CHICAGO — Not one dead cat was found in a Belmont Cragin home where about 110 black cats were living, according to a city spokesman.
Brad Powers, Chicago Animal Care and Control spokesman, said he wasn't "aware" of any "deceased animals taken from the home."
More than 110 cats were trapped by animal care workers at 6207 W. Roscoe St. in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood Monday and Tuesday.
"It's extremely rare for this number of animals to be in one property," Powers said.
Neighbors said they saw the owner of the property coming and going at night, likely to feed the cats, but he did not appear to be sleeping or living at the residence.
The cats appeared to live entirely indoors until several weeks ago, according to neighbors.
Cats are lured out of a Belmont Cragin home Monday with Friskies chicken. [DNAinfo/Kyla Gardner]
The home was boarded up by the city Tuesday, but a one-way cat door was left for any remaining cats to leave the house but not return to it.
If any residents see cats near the property, they should call 311, Powers said, and not try to approach the animal.
A final count of the number of cats may be difficult to know, as some concerned citizens went to the property Monday night to trap cats on their own after the story received publicity, said Jenny Schlueter, Tree House Humane Society spokeswoman.
Some of the 110 cats did have to be euthanized due to severe upper respiratory infections, Powers said.
The cats were living in "pretty deplorable conditions," he said.
Many of the "semiferal" cats have gone to animal shelters Tree House Humane Society and Paws Chicago, and are being readied for fostering and adoption, if their temperaments allow.
Some of the cats seem familiar with human contact and feeding, but some are extremely timid, Schlueter said.
Some of the cats from a "hoarding" home in Belmont Cragin may be adoptable, according to a shelter spokeswoman. [Tree House Humane Society]
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