AMES, Iowa — An Ames woman is facing charges after officials rescued 27 cats from her apartment in December.
Jennifer Thompson is charged with animal neglect with serious injury or death.
Local 5's Laura Bowen stopped by Ames Animal Shelter to see how the animals are recovering.
According to Shelter and Animal Control Director Ron Edwards, this is one of the worst neglect cases he’s seen in his almost 39 years in the business.
“There were a lot of tears shed that night knowing that these animals were being forced to live in that environment," Edwards said, referencing the night the search warrant was executed.
It was a difficult scene for officials to take in. Lisa Brix, an animal control officer there the night of the search warrant, told Local 5 that most of the apartment was covered in urine and feces.
“When we first opened the door, there were flies coming out of the apartment," she said. "The moment we entered, we were slipping in the feces."
Brix described the scene as heartbreaking.
“Some of the smallest kittens were actually following us around, climbing up our pant legs crying while we were making our way through the apartment," she said.
This case left the shelter with 27 additional cats in their care, doubling their cat population, according to Edwards. Before this, the shelter's cat kennels for the general population, not including spaces for isolation etc., were already full.
“So many of the cats we picked up that night had severe upper respiratory infections, severe ear infections," Edwards said.
Two kittens needed one eye removed due to a severe infection and another had to be euthanized due to illness, according to Edwards.
Other health concerns included internal and external parasites, urine scalding, spaying and neutering needs, flea treatment and more.
This, however, wasn’t a task the shelter faced alone. Edwards said that, in response to the situation, donations poured in from across the U.S., including California, Maine and New York.
“We had days when Amazon was delivering 50, 60, 70 boxes to us of toys and litter and everything we needed to care for these cats so that was just… talk about heartwarming," Edwards said.
Of the 27 cats found in that apartment, there are only five cats left that need to find their forever home.
Edwards said that officials don't believe the apartment was being used to breed animals.
He emphasized that it's important to the shelter that hoarders get the mental health help they need through the court system.