It took three hours for about 15 masked workers and police officers to remove 118 cats from a couple's reeking home in the Lowry Grove Mobile Home Park in St. Anthony on Tuesday.

Another dozen or so cats couldn't be captured because they were hiding in mounds of dolls and debris in the trailer and will have to be live-trapped, said Keith Streff, senior investigator of the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. One cat escaped and three were left with the couple, the limit permitted by city ordinance.

Authorities have seen such cases before.

The woman fits the classic profile of an obsessive-compulsive animal hoarder, "which is sad for both animals and owners," Streff said. In 2002, Humane Society workers removed 72 cats from the same couple's residence when they lived in Coon Rapids, he said.

The couple, identified by police as Stanley and Cheryl Saladis, who are in their 50s, appeared physically OK but had feces on their shoes and pants cuffs, Streff said. Cheryl Salidas will be given a mental health evaluation, he added.

Police Chief John Ohl said Stanley Salidas accompanied his wife to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County health officials declared the trailer uninhabitable for 10 days, during which the couple can try to clean it to meet health and building-code standards, Ohl said.

Police had received no calls about the trailer until Monday when a "concerned citizen" called, he said. Officers "found a significant problem," he said.

Streff said he will compile a report for the city attorney, who may consider misdemeanor animal neglect charges against the two.

The couple moved to the trailer park, at Stinson Boulevard and Lowry Avenue, in 2004 and began collecting stray cats, which bred in the trailer, Streff said. No dead cats were found, and Streff said those removed appeared to be in decent shape considering the foul conditions.