HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- At first glance, the brick Valrico home in an upscale neighborhood appears to be a nice place to live.
Neighbor Chad Brock told us, "I never knew what was going on inside. You'd always see these cats running around."
But when you look closer, through frosted windows and into the garage, you'll find stuff stacked chest-high and smell the stench wafting from a cracked sliding-glass door.
"I actually had to climb up and over and crawl in some of the rooms in the home to get across them on my hands and knees, " said Corporal Ken Vetzel.
Hillsborough County Animal Control Officer Vetzel helped rescue 11 cats from inside the house. Some caked in their own filth and fleas, while other cats were missing eyes and fur. Five more cats were found dead but officers believe there are at least 30 more roaming outside.
"It's a very bad neglect case," according to Corporal Vetzel. But it's the homeowner, 74-year old Alice Santy, that investigators and neighbors are truly worried about.
Santy, who is said to be very frail, was taken to a facility associated with St. Joseph's Hospital for evaluation.
Neighbors say they called officials in 2003 and 2006 over concerns about the cats and Santy's mental health.
"She was really skinny. She looked like she was 80 lbs. soaking wet," neighbor James Hancock told us.
"She was sleeping in the bedroom among fecal matter, among dead and dying cats, " said Sergeant Pam Perry with Hillsborough County Animal Control.
Investigators tell us Santy was left in the house, filled with cat food but no people food, by her husband, James. She hasn't been charged but officers say he could be.
"This is a disturbing situation as well because we have her husband who left her here to live in neglect knowing that the animals were here and she was here," said Sergeant Perry.
Neighbors like Hancock tell us, "She really needed the help and we're glad she got it."
Code enforcement put up signs on the windows which means no one can come back and live here. They say they'll hold the husband responsible for the clean-up, even if they have to do so through the courts.
