Animal hoarders in the Bronx are not having a good week! On Monday a fire revealed 15 pit bulls in one apartment and then early Tuesday morning another fire led the FDNY into an apartment where an elderly woman was living with at least three dozen cats (the News says the count could be as high as 60), a dog, and not one litter box.
The fire was started when the elderly woman who lived in the first floor apartment in the St. Mary's Houses knocked over a candle. Her hoarding was no secret however. Apparently officials from the Housing Authority had been trying to evict her for at least two years (a neighbor on the 21st floor told the Post the smell often reached her apartment).
Inside the apartment workers from Animal Care and Control found at least three dead cats and two more had to be euthanized do to excessive smoke inhalation. The further into the apartment workers went the more cats, kittens and feces they found. Not to mention "a dog cowering in the corner."
"This was one of the largest number of cats in apartments that we've seen," Richard Gentles, spokesman for AC&C told the News. Because of the number of animals they are asking for contributions to help care for the brood.
Meanwhile the cat lady herself was not seriously injured and was treated for smoke inhalation.
