Foreclosed Ohio homeowner leaves cats, mess behind

**celeb_2006** · July 22nd, 2009, 11:38 PM

This foreclosed Lakemore house is full of cats. Neighbors could smell the feces and urine

Scared cats huddle under a bed in a foreclosed Lakemore home.

The floors in the house were covered with feces that was shoveled out Wednesday.

Foreclosed Ohio homeowner leaves cats, mess behind - Yahoo! News

AKRON, Ohio – When an Ohio man vacated his foreclosed home near Akron, he left behind nearly 100 cats and a stench. Rescuers have been chasing cats in the Lakemore house for two weeks, and there are still some felines left. Cats were found in the heating ducts, under furniture and mattresses and in dressers, closets and cabinets.
Cat rescuer Eric Schickendantz said he had to put on protective gear before shoveling cat waste off the floors and disinfecting the place.
Outside, the lawn and landscaping were well-manicured, but neighbors could smell a stench when the windows were opened.

Foreclosed Lakemore house crawling with cats; rescuers need help: Animals in the News - cleveland.com

UPDATED: A Lakemore man moved out of his foreclosed house several weeks ago, leaving more than 50 cats behind.
Rescuers brought food to the cats Wednesday, shoveled mounds of feces from the floors and today will start the difficult task of catching the frightened felines to get them veterinary care and place them in foster homes until they can be adopted. A humane society was able to remove a dozen cats Wednesday.
The bank that now owns the house wants the cats out within two weeks, rescuer Eric Schickendantz said. The former homeowner told Schickendantz that the problem began with one female cat he had four years ago and never had spayed.
"We need foster homes and rescue groups to help," he said.
Local shelters run by the Humane Society of Greater Akron and One-of-a-Kind Pets are already full of cats. But One-of-A-Kind will use a grant from PetSmart to get some of the cats vaccinated and neutered. Citizens for Humane Animal Practices in Akron hopes to catch 15 cats and get them neutered at its mobile clinic Aug. 8, volunteer Cathy Wood said. Contact CHAP about donations or adopting at 330-724-6181.
Anyone wishing to become a foster home can reach Schickendantz, 61, of Katmandu Rescue, at 330-864-2879 or ages@neo.rr.com.
Lakemore is just southeast of Akron.

**DeadDwarf** · July 23rd, 2009, 12:13 AM

What a mother fucker. It's not THAT much money to get an animal spayed. He could (at one time) afford that fucking house, but couldn't take care of his cat? I hope they find good homes for the cats.

**Mivvi21** · July 23rd, 2009, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by DeadDwarf

What a mother fucker. It's not THAT much money to get an animal spayed. He could (at one time) afford that fucking house, but couldn't take care of his cat? I hope they find good homes for the cats.

No it's not. I only paid $55 each to have my cats neutered. Sounds like this guy is just a cheap,no good deadbeat.

**Mel1973** · July 23rd, 2009, 02:05 PM

I'm guessing a guy who can't make a house note doesn't have the $2,750.00 that it would take ... and wanted to be vindictive towards to mortgage company and cruel to the kitty cats... surprising that there weren't a bunch of dead cats (sorry cat lovers) given how long they were in there alone...

**DeadDwarf** · July 23rd, 2009, 03:23 PM

^ It said in the article that it all started with "one female cat he had four years ago and never had spayed."

He had lived in the house for at least 4 years before he was kicked out, he must have been paying the mortgage and could have saved $30 to $60 to spay his cat. Some places will even do it cheaper than that (or for free) if you are low income.

Maybe he is mentally ill... how the hell did he live with 50 to 100 cats in his house? Insane. You have to be off to be able to live like that.

**Trixie** · July 23rd, 2009, 04:31 PM

Well obviously this guy had issues prior to the foreclosure, because no one in their right mind would have that many cats just running around reproducing all over their house.

Amazingly, they don't look to be in horrible shape, so he must have taken decent care of them at some point. Much better than most of the animal hoarding cases you hear of. I'm surprised the neighbors never complained while he still lived there.

That little one with the raccoon eyes on the bottom step is a heartbreaker...

**cmmdee** · July 24th, 2009, 08:35 AM

Gross

**Wiseguy** · July 24th, 2009, 08:52 AM

Poor cats. I hope they all go to loving homes.

**ConstanceSpry** · July 24th, 2009, 12:22 PM

Stupid asshole, I hate people who don't spay/neuter and just let their pets reproduce. And then to abandon them, creep.

**Katia** · July 24th, 2009, 01:25 PM

Stories like this make me so angry!

All the kitties are precious but I just want to cuddle this poor baby:

**MoodyJenny86** · July 24th, 2009, 01:26 PM

I hate cats...

But seeing the cats in these pictures made me sad.

**ConstanceSpry** · July 24th, 2009, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by MoodyJenny86

I hate cats...

But seeing the cats in these pictures made me sad.

How can you hate cats? I can't believe anyone could hate animals.

**Novice** · July 24th, 2009, 02:11 PM

If he'd have had the first one spayed he wouldn't have had to bankrupt himself buying cat food for a million cats!

Our cat was neutered for free... but thats because we "stole" him from our neighbour....

**DeadDwarf** · July 24th, 2009, 03:38 PM

Originally Posted by ConstanceSpry

How can you hate cats? I can't believe anyone could hate animals.

I think I understand what she is saying, I feel similar. I can't stand cats, I often say I "hate" them. I like holding kitties, they are cute, and big cats are cute too (but I don't want to hold them because they are too big and can claw me). I just hate how they claw shit, how some spray all over, how they aren't usually very friendly like pack animals, how they lick themselves, how they shed, how they claw you and shriek and puke furballs. I like to look at them from a distance, but that's as far as my relationship with cats go.

The person who owned my house before me had 1 cat and it fucked up the place. I had to tear out everything, repaint everything and bleach everything because they had hair that traveled under the cupboards and into the vents, urine spray (from marking its territory) and it clawed up the fucking carpet and puked fur balls on it, staining it. I already hated cats before this too...

I just don't like them at all, I would never own one (my parents did growing up though) and often avoid going out of my way to pet them. I'm just not a cat person and unfortunately I married into a familiy who loves them because everyone has AT LEAST one cat. Ugh. I just can't get away from them.

I know people who feel the same way about dogs, we don't necessarily HATE animals.

Sorry to rant, I just don't "get" why people are so in love with cats! Like my entire in-law family, they think I am wacko for not liking their cats and thinking they are God's gift.

**ConstanceSpry** · July 24th, 2009, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by DeadDwarf

I know people who feel the same way about dogs, we don't necessarily HATE animals.

Sorry to rant, I just don't "get" why people are so in love with cats! Like my entire in-law family, they think I am wacko for not liking their cats and thinking they are God's gift.

Thanks for explaining that, after reading what you wrote I totally get it. You guys feel about cats exactly the way I feel about kids!

I don't mean any harm to kids, and it makes me sad to read about bad stuff happening to them, but I just don't get why people are so enchanted with them.