It is suspected that sixty-seven cat bodies were discovered in a chest freezer in a chalet adjacent to the house and on the same property.
Thirty-eight cats, including 12 kittens and one pregnant adult, were found alive but in need of treatment, according to the animal protection organization AEPA. Some of the cats had symptoms of typhus, a very contagious and sometimes lethal illness.
Key Takeaways Pensioner’s ‘house of horrors’ exposed after 117 dead cats found in freezer
- Discovery of sixty-seven deceased cat bodies in a chest freezer
- Thirty-eight surviving cats, including kittens and a pregnant adult
- The arrest of a 66-year-old man suspected to be the owner
“They lived in the dirt at this house for several years, deprived of care,” the organization stated. After uncovering the find on Tuesday near La Roquette-sur-Siagne, some five miles north of Cannes, the charity dubbed it a “house of horror”.
Another fifty cats were found buried in the yard, according to the French network BFM. A 66-year-old man was arrested by police at the residence and released on Wednesday. The man was also transported for a mental evaluation, according to Côte d’Azur.
According to reports, AEPA had been looking into the location since December 2023, accumulating data until it judged it sufficient to notify law enforcement and search of the property. The organization stated that it has prior knowledge of the residence due to events in 2019 and 2021, during which 58 animals were found and retrieved.
“We investigated as we noticed strong odors and a lot of meowing, so we called the police, who came to observe the same odors,” it stated to BFM.
“After two months, we obtained the search by the gendarmes yesterday”.
According to France 3, the guy allegedly kept a list of his cats, referring to them as “his loves”.
A volunteer informed the outlet that the first 15 cats they discovered were “all in bad shape” and “eaten away by illness”.
“But when I opened the freezer in one of the chalets, we understood that it was much more serious,” they said.
“When we took the cats out of the freezer, he didn’t understand the problem; he said that he had given them eternal life.”
According to AEPA, all cats who survive must be vaccinated and given care until they are available for adoption.
