THE ACREAGE, Fla. — Nearly a hundred cats will soon be in the care of pet rescue after a clutter of cats were surrendered by a local Navy veteran.
"In the motor home, we had 20, in the house we had 13 in the master bedroom, in the kitchen I had four, I had seven in one of the bathrooms. All together that would be 20,30, 50," Tom Solder said.
Solder admits his love for cats and the desire to care for them has gotten out of control.
"I'm almost ashamed to say they own the house now, they poop and pee all over the house," he said. "The place is a total disgusting mess."
The Navy veteran has a place out in the Acreage area. The overcrowding of cats forced him and his daughter to live in separate campers on his wooded property. It was the soldier's daughter who put out a plea for help on Facebook. That is when Laura Rister with the Ranch Rescue stepped in to help.
"There were food containers laying on the floor, everything had been destroyed," she said. "The cats had overtaken the home and the smell was appalling."
Rister, a fellow veteran, and her business partner, Nicky, helped remove the cats day by day.
"Thirty-six cats that first evening and since then, ACC has returned every day to remove two or three more cats just inside the home," she said.
Rister said a total of a hundred will most likely be removed from the property. She said all of the cats will receive medical treatment but none of them are currently spayed or neutered.
Solder said he's thankful for the help from a fellow veteran.
"It feels like money in the bank," he said. "She and I both worked our butts off by being in the service that was the money in the bank."
All of the cats taken will get a full physical and eventually be up for adoption.
As for Solder's house, we're told local veterans will begin work soon cleaning and renovating his place so he doesn't have to move.
