KRISTAL, Minn. — A Twin Cities woman is facing multiple charges of animal torture after more than 100 cats were removed from a home in Crystal earlier this year, according to a complaint filed Monday in Hennepin County.
Forty-seven-year-old Shawna Duffy of Crystal was charged with ten counts of animal torture.
Officers visited Duffy’s home in January after her boyfriend admitted illegally dumping bags of feces in Plymouth that he claimed came from her home. The officer was unable to make contact with Duffy, but observed the sounds of “numerous animals coming from the residence and was met by a very strong odor of cat feces/urine” that could be smelled up to 15 feet away, police said . charging documents.
Animal control officers went to the home on February 14 and 16, but no one answered the door. Officers also reported a strong odor of cat urine and feces.
On February 27, Crystal police and animal control, along with representatives from the Animal Humane Society, executed a search warrant at the home at 6900 Dudley Avenue North while Duffy was present. During the initial search, 96 cats were recovered from the home, as well as one cat skull. Three of the cats were kittens.
Animal humane society
MORE: 102 cats removed from home in Crosby due to neglect and unsafe conditions
Police say every surface of the interior floors, walls and furniture was covered in “mud-like substances determined to be dried cat feces and vomit.” There were several litter boxes, but they all seemed to be full of feces.
One bowl of water was left in the sink, along with several other dishes, and the sink was left running to allow the cats access to water. For food, the cats ate from an open, medium-sized plastic container, the complaint said.
Some cats were found in holes in the walls, in oven vents and in a crawl space below the main floor. According to the complaint, many of the cats were in inaccessible areas.
Due to the condition of the house, city inspectors deemed it uninhabitable.
Officers found seven more cats on March 1, four on March 5, six on March 6 and two on March 7.
Animal humane society
According to the Animal Humane Society, all 124 rescued cats had upper respiratory infections, with about 40% having severe infections. Three cats had such severe infections that they were euthanized.
Six other cats were euthanized for various health reasons.
Most of the cats were “largely undersocialized, underweight, had respiratory infections, were malnourished, dehydrated and many other painful conditions,” the Animal Humane Society report said.
As of Monday, Duffy is no longer in custody.
The Animal Humane Society told WCCO that there are currently no cats from this case at the shelter, but there are a few still in foster care that will return soon.
Note: This is a different case than the Crosby cat rescue that WCCO recently reported on.
