40 dead cats found in foul SLO County apartment filled with feces and trash
The remains of 40 dead cats were found in an Paso Robles apartment that was in such foul condition, it was red-tagged by the city and a private hazmat team was required to clean up layers of feces and trash.
On Aug. 16, San Luis Obispo County Animal Services responded to an anonymous complaint at Unit 4 of the Presidio Apartments complex in Paso Robles. There, they discovered 40 dead cats in “extremely unsanitary conditions,” Animal Services Manager Eric Anderson wrote in a statement to The Tribune.
“Six live cats were also removed from the property,” Anderson said, adding that Animal Services was not responsible for hiring clean-up.
A woman who was on the hazmat team hired to clean up the second-floor apartment shared disturbing photos of the interior, showing rooms filled with layers of cat feces and assorted garbage, according to a story posted by the Paso Robles Daily News.
In the bathroom, cat feces filled the bathtub up to the brim. In other rooms, the feces mixed with empty cans and crushed bottles, dirty linens and other trash that appeared to have compacted in layers.
The woman, Nicole Fernandes, said she worked on the job for three days, but it took two weeks to complete and wasn’t done until Wednesday. Still, on Friday, the stench from inside could still be smelled outside the door.
“The cats were dead for so long, there were no flies, there were no maggots or bugs,” she told the Paso Daily News. “This was not just a year or two of stuff,” she said. “It was years and years.”
It’s unclear how long the apartment was in that condition or when anyone last lived there, but Fernandes said that neighbors indicated a woman periodically visited to drop off a large bag of cat food.
“The electricity was still on in the unit, there was some food in the fridge that had not molded,” she told the Daily News, adding that there was “ice cream in the freezer that had never melted.”
Animal Services said the case is actively under investigation. Anyone with information should contact the agency at 805-781-4400 or by email at comments@sloanimalservices.com.
House filled with layers of feces and remains
Fernandes, a Paso Robles resident, told the Paso Robles Daily News that she was hired to help clean the apartment.
“I was asked if I could help clean up a hoarder’s home, but it was so much worse than that,” she told the Paso Daily News. “I was just horrified. I work at a mortuary and have dealt with decomposition and I’ve never experienced something so bad as this. Nothing could compare to the horrible smell.”
“I cried myself to sleep at night after the first day because we were just pulling back these layers,” Fernandes said. “It would be like a layer of cat s--t, then two large empty bags of cat food, then a layer of cat s--t, then a blanket on top covering it, and then another layer of cat s--t. It was all concreted together three feet deep. I found most of the dead cats’ remains in the piles.”
In a comment thread under the Daily News’ Facebook post sharing the story, Fernandes added, “We found at least an additional 20, but it’s hard to get an exact count since there were so many bones scattered throughout the cat crap infested unit. Literally need therapy after what I went through to get this cleaned up.”
Building red-tagged and deemed unsafe for entry
Paso Fire and Emergency Services responded to a health and safety call at the same address on Aug. 16, according to officer Randy Harris.
“It was deemed unhealthy and subsequently red-tagged by the Paso Robles building department,” Harris said of the apartment, meaning it was unsafe for humans to be in for any amount of time without protection.
A safety warning posted on the building reads “excessive amounts of feces throughout the apartment. No entry except authorized cleaning personnel.”
Harris said he remembered seeing a report that the apartment appeared to be occupied at the time.
Apartment was vacant for around a year, owner and neighbors say
The Presidio Apartments are located at 1040 Chestnut St. The complex belongs to the Jacqueline J. Bryant Trust, according to county assessor Tom Bordonaro.
A receipt for the seized items posted on the building by county Animal Services names Laurie Bryant as the owner of “40 deceased cat remains” and “six live cats.”
The Tribune contacted the phone number on the notice. A woman who identified herself as Jacqueline Bryant answered. She said she owns the complex and Laurie Bryant manages it, but declined to comment further.
The Tribune also reached out to Laurie Bryant, who told The Tribune she was advised by legal counsel not to comment further on the incident.
Bryant previously offered comment to the Paso Robles Daily News, regarding the incident. She told the Daily News that the apartment had been vacant as of October 2023.
“We don’t really know what is going on (with the situation),” said Bryant, according to the Daily News. “I was out of town for three days when all this came down. We are working with the county. We are working with the city. We are doing everything we can to rectify the situation.”
“What I do know is that there were a bunch of feral cats at the house across the street, for years,” the Daily News reported Bryant saying. “Apparently two windows were open and some cats did get in and pass away.”
Neighbors confirmed to The Tribune that the apartment had been vacant for about a year and named Laurie Bryant as the last tenant they knew of.
The neighbors told The Tribune that they didn’t know anything about the deceased cats or the state of the apartment until this week, but they had contacted both Bryant and Animal Services after seeing a few stray cats coming and going from the apartment through a broken screen window. Neighbors did not disclose the date that they reported their concerns.
An Animal Services post-seizure notice posted on the building names Laurie Bryant for an alleged violation of Penal Code 597(B) for crimes against animals.
Violation of the code can be treated as a felony or misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $20,000 fine.
Apartment manager steps down from news group
Laurie Bryant is known to the larger public for being a founding member of the Facebook group SLO County News, which shares breaking news from around the county.
As of Friday, Bryant had stepped down from the organization, a post on the group’s Facebook said.
“We are saddened to announce that due to personal matters, Laurie Bryant has stepped down from her position with SLO County News,” the post read. “During this time, we will continue to only report facts. There is not and will continue to be no drama, accusations or derogatory comments allowed on this wall.”
The group asked members to “continue to be respectful of each other” in posts on the page.
“We thank Laurie for years of service and dedication,” the post concluded. “And we will continue to maintain the original vision inspired by SLOStringer.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 2:48 PM.
