The owner of an apartment complex in the Ward says it will cost an estimated $20,000 to repair the apartment after a woman was evicted and her 80-plus cats were taken to the Guelph Humane Society.
Enforcement officers for the humane society were on scene at the Huron Street building in The Ward Thursday morning, removing another cat that had been captured by a trap left overnight.
Eighty cats were taken into custody by the humane society on Wednesday after it was contacted by a woman living in a two-bedroom apartment.
Reached by phone on Thursday, the building’s landlord said he believed the woman only had six cats and a dog.
The landlord asked that his name not be published.
The woman was evicted as a result of extensive damage to the plumbing in the building after a large amount of clumping cat litter was poured down the toilet over time, said the landlord.
Other expenses were incurred fixing the plumbing.
The eviction process took 10 months to complete, resulting in the notice of vacant possession which took effect Wednesday.
When work was being done within the unit, the landlord said the tenant would not allow him into the two bedrooms, only the bathroom.
The landlord is estimating $20,000 damage to the unit. Work on the unit will begin Friday.
“They just clawed and scratched all of the wood, all of the jams,” he said.
As of noon on Thursday, an appeal for donations to the Guelph Humane Society on Facebook has raised more than $6,300 toward its estimated $20,000 in costs associated with the intake of 80-plus cats.
The Humane Society is also asking for gift cards to pet stores and a wish list posted on its web site requests things like cat litter and cat carriers.
