Man Surprised By Fuss Over 25 Cats
Published: October 1, 2009
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla.—The smell of cats is so strong outside Jim Zimmer’s apartment, neighbors called Pinellas County authorities, who found 25 cats inside, one of them dead.
Standing outside his 2305 1st St. apartment Wednesday afternoon, Zimmer said he doesn’t understand what all the fuss is all about.
Zimmer said the smell never bothered him.
“There was a report that my place stunk. And they opened it up and found feces everywhere,“ said Zimmer, 63. “I happen to have a really good palate for wine, and I’ve always heard that taste was influenced by smell, and I can’t smell it worth a lick,“ he said.
Authorities seized the animals, and the city of Indian Rocks Beach declared Zimmer’s apartment uninhabitable for humans or animals. A large orange sign is on the door warning of the contamination, including cat feces. Zimmer has been ordered not to live there.
The 25 cats taken from the apartment last night are mostly doing well, according to the SPCA of Tampa Bay and Pinellas County Animal Services.
The two agencies are now caring for the cats. Amy Gray, spokesperson for the SPCA, said the cats, for the most part, are in good health. They were being fed. Several are being treated for respiratory infections.
“They seem healthy. Now, granted, they aren’t socialized. That’s going to be the biggest obstacle for them, but it’s actually a pretty easy obstacle,“ said Gray.
Gray said many of the cats are not used to being around people, and will be placed in foster care for socialization, but after that, the animals will be put up for adoption.
The cats include a female with week old kittens and another litter of month old kittens.
One dead kitten was also removed from the apartment.
“It’s a kitten about like this,“ he said, indicating several inches with his fingers. “Two or three days old is all he lived.“
Zimmer said he never had a problem letting his cats breed. Most of his cats are the descendants of one of his oldest cats, Truffles.
“Ultimately I got one, then another, then Truffles was born, and all of my cats are related to her,“ said Zimmer.
Zimmer said he used find others willing to adopt the kittens, but then he just started keeping them.
“In the past, I’ve always given them away. Truffles has had 55 kittens, and I didn’t have anywhere near that, so someone was taking her kids,“ he said.
Zimmer has not been charged in the case. He said he would like to get his animals back, once he finds a new place to live.
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Reader Reactions
People, seriously? You’re talking like this guy should have known better, and should be shot because he’s irresponsible and cruel to animals. This guy isn’t an animal abuser. He’s insane! No one of sound mind has 25 cats and lives in an apartment covered in feces…to the point where the health department orders even HIM to leave the premisis. He needs a good psychologist and possibly meds, and possibly even an assisted living situation. He’s not a responsible pet owner with common sense. He’s a deluded man with no sense of reality.
What a complete idiot! He’s proven he’s not a responsible pet owner by letting those cats reproduce over and over like we don’t have enough animals awaiting death in shelters already.
Puhleeezeee, 55 kittens! For what it costs to feed these kitties in a month, you could have Truffles spayed (and some of her progeny, too!). We really don’t need more of the same. There is already have enough to go around (and around, and around.) Believe me, it’s the RIGHT thing to do.
Yeah, whats the fuss, he was just making some of that “cat poop coffee”. can you smell that ‘mountain grown aroma’? “good to the last drop’(search for story on cat poop coffee)
Is this guy serious? He didn’t think there was a problem because he did not smell anything? Let’s use some common sense…. When you live somewhere and it has a bad smell only you get used to it, the home resident. However, when people in neighboring homes or apartments have their own place and they can smell your place from the outside, hint hint clean it up! And I don’t know how anyone with a normal brain can think that the smell of feces and dead animals is ok to live with. YUK!
25 cats in an apartment is too many. When I adopted my two cats, the rule I always heard was one cat per bedroom of your home and at least one litterbox per cat. In an apartment, where is he going to put 25 litterboxes? And with cats being very territorial, an apartment is too small for 25 cats to have their own place.
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