118 cats removed from filthy St. Anthony trailer packed with dolls and debris

It took three hours for about 15 masked workers and police officers to remove 118 cats from a couple's reeking home in the Lowry Grove Mobile Home Park in St. Anthony on Tuesday.

Another dozen or so cats couldn't be captured because they were hiding in mounds of dolls and debris in the trailer and will have to be live-trapped, said Keith Streff, senior investigator of the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. One cat escaped and three were left with the couple, the limit permitted by city ordinance.

Authorities have seen such cases before.

The woman fits the classic profile of an obsessive-compulsive animal hoarder, "which is sad for both animals and owners," Streff said. In 2002, Humane Society workers removed 72 cats from the same couple's residence when they lived in Coon Rapids, he said.

The couple, identified by police as Stanley and Cheryl Saladis, who are in their 50s, appeared physically OK but had feces on their shoes and pants cuffs, Streff said. Cheryl Salidas will be given a mental health evaluation, he added.

Police Chief John Ohl said Stanley Salidas accompanied his wife to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County health officials declared the trailer uninhabitable for 10 days, during which the couple can try to clean it to meet health and building-code standards, Ohl said.

Police had received no calls about the trailer until Monday when a "concerned citizen" called, he said. Officers "found a significant problem," he said.

Streff said he will compile a report for the city attorney, who may consider misdemeanor animal neglect charges against the two.

The couple moved to the trailer park, at Stinson Boulevard and Lowry Avenue, in 2004 and began collecting stray cats, which bred in the trailer, Streff said. No dead cats were found, and Streff said those removed appeared to be in decent shape considering the foul conditions.

Diane Hollman, who lives next door to the couple, said she had seen cats peeking out of their windows from time to time. She said the tenants' group for the park has a rule limiting residents to one cat.

Last summer, neighbors held a garage sale next to the couple's trailer and the stench of cat urine was so overwhelming that Hollman had to leave. "It was burning my daughter's eyes," she said.

Rooms packed with dolls

The couple slept on a rollaway mattress on the kitchen floor amid the feline colony, Streff said. They also collected hundreds of dolls, some of which were found in the refrigerator, he said, adding that their bedroom and bathroom were so packed with dolls that workers couldn't open the doors.

He said someone apparently shoveled up feces and urine but some floor boards appeared to be rotting from exposure to the caustic waste.

About 10 officers and city firefighters assisted six Humane Society workers in removing the cats.

"In the kitchen I was surrounded by dozens of cats, in cupboards, on the counters, the refrigerator," Streff said. "The water pipes were frozen and the toilet was not accessible."

The cats were taken in individual cages in two vans to the Humane Society kennels in Golden Valley, he said. That many animals poses a major challenge for the society's workers, who typically take in about 100 animals a day. Each cat will receive a health evaluation and treatment for any problems.

The problem of hoarding

Streff said this wasn't his first trip to St. Anthony. In 1999, he removed more than 400 rabbits, almost 100 of them dead, from a St. Anthony woman's home. Five years later, he took about 160 rabbits from the same home.

He said his record for animal removal came in 1994 when about 1,000 rats were taken from a New Hope woman's home after neighbors saw them crawling on curtains. Her collection had started as an attempt to keep several pet-store rats from becoming snake food.

The American Humane Association describes an animal hoarder as someone who has accumulated a large number of animals and who fails to give them minimal care.

Neighbors said they were wary of confronting the Saladises, although some would leave cat litter at their door because of the stench, said neighbor Chelsea Hall.

Cheryl Saladis "used to come outside at night and feed the strays," Hall said. "We called her the cat lady."

Staff writer Lora Pabst contributed to this report. Jim Adams • 612-673-7658