SPCA seize 127 cats from Dartmouth home

Nova Scotia SPCA have rescued 127 cats from a Dartmouth home, one of its largest seizures in years and a cautionary tale for those who refuse to spay or neuter.

"The owners told us they started out with four or five cats and over the course of five years it just grew..." said Jo-Anne Landsburg, a cruelty investigator with the SPCA.

"It can happen. People think that by not spaying and neutering their cats they’ll be fine — they can control it, separating males and females.

"It’s almost impossible to do and this is a real example of what can happen if you have un-neutered animals in your house."

The cats were taken from the home Wednesday and it took four investigators several hours to wrangle them all. There was feces everywhere.

"Walking in there, the smell hits you in the face, it was just like a ton of bricks being hit in the face," Landsburg said.

"It was that bad we could smell it through our masks. The smell clung to us afterwards through our hazmat suits. It was very bad."

Charges are pending against three owners under the Animal Protection Act.

Landsburg said investigators corralled the animals using nets and towels. They were taken to an SPCA shelter in metro and to a handful of satellite shelters.

Some of the cats are pregnant, Landsburg said. One litter has already been born since the rescue.

She said the SPCA were called to the home for the first time a few days ago. Right away investigators knew they had a big problem and began making arrangements to seize the cats.