Around the country there are thousands of people who keep many more pets than they can care for. Lisa Guerrero had to put on a hazmat suit to enter the home of one woman who was literally hoarding cats. Her home was a filthy mess, but even more stunnin
What's inside one house will shock you.
But before INSIDE EDITION’s Lisa Guerrero was allowed in, she had to put on a hazmat suit.
As she suited up, she said, “I still wasn’t prepared for what awaited me.”
Then, she walked into the house and said, “Oh my God, this is awful. There were feces everywhere. It is unbelievable and unthinkable that anyone could actually live in this house.”
The INSIDE EDITION I-Squad was inside the home of an animal hoarder and 100 cats lived there.
“The smell is overwhelming,” Guerrero said.
The cats were still everywhere. Hiding, scurrying away, and doing their best to avoid capture. Believe it or not, until a few weeks ago, the homeowner's 92-year-old mother actually slept in a filthy bed.
The homeowner’s name is Pat and you may recognize her voice. Pat works out of her house as a customer service representative for companies selling vacation time shares. Listening to that professional-sounding voice, who would ever suspect that all day long when she's on the phone, she was surrounded by a hundred cats.
Guerrero asked her, “What do you say to people who say you are a cat hoarder?”
“Well, I guess I could see that,” she said.
The cats were rounded up by order of the Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Many of the cats are now up for adoption. Until then, they are literally serving time in a converted wing of the county jail and cared for by the inmates. Arpaoi has a no-kill policy.
He said, “The food is great, they eat better than the inmates.”
Pat the cat hoarder is getting help. AZ Bio Cleanup and Restoration, volunteered to clean her house and disinfect the mess.
It took two days and the results were dramatic. The cat droppings that once covered the place are now cleaned up.
Guerrero just had one more question for this customer service rep, “This is it, no more cats?”
“No more cats,” Pat answered.
