Investigators confirmed that the home is owned by Linda Davis, a longtime employee of the Boynton Beach shelter 'Save a Dog, Save a Cat,' or SADSAC.
Authorities believe Davis was hospitalized, leaving the animals alone in the home.
They're also calling this a tragic case of 'animal hoarding.'
Workers with Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control arrived at the around 7 p.m. Tuesday and worked into the night sifting through filth to find animals in bad shape.
Neighbors say they suspect the hoarding has been going on for years, but didn't know for sure.
Outside of the house, a sign read, "Please do not disturb."
For years, neighbors say they've smelled a disturbing odor when they walked by the home.
"I always noticed a strong smell coming from the general direction," said Tom Walls who lives nearby. "I wasn't sure what it was."
Walls used to live next door to the woman, who has not been identified by authorities, and he said he always thought something was suspicious. He said her car was piled with junk, but she still found a way to drive it.
With hazmat suits and masks on, animal control workers went into the home and pulled out the cats.
Some of the cats that were moved out of the home have skin disease and upper respiratory infections, Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve said.
"It's quite a shock to know that someone who was living so close had a serious problem," Walls said of his neighbor.
Every time animal control workers opened the door, neighbors covered their nose from across the street.
Investigators say feces, trash and hundreds of roaches were found throughout the house.
There also were piles of garbage, empty bags of cat food, dozens of roaches, piles of clothes and cages with SADSAC written on them. There were no signs, however, of a person living in the home, Scaggs said.
Property appraiser records show Davis as the owner of the home. Davis has worked with SADSAC since 1998, according to state business records.
No one answered the phone at the number listed on the rescue’s website. However, Judith Geffers, a former SADSAC president who no longer works with the shelter, called what authorities found at the home “jaw-dropping” and feared it would ruin the shelter’s reputation.
"That's completely unsanitary," Walls said. "It's a hazard to the neighborhood."
Workers say they first heard about the problem this weekend when a neighbor smelled the terrible odor and other people allegedly took out other animals in the home.
"One of the concerns that we have is how anyone could go in such a deplorable situation and remove some animals, but not others," Sauve said.
For cat owners like Walls, watching so many cats come out in such bad shape just breaks his heart.
"It's just tragic because I give mine all the love and attention I can," he said.
Sauve said now the challenge is finding the woman who lives inside the home.
Investigators say she could be facing animal cruelty charges.
Animal care and control workers are also looking for the unidentified people who allegedly went into the home and took out animals over the weekend and didn't report the deplorable conditions to authorities.
(WPTV - August 16, 2012)
