Police say a man has acknowledged stabbing and strangling more than a dozen pets and then setting fire to his Pennsylvania house because he believed it was infested with mites.

Carbondale police say the 41-year-old man was seen walking away from the burning Fell Township home on Friday.

Officials say the man was found Saturday and said he killed 13 or 14 cats and two dogs, piled brush and branches in the basement, poured gas and set the home ablaze.

Chief Brian Bognatz says the man has a history of mental illness and believed the house was infested with mites and burning it down would solve the problem.

Officials say the man is being evaluated at a hospital and could face charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and arson.