Virginia Woman Caught Hoarding 105 Cats; Montana Woman Discovered with 75 Cats and 14 Dogs

Between July 13-20, Fairfax County officials removed one-hundred-five cats from a Lorton, Virginia residence. Some of the felines were being held in crates without food and water while others were roaming freely in and out of the house. Litter boxes were overflowing and feces were everywhere.

All of the unfortunate cats were exterminated by officials who lamely attempted to justify their barbarism on the grounds that the felines were either sick (upper respiratory ailments, eye infections, malnutrition, etc.) or feral. Being in poor health and wild should not be a capital offense; the real criminals are the cat killers.

The occupants of the house at 8628 Lorfax Drive, seventy-one year old Margaret Gaffney and forty year old Walter Gaffney have been charged with animal cruelty but they likely will get off with a slap-on-the-wrists fine; the cat exterminators will not even get that.

On July 15th, sixty year old Judith Space of Kalispell, Montana was charged with animal cruelty after the Sheriff's Department discovered seventy-five cats, fourteen dogs, and several rabbits in her Fairmont Road residence. Kalispell is a small town of 15,000 people north of Missoula.

Many of the animals were without food and water. As was the case at the Gaffneys, some of the cats were confined to cages whereas others were able to come and go as they saw fit through an open window. Feces and garbage were six inches deep throughout the house.

Space's case will be heard by the Flathead County Justice Court but in the meantime she has been allowed to retain custody of the animals. Should she be convicted the animals will be taken to shelters where just about all of them will be exterminated. Some of the cats reportedly already suffer from eye infections.