39 CATS RESCUED DURING RAID AT MOTEL.

Byline: - Ryan Oliver

Authorities removed 39 cats Monday from the San Fernando Valley motel room of a man who neighbors called the ``cat snatcher.''

The cats were in varying conditions of health, and it was uncertain if all of them would survive, said Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles.

``The place was full of debris and feces and a lot of bugs and things like that,'' Bernstein said. ``It smelled pretty awful.''

Humane officers with the society had to wear masks as they removed the cats from the small room at the Tangiers Motel in the 7600 block of Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys.

Bernstein said her organization would refer the case to prosecutors over possible violation of animal cruelty laws.

The society received a tip that the man was harboring an unhealthy number of cats in his room. Humane officers with the society, who have full law enforcement powers, entered the room Monday morning with a search warrant and removed the cats, Bernstein said.

``I love the cats. I adore them,'' the man, identified as Phillip Appleman, told KCAL (Channel 9). ``I've been with them their whole lives. I can trace them back to four females. I think it's a holy thing.''

Bernstein said the man was unable to adequately care for the cats as their numbers grew.

``While some people may have good intentions to try and hold as many animals they can, there's really a quality-of-life issue,'' she said. ``These cats needed proper diet. They needed proper medical care. They deserve a decent quality of life.''

Irene Baltazar, a resident at the Tangiers Motel, said the man was known to drive around the neighborhood at night on his motorcycle and pick up cats off the street.

``People around here called him the 'cat man' and the 'cat snatcher,' '' Baltazar said. ``I didn't know he had as many cats as he did or I would have reported him. He would never open his door.''

Baltazar and the motel manager said that after the cats were removed, the man checked out of the room where he had been living for six months.

The cats were taken to the South Bay Shelter in Hawthorne for medical evaluations. Some appeared OK while others had open wounds.

``We have to see if they can be rehabilitated and see what kind of diseases they have, and if they can be adopted,'' Bernstein said.

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This animal, left, is one of the 39 cats rescued from the Tangiers Motel on Monday morning by the SPCA. Below, carriers protect the animals on their way to a shelter in Hawthorne.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer