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Neighbors Shocked After Dozens Of Abandoned Cats Euthanized

MOUNT LEBANON (KDKA) -- Neighbors in one Mount Lebanon community are outraged after dozens of abandoned cats found in a home by a private contractor brought in to remove them were euthanized.

"There is a definite odor that's been creeping out for weeks at least," says Margot Cicci, a neighbor. "Even today, if you go down the back alley, you can smell it coming out of the garage. It's pretty bad."

Cicci has pictures of some of the cats that were taken away when a private contractor, Big Daddy Wildlife Removal, was called in by the landlord of the house on Pennsylvania Boulevard in to remove them.

A tenant was evicted and left behind plenty of cats in varying degrees of health.

Animal Friends, which is usually involved in cases like these, was contacted after the removal company was contracted.

That company says about 80 cats were found by them and 65 were euthanized.

So far, Animal Friends has been given two sick kittens, five kittens that were just a couple of weeks old, plus two others retrieved on Friday.

Neighbors are concerned about the process as well.

"My worry is the number of cats that were taken out that were put down. There's no accounting for them," said Cicci. "My understanding with the humane agents is that a humane agent has to be present; everything has to be documented for cruelty and abuse charges to be filed. This is essentially an abandonment case as well, so it's too late to save these animals at this point."

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