Nearly 30 cats seized from Morgan Township home
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Several cats were placed in crates after being removed from a house in Morgan Township, Greene County.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Humane Officer Derek Forman brings a cat out of the garage.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Veterinary technicians with White Rose Mobile Vets look at some of the cats removed from a house in Morgan Township, Greene County.
Humane officers removed about 30 cats living in filthy conditions from a Greene County home Thursday morning.
Robin Leighty, a humane officer with Carmichaels-based animal rescue Teddy Bear Care, executed a search warrant for 524 Fifth St., Morgan Township. Volunteers with Catnip Acres, a rescue based in Franklin Township, assisted.
“We had received a call back in the end of July about smells, really bad smells, coming from a house, and the neighbors were complaining that there were a lot of cats. So we figured we would come and investigate,” Leighty said.
Beverly Battaglia, the owner of the house, stood outside while the humane officers searched her home.
Despite expecting to be charged for animal neglect and abuse, Battaglia said she welcomed the rescues coming to take the cats, and felt a sense of relief that they would be properly cared for.
Battaglia lives in West Virginia, and she said she drives about an hour each day to feed the cats. She claims she accumulated the cats because of others asking her to take care of them, and sometimes having people leave cats on the property.
Battaglia said a series of car accidents has left her disabled from shoulder and spinal cord injuries.
“I can’t physically keep up with them,” Battaglia said.
Sixteen cats were removed from the detached garage. According to Leighty, the cats did not appear to have too many issues.
“The ones that we brought out of the garage … they’re not emaciated. There are issues with their skin, probably because of fleas,” Leighty said.
The remainder of the cats were in the main house and basement. Leighty said “the garage was nice” compared to the rest of the house, and she called it a “classic hoarding case.”
Leighty described the inside of the house as covered in urine and feces, with furniture piled up everywhere.
“You can’t even see the color of the countertops,” she said.
Leighty said charges will be filed against Battaglia.
The cats also presented a financial burden to Battaglia. She acknowledged she was not able to properly care for the cats.
“I have tried to find homes for them. I have written emails, I have made calls. I have taken them to veterinary offices and told them, ‘This is not my cat,'” Battaglia said.
Her difficulty with finding a better home for the cats rings true to Lucy DeFrank, who was at Battaglia’s house as a volunteer with Teddy Bear Care.
“We knew that the problem existed for a while, but there is nothing in place for cats,” DeFrank said. “There’s a lot in place for dogs. If this was a dog problem we could call the dog warden, but there’s not really a system in place for cats.”
As the cats were brought out of the house, they were examined by veterinarian technicians with White Rose Mobile Vets. Leighty said they will be quarantined for 10 days to make sure they do not have contagious diseases.
From there, Leighty said they will see if other rescues can assist them with rehoming the cats.
“Right now, the rescue I work under, we’re foster based. So we don’t have a facility,” she said.
Leighty said people who may be interested in adopting one of the cats can contact Teddy Bear Care at 724-998-6491.
“We’re going to need help from the community so that we can get these cats vetted and put in a good home,” Leighty said.