Some 170 cats were found in filthy conditions in a house in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, this summer after being left without care following the hospitalization of their elderly owner, according to a local animal welfare organization.
Many of the cats were emaciated, it said, adding the windows of the house were closed and that the smell of ammonia from excrement was overpowering when members entered the house in early September.
The organization, Gunma Wan Nyan Network, was alerted by a relative of the man on Sept. 7 to the plight of the cats, who had to survive without any water despite the hot summer weather.
According to the group, the owner, a man in his 60s, had been in poor health since early August. He remains in hospital after being admitted more than a month ago.
When group members visited his house, they also found some newborn kittens with injuries.
The members took more than half of the cats away for protection, and will spay or neuter them in groups. They are also looking for people or organizations that can take in some of the animals.
The owner is recovering, and the animal welfare group will take care of the cats on a volunteer basis until he is discharged from the hospital and can look after the cats again.
“It is difficult (for the group) to cover all the expenses for the surgeries, which cost more than ¥10,000 ($67) per cat,” said Yukiko Iida, the Gunma group’s president.