About 100 neglected cats were rescued from a urine-soaked, filth-filled home on Long Island whose owner may have sold the cats online for thousands of dollars, authorities said Wednesday.
Law enforcement officers found more than eight dozen matted Maine Coon cats covered in dirt and fleas Tuesday morning after an anonymous tip pointed them to the home in West Islip, according to the SPCA of Suffolk County.
“The conditions inside the home were deplorable,” said SPCA Chief Roy Gross. “From the outside you would never know what happened behind those closed doors.”
He said the disgusting smell coming from the house was “overwhelming” with cat urine and feces, as well as piles of trash covering the floors.
The cats were also underweight and suffered from open sores, Gross said.
The rescue operation lasted almost 24 hours, starting early on Tuesday and not ending until around 3am the next day.
Grace Etzelsberger, 66, was charged Tuesday with animal neglect, authorities said.
Gross said investigators are also looking into whether Etzelsberger, a cat breeder for more than two decades, was properly licensed. Her website, Graro Maine Coons Cattery, and her social media accounts have been destroyed since the raid.
But she was actively selling cats just one day before authorities raided her home, her website showed before it was shut down.
Her home has also since been condemned and deemed uninhabitable by the City of Islip Fire Marshal, the SPCA said.
Authorities are expected to still monitor the house to ensure every cat is taken to safety in case any cats have been hiding in various nooks and crannies.
The recovered cats were seen by veterinarians and put up for adoption with the help of rescue groups on Long Island, Gross said.
Neighbors said Wednesday they were shocked by the gross discovery.
“That can’t be healthy for anyone,” Zach Siano joked to The Post. “What if a cat attacked me? There are hundreds of them!”
