A U-Haul van was present in a California Taco Bell parking zone on Sunday night crawling with cats. Officers mentioned the van contained 134 cats, most in misery and about one-fifth of them lifeless.
Disturbing pictures supplied by the Merced County Sheriff’s Workplace present cats pressed up in opposition to the entrance windshield of the automobile. Extra of the animals — some kittens as younger as every week previous — had been discovered squeezed into cardboard containers within the again.
A Lengthy Seaside girl was arrested on 93 counts of animal cruelty after 106 “extraordinarily emaciated” cats and 28 lifeless cats had been taken from the van, in keeping with the Sheriff’s Workplace.
In response to a launch posted to Fb, a deputy found the cats within the van parked outdoors of the Taco Bell in Santa Nella. They instantly noticed not less than 20 cats in want of help by the automobile windshield.
Animal management officers eliminated the sick and lifeless cats. They discovered that there was no meals or water contained in the automobile, the discharge mentioned.
Officers mentioned the cats’ ages ranged from 1 week to eight years previous. The emaciated cats had been taken to the Merced County Animal Providers shelter to obtain remedy.
The animals can be accessible for adoption as soon as they’re medically cleared, the discharge mentioned.
Authorities recognized the cats’ proprietor as 69-year-old Jeannie Maxon, from Lengthy Seaside. She was booked into Merced County Jail. The case was beneath investigation, officers mentioned.
The Sheriff’s Workplace famous that the incident occurred on a summer time day — the temperature in Merced County reached a excessive of 100 levels on Sunday — and took the chance to remind pet house owners of the risks of leaving any animal in a automobile.
“The Merced County Sheriff’s Workplace want to remind the general public that leaving any animal in a automobile in the course of the summer time months could be very harmful,” the discharge mentioned. “Please make sure that whenever you’re touring along with your pet, they’re supplied with a cool place to remain, providing loads of shade, a number of water, and meals.”
