Nearly 50 cats removed from Yakima County home

Nearly 50 cats were removed from a Yakima County residence in the second large-scale hoarding situation the county has seen in the past month.

A county animal control officer called Nov. 4 to an elderly homeowner’s residence helped remove 47 live cats, 12 carcasses, and multiple remains “only identifiable as feline anatomy.”

The residence, in the 700 block of North 15th Street, is within the route of the East West Corridor, an ongoing economic development project that will connect Terrace Heights to Yakima. The property’s right of way was recently purchased by Yakima County, and the home is slated for demolition.

Pasado’s Safe Haven, an animal rescue nonprofit located near Monroe, transported the 47 cats to the organization’s cat sanctuary, where they are being treated for lung infections and other ailments.

“We are thankful we were able to get them out when we did, and get them the food and medical treatment they so desperately needed,” Pasado’s said in a press release following the incident.

Cats in need of medical care will be placed with fosters, while healthy cats will be available for adoption soon, Pasado’s said.

The response comes on the heels of another cat hoarding situation in October, also with an elderly homeowner in Yakima County, where responders removed 30 cats.

The Yakima County Sheriff’s Office said cat hoarding situations are not the norm for the county, with only four or five such incidents in the past 20 years.

No charges were filed against either homeowner.