I refuse to let this thread drop below page 5 on the recent posts list...
Having some pretty serious behavioral issues with Penelope so we thought we would get a playmate for her. We went to this lady's house that has a rescue in her house and I can't believe what we saw. She said she had an adult room and a kitten room. We went to the adult room first and it wasn't too bad. Maybe six cats in a room that was maybe 12X12. She asked if we wanted to see the kitten room and we said sure. She said that there may be 30 kittens in the room. You guys know I like to play a little, but girl wasn't playin'. There were 30-35, maybe more kittens in that room that I'm guessing was also about 12X12. It was nuts. I mean crazy. You know, bless her for what she's doing, but come on.
We excused ourselves and left. My wife was crying as soon as we got in the car.
We got home and threw all of our clothes, including shoes, in the washer and showered.
I'm torn on what to do. If I call someone, what happens to the cats? I certainly am not willing to all take of them.
Crazy. Just f@^%ing crazy.
So are we talking 50 cats?
OK, so first, did it look like she was a renter or did she own the house?
Next, do you think, in your opinion think the cats were fed well, in good health, and clean? Or was this a dirty toxic mess?
IMO, if this lady is taking care of the cats, and they are taken care of and healthy, then I would leave it alone. I know a women with over 12 cats, BUT you go in her house and you would think she had one, hardly any smell and all of the cats are well taken care of, she lives alone, she has a litter box {has to be 5 feet x 2 feet} that has a "hood" over it vented to the outside and she tends to it once a day, every day. I asked her how her house didn't smell like cats with all them cats, and she said, they were all fixed, they all ate and drank just once a day, she only left their food out for a little over an hour every day and then put it away until the next day, then she cleaned the litter box before bed. She also told me she brushed them all at least 5 times a week, she only has leather furniture and NO carpet so the cat fur could be easily maintained. She vacuumed and swept twice a day, and always had a candle burning on each floor of the house...
She was a customer of mine and I was always amazed when I went to her house, she had no kids and no family that I ever seen, them cats are her life, she works at home as an accountant, and she loves them cats, talks to them like they are people, whether or not its healthy has nothing to do with me, it makes her happy she takes care of the cats and thats how she wants to live her life...
NOW if I went there and there was 10 cats covered in feces, the house smelt like ammonia, the and they looked like they were sick and not fed or taken care of, I would call right away, it is not healthy for her, the animals, or the neighborhood she lives in to have a toxic cat house nearby..
Another quick story I bought a house to rehab years ago, it was one of my first {I think it was the 4th or 5th}. The previous owner passed away pneumonia due to the cats in the house and the filth, I bought it at auction for something like $38K, it was 2200 sq ft in a good neighborhood, I figured I scored HUGE, I know the inside stunk and there was pee and cat spray everywhere, the furiture, clothes, everything in the house came with the sale...
So I pay for the house and a week later get a notice that says the house is condemned and they are pulling the CO!! I go to the town hall and they said," OK we will give you a week to get it livable, but it has to pass health inspection".. Im thinking easy, I almost waited a couple days to start it..
I go there that day and have a dumpster brought in, me and 2 of my workers emptied that house in record time, it stunk SO BAD, I threw my clothes away and paid for my workers clothes they were wearing..
Day 2- I went through the house trying to find a floor boar or piece of sheet rock I could save!!! NOT ONE, so I had to strip everything down to the studs! Now I am getting scared, noone wanted to work in this house.. I stripped it down to the studs with just me and my brother in one day!!
Day3- I get everything delivered and spend almost 18 hours cleaning and sealing floor joists and reinsulating the house.
Day 4 the materials come {I mean everything, toilets, sinks, cabinets, sheetrock, wood flooring, ect..}, I got the sub floors down {was walking on the joists}, and got the kitchen and bathrooms in place, the inspector showed up that day to do a rough before we sheetrocked the next day, he was impressed, but told me the dumpster smelt so bad I had to have it removed before it was full because the neighbors were complaining...
Day 5- I put 300 boards of sheetrock up, me my brother and 2 laborers, ceilings and walls.
Day 6- I have a company come in and start plastering, and my brother and 2 laborers start putting down hardwoods, I started doing the tile work, it was a MESS, running around back and forth trying to stay out of the plasteres way, but all they had to do was skim coat....
We left on day 6 with floors, walls, ceilings, and all the lights in, I remember this like it was yesterday, the house didnt smell like cat urine, it looked like something...
Day 7- I got there at 5 am and started hanging cabinets in the kitchen, my brother showed up around 7 he started the vanities in the bathrooms, laborers came around 9 and started painting {ran heat to 80 all night to dry plaster}... By the end of day 7 you could have moved into the house {granite guy hadn't come yet but he was ther eon day 8}, but the bad news is I spent almost $100K fixing the house!!! After the final inspection and I kept the certificate of occupancy, I put a new driveway, and relandscaped vinyl sided the house and garage. I still own the house, its one of the rental properties I kept...
I tell that story a lot, lol, I remember it so well, I think of it everytime I go to that house, although I dont tell it to tenants, lol...
