Marcella Wyrembelsky lives near the place that housed more than 100 cats. She says she knew something was going on - but she wasn't prepared for what she saw inside.
"I've never seen that many animals in one spot in my life, not even at the animal shelter, litter boxes full of feces, just horrible. Cats everywhere," Wyrembelsky said.
The Shiawassee County Undersheriff says there were between 100 and 150 cats on this property in Perry.
"Some in cages, some running around, they were just everywhere," Wyrembelsky said.
Crews started removing cats at 8 a.m. on Wednesday and were working more than 10 hours getting cats ready to go to the Shiawassee and Capital Area Humane Societies.
"Once we get them back to our shelter we will be assessing the cats and looking at their condition and then that information will be given to the prosecutor who will use that information for the case," Julia Willson, President and CEO of Capital Area Humane Society said.
Nancy Bischof owns the home. Her lawyer says she was there daily giving food and medical care to the cats. "It's been suggested that Dr. Bischof has abandoned the cats here or left them behind to die. I can assure you that is not the case," Attorney Troy Clarke said.
Wyrembelsky says in her neighborhood - people take care of animals - and she wishes she had known what was going on earlier so she could have reported it. "I was flabbergasted, I couldn't believe it, in our neighborhood, what's going on. We need to figure this out," she said.
The cats will have to be assessed, and the sheriff's department will have to finish its investigation before the animals can be put up for adoption.
