Radcliff Squatter/Hoarder House Rescue 2026

July 11, 2026| Camie Rodgers| 0 Comment| 11:58 pm

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On Tuesday, July 7th, ARC received a call from Radcliff Police about a cat hoarding situation resulting from squatters taking over an abandoned home with more than 30 cats. We immediately began planning and coordinating moves to make room at ARC for 12 to 15 cats. We hoped that our fellow rescuers in Hardin County would also answer the call! They did, and Hardin County Community Cats were actually the first to respond on Tuesday evening, pulling 11 kittens and one nursing momma. The next day, we arrived and began scooping up cats that would allow us to easily place them into carriers…

The “easy part” was short-lived, and the experience and skill of our team was put to work! The team employed the use of nets, bite gloves and creativity! Many cats were elusive and we had to flush them out from behind furniture for our teammates to capture in nets or by hand, protected with bite-proof gloves. In one case, our team member used the box a cat chose to “hide” in as her confinement apparatus.

The entire event lasted about an hour or so, and the police officer on scene even got in on some of the action! In the end, the ARC team had 12 cats and kittens in carriers (and one in a box!), ready to start their next journey. However, we knew there were more cats and kittens at the house that we could not see or catch. So, being prepared for the long game, out team baited and set humane traps.

Once at ARC, we started in-take on the 12 cats and kittens, which includes assessing them for apparent injury and illness, giving initial vaccines, treating for internal parasites, fleas and ear mites, and identifying sex. We found that every cat was infested with fleas, and some were presenting hair loss and even emaciation, likely due to flea and parasite infestation. Additionally, every cat suffered from ear mites and ear infections, some presented symptoms of upper respiratory infection and conjunctivitis.

Back at the residence, it didn’t take long for the traps to do their job. The next day, we had two more cats in traps, bring our total to 14 cats. In the meantime, the cats at ARC were learning to trust, and even love, us! They were feeling much better with their fleas and ear mites dying off, their bellies full and in a clean and comfortable environment. They started playing and soliciting love and attention from whoever will give it!

Over the next few days, our team continued to work with the home owner to keep humane traps set up. We caught more kitties and our fellow rescuers at Hardin County Community Cats took in three more trapped cats, and we took in one more. So far, all the cats are friendly and adoptable (once they are fully vetted!).

At the time of this article, ARC has 16 cats and kittens from this situation in our care, and Hardin County Community Cats has 15. We know for certain that one more cat is on the property, and we will need to deploy our most experienced teammates to capture the kitty, but we are up to the challenge! We continue to keep baited traps in the home until we are certain no more kitties are left. We are dedicated to bringing every kitty in this situation to safety!

In addition to responding to this hoarding situation, ARC is also working on rebuilding our “emergency fund” after paying over $4,000 for a life-saving colopexy surgery for Nori, who was experiencing a medical emergency due to a reoccurring rectal prolapse. We have also recently taken in sick and emaciated kittens found abandoned, surrendered pets from families unable to care for their pets, and more.

As an unrelenting “kitten season” drowns us (and the community) in kittens, we continue to get calls to help will pet surrenders, strays, and even county shelters who have reached their capacity. We are stretched very thin… in capacity, financially and emotionally! We need you more than ever to help us get through this time. If you have ever thought of volunteering, fostering, sponsoring or donating… NOW IS THE TIME! Reach out today and we’ll help you get started. Ready to donate? See below for an option that works for you.

As always, we appreciate our supporters, volunteers and staff more than words can say. We cannot do what we do without YOU!

Donations can be sent via:

Venmo: @AnimalRefugeCenterKY