Some neighbors celebrate while others mourn: a Siberian woman with 67 cats in her one-bedroom apartment has put her home up for sale.

In Novosibirsk, residents of a high-rise building on Vysotsky Street can finally breathe easy. Their cat-loving neighbor has moved out of the notorious apartment. In just 36 square meters, the woman had 67 cats! This article from KP-Novosibirsk details how the animals were evicted through the courts and why this is not the end of the story.

THE SMELLY APARTMENT

It all began with a post in a social media group called “MZhK Vostochny, Plyushchikhin.” Residents of the building at 35 Vysotsky complained about the stench in the stairwell and allergies. All thanks to a kind-hearted neighbor who managed to create a whole zoo in her one-room apartment. There were so many cats that no one knew the exact number.

- Recently, a police officer visited the apartment, but apart from a fine of 5,000 rubles, he couldn’t do much. A ton of complaints have already been filed against her with the homeowners’ association, - the post stated.

The stairwell is unbreathable.

Photo: Anna PASHAGINA. Go to the KP Photo Bank

The police officer was the only one the cat lady allowed inside. He attempted to count the animals and discovered there were 67 tails!

The owner of the foul-smelling apartment was notably tight-lipped with journalists.

- I’m not ready to give an interview, - she replied briefly through a closed door to KP-Novosibirsk journalists. However, the odor spoke louder than words... And people live here. The entire stairwell was suffocating.

- I bought an apartment in this building three years ago. At first, I didn’t notice the smell, but then it became stronger. I live on the 9th floor, and the cat lady is on the 7th, - said Irina Pisarева, a resident of the building.

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The apartment is so overcrowded with cats that there’s no space left. Photo: provided by neighbors

She, along with other residents, conducted their own investigation. They discovered that the cat enthusiast lived in the one-bedroom apartment with her elderly mother. They had no bed or shower, and the refrigerator was stuffed to the brim with junk. They lived on the pension of the elderly woman.

The residents of the building submitted complaints to Rospotrebnadzor. Specialists arrived and took air samples. The results showed that the ammonia level in the stairwell exceeded the norm by 1.2 times.

“SHE CAN’T BE TRUSTED”

The residents turned to the court. They requested the elimination of violations of sanitary-epidemiological and veterinary-sanitary rules, as well as the disinfection of the apartment. They also wanted the animals to be sent to a shelter.

- We need the apartment to be brought back to normal condition. She can’t be trusted with anyone! – said Irina.

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The apartment is in unsanitary conditions and filthy. Photo: a frame from the video “People's Front | Novosibirsk Region.”

The cat lady did not attend the hearings. A decision was made in her absence: to evict the cats from the apartment and restore, clean, and repair the living space. The ruling came into effect, but the bailiffs were slow to enforce it. After all, how? Where would they put 67 cats? Desperate, the residents of the high-rise contacted the “People's Front.” They sent a request to the prosecutor's office and the bailiffs.

- Our patience has run out. If she doesn’t move out on her own or the bailiffs don’t take action, we will go back to court. We will demand the forced eviction of our neighbor, and let them put the apartment up for sale forcibly, - promised the neighbors.

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Cats live in a 36 square meter apartment. Photo: provided by neighbors

SHE TOOK THE ANIMALS AND ORDERED A “CLEANING”

Whether the public outcry had an effect or the cat lady sensed the “love” of the entire building, recently neighbors saw her leaving the stairwell with bags and putting them into a taxi. Cat heads were poking out from the bags.

- We couldn’t believe our luck. She decided to take her animals away herself. At first, we thought she would take them to a shelter, but no. It turned out she had another apartment on Yesenin Street. Now she will live there with the cats. We are rejoicing. But her new neighbors are probably crying, - the residents told KP-Novosibirsk.

By the way, there turned out to be fewer cats than the officer had previously counted. Instead of 67, there were 47. Where did the other 20 go? Only one of the owners knows.

- She didn’t just move out with the cats. She hired workers, and they removed rotten furniture from the apartment, tore up the floors, and threw away all that junk. But a complete renovation is needed there. I think that just one treatment won’t be enough, - says Irina Pisarева. – We also know that she has put the apartment up for sale for 4 million rubles. We haven’t seen any potential buyers yet, but we hope decent people will appear.

Now, it’s easier to breathe in the apartments of the high-rise than before. The smell of ammonia is gone.

- I used to smell it coming from the ventilation, but now it’s all gone. I can hang towels normally, and they don’t smell like cats anymore. Of course, the smell in the stairwell will take a long time to disappear. The only thing is, I feel sorry for the new neighbors of these cats. They might suffer now, - the woman concludes.