Garden of the Cats is a nonprofit community of animal-favoring friends who have gathered together to advocate for the welfare of pets and animals, in general, through the support of animal shelters and rescues, and organizations that operate catch, neuter, and release programs.

Rescuers reached out to us about a horrible situation where cats were left over a month in cages without food or care when their owner was convicted of child and animal neglect in a terrible hoarding situation. While the children were removed from the house, authorities left the cats in the home when the owner's "family" said they would care for them. However, this did not happen, and once the owner was sentenced to do time in jail, the family no longer wanted to be responsible for the cats. Hearing this, several concerned individuals who were following the case responded to the house and found the cats sick, near death, and starved so much that they had begun to cannibalize cats that had already died in cages with them. This situation was so egregious, it called for immediate action by selfless individuals who raced across states to collect the cats before Animal Control came to euthanize the poor creatures. They found the house in deplorable conditions, with cages packed with starving and matted cats. Some were already dead and others were so sick it was believed they would not survive the ride back to the rescuers' homes. However, each live cat was collected and taken out of the home to be treated by veterinarians, groomed to rid them of matted fur and claw that had overgrown into their paw pads, and nursed back to health with nutritious food before they were spayed or neutered and found new homes where they would be loved as individual pets.

We are asking that you donate to this cause, which is collecting funds to help pay for medical bills, food, and future spay/neuters while the cats are being nursed back to health. Grooming is needed to rid all these cats of coats that are fully matted and medical care for paw pads that have been embedded with claws. Your donations will be paid to the health care providers for services that are outlined on invoices and not to the individual rescuers. Remaining funds will be donated to local rescues that have helped in the care of these cats.

Rescuers went back to the house with the authorities on Monday, December 9, to retrieve more cats that the family was hiding from initial rescuers. Three more cats were taken out in horrible condition. We believe this is all the cats that were in the house and pray the family is not hiding others. The cats are now in the hands of the people who rescued them, some fosters, and a rescue, to share the long-term recovery for these poor creatures. This is where the real work begins. After each cat has been medically cleared and altered (spayed or neutered), it will be available for rehoming to those who apply. Please check back with Garden of the Cats on the application process. www.gardenofthecats.comhttp://www.gardenofthecats.com