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KITTENS ALL SUFFERING FROM A , NIGHTMARE SITUATION. >> HORRENDOUS. THE SITUATION WAS HORRENDOUS ON ALL LEVELS. >> ARL DIRECTOR TOM COLVIN HAS SEEN A LOT. BUT HE SAYS THIS I FORCED HE HAS SEEN IN 10 YEARS. 100 CATS SUFFERING ABUSE AND NEGLECT. OLD CATS, YOUNG CATS. AND MANY KITTENS ALL BEING CHECKED OUT FOR DISEASE AND INVESTIGATION. IRONICALLY THESE MAY BE THE , LUCKY ONES. THE ARL FOUND 200 DEAD CATS IN IN THIS RURAL MADRID FARM HOME AND OUT BUILDINGS ON TUESDAY. >> THE SMELL WAS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS. THE SMELL WOULD LITERALLY BACK YOU UP. EVERY TIME HE WENT IN, IT WAS LIKE A WALL OF ODOR. >> TAKE A LOOK AT PICTURES THE ARL TOOK FROM INSIDE THE HOME. THEY SAY SOME OF THE DEAD CATS WERE BEING STORED IN A REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER ALONG SIDE THE HOMEOWNERS FOOD. THE CAT WASTE AND LITTER IS PILED AS DEEP AS ONE FOOT ON THE FLOORS OF THE HOUSE AND ON COUNTERTOPS. RESCUE WORKERS HAD TO WEAR SPECIAL SUITS AND MASKS BECAUSE THE ODOR WAS SO BA THEY SAY MANY OF THE CATS WERE CROWDED AROUND SEVERAL WINDOWS TRYING TO BREATH SOME FRESH AIR. IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE ANYONE OR ANYTHING COULD LIVE HERE. >> I CAN’T IMAGINE ANYONE WOULD WANT TO LIVE IN THAT SITUATION. >> BUT 65-YEAR-OLD DENNIS CARLSON DID LIVE HERE. HE WAS ARRESTED CHARGED WITH 5 COUNTS OF ANIMAL NEGLECT AND 3 COUNTS OF FAILURE TO DISPOSE OF DEAD ANIMALS. WE WERE THERE AS HE TOLD A JUDGE IN POLK COUNTY DISTRICT COURT THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THE CHARGES COLVIN SAYS CARLSON OBVIOUSLY HAS SOME HOARDING PROBLEMS AND LIKELY THOUGHT HE WAS TRYING T HELP THE CATS BUT CLEARLY THEY , WERE SUFFE

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Authorities charged a Polk County man Wednesday with multiple animal neglect and animal disposal charges after recovering nearly 300 cats from his home.Polk County deputies charged Dennis Carlson with five counts of animal neglect and three counts of failure to dispose of a dead animal.On Tuesday, Polk County animal control officers and the Animal Rescue League were called to remove living and dead cats from multiple buildings on his property at 12797 NW 158th Ave.Crews removed a total of 290 cats from the residence -- 97 living and 193 dead.“Horrendous,” said Tom Colvin, CEO of the ARL of Iowa. “The situation was horrendous on all levels.”Carlson appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge told him he cannot return to the home.The ARL of Iowa said air quality at the residence was so poor that rescuers wore respirators and protective suits and could only stay inside the home for a limited amount of time.“The smell was absolutely atrocious,” Colvin said. “It would back you up. Everywhere you went in it was like a wall of odor.”Rescuers reported feet of feces and garbage covering the home and dead cats filling refrigerators and freezers alongside the owner's food."This is by far the worst hoarding case ARL Iowa has seen in more than 10 years. It's absolutely horrendous. I don't even have the words to describe how bad this is," Colvin said. "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." Information on how to make donations for the cats and kittens can be found here.The incident remains under investigation.