the property, finding more enclosures housing multiple cats that had 'littered in soiled furniture and bedding, torn-up newspaper, and faeces'.

The kitchen and living areas were also covered in faeces, SPCA said.

Inspectors left a notice of entry and requested the owner to contact them.

Whitworth made contact, admitted it was her property and said the cats were hers, but she said she lived in central Auckland and came daily to feed and water them.

SPCA said she admitted she had failed to do any cleaning and the environment was not acceptable for the cats to live in.

She told SPCA some of the cats were being treated for cat flu and she agreed to start cleaning ahead of another inspection two weeks later.

When the inspectors returned, they found the property in the same state.

'While some newspaper scraps had been cleaned from the outdoor cabin floors, faeces and urine remained,' SPCA said.

The inspectors returned a week later with a vet to examine the cats.

'The defendant was at the property and became volatile, saying she did not want the cats removed, as they had been living at the residence their whole lives,' SPCA said.

'She declined surrendering ownership of them to SPCA. The inspector told her that the inspection would proceed, at which point she left the property.'

Following this, a search warrant was executed by the SPCA and police.

'Surfaces inside the house were covered in mold, defecation, mud, old cat litter and soiled materials. Cats were again found to be living in filthy conditions both inside the house and in the outdoor enclosures.'

A total of 32 cats were seized by SPCA and taken to its veterinary hospital.

'The majority of these health issues caused continual pain and suffering due to the lack of medical treatment needed,' the SPCA vet said.

'The environment itself would have made it additionally difficult for any cat to remain healthy.'

Eighteen of the cats were euthanised because of their severe level of ill health and suffering.

SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said the case was one of the worst cases of animal hoarding it had prosecuted.

'These cats were living in filthy conditions which made them extremely unwell. There was no way to effectively administer the critical medication they needed, let alone let them have a healthy, good life,' Midgen said.

'Thankfully, under the watchful eye of the SPCA team, the cats who recovered from their illnesses were soon adopted into loving families.'

Whitworth was sentenced to 12 months' supervision, received a fine of $5000 and was disqualified from owning cats for five years in the Manukau District Court on Wednesday.

She also had to pay SPCA just under $4,500.