WOODBRIDGE — Some of the cats living on a Beacon Falls farm at the center of an animal cruelty investigation were expecting kittens when they were taken in by the local animal shelter, according to an official.
The about 20 cats were voluntarily surrendered by their owner after the state Department of Agriculture raided the farm on Feb. 24, confiscating 99 sheep and a goose, said Karen Lombardi, Woodbridge animal controller.
“It was a mess,” Lombardi said of the farm.
“The conditions on the farm were actually pathetic,” she added. “There (was) unsafe habitats for animals and people, lots of debris and stuff that just shouldn’t have been there.”
Fifteen of the cats were turned over to Woodbridge Animal Control on Feb. 24, officials said in a news release announcing the raid. Four more have now been found, Lombardi said. With the exception of the friendly tortoiseshell, Sparkle, all had to be caught over a period of about a week and a half, she said.
Lombardi said the group was a mix of male and female cats from 9 weeks to about 2 years of age. SHe speculated that other kittens born on the farm might have been picked off by predators, noting that foxes and coyotes were present.
Most of the cats required treatment for injuries, infections, or other health issues, Lombardi said. Crusts and scars were visible on several at the shelter as of Friday afternoon.
“The cats are all skinny,” Lombardi said. “You’ve never seen a vet, I don’t think. Ear mites on all or most of them. Some had unattended wounds from fighting each other. And nobody has been spayed or neutered, so most of the girls are pregnant.”
According to Lombardi, one of the female cats gave birth to two kittens on March 1, and another recently had three. A few others await, including the tortoise shell. While shelters sometimes perform abortions on pregnant cats, the cats rescued from the farm are too advanced for surgery, Lombardi said.
With the influx of Beacon Falls cats, the Bradley Road Animal Shelter’s cat population skyrocketed, according to Lombardi.
“It used to take an hour to clean the cat room,” Lombardi said. “It now takes three and a half hours.”
Staff are constantly running back and forth between the shelter and the vet clinic, and the cost of cat food has increased significantly, she said.
“It definitely puts a strain on the staff,” said Lombardi.
So far, five of the 19 original cats have found homes, Lombardi said, including an affable orange tabby who was awaiting pickup Friday afternoon. Almost all of the remaining cats are adoptable, although some may need to be released into the shelter’s feral cat colony, Lombardi said.
Lombardi said she had encountered similar situations when she was an animal inspector. A few years ago, she said, 13 or 14 cats confiscated “due to unsuitable living conditions” ended up at the shelter.
“Usually that kind of thing doesn’t happen unless the conditions are really, really bad,” she said.
David Chesnutis, 65, was charged with 65 counts of animal cruelty, according to court documents on Wednesday. He is out on $10,000 bail and is due to be arraigned in State Superior Court in Derby on March 27. He told investigators that, according to the search warrant, he lived in a barn on the property at the time of the initial inspection.
The remaining Beacon Falls cats are available for adoption at Woodbridge Animal Control Headquarters, 135 Bradley Road. The rescued sheep and geese remain in government care at the Department of Agriculture’s Second Change Large Animal Rehabilitation Facility in Niantic.
“It’s really unfortunate,” said Lombardi.
If you suspect animal cruelty, you can report it directly to the local animal welfare agency or contact the State Department of Agriculture at 860-713-2506 or [email protected]