NEW BEDFORD, Mass.—New Bedford police said a family was living in one of the worst cases of squalor they’ve ever seen.
Investigators went to the house Tuesday for a report of cats that might be in tough shape.
Lt. Jeffrey Silva said that was an understatement.
“The stench was absolutely horrendous. We couldn’t even go into it without putting on special hazardous-materials suits,“ Silva said. “It’s really like something out of the movies. We’ve never seen anything like this.“
Police were barely prepared for what they found: 13 cats—two of them dead—and floors covered in waste.
“It’s amazing that anybody or anything could live in there,“ Silva said.
The house apparently did not have working toilets.
“Very sad situation,“ Silva said. “Not only were there 11 cats alive that we had to take out of there as well as two skeletal remains of cats, but three people were living in there. A couple in their 50s and their adult son were living in a house that was in just utter squalor. Human and animal feces three feet high, trash turned over.“..." More & video
