Police have charged a man in connection with hundreds of cats found in a central Iowa home.

Authorities arrested Dennis Carlson, 65, around 4 p.m. Tuesday. He was charged with five counts of animal neglect and three counts of failure to dispose of a dead animal.

Animal feces and hundreds of live and dead house cats were found inside Carlson's home on 158th Avenue in rural Madrid, authorities said.

Carlson, a dependent adult, is being taken to a hospital for a medical and mental health evaluation, court records show. He was found with scratches covering his legs, causing concerns of possible infections.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa reported on its Facebook page that 100 living cats and about 200 dead cats were taken from multiple buildings at Carlson's address on Tuesday.

"Dozens of cats were pressed up against open windows, trying to get fresh air," ARL officials wrote. "Air quality levels inside the house are so toxic that ARL rescuers are required to wear respirators and protective suits and are only allowed in the house for 30 minutes at a time."

Police said 72 dead cats were stuffed into refrigerators and freezers next to the owner's food in the house. Another 49 carcasses were found in refrigerators and freezers in a nearby barn; 72 more dead cats were found in appliances in the garage.

The "deplorable" conditions included cat feces anywhere from 6 inches to a foot deep in different places in the home, including floors, furniture and sinks, a criminal complaint read.

The cats had severe respiratory issues that could be passed on to humans, court records show. One had a broken leg. Another had a neurological disease.

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“This is by far the worst hoarding case ARL Iowa has seen in more than 10 years," said Tom Colvin, the ARL's CEO. "It’s absolutely horrendous. I don’t even have the words to describe how bad this is. We were already over capacity prior to this rescue with more than 1,100 cats in our care, so we are going to need a lot of help from the public with this one.”

Donations to the ARL can be made here.

Anna Spoerre is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. She can be reached by email at aspoerre@dmreg.com, by phone at 515-284-8387 or on Twitter at @annaspoerre. Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news.