Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Neighbors Say There's a Cat Hoarder In Town

by: Amanda Evans

EFFINGHAM- Neighbors in Effingham County say a cat hoarder is living on their street. Dozens of cats are stretched out across a back yard on Nees Lane in Effingham.

Effingham County animal control says it doesn't have rules saying how many cats a person can have. But neighbors that live near by say they can't take it anymore.

"The smell is just absolutely cat debris and depending on which way the wind is blowing it will affect all of the adjoining neighbors," said neighbor, Janet Ballard.

Houses surround all sides of this 7 foot tall privacy fence. Even when neighbors can't see what's inside. They know what's there. Neighbors started snapping these pictures two years ago to prove their point They've counted more than 1-hundred cats living inside and out.

"I'm concerned for the health of our children and the neighborhood children," said Jami Sidwell..."
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The Effingham animal control says the cat owner isn't breaking any laws because the cats seem to be taken care of. But neighbors say there's more to the story, "We see diseased cats dying out here," said Ballard.

"There are a lot of cat lovers out there but as a cat lover you should all know this is wrong," said Sidwell.

WCIA-3 tried to contact the cat owner but none of our calls have been returned. The neighbors want them convicted of cat hoarding. Animal control says they can't because hoarding by definition means they can't take care of their animals.