Chatham County’s Animal Control officers had, as usual, a busy day Wednesday. The agency spent much of it on West 48th Street, rescuing cats that had been left inside a home to fend for themselves.
“We’re up to 16 (cats) at this time,” said Savanah-Chatham Animal Control officer Christina Sutherin on Wednesday afternoon. “But we believe that we’re probably going to add another eight to 10 cats to that that are outside.”
It’s not the first time the agency has removed cats from a Savannah-area home this week — thirty-one animals also were taken from a home on Ogeechee Road, Sutherin said.
By Wednesday evening, officers had brought in 61 cats for the week, which Sutherin said puts a strain on the shelter’s 72 designated cat kennels. As a response, shelter staff are waiving cat-adoption fees until felines — nearly 90 at present — drop to a more manageable number.
“Our goal obviously is to get as many adopted as we can,” Sutherin said. “... We’re requesting canned food donations of cat food, and let’s just get these guys out into homes where they can find the individual attention that they need.”
In both hoarding cases, Sutherin said, the cats were confined to the residences. In the Ogeechee Road case, the homeowner is cooperating with police and turning the animals over to Animal Control, she said.
That person, who was not identified, was cited and given a court date.
“We did just cite them because they were cooperative with the investigation, and they do have the animals’ best interest in mind,” Sutherin said. “They were attempting to care the best they could for the animals.”
In the West 48th Street case, however, police plan to move forward with charges — possibly animal neglect or abandonment, Sutherin said.
“Residents and witnesses said that there’s been at least a week between there being anyone there for these cats being provided any sort of sustenance,” she said. “They were literally closed up in almost 100-degree weather with the heat index in a home with nothing.”
Sutherin said Animal Control is trying to identify who owned the cats and whom to charge accordingly. Citing the ongoing investigation, police did not provide an address for the residence, but said it was on the 500 block of West 48th.
Sutherin said there were no dead cats in the residence.
“(They were) thin, not in the best body condition,” Sutherin said. “Some of them did have flea infestations, but other than that were somewhat dehydrated. But they had actually rummaged through the cabinets and what had been left in them, and there were open cereal boxes that they had actually opened and were consuming cereal just in an effort to stay alive.
“Cats can be very resourceful when it comes to those things.”
Animal Control set traps for the cats believed to be outside of the residence. Many of the cats removed from the two residences are still being evaluated by the shelter’s veterinary staff, but Sutherin said they hope to put them all up for adoption.
“We rely on the community to help us place these animals,” she said.
ANIMAL CONTROL SHELTER
The Savannah-Chatham Animal Control shelter is located at 7211 Sallie Mood Drive on Savannah’s southside. Call 912-652-6675.