Michigan Animal Cruelty: 20 Malnourished Cats Seized From Home, Owner Charged

The Whitman County Sheriff’s office on Friday (May 1), following a search in a house in Albion, Michigan, seized around 20 cats after they were found to be in bad health and suffering from malnutrition.

On Friday afternoon, the deputies serving a search warrant responded to a residence in the 200 Block of H Street in Albion after they received complaints about animal neglect in the residence. The officers were at the house to look for and seize any and all cats that were present in the home.

Based on the tips received from the Humane Society, who had reported about the animal negligence to the Sheriff’s office about two weeks earlier and also on the information received from the owner of the house, the deputies believed that the house hosted approximately 50 cats and/or kittens, which were reported to be suffering from various health conditions.

Whitman County District Court Judge John Hart issued a feline warrant earlier last week that authorized deputies to secure all domestic cats present in the home and were reported to be suffering from various medical conditions. It was an effort to provide the animals with urgent medical attention.

The deputies seized around 20 cats from the home. All the cats were found to be seriously ill due to malnutrition and some of them required urgent surgical care. In addition to the 20 cats that were seized, officers learned that the same owner had voluntarily placed approximately 30 other cats at the Humane Society during the previous 10 days.

A detailed investigation revealed that the same owner had dropped off an additional 70 cats with the Whitman County Humane Society over the past 3 years. The deputies learned that in many of those instances, the animals were reported to be unhealthy and in need of immediate and intense medical care.

In all, 120 cats were delivered to the Humane Society from the same owner over the last 3 years.

The cat owner, whose identity has not been revealed by the police, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty.

The investigation was ongoing and no additional information was immediately available.