The BC SPCA says it has seized 18 cats and two kittens from a Delta home following a neglect investigation.
According to the agency, animal protection officers determined the owners had become “overwhelmed” with the work needed to care for the animals.
“The cats were living in a home that had an overwhelming ammonia smell with piles of feces as high as five inches in some rooms,” senior protection officer Eileen Drever said in a media release.
“The litter boxes were overflowing and the few pieces of furniture in the home were soaked in urine.”
The cats were taken to a BC SPCA animal centre where they were assessed. Four needed veterinary care and were taken to a clinic for treatment.
Drever said one of the cats was diagnosed with diabetes, one had to have its tail amputated because of a cyst and one needed to have teeth extracted.
The kittens, which are still nursing, have been placed in foster care and are very friendly “given what they have been through.”
Drever said the SPCA is not recommending charges in the case, and that it was not immediately clear when the cats will be available for adoption.
This is the BC SPCA’s second large intake of cats of 2024 after 40 were surrendered in the Okanagan.
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