LAKE STEVENS — A Snohomish woman accused of hoarding more than 100 cats in a travel trailer last year is now charged with animal cruelty.
Snohomish County animal control officers in July removed 111 cats and kittens from an Airstream trailer that had been parked behind some blackberry bushes on Ebey Island.
Over months, officers advised Kathryn St. Clare that she had too many cats. They instructed her to take some of the animals to shelters and get proper care for the ones she kept, according to court papers.
St. Clare, 55, reportedly told the officers she was homeless and living out of her pickup truck. She moved the trailer multiple times without notifying the officers, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cheryl Johnson wrote in charging papers.
Finally in July, the officers found the trailer next to a goat farm. There were dozens of cats inside. The officers could see that the animals had food and water but the cats looked sickly. St. Clare was given a day to remedy the situation, according to court documents.
The next day the officer discovered that St. Clare had moved the trailer again. An officer located it tucked away behind some brambles on Home Acres Road.
It was about 85 degrees inside the trailer and there was no water or food for the cats. The smell of ammonia from urine was so strong that officers needed respirators to retrieve the 111 cats inside.
A veterinarian examined the felines. The animals were covered in lice and mites, They were in various stages of dehydration and malnutrition. Their paws were caked in urine and feces. The cats had feline leukemia and immunodeficiency virus. Many of the cats were hairless and lethargic.
All of the cats and kittens were euthanized because of their untreatable and infectious conditions, Johnson wrote.
The treating veterinarian concluded that the animals had “profoundly suffered” for a prolonged period.
“I can think of no justifiable reason to force an animal to endure such a miserable existence,” the veterinarian wrote.
St. Clare was charged last week with three counts of first-degree animal cruelty. Prosecutors are expected to ask judge to prohibit St. Clare from being around animals while the case is pending.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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