Three arrested in Chester County for alleged animal abuse, 50+ animals seized

CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WBTV) - The Chester County Animal Shelter is bursting at the seams with dozens upon dozens of cats.

A phone call to animal control resulted in those cats being rescued from what’s being called extremely unlivable conditions. These cats were then taken from a rescue organization called Cat’s Paw Rescue South Carolina that was supposed to be helping them.

On Monday, deputies arrested Channing, Evelyn and Christine Collinge for Ill Treatment of Animals. Everyone in the house was arrested, and no one in the neighborhood wanted to talk.

The director of the shelter says this is an increasingly growing problem. 54 cats were taken from the home on Pall Mall Road in Chester County. One cat did not even make it to the shelter, dying before it could be given better conditions. The Animal Control director says after seeing how they were being forced to live, it is not surprising.

Kelli Simoneau has cared for these dozens of cats as if they were her own, for the last three days.

”Animals we are their voice,” says Simoneau.

These 54 cats got to her after a seizure from a rescue group called Cat’s Paw Rescue South Carolina. Simoneau says the living conditions were heartbreaking to see.

”The liter box was overflowing. Water was dirty. Fleas were all over him. You could hear them breathing. It’s just a way for an animal to live,” she says.

Animal control says these cats, most of them feral, now living in cages meant for dogs… still sleeping in their litter boxes as they had been before getting seized. The animal control director says a call was made to the shelter saying these cats were not living in good conditions. After a welfare check, the director says they saw what that caller meant—taking these pictures as proof.

”Our facility is not set up for this. We are makeshift doing the best we can,” she says.

Monday night, Chester County Animal Shelter officials said the sad truth is, that these cats have nowhere else to go.

”Every shelter across the United States are full. Rescues are overloaded. Fosters are tired,” she explains.

Simoneau says none of this is surprising that shelters like this one, and many others nationwide, are being inundated with animals in desperate need of help.

”With this job, emotions cant take place. We just have to do right by the law and what we need to do is make people understand that this is happening everywhere, in every county, in every state,” says Simoneau.

There is a way for people to help. Simoneau says to make sure to get any pet spayed and neutered. That way people will not have too many pets, and it will be easier to keep up with the upkeep.

”We take this very seriously,” she says.

These cats are not adoptable yet but the Chester County Animal Control says it does need donations of cat food, probiotics and litter to help. Pee pads are also needed. Call (803) 385-6341 for more information.

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