Black cats rescued from vacant Belmont Central home; dozens more inside

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Animal Care and Control officers have removed dozens of cats from a vacant home in Chicago's Belmont Central neighborhood, but many more remain inside.

"Probably one of the worst I've ever seen. All you have to do is walk down the gangway, and bend down into one of those windows and you can see the incredibly, really filthy hoarding situation," Erica Roewade, PAWS Chicago, said.

PAWS Chicago and Tree House are working with Chicago Animal Care and Control officers to lure what could be as many as 100 cats out of the bungalow in the 6200-block of West Roscoe Street. The animals get in and out through an open window.

Neighbors said they've called the city several times in the last year to complain about the stench and number of animals inside, but it wasn't until a new alderman took control that anything was done.

"It was a shocker to see how many cats were in there out of nowhere," Jason Maierhofer said.

"This shouldn't have escalated. These animals are in crisis," Barbara Korus said. "The neighborhood, it's a quality of life for everyone. It's just unacceptable."

A Cook County Circuit Judge issued an order to vacate the property by Tuesday. With feces and urine inside the house, the buildings department declared the home unlivable.

"When it was brought to my attention, immediately contacted department of buildings, public health, animal control, every agency to try to resolve this issue," Alderman Gilbert Villegas said. "I'm concerned for the quality of life for the children, the kids in the area the cats. This is an unfortunate situation we are in right now so we are going to have to try and resolve this."

Neighbors said the owner of the house lived there for decades and said the cats were like children to him. He has not been seen in a week, neighbors said.

"We are working hard- PAWS and Tree House - to get these cats spayed, neutered, vaccinated, evaluated, accessed," Roewade said.

"We want a humane solution. Boarding up the building and walking away from the problem and waiting for everything to settle is not the answer," Korus said.