A landlord claims the clean up bill ran in to thousands for a rented house left by a tenant who set up a private animal sanctuary at the house.
The RSPCA is investigating former renter Kindred Hummer, 45, for caging a squirrel and other offences relating to the care of 50 cats and 10 dogs living at the property.
Many of the cats had untreated medical conditions and were kepot in cages, according to the RSPCA, who inspected the house at Anlaby, East Riding.
Ms Hummer’s landlord believed she was keeping two dogs in his three bedroomed semi but later discovered she was keeping more than 60 animals in the house and double garage.
Two giant tortoises and 21 dogs were also found at her boyfriend’s home in Hull.
He also said he had to spend thousands of pounds repairing and cleaning the house because of the mess from the animals.
The landlord also stated the house was refurbished before Ms Hummer moved in and due to the state after the animals left, much of the work needed redoing.
Ms Hummer told a local paper: “The landlord knew we had dogs and we kept the cats in the garage. He didn’t ask me to leave because of the cats. The stain on the ceiling was from when a water pipe burst.”
The RSPCA had first considered putting down the squirrel, because keeping a wild animal in captivity breaks the law.
However, the animal has been in capitivity so long that he cannot be returned to the wild, so arrangements will be made to keep him.
Mrs Hummer still lives in the property, but is expected to face eviction over unpaid rent.
She told the Hull Daily Mail: he told how, when the cats began to breed, she put them in cages, with up to 12 per crate stored in the first-floor bedrooms.
Ms Hummer insists she did her best for them – they were let out for exercise in shifts – and that she and her daughter devoted their lives to them.
The unemployed mum-of-three said it became a “full-time job”, and that she went through 30 tins of cat food a day, costing up to £100 a week.
That bill does not include feeding the ten dogs in the house and the garage – or the squirrel.
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