More than 100 cats recovering after rescue from hoarding horror in Oakland Co.

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Oakland County Animal Shelter is the new, temporary home for more than 100 cats that were recently rescued from a West Bloomfield Township hoarding situation.

The staff at the shelter and pet adoption center are working hard to nurse them back to health after they were found in deplorable conditions. It's actually being called the worst case ever in the county.

"A lot of them had ear mites so bad that they had disfigured ears," Joanie Toole tells us. Some had other ailments, like a cat named Drifty who lost an eye from fighting with another cat. He's one of the luckier ones; many have a long way to go before they are well enough to be adopted out. 

Animal control officers originally pulled 178 cats from the house in the 1700 block of Elsie after following up on complaints from neighbors. Sixty of them were in such bad shape they had to be euthanized.

"When the officers came in the floor was actually bowing because it was so saturated with urine; feces everywhere, fleas, extremely smelly," Toole says.

It will eventually be up to the prosecutor's office to decide whether the couple who owned the home in which the cats were kept will face possible neglect or abuse charges. While they contemplate that workers here at the shelter are focused on getting the cats better.

Donations for food and medical costs are much appreciated right now. If you'd like to drop off supplies or make a donation, the shelter is located at 1200 Telegraph in Pontiac.

"They loved their animals; they loved their cats if you talked to them. They thought that they were doing good," says Bob Gatt, who's also with the Oakland County Animal Shelter. "I think it just got out of control."