PSPCA removes 260 cats from Frankford home

A PSPCA truck in Philadelphia. A PSPCA truck. Credit: Metro file photo.

About 260 cats were removed from a house in Frankford earlier today, PSPCA officials said.

The homeowner, who operated a small rescue out of her home, was in the process of forfeiting her feline-friend collection to the PSPCA when she decided to stop.

PSPCA officials, who went into her home on the 1600 block of Fillmore street today to retrieve the rest, said the cats were living in “unsanitary conditions.”

The final number, according to Sarah R. Eremus, spokeswoman for the PSPCA, was closer to 300. Eremus said the woman had surrendered between 20 and 30 cats before today’s raid.

While she was cooperating initially, she stopped cooperating, Eremusaid.

“And we felt the need to go in because the conditions had deteriorated and the ammonia levels were very high and we wanted to be able to get the animals out and get them into a healthy environment,” she said.

Eremus described the homeowner as a cat lover who initially wanted to help.

“It’s very possible she started out with good intentions,” she said, “but then just got way over her head and didn’t have the space needed in order to care for so many animals.”

No charges have been filed.

The cats will be taken in rounds to the PSPCA Erie Avenue shelter where they can be examined and treated if necessary.

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