A housing officer has described a home where up to 25 cats were allowed to run feral as “the worst thing I have ever seen.”
A court was told that Elspeth McVie had kept a huge amount of cats and kittens in squalid conditions until the local authority intervened.
Lynne Selbie, who inspected the house for Perth and Kinross Council, said it was so disgusting she had to rush out and strip off her clothes to shower straight afterwards.
“I have worked in housing for about 20 years, and I’ve gone into properties over the last 20 years, and I honestly have to say that in my opinion that is the worst I have ever seen.
“It was uninhabitable. It was a clear health hazard. It was sad that somebody was living in those conditions,” she told the hearing at Perth Sheriff Court.
“It was really traumatic for me because I am an animal lover. I went into the property and discovered there was a huge amount of cats – more than we had thought.
“They were quite feral. It was quite alarming for me because I had never seen so many cats. There were babies [kittens], and a cat having kittens.
“We went upstairs. There was lots and lots of clutter, bags and cardboard boxes. The bathroom and toilet were really dirty and I retched and ran outside.”
She told the court that the carpets were wet and soggy underfoot and that the cats were so frightened and distressed they were jumping over banisters and up the wall.
Ms Selbie said there was “something like” 20 or 25 cats in the property and that many of them did not appear to be healthy.
Perth and Kinross Council is seeking a decree for recovery of the property from Ms McVie. It is understood she is currently outwith the property at Newhouse Road in Perth, having been temporarily rehoused, and it is sitting vacant.
The civil hearing, before Sheriff William Wood, continues.
* For more on this story see Saturday’s Perth edition of The Courier, which is also available as a digital edition.