Dozens Of Cats Discovered Inside OKC Home

An Oklahoma City man is in jail, accused of animal cruelty. This, after animal control officers found more than a dozen cats living inside his filthy home. What's worse, they found several more cats dead inside.

Terry Alan Chesser, 52, who reportedly lived inside the home with the cats, is currently in the Oklahoma County jail on a $20,000 bond. He's facing two dozen counts of animal cruelty.

The Oklahoma City animal shelter had hoped to be able to save the cats that were brought here, but sadly all of them had to be put down because they had feline leukemia. They were all found living inside Chesser's home, located at the end of a dead end street near NW 26th and Portland.

A look inside the front window tells the story. Things were so bad inside the home the city was forced to condemn it.

"I think it's horrible," said neighbor Troy Templin. "Anyone who treats an animal like that is just crazy."

Templin lives just down the street. He says he had noticed several cats sitting in the window sills, but had no idea things were so bad inside.

"I thought it was a little extreme, but I didn't know it was that bad," said Templin. "I didn't know it was not being taken care of. I never even see anybody over there."

Trace Lyons is the Supervisor for OKC animal control and says this was not the first time they had been called out to rescue cats from Chesser's home.

"The cats were recovered from inside and outside," said Lyons. "There are still some strays we need to get trapped and brought in."

Lyons says they hope to save the cats that remain and he encourages other animal lovers not to get in over their head by trying to take care of too many pets.

"Don't get yourself into a position where the animals are going to start suffering," said Lyons.

Oklahoma City Animal Control says there is a limit to the number of pets you can have without a license. You can be cited if you are found with more than four. He says cat hoarding can create an especially difficult situation, since sometimes cats will create cat colonies. He encourages pet owners to spayed and neuter their animals.