No charges filed in Battlement Mesa cat rescue

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — A woman who had 86 cats living inside of Battlement Mesa apartment on Wednesday will not face any charges, according to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office.

All the cats are now at the Colorado Animal Rescue Shelter, where the staff is currently struggling to treat, clean and find new homes for all the shaken animals.

Tanny McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said the department would not reveal the woman’s name or age since she has not been charged with any crimes.

She said sheriff’s deputies responded to the woman’s two-bedroom apartment in Battlement Mesa on Wednesday after she asked for assistance because she was moving and could not manage all the cats. There were no details about the woman’s current living situation.

Asked about the sanitary conditions the animal control officer found in the woman’s apartment, McGinnis simply described it as “unhealthy.” She added that the woman’s only thoughts were to “give stray cats a home” and that she eventually became overwhelmed with them.

Leslie Rockey, executive director of CARE, said Friday morning that the facility has been able to transfer five of the 86 cats to the Cat Care Society in Denver. CARE staff are also expected to send about 16 of their currently adoptable pets to two other programs in the Denver area to free space for the newly arrived cats.

“We are very thankful for help from the Denver area,” she said.

But Rockey added some of the cats are considerably more stressed Friday than they were on Thursday — about a day after they came to the shelter. She said many of the pets were still not eating and that some have intestinal problems.

When CARE staffers came into the shelter on Friday, they found that one of the cats was pregnant and had birthed some kittens that had died. Rockey said that two other cats are being sent to local veterinarians for additional treatment.

Contact Phillip Yates: 384-9117
pyates@postindependent.com