AUTHORITIES in the Japanese city of Sapporo in Hokkaido found 238 cats living in one house, with the residents apparently unable to care for the animals due to their increasing numbers, local officials and other sources said Wednesday.

Japan’s Environment Ministry says it is very rare in Japan for more than 200 cats to be retrieved from one location. The issue came to light after the owner of the house made a visit over unpaid rent.

According to city officials, a married couple in their 50s and their son in his 30s lived in the two-story house in Sapporo’s Kita Ward.

When members of the city’s animal control center and an animal welfare organization entered the house after being notified by the owner, they discovered that many of the cats appeared underfed and there were also bones of dead cats scattered across the floor.

One staff member of the animal welfare organization told Kyodo News, “Bony cats were huddled close together, and the stench was so bad I could barely open my eyes.”

Under voluntary questioning from the city, the three said they did not have the cats spayed or neutered, resulting in their numbers growing to an uncontrollable level.

After the owner of the house filed a suit with the Sapporo District Court demanding eviction, the three left the house.

The 238 cats were placed under the care of the city’s animal control center, and most of them have been transferred to animal welfare bodies or adopted as pets. (SD-Agencies)