CHICAGO — More than 100 cats — many of them "pretty shy" — were found in a single Belmont Cragin home this week, and a Chicago shelter is hoping to adopt out a few as early as this weekend.
But the cats, which were living in unusual conditions and are "semi-feral," need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
"The cats are tending to stay huddled up in small groups. They've gotten used to being really crowded all the time," said Jenny Schlueter, spokesperson for Tree House Humane Society, which has about 65 of the cats in its shelter or foster care. "It was a stressful existence to live with so many, so they're pretty shy."
A national "Clear the Shelters" adoption event on Saturday waives the adoption fee for animals more than five months old.
Tree House Humane Society has taken in about 65 cats from a home overrun with the animals in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. [Tree House Humane Society]
Animal Care and Control workers removed most of the cats Monday and Tuesday at the home at 6702 W. Roscoe St., a property that the city had marked as having building code violations in April.
Kyla Gardner says you could smell the cats from the sidewalk:
Tuesday, the building was boarded up completely, but a one-way cat door was installed for any remaining felines to escape, said Brad Powers, Animal Care and Control spokesperson.
About 110 cats had been removed, Power said Wednesday morning, and a statement from Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) put the total at nearly 130 Wednesday afternoon.
"It's extremely rare for this number of animals to be in one property," Powers said.
Cats from a Belmont Cragin home "tucked in" for the night at Tree House Humane Society. [Tree House Humane Society]
Tree House Humane Society, with its headquarters at 1212 W. Carmen Ave. in Uptown., has about 65 of the cats, and Paws Chicago, with a Lincoln Park adoption center at 1997 N. Clybourn Ave., has 20, said Sarah Ahlberg, Paws spokesperson.
Some remain at Animal Control, 2741 S. Western Ave. in Little Village. Some of the cats had to be euthanized, Powers said, as they had severe upper respiratory infections and were "not healthy enough to survive in a shelter environment."
Other cats and kittens from the home have health issues like hair loss, malnourishment, dull coats, bite wounds and more minor upper respiratory infections, Schlueter said.
In addition, the cats appear to be inbred.
With a few exceptions of gray or black and white coats, the majority of the cats are black.
"It’s pretty common from a hoarding house," that all the cats are the same color, Schlueter said. "The cats were locked inside, from what I can tell. They don't have that genetic variety. Almost all of them are black; that just goes to show how inbred they are."
In contrast, a stray female cat can be impregnated by several different tomcats while in heat, so kittens have a variety of colors and genetic material.
Two cats prowl the backyard of a home in the 6200 block of West Roscoe Street Monday. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]
A neighbor in the 6200 block of West Roscoe Street said walking by the large number of black cats felt "eerie" and "Halloweenish."
Neighbors agreed that they had noticed a smell coming from the home for months, but had no idea it was cats until holes were made in windows several weeks ago, and dozens of cats began streaming out of the house.
Neighbors said they believed the owner had been coming by at night to feed them.
That the animals seem to have had some human contact makes them "semi-feral," said Schlueter.
"Most of the cats are under-socialized, so that's what we're working on," she said.
A "true feral" cat wouldn't eat in front of a person, but the rescued cats do so. However, they do not seem to desire human contact.
A captured cat and Animal Care and Control worker eye each other. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]
Those who want to help foster the cats will need to make an extra effort to socialize them, Schlueter said. Tree House will provide information and guidance for those up to the task.
For the animals deemed too feral to be adopted, they may end up in feral cat colony programs around the city, a Paws employee said Monday.
For those who are adoptable but still shy, they'd make great companion animals for another cat, Schlueter said.
"For people who are looking for companions for a cat and maybe are concerned getting a cat will be too overwhelming for [their first cat], a really good solution is a semi-feral cat from a hoarding house," she said.
The cats are tolerant of other animals and enjoy their company, but they are more shy around people, so an adopting family's first cat wouldn't feel deprived of human attention.
"It's not a threat to the previous animal," Schlueter said.
Those interested in fostering one of the cats can find more information about the Paws foster program here and the Tree House foster program here. In addition, Tree House is asking for donations of supplies and monetary donations for vet bills. More information on Paws Chicago is here and Animal Care and Control here.
The house at 6207 W. Roscoe St. in Belmont Central had more than 100 cats inside. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]
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