7 DEAD CATS FOUND AMID HOUSE MESS.

Byline: Ryan Oliver Staff Writer

An unidentified woman was under investigation for animal cruelty late Tuesday after the bodies of seven cats were discovered inside her filth- encrusted house in Sun Valley, officials said.

Three malnourished cats and a dog were also taken from the Laurel Canyon Boulevard house by officers with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Los Angeles. The animals are being cared for at a local shelter.

``It was wall-to-wall debris and feces,'' said society President Madeline Bernstein. ``Embedded in all of that were seven dead cats, all in various states of decomposition.''

Bernstein said staff members were still combing the debris piles late Tuesday in search of more dead animals.

``There's no way to tell how many carcasses could be under those layers,'' she said. ``There's Styrofoam cartons, paper trash, food, rags, carts and boxes, and then you'd have feces on top of it. There was no path to get in, it was just piles.''

SPCA officers were tipped off to the situation by the woman's landlord and obtained a warrant to search the house. The woman, believed to be in her 50s, left the house when SPCA officers arrived to execute the search warrant in the morning. She did not make a statement to authorities.

The SPCA is not identifying the woman because she has not been taken into custody, nor have any charges been filed.

Bernstein said officers will conduct a full investigation before determining whether she will be charged.

Ryan Oliver, [phone]

ryan.oliver(at)dailynews.com