Forty cats have been rescued from a studio apartment in East Village after the woman who owned them was hospitalized and no longer able to care for them.<\/p>\n
It took rescuers three tries over two weeks to find and pluck the cats from the apartment on Imperial Avenue near 14th Street, the San Diego Humane Society said in a news release Monday.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 6, someone reported multiple cats and a \u201cstrong odor\u201d in the apartment, Humane Society spokesperson Nina Thompson said.<\/p>\n
She said the organization\u2019s Humane Law Enforcement officers worked with the building managers and the woman\u2019s family to get inside the apartment and ensure the cats could be safely surrendered.<\/p>\n
Thompson said the condition of the apartment and the stress of the animals hiding prompted a \u201cmethodical rescue\u201d on three consecutive Wednesdays from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
The first time out, officers rescued 15 cats. The next time out, they found and removed 11 cats. In their final attempt, they found the remaining 14 cats.<\/p>\n
In the interim until all the cats could be located and rescued, they were cared for by a family member of the woman who owned the cats.<\/p>\n
When the cats reached the Humane Society campus, each was vaccinated and given a medical exam. Thompson said several are being treated for upper respiratory infections.<\/p>\n