ANIMAL WELFARE workers in Sligo have found 23 cats which were left in a house without food or water for almost three months.
Only eight cats were still alive when rescue workers entered the house in Molloway Place on Tuesday morning. They had been feeding off the other 15 dead cats.
Gardaí and animal welfare workers had to wear masked forensic suits when they forced their way into the house to rescue the remaining cats. The owner, who lived alone, had not been seen by neighbours for nearly three months. The blinds were all drawn and the doors shuttered.
Dorothy Kilgallen of voluntary Sligo Animal Rescue Centre said there was no food or water. “The survivors were still eating off the dead cats when we arrived.”
“What they did for water is a mystery. They must have lived off moisture of the dead cats or their own urine. It’s the worst experience by far I have ever dealt with in animal welfare.”
One of the rescued cats had to be put to sleep and the other seven are being cared for by the centre.
Ms Kilgallen said: “One of the cats was so thirsty that she drank water for a solid 10 minutes. They are very traumatised, bewildered.”
Although there was a stench inside, with flies and blue-bottles all over the house, the sealed condition prevented the smell getting to the street outside. Sligo Borough Council said in a statement there was a request from the Garda at 11am on Tuesday to provide access to the house in Molloway Place.
Sligo gardaí say there are no concerns about the home-owner but they intend to speak to him about the animal neglect when he is found.