A few of the 99 cats seized in January from the home of a cat hoarder in Wright settle into their new surroundings at the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley. Photos from the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley's Facebook page; used with permission.
A month after 99 cats and a dog were seized from her filthy home on Route 146 in Wright, 50-year-old Irene VanDyke was arrested Monday and charged with animal cruelty, according to several news accounts.
VanDyke is slated to appear in Town of Wright Court on March 11 to answer to charges of animal cruelty and failure to provide sustenance, the Daily Gazette reports.
In January, after complaints from VanDyke's neighbors about the overpowering smell of cat waste coming from her house, Schoharie County sheriff's deputies and Schenectady SPCA workers carried out a raid on the property. They found 99 cats in crates in the befouled house, and another 67 dead cats in clear plastic bags in VanDyke's freezer.
Local officials condemned the house, declaring it "unfit for human occupancy," the New York Daily News reported.
VanDyke had a cat hoarding problem for years, and rejected offers of help from a local animal shelter and mental health workers, the Times-Union reported in January:
Kerrie Colin, manager of the Animal Shelter of Schoharie in Howes Cave, knew about Vandyke's cat crisis two years ago and tried different approaches to try to help her. She struggles to sympathize with the woman's plight, now that she bears the burden of caring for 99 cats and kittens with a grass-roots, financially strapped volunteer organization.
"The minute anyone tried to take her cats, she freaked out and threw them off her property," Colin said. "She definitely had a hoarder mentality. She's not a horrible person. She just needs help and counseling."
When VanDyke's 99 cats arrived at the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley, Colin told the Watershed Post today, they were sick and suffering.
"Every single cat we got from her was ill," Colin said. "Everybody had severe upper respiratory infections, a lot had severe flea infestations. Quite a few of them had neurological issues."
The cats have received several rounds of treatment with antibiotics, and about three-quarters of them are on track to a full recovery, Colin said. But others may have lifelong chronic illnesses.
"It really depends how well the ones on their third rounds of antibiotics respond to that," she said. "We might have a few with chronic upper respiratory illness. I'll know more when this series of antibiotics is done."
The cats who have recovered were recently made available for adoption. One has already been adopted, Colin said, and the shelter has received applications for several more.
The nonprofit, no-kill Howes Cave shelter is small, with just four paid staffers, and depends on donations and the efforts of about a dozen volunteers a week to stay afloat. Taking in 99 cats at once has been a mighty task for the shelter, which Colin estimates has spent several thousand dollars on their care in the last month.
"It definitely has put a strain on our resources and our staff and volunteers. It's been a very big undertaking," she said.
But the publicity surrounding the Wright cats has also prompted an outpouring of support from the community.
"Donations have been absolutely fantastic," said Colin. "What we really appreciated was all of the thank-you cards and notes from people we got along with the donations, thanking us for being there to take these animals in."
Anyone looking for more information on adopting an animal from the shelter can call them at 518-296-8390.
Below: A kitten plays in the open cat room at the Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley.
