New Brunswick Animal Group Nurses Cats Rescued from Hoarding Situation

New Brunswick, NJ - A New Brunswick-based animal rescue organization recently received a $743 grant from the PetFinder Foundation to help care for several cats that had been rescued from a hoarding situation in northern New Jersey earlier this summer.

The cats were rescued from a hoarding situation in a West New York condo on May 27. Animal rescue workers found a total of 86 cats and dogs, most of them crammed into tiny cages, sitting in their own waste, being kept in one room in the condo. The size of that room? A mere 9 feet by 9 feet, roughly equivalent to three queen-sized mattresses. The mother and daughter who lived there housed the animals in exchange for money, police said, and had created a business by housing the stray, unwanted animals in exchange for cash.

The mother and daughter, along with a third woman, were charged with animal cruelty. The smell from the condo was horrific, West New York Mayor Felix Roque said at the time.

Karma Cat + Zen Dog Rescue Society, which is based in New Brunswick and works with the PetSmart on Rt. 1 in North Brunswick, took in three of the cats from that condo. The Petfinder Foundation donated the money to pay for the medical care of the sickest cat, Billie Holiday, a six-year-old female domestic short hair and calico mix, pictured above. Billie needed to be tested for FeLV/FIV, given vaccinations, microchipped and spayed. She also needed a dental exam, cleaning and extraction.

The other two cats Karma sheltered have been adopted, but Billie is still waiting for her new home! She is currently recovering from her teeth surgery, and information on adopting her can be found here.