A home on St. Andrew's Lane in Glen Cove, on Long Island, has been condemned after authorities removed roughly 100 cats from inside it, along with two dogs. The animals were taken out over the course of two days by workers in hazmat attire, who pulled them not only from windows and cabinets but from the walls of the property as well. The scale of the removal drew animal rescue crews and several agencies to the quiet residential street.
The case came to light because of a call for help from inside the family. It was the homeowner's 18-year-old daughter who dialed 911 to report the deplorable situation, a step that rescue workers and neighbors described as a brave decision. The young woman shares the home with her mother and a younger sister, and it was her report that finally brought officials through the front door.
Investigators who entered the house described conditions that were difficult to take in. They were let inside by the daughter and saw firsthand multiple levels and multiple floors filled with live cat waste, with litter boxes overflowing. Those who toured the property said it was astonishing that anyone had been allowed to live in such an environment, and prosecutors have argued that the squalid conditions placed the children in the home in danger.
The animals themselves were found in poor health. According to the SPCA, the cats all have respiratory disease and will need to be placed on medication, while some also appear to have eye infections and at least one has a broken leg. Some of the animals appeared to be expensive breeds, a detail that fit with what neighbors said they had learned about activity at the address over the years.
Residents nearby said the problem was not new. They reported complaining for the past five years about the stench coming from the home and about cats wandering away from the property. One neighbor said they had even found a website showing the owner selling cats online and had emailed that information to police, adding that at one point it appeared the house was being cleaned up and the situation had been rectified, only for it to deteriorate again.
The owner, 54-year-old Olena Horbatko, headed into court in Glen Cove repeatedly asking what had happened and appearing, in the words of those present, woefully unaware of the gravity of the case. Approached by reporters and asked whether she wanted to say anything about the cats, she gave no response. She told the judge that her home, now condemned, leaves her with nowhere else to live.
Horbatko will not only lose the rights to all of her animals but also the right to be with her two daughters. The judge issued a no-contact order, and her two daughters, ages 12 and 18, will now live with their father. Reviewing photographs taken inside the home, the judge described the situation as stark, underscoring how serious the conditions were considered to be.
Horbatko is now likely to face around 100 counts of animal cruelty on top of the no-contact order. Multiple agencies have become involved in trying to place the rescued cats in various homes, and animal rescue workers said they hope the revelations encourage others to flag similar abuse, stressing that the animals are voiceless and need someone to speak for them. The defendant, they noted, is entitled to her defense and will be able to make her case in court.