A cat-loving pensioner was discovered with 117 deceased felines stored in his freezer.
The 66-year-old gentleman, whose identity is withheld for legal reasons, was apprehended inside what was described as a ‘house of horrors’ in the French Mediterranean town of La Roquette-sur-Siagne, near Cannes.
‘He didn’t believe he had committed any wrongdoing, aside from euthanising the cats,’ stated an investigating source on Thursday. ‘He informed the gendarmes that he adored his cats and wished to grant them eternal life.’
Agents from AEPA, the French animal protection group, reported that 38 other cats, comprising 12 kittens and one pregnant adult, were also discovered alive around the man’s residence. Some exhibited symptoms of typhus—a bacterial infection transmitted by fleas and lice—while others bore various injuries and were malnourished.
‘They had been residing in the man’s unclean abode for years, and were all in a dire condition,’ remarked the source. ‘It was truly a house of horror – there were additional cats interred in the garden.’ The man was apprehended on Tuesday and underwent questioning overnight until Wednesday before being released pending court proceedings.