Animal rescuers had been desperately searching for help Monday after practically 70 cats, together with new child kittens, had been present in a Lengthy Island dwelling over the weekend, together with 28 useless ones.
“It is a criminal investigation,” Gross mentioned, noting that extra particulars could be launched Tuesday at a scheduled press convention. “It’s an ongoing investigation.”
The kitty home of horrors got here to gentle on Saturday, when a Bohemia Fireplace Division hazmat staff was known as in to research an ammonia stench emanating from the house. They discovered greater than two dozen cat corpses in freezers and strewn concerning the premises, and scores of residing felines in dire want of medical consideration, animal rescuers mentioned.
The rescue effort prolonged in a single day Saturday and into Sunday as humane traps arrange in a single day caught a number of cats that had been hiding. The hearth division has condemned the home.
The Suffolk County SPCA wants not solely veterinary and medical provides but additionally veterinarians and vet techs themselves, Gross mentioned, noting that about $2,000 has are available up to now.
A cellular MASH unit. (Suffolk County SPCA)
At the moment, the cats are being cared for in a cellular MASH unit parked outdoors the Islip Animal Shelter, a hospital full with an working room, Gross mentioned. A number of new child kittens had been being bottle-fed at dwelling by one of many investigators, he added.
“We have had calls from throughout the state” from rescue teams and shelters prepared to journey to Lengthy Island and take a few of the animals, Gross mentioned.
Initially Revealed: Might 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM EDT