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Chandler neighborhood demanding action after home overrun with feral cats

Posted at 7:19 PM, Jun 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-24 00:43:59-04

A Chandler neighborhood is demanding action after several feral cats have begun to multiply.

Finely manicured lawns and nice landscaping mark the are near Kyrene and Chandler Boulevard, but one home stands out.

Neighbors say 30 or more cats, many of them kittens, have made it their home.

The smell of cat urine and feces comes from yards, and neighbors say complaints to the City of Chandler, the police, and animal rescue organizations have gotten them nowhere.

"I'm afraid they are going to die," said resident Stacey Stewart, who's on a cat crusade to save the feral animals. "We just had record heat last weekend... 119... 120? We have kittens, that are probably not 8 weeks old."

The home in question is under a code enforcement investigation for overgrown weeds and trash in the yard.

Several visits from code inspectors have turned up nothing with the owner.

Each time inspectors show up at the home, there's no answer.

"There's been no contact with the owner... as far as we understand it...this person does not come out of the home and people who have tried to even volunteer cleaning his property, they are thrown off," said Stewart.

Neighbors say the home has been the subject of a legal battle that has dragged on for years.

The owner lives out of state.

ABC15 knocked on the door but no one answered.

For now, neighbors are keeping water out for the cats because of the hot weather.