Heartbreaking: 70+ Cats Found Abandoned in Minnesota Home

A really sad story is turning into a story of survival for nearly 80 cats that were discovered abandoned in a foreclosed Coon Rapids, Minnesota home.

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A home flipper named Matt Lennander had purchased this foreclosed home and was going to start the process of flipping the house. Then he got the strangest call from a house cleaner he had hired to start cleaning the house.

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Cats Found Abandoned in Horrible Conditions in Coon Rapids, MN Home

There were tons of cats who had been left behind by the former owner of the home.

KARE 11 reports that Matt headed straight to the house and sure enough, there were the cats. "'I was just bewildered. Overwhelmed by the smell.'"

There was no food, no water, no useable litter boxes, and at least nine of the cats were already dead. Some of the cats had open wounds, too.

I would have felt so helpless in a situation like that, and I'm sure Matt felt the same! Seeing all of these animals in a terrible situation they don't deserve to be in.

Thankfully, Matt, who is a self-proclaimed animal lover, took action. He called the police to figure out the next steps and also shared the story on his Facebook. Pretty soon, rescues were reaching out to help the cats.

Abandoned Cats Get the Help They Need

As of yesterday, Monday, KARE 11 reports that nearly 80 cats were rescued from the home. Five of them have been taken in for urgent medical care. The rest are being housed by rescues around the Twin Cities. They all have a nice place to sleep with food, water, and a proper litter box.

Eventually, they will all get updated on vaccinations and spayed/neutered. Sonja Larson, who is the founder of the cat rescue SNAP'T and also helped 50 of the nearly 80 cats, says all of the cats should be ready to go to loving homes in 1-2 months.

Thousands of Dollars Have Been Raised so Far

Of course, these reduces who are helping these cats need help raising money to pay for all of their care. Matt set up a fundraiser to help and as of writing this post, it has raised over $24,000. That's amazing!

Criminal Charges are Possible

As for the people who abandoned these poor cats, Coon Rapids Deputy Police Chief Adam Jacobson told KARE 11 that there's an investigation taking place and that "criminal charges against the former homeowners are 'an absolute possibility.'”