Lake County Animal Shelter workers must catch dozens of cats from a hoarding situation in Astatula.

  • 50 cats found at house in Astatula
  • Overall, the cats were not abused or neglected
  • Animal shelter says some are already available for adoption

The call came in Monday, and involves about 50 cats at a home on Robbins Road.  

For the next week, animal shelter officials say they will be setting traps at the house, trying to recover the cats. 

"Cats were everywhere," said Lake County Animal Shelter manager Whitney Boylston. "In the kitchen cabinets, wandering in closets, inside, outside, feces everywhere, cat food everywhere." 

Officials say an elderly woman's daughter called for help after she discovered the situation at her mother's house.  

"The daughter went out and of course was very taken back and surprised by what she found there," Boylston said. "Someone with good intentions unfortunately became overwhelmed, and the situation was out of control."

The Lake County Sheriff's Office says since the animals weren't being neglected or abused, no criminal charges will be filed.

"When animal services go out, they're not looking to cite someone. They're looking to fix the situation. It was conditions no one should be living in, no one should be taking care of animals in," said Sgt. Fred Jones with the Lake County Sheriff's Office. 

Shelter officials say some of the animals are already available for adoption, but they say some others are best suited as barn cats.

Officials say one of the cats died and some are pregnant. The woman no longer lives at the home. ​​

Lake County has had to deal with several hoarding cases over the last few months.

"We had nearly 200 individual pieces of livestock from one hoarding case," Boylston said. "A couple different cat hoarding situations, ranging from a couple dozen to 30 or 40 coming in, in waves.” ​