YUMA, Ariz.-
Following the animal cruelty case involving 77-year-old Jeanne Pryor, the 41 cats and two dogs she had living in her home were taken to the Humane Society of Yuma the day she was arrested. Employee’s say it’s one of the largest amounts of animals they have received at one time.
The executive director for HSOY Annette Lagunas says every cat was in very poor health, “All the kitties that came in yesterday had ear mites and they all had severe upper respiratory infections so they are pretty sickly.” The animals were also malnourished and had matted fur. “The living conditions these kitties were in were terrible. They were terrible conditions,” says Lagunas.
HSOY says they separated the cats into different rooms to help rehabilitate the animals. Lagunas says, “There are less cats in rooms together so they are able to breathe a little bit easier.”
This is not the first time a large amount of animals have been brought into the Humane Society at one time. “Several years ago we had a case where it was 50 plus cats that were brought into the facility,” says Lagunas. “Then just two months ago we received another large amount of kitties that came into the shelter that were in the same sort of conditions.” She says it’s because of people hoarding animals who believe they are doing the right thing. “They just have this compassion for the lives of the animals and they take it to another step and they get to the point where they can no longer care for these cats anymore or dogs whatever it may be,” says Lagunas. “They just go the opposite direction so rather than love and caring for them, they just go over their head.”
It will be weeks before the cats will be healthy enough to be possibly be adopted. The total amount of cats HSOY is about 130.