Police arrested a Long Island man on Tuesday after firefighters found 28 dead cats at his home in Bohemia, a hamlet in New York.
Stephen Glantz, 75, had another 61 cats and eight kittens still living in his home at the time of the discovery, according to News 12 Networks in Long Island.
Glantz faces nine counts of cruelty to animals and another nine counts of neglecting an impounded animal, according to New York court documents.
If convicted, he could go to prison for a year, pay a $1,000 fine, or both.
Horrifying scene where dozens of cats were found dead in Long Island home https://t.co/4BmEpFpvbL pic.twitter.com/dMlWAGxe4N
— New York Post (@nypost) May 4, 2025
Firefighters found the cats on Saturday afternoon after neighbors reported the smell of ammonia emanating from Glantz’s home, according to New York Daily News.
“This wasn’t the worst I’ve seen, but it was pretty bad inside,” John Debacker, head of Long Island Cat and Kitten Solutions, told the New York Post.
“Someone who was in there yesterday started vomiting and had to be taken to the hospital,” Debacker said.
In a May 4 Instagram post, the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals initially stated that only 50 living cats were found.
But volunteers quickly discovered that wasn’t the case.
“It was crazy. There had to be like a hundred Chewy boxes in the entire house. They were scattered in every room, and there were little bodies, dead bodies, inside,” Tammy Gatto, a volunteer with Long Island Cat and Kitten Solutions, told the Post.
“I had to take five breaks, and I was only in there for two and a half hours,” Gatto said. “We were wearing protective suits like hazmat suits and we had respirators and it was still really tough.”
The surviving cats were transported to the Islip Animal Shelter in Long Island and required “urgent medical attention,” the SPCA said in its Instagram post.
Neighbors said that Glantz and his late wife used to leave food for stray cats, attracting dozens of them into their home, the Post reported.
But when Glantz’s wife died, several weeks before his arrest, the situation worsened.
“He was feeding the cats in the backyard for years,” a neighbor said. “I mean, I would smell the urine, but I like cats. But we never smelled anything like this. I mean, I feel sick to my stomach right now.”
Glantz’s arraignment is scheduled for May 23 in Suffolk County First District Court, according to New York Daily News.
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