KITTITAS COUNTY, Wash. — Neglected animals at a home near Cle Elum have been removed, the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office said.
On March 4, deputies were called to a home after receiving a report that numerous cats, rats and ferrets were being neglected on a property near the city.
The deputies said they were invited onto the property by the owners and found animals without adequate food or water living in unsanitary conditions.
Deputies were told by the owners that they couldn’t “adequately” care for the animals and agreed to transfer some of them to Pasado’s Safe Haven, a nonprofit animal rescue in Sultan.
Arrangements were made for the animals to be picked up and on March 7, deputies helped a crew with Pasado’s collect five ferrets, 11 rats and nine cats, which were later evaluated and treated.
During the collection, it was also noticed that other animals were suffering neglect, including cats, turtles and fish, law enforcement said. Deputies applied for a search warrant to recover the remaining animals and picked them up on Wednesday.
Deputies said four cats, two yellow slider turtles, betta and damselfish, and several dead animals were seized.
The animals were taken to Pasado’s for evaluation and treatment.
Deputies said the case was referred to the Kittitas County Prosecutor’s Office for charges of animal cruelty and transporting or confining animals in an unsafe manner.
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