Dozens of cats found in NE Phila. home

Animal welfare agents raided a Northeast Philadelphia home Tuesday and found about 40 cats, including two dead ones, being hoarded by a woman who has been active with rescuing cats.

"The basement was horrendous," said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the PSPCA. About 25 rescue cats were being kept in the basement, which reeked of urine and was covered in feces.

The rest of the cats, which the woman considered her actual pets, were upstairs, which Bengal said was in "decent" condition even though "there were cats in every room."

The PSPCA learned about the house from a tipster and obtained a search warrant, which humane law-enforcement officers executed sometime after 1 p.m. in the 6200 block of Walker Street in the city's Wissinoming section.

The woman, who was not identified but was described as in her 50s, faces animal-cruelty charges related to unsanitary conditions. A necropsy will be performed on the two dead cats and veterinary exams on the surviving animals, and the results could lead to further charges, Bengal said.

The woman has been involved with a program that spays and neuters feral cats that are then released back into their feral-cat colonies. The program, called the Cube, is run out of the PSPCA headquarters at 350 E. Erie Ave.