These images show the disgusting flat a couple left their ten cats inside after they were evicted and one of the moggies then jumped to its death in a panic when a cleaner came in.
The incident occurred in a flat in the city of Mannheim in the southwestern German state of Baden-Wurttemberg where tenants Thomas and Sieglinde L. had been living for years.
According to caretaker Michael Wurz, 59, “the conditions were miserable for ten years – because you could only clean with breathing protection”.
Wurz says he called “public order office, the owner Vonovia and the veterinary office” he felt as though nothing ever came of his calls.
In August, neighbour Kai S., 23, informed his aunt of the animal welfare problem. She contacted a local veterinary practice but she was reportedly told the cats could not be taken from the flat as the animal welfare concerns were not severe enough.
Local media report nobody answered the door when vets visited the flat and they then left the scene.
A new landlord then took control of the property and reportedly evicted the tenants without notice.
Ten days ago, Thomas and Sieglinde L. left the flat with plastic bags and three cats, leaving ten of the cats behind.
Images show how rubbish was piled high in the flat which was in a disgusting state.
When a house clearance specialist opened one of the windows, one of the cats reportedly leapt through it out of panic, falling to its death.
Animal rights activists from the ‘Noah’s Ark Schwetzingen’ are said to have needed four days to find the last male cat in the 50-square-metre flat. Local resident Ursula Uhrig, 78 years old, said “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The nine rescued animals were reportedly traumatised and malnourished. it is unclear what happened to the cats after they were rescued.
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Story By: Victoria Lyndon, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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