INDIANAPOLIS — Animal control officers were called in to help out after deputies serving an eviction found a large number of animals inside.
Animal control officers responded to the 1800 block of Keystone Lakes Drive after deputies evicting a homeowner found dozens of cats. While the exact number has yet to be confirmed, Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) says there were around 40 cats at the property.
The animal control officers impounded the cats, taking them back to the shelter to evaluate them for any health or medical issues. The IACS will work with the owners to see if they can relocate some of the animals back with the owners.
Katie Trennepohl, deputy director for the IACS, says ordinance doesn’t dictate how many animals someone can have, as long as they are well cared for and kept in a clean environment. She says it is hard to keep a house clean when you have around 40 animals inside, but she has seen much worse.
Trennepohl also says that while she only saw a couple of cats as they were being impounded, they appeared to be relatively healthy given the circumstances.
This comes as the IACS is already facing staffing and capacity issues at the shelter. In April, IACS said they are operating at a new level of crisis as staff members say animals keep coming into their shelter, but it is no longer humane to keep them all.
IACS said adding more animals, especially a large number, to the shelter does not help the situation. They are calling on people to come to the shelter and adopt so they can free up the time and space to care for all the animals at the shelter.
Currently, adoption fees are waived at the shelter. All animals are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated.