Dozens of abandoned cats rescued from condemned Ludlow house

LUDLOW, Mass. (WWLP) - Animal welfare workers removed dozens of cats abandoned in a condemned house in Ludlow Thursday night.  But more cats are believed to be still hiding inside.

The MSPCA is calling this situation a "dire emergency."

MSPCA law enforcement officer Christine Allneberg told 22News that no one's been caring for as many as sixty cats at 28 Highland Avenue in Ludlow for two full weeks.

Allenberg said, "the town removed two people from the home for medical reasons on January 25th, and the house was condemned on the 31st."

No one had been in that house since the 25th until Thursday when the Animal Rescue League and the MSPCA removed 34 cats from what Allenberg  called "appalling conditions."

"Extreme clutter.  Extreme sanitation issues... They're not going to make it in there.  The levels of ammonia.  The smells in that house are just grotesque!  Nothing alive should be in there," Allenberg told 22News.

Most of the rescued cats were brought to shelters in Boston where they'll be fed, cared for and checked out by a veterinarian.  13 of the cats were brought to Dakin Humane Society in Springfield.

"They'll be treated... A couple of them have some pretty bad eye conditions going on.  So they'll certainly be treated for that, and made as comfortable as possible," Dakin spokeswoman Candy Lash told 22News.

Lash said they believe there are still some cats hiding in the house, although they don't know how many.

The animal welfare workers left food and water for the cats believed to still be inside the condemned house in Ludlow.  They plan to make another rescue attempt next week after the storm cleanup.

A judge will decide what's next in the process some time next week.  After that, the healthier cats would hopefully be made available for adoption.