Woman with 75 cats charged with animal cruelty
The Daily Inter Lake
A Kalispell-area woman has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities
discovered she was living with 75 cats, 14 dogs and other animals.
A Kalispell-area woman has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities discovered she was living with 75 cats, 14 dogs and other animals.
Judith Space, 60, lived in the home on Fairmont Road, where authorities reportedly found droppings and garbage about 6 inches deep that covered the floors in every room they could see. Photographs show deep piles of animal droppings and trash on the kitchen countertops and stove and inside an open dishwasher.
Space was cited for cruelty to animals "for confining her animals in a cruel manner, due to the feces and lack of food and water," according to a report from a sheriff's deputy.
She also was cited for having more than four dogs on the property without a permit.
Adult Protective Services and the health department were notified.
Space's case was sent to Flathead County Justice Court. Deputy County Attorney Tammi Fisher is prosecuting.
The animals remain at the home. If Space is convicted, the animals would be taken to shelters around the state.
An animal warden who originally went to the home July 14 in response to a complaint about a barking dog discovered kennels outside the house with dogs and cats - most without water or food.
The next day, a sheriff's deputy returned with the warden and a veterinarian in case the animals needed immediate medical care.
A kennel on the northwest side of the property contained several dogs, with no water or food, but a large amount of dog droppings. Kennels on the southwest side of the house contained cats and large amounts of cat feces covering the floors. There was no water, but there was an automatic feeding system containing dry cat food, according to a report.
More cats were found in a large kennel on the northeast side. It also contained droppings but no food or water.
On the east side, a large kennel wrapped around to the south side of the house. An open window allowed the cats to come and go into the house. There was dry cat food on a piece of plywood, the report said.
On the south side were several dogs in kennels. These kennels, too, contained large amounts of dog feces.
On the southeast side, large kennels contained dogs and rabbits, with no food or water.
Some of the cats reportedly had eye infections.