San Jose resident Andrea Alejo pets Diana, an orange tabby who is around 6- to-8-months-old, that was rescued from a home in Morgan Hill last week. Alejo has been fostering two cats since Saturday after learning about their situation on the news.
The nonprofit feline adoption center Town Cats has received a steady stream of support for the 31 cats rescued from a hoarder house last week.
The cats were recovered from a Black Walnut Way home owned by Gene Medina on July 29.
Mirko said since the incident and its widespread media coverage, her organization has received multiple checks - including one for $500 - and loads of cat litter, food and blankets. The Morgan Hill Petco store donated about 30 bags of Natural Balance cat food worth roughly $1,300 to Town Cats after the incident, according to general manager Keith Ledoux.
Town Cats founder and president Rosi Mirko said the donations were much needed, since the Town Cats population rose over night by more than a third, from 90 to 121 cats. One cat's medical needs included laser surgery under its tongue. This procedure cost $500, Mirko said.
The cats are generally in good health, added Mirko. Some needed treatment for parasites or disease. Since cats are territorial, moving from one place to another is stressful for them, she said.
"You want them to eat and drink and feel comfortable," Mirko said. "It's hard, they go downhill fast. We put two in a cage so they're together. They're used to being in a group setting, and this way it won't be too shocking."
Eighteen of the removed cats were placed in five foster homes in places like Menlo Park and Saratoga, said Town Cats volunteer Nikole Nichols. Two of the foster homes took in six cats each, but they're located in cities whose municipal codes allow six per home, Nichols said. According to city code, a homeowner is allowed up to five cats without a license and up to eight with a license. Authorities received an anonymous tip earlier this month about the house having more than five.
Morgan Hill Special Operations Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said there could still be more cats in the house.
"Every time we went in to do a last catch, we were finding more," he said. Neumayer said it could be because the cats are so well hidden, in holes in the walls and in furniture stacked up in the middle of rooms, that the officers couldn't find them.
"Eventually, we had to cut our losses and get out," Neumayer said.
Neumayer said special operations removed 11 cats from the home in 1998, and gave all 11 back with agreement that the owners would take them to the Humane Society.
"As far as we know, they never took them to the Humane Society," Neumayer said. "These cases, it's really tough. Animal hoarding is hard to deal with. The chances of them doing it again are high."
Neumayer said Morgan Hill Animal Control, a division of the police department, doesn't have the resources or manpower to follow up.
South San Jose resident Andrea Alejo said it was her first time fostering. She brought home two six- to eight-month-old kittens, one grey and one orange.
"One is starting to get friendly with me, but both are still scared," she said. Alejo has kept the cats in one room while they get used to her home. One hides under the bed and one in the closet.
"They're still in the scared stage," she said. "They've been so traumatized by the whole thing. It's taking a long time to get situated."
On Wednesday, Alejo brought the orange tabby back to Town Cats, to be part of a kitty line up of sorts for the owner to pick out the five cats he wanted to take back home with him. He had brought two of the five home with him on Tuesday, said animal control specialist Daniel Pena. The two felines, a male and a female, were neutered and spayed. The other three would be spayed or neutered this week and returned, Pena said.
"Two of them they recognized right away, Wendy and Tater," Pena said.
The felines had been using the home as a litter box, according to police.
Special operations officers donned hazardous material protective suits and masks to enter the 3,200-square-foot, two-story home, which is in a middle- to upper-class neighborhood not far from downtown.
Mirko said 31 felines were removed from the home, but one of them gave birth to a single kitten, bringing the total to 32.
Of the 32, only a dozen remained at Town Cats on San Pedro Avenue at presstime. Two had been returned to the owner, Nichols said. The remaining 12 can't be fostered because they're too young or have a health problem that need remedies first, Mirko said.
Julie Dieterly, who donated litter and towels to Town Cats, noted there was an outpouring of support for 38 Santa Cruz dogs recovered from a purported dog breeding home in July.
"I would hope that our community would show the same level of caring and concern for these cats in our own backyard," Dieterly said. While Dieterly admits the cats didn't come from the horrific situation the dogs did, she said they still deserve help.
Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
Natalie Everett
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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