In a story of at least one cat—or 75—too many, two women are cited for animal cruelty in Bennington, Vermont. Local police discovered 77 cats living—not in a home--but in two cars, with one feline found deceased in the womens’ possession.
That’s right--vehicles. Prosecutors are debating an upgrade—not for the cats, but for moving those civil citations to actual criminal charges against the pair: Regina Millard, age 54, and Bertha Ryan, age 61. Both women hail from Troy, New York with no word on what they were doing living out of vehicles in Vermont.
To make matters worse for the women, and cats, Bennington police say one of the cats was dead in the trunk of one of the cars. Plates of food were found inside of the cars, some of the feline inhabitants discovered with fecal matter stuck to their fur.
The Police Chief says the pair owned two of the cats and were supposedly looking for homes for the remaining 75 felines—apparently too little, too late, for at least one of the cats in their possession. The Bennington police investigation began after someone complained of seeing people sleeping in the cars—along with the cats.
It still remains unclear as to how the women acquired an ‘additional’ 75 felines that they were attempting to rehome.