Allegheny Township police have accused a woman of abandoning a dozen cats in her apartment without food after she was evicted in October, leaving some severely emaciated.
Laura Zboravan, 56, who now lives in Gilpin, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and several misdemeanor animal neglect charges.
After Zboravan was evicted on Oct. 31 from her unit at Creekside Apartments in Allegheny Township, Amber Brink, who runs Parks Township-based rescue Champion’s Crusaiders, helped to capture the remaining cats, according to a criminal complaint filed against Zboravan.
When she left the apartment in October, Zboravan brought two cats with her, but didn’t tell police about the other 12 felines in the unit, according to the complaint. She also failed to inform apartment management of their presence and didn’t attempt to retrieve the pets, police said.
Cat feces, urine and garbage was strewn throughout the apartment, the complaint said.
A veterinarian later examined two of the cats and found them to be underweight and malnourished, displaying signs of muscle wasting, fleas, mild dehydration, thinning hair and scabs, police said. One had eye discharge and another was suffering from a respiratory infection, according to the complaint.
According to the vet’s assessment, both cats would have died if they continued to live in the conditions where they were found, police said.
An Armstrong County humane officer visited Zboravan in July, but she declined help and wouldn’t allow the officer in her apartment, according to police.
Brink told TribLive that all of the cats rescued from the apartment are currently at rescues.
“They’re safe where they are,” she said. “They’re being cared for.”
Zboravan’s preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 24 before District Judge Cheryl J. Peck-Yakopec.