Richard McCudden​ is a self-employed painter who says he has "a great desire to save cats that would otherwise be euthanised".

Rather than see abandoned or dumped cats put down, he has turned his rural property,15kms from the NSW central-west town of Cowra, into a cat sanctuary he calls "Camp Kitty" to feed and care for his "feline friends".

But his neighbours say issues of odour, hygiene and water contamination are affecting their health and they have concerns about the welfare of the up to 200 cats that live there in three large enclosures.

And the local council has been told there is a recognised psychological condition known as "animal hoarding" where the needs of the animals become lost to the person's need for control.