Honolulu resident says he found decomposing cats under home

HONOLULU — The discovery of multiple dead cats underneath a Honolulu home has prompted calls for a state investigation.

For years, neighbors have complained about the amount of trash piling up at the Kalihi home. But cellphone video shot last week by a resident shows the problem is beyond trash, Hawaii News Now reported Sunday.

Honolulu resident Ray Carre said he found rows of cat carriers under the home, many of them containing remains.

“You can smell the death over here,” he said.

Carre said several bags he took from the basement contained cat skeletons. He estimated about 200 pet carriers were under the property.

“The whole situation is horrific,” Carre said. “This is the worst thing I’ve had to deal with my entire life.”

The woman who lives at the home would not provide her name, but she disputed Carre’s statements, Hawaii News Now reported. She said the cats were already dead when she got them. She said she collects the dead cats, then disinfects them and buries them in the mountains. But she said her car recently broke down, and she’s in bad health, and that’s forced her to store the cat remains under her home.

Environmental watchdogs said the cat remains are a potential hazard for nearby neighbors and they’re calling on the state to look into the situation.

“It’s a health risk. We don’t know the nature of the animals when they were first acquired. If they were sick, diseased or what have you,” said Carroll Cox, of Envirowatch Inc. “Immediate actions should be done to stop her.”

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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/