SPCA removes 59 cats, 1 dog from home

The Suffolk SPCA removed 59 cats and one dog Friday from a Center Moriches home that was then determined to be unliveable and was condemned, police said.

Concerned neighbors called 911 about 1:30 p.m. to report that a woman who lived at 9 Carriage Lane had not been seen for some time, and that a foul odor was emanating from her house, officials said.

The woman who lived there, whose name was not released, did not require hospitalization, police said, but the conditions at the house made it unfit for her and the animals.

"There were very high levels of ammonia," said Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross. "There was a lot of animal waste in the house . . . The high ammonia was obviously from the urine."

Some of the animals were taken to the Brookhaven Animal Shelter, and others were taken to Save-A-Pet in Port Jefferson, Gross said. The woman would be staying with a relative elsewhere, police said.

No charges were filed relating to the incident.