SICK CATS DESTROYED; 250 FOUND FROZEN.

Byline: Associated Press

Authorities have had to destroy scores of diseased cats found in two homes, one of which also contained 250 dead felines stored in freezers.

The grisly find in this small city surrounded by Oakland has prompted an investigation by police, animal control officers and health inspectors who expressed dismay that so many cats could be allowed in one place.

``One litter box and 150 cats - you have a problem,'' Piedmont police Capt. Fred Gouveia said Thursday. ``The stench was pretty horrible.''

Juanita Gier, 56, and her son, George Place, 34 - both of whom were responsible for the cats - could face animal cruelty charges pending a review of the case by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, Gouveia said.

Police also ran psychological tests on Gier and Place, and found them to be competent, he said.

Of the 150 cats found living in unsanitary conditions, all but six had to be euthanized, said Darris Hercs, director of operations and humane officer for the Oakland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Most of the cats had upper respiratory infections and were sneezing, coughing, drooling and suffering from diarrhea, Hercs said. Some suffered from leukemia and others were pregnant.

They ranged in age from several days old to 9 years, Hercs said, and included orange tabbies, Himalayans, Siamese and domestic short-hair and long-haired cats.

Police were tipped off by a friend of the family who went to visit an elderly woman who had been living in one of the homes. The woman, the friend discovered, had been hospitalized.

After Gier and Place ignored warnings from police to remove the cats, the SPCA arrived at the homes and took most of the living cats last week. Six cats were taken away Tuesday and Wednesday. Police said they had asked Gier and Place several times why they would store dead cats in freezers.