Many of the cats were emaciated, dehydrated, and infested with fleas when the team took them from the house, the humane society said. There were 18 other cats found dead at the property.
The rescue crew said it was challenging to walk through the house because of “the accumulation of possessions and trash.”
Neighbors say this has been an ongoing problem for nearly two decades.
"The place has gone down to just filth, its worse than a homeless area," neighbor Pat Patterson said.
Patterson said they have all seen the cats wandering before, but not recently. They say they never expected anything like what OHS found.
"I was surprised... you stop seeing them so you think something got them a like a raccoon or a coyote or something like that," Patterson said.
"It's sort of an empty feeling, I should have known something was wrong but I assumed the wrong thing... that they were in the house. In hindsight, it's, 'Oh my, how could I have been so gullible," neighbor Curtis Calonder said.
Patterson said a smell has started coming from the home and lot it sits on.
"I hope they clean it up, haul it out, trees and everything on that lot," Patterson said.
The 10 cats are being cared for at the Oregon Humane Society’s Holman Medical Center in Portland. They will stay in protective custody while the investigation continues.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies started investigating the home last week when someone mentioned suspected animal neglect at the house.
“Under Oregon law, it is crime to fail to provide food, water, shelter and veterinary care to pets,” a humane society spokesman said. “OHS Humane Special Agents are commissioned by the Oregon State Police to enforce animal cruelty laws throughout the state.”
(KATU - Aug 4, 2016)
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