Feral cats removed from E. Rockaway house

Town of Hempstead authorities removed 40 feral cats from an East Rockaway house, four of them found dead and most suffering from respiratory problems, town spokesman Mike Deery said Saturday.

Town building department officials, acting on information from the Nassau DA's animal cruelty unit, went to the Court Street East house Friday where they made the discovery after peering through glass-less windows covered with chicken wire and then entering the house via an open door.

No one was inside the house, Deery said. The town's animal control division took away cats from the first floor only because the home's second floor appeared to be unstable, Deery said. Town officials had previously responded to complaints about animals at the house but couldn't gain entry, he said.

The owner of the home, at 7 Court St. East, is listed in property records as Marylou Perry. She could not be reached for comment.