Continued: Are there cats still in a Minneapolis bungalow?

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Nobody knows for sure whether a few cats might still be inside a condemned bungalow on 37th Avenue S. in Minneapolis.

After the owner was evicted and the house boarded up, Minneapolis Care and Animal Control live-trapped three, two of which are feral. They had escaped detection when authorities boarded up what they called a garbage house.

Animal rights activist Lori Peterson worries there could be more. "Nothing can be crueler to be sealed into a place with no light, no air, no water, no food, no sound -- to be left there to die," said Peterson, an attorney.

A neighbor and a relative say three or four cats may be in the house. But Dan Niziolek, manager of animal care and control, said his officers haven't seen any in a few days and hope they've caught all of them.

"Unfortunately we are seeing a growing number of pets that are abandoned, and the houses boarded," said Niziolek. "It might be the result of the foreclosure issue."

The owner of the condemned house is Patricia Fait, 54, who could not be reached for comment.

Authorities boarded up Fait's house on April 21 after police ordered her out, said Jack Allison, a district supervisor for the Minneapolis Inspections Department. A housing inspector accompanied police.

"When the owner left, [Fait] said there may be cats in the house, but she had not seen them for days," said Allison. A police officer who walked through the house "didn't see anything, and then the building was secured," Allison said.

Fait's granddaughter, Dana Nelson, 18, of Apple Valley, said she heard from her mother that cats still were in the house. She said she called animal control but was unable to talk to anyone.

Fait had left Minnesota for Iowa, and Nelson couldn't reach her. So Nelson said she and Peterson entered the house April 29. They couldn't find the cats, but left food and water.

An anonymous caller had informed animal control April 25 that abandoned cats were in the house, Niziolek said. Animal control officers went out the next day, but had no authority to enter the house.

An animal control officer called Fait in Iowa. "She indicated there were cats in the dwelling," said Niziolek. His office needed permission to enter the house, but it took a second phone call on April 29 before Fait faxed permission.

Control officers went out on April 29 and found no cats. The officers set live traps, and by May 2 had caught three cats.

Animal control released the three to Nelson on Thursday, and the agency is working with Peterson to get her and Nelson legal access to the house. Peterson hoped to line up a rescue specialist to continue efforts to trap any remaining cats.

Records show a history of housing violations at the home going back to 1997, with problems seeming to escalate in the last couple of years.

The three cats that were trapped are settling in at Dana Nelson's family home in Apple Valley. "I'm glad there was such a good outcome," she said.

Randy Furst • 612-673-7382

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