63 cats taken from Marion County home

Sixty-three cats and other animals have been removed from a Marion County home.

Marion County Animal Services say they removed the cats, along with an Amazon bird and a Golden Retriever dog that were living in poor conditions from a home on Thoroughbred Acres, Thursday.

The owner, 54-year-old Merry Wichman, bred and sold cats on the website, www.mainecooncat.com. 

Animal services say many of the animals were housed in 5-by-4 foot chain link cages with nine to 17 cats inside each one.

Marion County Fire Rescue’s HazMat team tested the air quality inside the home and determined it unsafe to enter without a respirator. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office removed Wichman from her property via the Baker Act and into protective custody for a mental evaluation.

According to Dr. David Jebens, DVM, Animal Services’ staff veterinarian, the cats’ conditions range from emaciated to fair/good. Many of the cats have respiratory issues, most likely from living in filthy conditions with poor air quality. Some of the cats are extremely thin and most have matted fur, flea infestation, skin problems and extremely foul odor due to living in their own waste.

The animals are now housed at the Marion County Animal Center, where staff is providing medical and nutritional care. Animal Services staff plans to file a petition for custody within 10 days as well as seek cruelty charges against the animal owner through the State Attorney’s Office.