POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Broward County Animal Care removed 42 cats and kittens from a hoarding house in Pompano Beach.
"We're not used to getting 40 cats in at one time," Animal Care Supervisor Ronald Cooper said. "We have very limited space here."
The cats were said to have been housed illegally in the home for months.
"I noticed an odor coming from the house that was awful, like ammonia," said neighbor Marvin Johnson.
The Cresthaven home has no water, no electricity and is now condemned. After the animals were removed, so were the tenants.
"They (Animal Care Services) had been after this couple for awhile because of the cat hoarding," Cooper said.
"The whole neighborhood knows Bill & Cindy," said Johnson.
Cynthia Cobb was busted for cat hoarding back in 2011 when 80 of her cats were removed from another residence. Authorities were back on her doorstep in June, September, and finally, last week when she surrendered all 42 -- 38 more cats than the city allows.
Now neighbors with lost cats are pointing fingers at the house that was full of felines.
"His cat across the street is missing, two other people's cats are missing," said 25 year Cresthaven resident Patricia Young.
"Three of us have lost our pets, so we find this is going on, and you just gotta wonder, was my cat in the group?" Johnson said.
Now, all of the healthy rescued cats are up for adoption.
"It's just heartbreaking that the cats had to suffer," Young said. "I mean, okay, I have a cat, but come on, 40? Give me a break, no, something's wrong, something has to be done."
Cobb and William Underhill no longer live in the home, but they are expected in Broward County court Thursday, where they are facing multiple criminal animal cruelty charges. The city is also filing a motion that would keep them from ever caring for animals again.
