Authorities said the kittens were denied medical care and sustenance to the point where they were dehydrated, ill and near death, and at least one needed an eye removed due to infection.
The owner of a former cat rescue and thrift shop in North Wales Borough, who still operates such a business in Skippack Township, has been accused of neglecting four kittens of veterinary care, food, and water, to the point where they were severely dehydrated, malnourished, ill and near death, and at least one needed an eye removed due to infection.
Maura C. Shuttleworth, 40, of Cepp Road, in the Perkiomenville section of Lower Frederick Township, was issued a summons Oct. 28 by North Wales Borough Police charging the Feline Frenzy Cat Rescue/Thrift Shop & Adopt owner with four misdemeanor counts and four summary counts each of neglect of animals by not providing proper veterinary care and neglect of animals by failing to provide clean and sanitary food and water, totaling 16 charges, per court records.
Police allege the incidents occurred when the Feline Frenzy Thrift Shop & Adopt was in operation at 107 S. Main Street, between August and September, according to court documents.
On Aug. 16, North Wales Police and a Montgomery County SPCA Humane Society Police officer received a call from an individual, stating there was a dead cat in the bathroom of the North Wales location, per the affidavit.
North Wales Police and the Humane Society Officer responded to the no-kill shelter, where the latter found a kitten, named Elmo, a brown tabby suffering from Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is a viral disease of cats caused by certain strains of the feline coronavirus, police said. Rescue staff told the officer that Elmo was getting picked up by a foster that day, per the report.
The Humane Society officer entered the cat enclosure at the business, and immediately found a young tabby face down, which grabbed the officer’s attention, police said. The cat was alive, but very lethargic, per the complaint.
The Humane Society officer lifted the kitten’s lips to reveal gums that were white, and she also pulled the skin of the scruff of the cat’s neck and the skin tented up and slowly receded, indicating severe dehydration, per the complaint.
Staff were told that Elmo needed to be seen by a veterinarian immediately, and staff replied that a vet visit was scheduled for tomorrow, per the affidavit. The officer reiterated the cat is not OK and needs to be seen now by Shuttleworth’s vet or police would have to take the cat and get necessary vet care, police said.
When the staff member walked away and called Shuttleworth, the officer continued to inspect all the cats present and found two more that needed to be seen by a vet for lethargy and body composition, according to charging documents.
Police said vet care was ordered for all three kittens during the course of the investigation, and Shuttleworth would have a volunteer take the cats to Circle of Life Veterinary Hospital in New Britain Township.
The officer asked to see the bathroom, as it was the reason for her visit, and entered the bathroom, but no dead cat was found, police said.
A veterinarian verified with police that the kittens were treated and hospitalized at Circle of Life under doctor’s care, per the affidavit. Vet staff reported that all three kittens were “severely dehydrated, extremely malnourished and all had upper respiratory infections,” per the complaint.
The veterinarian told police it was a case of starvation, police said. All three kittens were given subcutaneous fluids and were kept at the vet office until Aug. 19. At the time, the vet was unsure if any of the cats would make it, as they were not being monitored at Feline Frenzy, had diarrhea and were skinny, police said.
The veterinarian told police they did not want the cats sent back to Shuttleworth’s care and she would have to sign the cat over to the veterinarian’s care, as she had done before with other cats taken to the vet by Shuttleworth, police said.
On Aug. 17, at 9:50 a.m., the veterinary hospital updated police and the Humane Society officer that all three kittens – who were named Ivan, Ethel, and Garcon – had conjunctivitis, sunken-in eyes, needed to be dewormed, and had no fat on their bodies, per the complaint.
One kitten, Ivan, had a bad eye infection of the left eye and it had to be removed, police said.
“(The vet) reported that this certainly was a starvation case,” said the affidavit, adding that Shuttleworth had not called to check in on the kittens.
On Aug. 21, police confirmed from volunteers that Ivan came into Shuttleworth’s care on July 28, and Ethel and Garcon followed on Aug. 14, police said. Shuttleworth, police allege, was expected to sign over the cats on Sept. 6 at Elmo’s bloodwork appointment, which she did.
By mid-August, the kittens were doing much better, were playful, gaining weight, and ultimately doing well, police said.
Police allege Shuttleworth was not giving Elmo his required medication and the kitten went without medication for nine days, which was reflected in the bloodwork.
“(The vet) said that it takes 84 days for resolution if the medication is given appropriately, which Maura is not doing,” said the affidavit. “Maura … said that’s not true and he has some pills left.”
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 12 at 10:30 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
Feline Frenzy is a no-kill shelter for kittens and cats that have been rescued and surrendered, living cage-free at the Skippack adoption center at 4038 Skippack Pike.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
