The Columbia-Marion County Animal Shelter liberated 18 felines from a home Thursday at 1221 Barnes Ave.
The owner’s sister visited the shelter and informed Director Brittney Yates the owner would be gone for several months and the cats needed a new home.
“I go over there pretty regularly to see if (the owner) is OK, has enough food for the cats and make sure the cats are looking OK. (Thursday) was the first day I actually found out about the quantity of cats she had inside also,” Yates said. “She had never invited me into her house, and today I saw why.”
Yates, along with volunteer Katie Richardson, climbed into small areas in the attic, behind appliances and under the porch to rescue the felines. The shelter’s recently purchased and customized truck was put to good use with Yates and Richardson utilizing the motorized lift to boost the six kennels into the bed of the truck.
Some other cats had to be left at the house because there was not enough room at the animal shelter for them all.
Yates said the rescued kittens were taken to the veterinarian and given medicine, and after she explained to the vet the entire situation she was given extra medicine for the older rescues. Within hours, the felines’ behavior and health began to improve, and they are now on the fast track to finding their new forever homes.
“Since they’ve been here, every one of them has been great. They are super friendly, and these are very adoptable cats,” Yates said.
Yates said it feels great knowing the cats will be taken care of going forward.
“Now I don’t have to worry about them,” she said. “I feel bad I didn’t know about the situation inside before now, but all her cats were pretty well taken care of. She was just overrun with way too many. When you get a cat population like that, disease and infection spreads through them really fast. But it feels really good knowing they’re adoptable now.”
Pictured Above: Cats are seen Thursday afternoon after being rescued from a home at 1221 Barnes Ave. Eighteen of the felines were taken from the residence by city animal shelter officials after the owner’s sister alerted them. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
