A man who moved out of his foreclosed home but left behind his cats was charged with three counts of animal cruelty Friday.
Neighbors contacted town officials and various media outlets last week, claiming an empty house at 34 Knorr Ave. was holding some 30 cats.
The house is in foreclosure and the occupants — Robert and Nicole Davis — are in the eviction process. They moved out, but left the cats behind.
Robert Davis said he has been returning to the house every evening to provide the cats with food and water. He also said he had trouble placing his cats in animal shelters.
Click the video to hear what Davis had to say.
However, the house is in poor condition. The flea situation is so prominent, a newspaper photographer attempting to photograph the house from the yard walked away with a leg full of bites.
The obvious smell of urine can be detected when approaching the house.
The conditions raised concerns among local animal control officers, who, after more than a week of negotiations, convinced Davis to allow them to take the cats.
Everyone met at 10 a.m. Friday, at which time animal control officers were able to get three cats — one died later in the day, according to the Connecticut Post.
However, authorities were expecting to take away 10 cats from the Davis house.
What happened to the other cats?
Davis said he took four cats out of the house Thursday night and brought them to a “private sanctuary,” which he would not name.
Animal control officers wanted to enter the house to check for more animals, but couldn’t, because Davis had set off a “flea bomb” inside the house about 30 minutes before authorities arrived.
Seymour Animal Control Officer Joseph LaRovera said authorities — wearing hazmat suits — were allowed into the house at about 12 p.m.
Inside, they found a massive flea infestation and fecal matter that was probably a year old, LaRovera said.
The condition of the rescued cats prompted the charges, LaRovera said. Davis’ wife, Nicole, was not charged.
Davis was issued a summons to appear in court at a later date.
“There is no law against a guy keeping a dirty house. If the cats are dead or sick, it’s another story,” LaRovera said.
The town’s health department has also been notified of the conditions inside the house.
At some point there were 50 cats inside the house, but Davis insisted the majority were put up for adoption.
Neighbor Karen Pelechacz isn’t convinced.
“I know for sure there were more cats, Pelechacz said, holding back tears. “I just don’t know what happened to them.”
