Neighbors react after homeowner dies leaving behind 81 pets

The stench radiating from a home on Walker Avenue in Cathedral City house is rotten.

“Like a foul smell that’s just intoxicating,” said DJ, who lives across the street. “I would just be like ew.”

“The smell? I was concerned about his health,” said Aurora Luna who also lives across the way.

Neighbors say the man who lived here had 78 cats, a dog, a hen and a duck.

“He was a nice guy. Very lonely. He loves animals,” Luna said.

They lived together in deplorable conditions for years.

“I mean with 75 cats living with you, and the poop,” Luna said.

“I feel like that’s inhumane but I guess to each his own,” said DJ.

The man died last weekend. Neighbors say he suffered a heart attack in hospice care.

Riverside County Animal Services came to collect the animals and take them to the Western Riverside County Shelter in Riverside where they’re now up for adoption.

“I hope they get some homes. That’s a lot of cats though,” DJ said.

Neighbors say they’re happy the house may be demolished and the smell finally gone, but they continue to wonder about the man who lived there.

“His kids grew up and he was alone for a lot of years but it seems like he was happy,” Luna said.