Midtown Cat Hoarder Investigation Reveals Long-Term Problems

 

Investigation photos from the Valentine home where numerous animals and code violations were found.

Residents of the Valentine neighborhood had been reporting large numbers of animals at a Midtown home for two years before the raid by police, codes and animal control on June 27. The property owner had previously been charged with inadequate care of animals and numerous property code violations, but it took more than a year for a second round of inadequately-cared-for animals to be removed from the home.

Neighbors began reporting problems at the Valentine home in May of 2010 according to records obtained by the Midtown KC Post.  Following is an overview of the two years of complaints and investigation that finally led to animals being impounded for the second time and the home being declared dangerous.

  •  May 2010: KC Animal Health and Public Safety received a complaint that there were more than four cats living at the residence. An inspector noticed numerous cats and noted, “The premises of the residence are disgustingly dirty. You can smell urine/feces from the street. Flies everywhere. Trash all over the porch.”
  • March 2011: After another complaint, officers impounded 10 birds, 13 cats, and 6 dogs at the residence. The owner was charged with inadequate care, inadequate water, and other charges. The report stated that the home was in “extremely unlivable condition.” The homeowner said some of the dogs were in her foster care. The Codes department cleared the home of violations and the owner moved back in.
  • March 2011 – June 2012: Animal Health received at least six calls from people complaining about a large number of cats living on the property. Several times officers spoke with the owner of the home and other times they left notices on the door.
  • June 25, 2012: After another complaint that more than 17 cats were living at the property, Animal Health officers investigated and found multiple cats, dogs, and birds inside and outside the house. They noted a strong smell of urine. Two days later, officers returned with a search warrant and removed 6 dogs, 20 cats, and a dozen birds from the home.

Photos on file with the reports show the conditions inside and outside the home.  The home has been declared a dangerous building by the Codes department. Pending violations include: animal feces on property; interior unsanitary/trash; structurally unsound; unsafe electrical system; hole in interior floor; rank weeds; holes present in roof; and structural interior causing odor.

If there’s a message for neighborhoods, it’s that it sometimes takes repeated calls to the city before something gets done. In this case, the home was allowed to deteriorate to the point where, possibly, it cannot be salvaged. That’s tough on neighbors living next to a property and on the neighborhood as a whole.

 

 

 

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