Over 30 Cats Taken From Hoarding Situation in Franklin County

The Franklin County Marshal’s office is working to clean up a residence in which over 30 cats were found abandoned and neglected trapped inside.

Photos of the inside of the house were recently posted on the Franklin County Government Facebook page, which showed trash piled high in every room but the situation, according to County Marshall Freddy Akin was much worse.

Akin said he was called to the residence on April 27 after people living nearby called 911 to say the house appeared to be abandoned and there were animals inside.

“Dispatch called me about animals that appeared to be abandoned in a double-wide mobile home near the high school,” he said. “I immediately went there and met two deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff’s office that were already there. We went inside and it was in terrible condition. It appeared to be a hoarder situation but then the property had been abandoned with the animals inside. And the animals were pretty much fending for themselves.”

Akin tells WLHR News it’s not clear how long the house had been abandoned.

After going inside the house with the deputies, Akin called for assistance from Royston City Marshal and Animal Control Officer Jared Hightower.

“There was a pretty pungent smell and you could smell it outside the house,” Hightower said. “Some of the things we found were some carcasses of animals underneath furniture so, we had to push a lot of stuff around. There was a lot of accumulation. Somewhat hoarding, I would call it; household debris and trash. Most of what we encountered was feces; a lot of feces. There were hallways and closets full of it, some areas where we weren’t even walking on the floor. So, that’s really what we encountered but there’s a whole lot more to it,” Hightower said.

Photos of the inside of the home taken at the scene by Northeast Georgia Shelter Director Tammi Jourdenais and shown to WLHR News, showed inches of wall-to-wall feces in the hallway, on the kitchen counters, on the floors, and trash covering the furniture and floors. The photos are too graphic to publish.

Inmates from the Franklin County Detention Center, who donned hazmat suits, gloves, and face masks helped to remove as much trash as possible so volunteers and others could set humane traps for the cats.

Hightower said he along with Jourdenais and other volunteers, worked to get as many of the cats and kittens out as possible.

“Myself, some deputies, and inmates from Corrections were brought out to assist. So, there were a number of volunteers as well as the County Marshal, Freddy. We were all in there to round them up. They were going in and out of the ductwork, in and out from sofas and chairs, they were in the kitchen cabinets. We got as many as we could, rounding them up and herding them into corrals to get them into a trap. But when they stayed elusive we set some more traps and left them overnight. Some of the traps we put in the crawl space, some we put throughout the house.”

Meantime, Jourdenais said all of the cats they’ve gotten from the house so far, have been taken in by no-kill rescue groups.

“We’ve gotten just over 30 right now. We are still trapping, though,” she said Friday. “Most of them were terrified. A lot of upper respiratory infections. At least half of the cats and kittens were sick. However, after working non-stop we have been able to find (no-kill) rescues to take all of the cats so far. The Hart County Humane Society has assisted locally. Donna (Madkiff) with the Hart County Humane Society stepped up to help with the sick ones. The healthy ones we were able to send to rescues in the Atlanta area.

Jourdenais also thanked everyone involved in rescuing the cats and kittens from the house.

“We have definitely made this a group effort. I’ve been so proud of everyone involved. Between us, the Marshal, the Sheriff’s Department, Jared from the City of Royston we have all worked together to make this mission possible,” she said.

There’s no word as to whether any animal cruelty or animal neglect charges will be filed against the homeowner.

Meantime, Akin said the house has been condemned and is not habitable. He said the owner will have to clean it up and make any necessary repairs. It will then need to be inspected before they will be allowed to move back in.

“Right now, the way the Marshal’s office works is whenever a property is not up to code we give them a verbal warning. And then, in two to four weeks I will return and if the property is still in the same condition then they (the property owner) will get a written warning, which is a notice of violation. If they don’t comply within four weeks of receiving the letter then they get a written citation and the case goes before the Magistrate Judge,” Akin said.

WLHR News will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as they become available.