Nearly 70 cats removed from condemned N. Ind. home

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Animal control crews have removed nearly 70 cats from a condemned one-story home in Fort Wayne filled with the stench of cat feces.

Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control spokeswoman Peggy Bender tells The Journal Gazette that firefighters had to wear protective gear and use air tanks to breathe while they removed cats caught in traps inside the unoccupied two-bedroom home.

She said 66 cats were in animal control’s care and firefighters removed another four to five felines from the home Monday afternoon.

The home’s previous residents told officials they had been picking up cats in the neighborhood and bringing them into the home. Those residents, who could face charges or fines, moved away a year ago but had continued to pay rent and utilities at the home.