A major rescue operation took place in a small community near Nuremberg last weekend: More than 100 cats were freed from a small, smelly, wet apartment.
Two animal shelters, the local veterinary office, the police and the volunteer fire brigade were involved in a rescue operation in the Nürnberger Land district last Sunday. A total of 116 cats were freed by the helpers from the animal shelters in Feucht and Hersbruck with the help of the fire brigade and authorities from an apartment in an apartment building. In the Facebook posts of the two animal shelters, there is still talk of 115 animals – according to information from the Feucht animal shelter star but in the end it was 116.
Large rescue operation in animal hoarding apartment in the district of Nürnberger Land
It is an “extreme case” of animal hoarding,” said Petra Hluchy, deputy director of the Feucht animal shelter star. The Hersbruck animal shelter says that the helpers were called to the “worst animal hoarding case in our club’s history” on Sunday afternoon.
“The fire brigade could only get into the apartment with respiratory protection because it smelled so bad of urine,” quoted “Nordbayern.de” the humid animal shelter manager Ulrike Lang. A mixture of feces and urine swam on the floor of the small apartment, reports the Hersbruck animal shelter on Facebook. “Breathing was difficult because the smell of ammonia was extreme.” Fortunately, the Diepersdorf volunteer fire brigade would have set up a disinfection lock for the helpers.
It is also the extreme smell that is still a topic of conversation in this case in the days that follow. Because many wonder why the conditions in the apartment could escalate to such an extent without anyone having informed the authorities beforehand. “It’s hard to believe that nobody noticed,” says Petra Hluchy from the animal shelter in Feucht.
The action was set in motion more or less by accident: After water damage was reported, the full extent of the animal misery was discovered. “We don’t know how long this condition was, in which the cats had to live so painfully,” writes the Hersbruck animal shelter. The rescue was also difficult because the animals hid behind cupboards and under the furniture.
Most of the rescued cats and tomcats were adults, but there were also five kittens. “Some of the poor animals were completely soaked and they all stank terribly,” writes the Feucht animal shelter. “We now warm them up, feed them and give them veterinary care.” According to the helpers, the cats were distributed to several animal shelters in the region and are currently in quarantine until their health can be assessed.
Surprisingly, most of the rescued animals are doing quite well, according to shelters and the local press. The Hersbruck animal shelter writes that the state of health of only two animals is questionable. “Most of the cats were in good condition,” says Petra Hluchy from the Feucht animal shelter. They were wet on Sunday due to the water damage – on Monday, when the animals were dry again, they would have looked much better. It was striking that the animals didn’t look neglected, said the director of the shelter, Lang. It is so far completely unclear where the animals come from and whether they are chipped or registered. Apparently, however, they would not have multiplied uncontrollably.
According to information from “Nordbayern.de”, the police were called on Sunday morning because water was running out of the apartment. It was feared that something had happened to the 60-year-old tenant. She was apparently not at home when the police arrived, but came a little later and was then taken to a hospital. The cause of the flooding was an open water tap. From the police’s point of view, the wet apartment, in which cat feces, urine, food and water had been spread everywhere, was no longer livable.
Diseased hoarding of animals is similar to messie syndrome
Animal hoarding, i.e. the pathological collecting of animals, is classified by psychologists as a special form of the messie syndrome. Affected people think they love animals, but in reality they neglect and torment the animals with poor care, poor hygiene and extreme cramped conditions.
On average, those affected keep about 105 animals, according to reports of this mental disorder. “The owners don’t realize that the animals in their care are doing badly,” says the German Animal Welfare Association. In 2020, the association registered a total of 59 cases involving more than 3600 animals. “On average, there was at least one case every week,” the animal rights activists summarize.
Incidentally, people who keep animals under such conditions do not have to fear particularly harsh penalties. This is shown, among other things, by the case of two women who were on trial in Schleswig-Holstein for violating the Animal Welfare Act because they had kept more than 100 cats in the worst conditions.
A cat is waiting for new owners in an animal shelter. After the recent case of animal hoarding, several animal shelters in Bavaria now have even more cats to adopt than usual.
© Christian Charisius / Picture Alliance
The district court in Ahrensburg dropped the case against her in mid-January. They have to pay 300 euros each to the Ahrensburg Animal Welfare Association. According to the local press, the reason given by the court for the decision was “no deliberate animal cruelty”. The women were overwhelmed with the situation.
Animal Shelter Feucht on Facebook, Hersbruck Animal Shelter on Facebook“Nordbayern.de“, German Animal Welfare Association“Spiegel.de“,
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