Caboodle Ranch owner Craig Grant is hoping to have the nearly 700 cats seized by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in February returned to his care.
Grant was arrested on animals cruelty and scheme to defraud charges after an undercover PETA investigator found his Lee, FL pet sanctuary riddled with cats suffering from feline AIDs, leukemia, infections, and respiratory illnesses.
Tim Rickey, Senior Director of the ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response team, also held that Grant's facility had no adoption or spay/neuter programs in place to manage its ever-growing cat population.
Grant responded on his web site that many of the cats were brought to him already sick and that he was often up all night caring for them: "Night after night I am in the sick ward and work until I can’t stand up anymore. Sometimes grabbing a roll of paper towels for a pillow to sleep on the floor with them at the end of the day."
The Florida Times-Union reports that Grant will plead not guilty at the trial, which his legal team asked to be postponed so that they may request a permit to upgrade the Caboodle Ranch facility.
The 50-acre pet sanctuary was recently featured on "The Colbert Report" for its tiny cat town consisting of a mini Walmart, a cat-sized city hall, a tiny schoolhouse, and cat-armed guard gate.
Many of the sick cats are still receiving treatment, according to the Florida Times-Union, and all of the cats are considered evidence in an open investigation until the custody hearing in Madison County.
Late last month, the ASPCA set up a hotline for those who sent their cats to live at Grant's Caboodle Ranch. Get the details here.
Click below for a look inside Caboodle Ranch:
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