Animal cruelty case expected in court

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Buffalo woman faces 50 counts of animal cruelty in city court Friday, after dozens of her animals were seized from two homes.

Joanne McGrath is expected to appear in Buffalo City Court Friday morning to answer the charges.

The SPCA seized dozens of cats from two houses in Buffalo, in just a matter of weeks.

McGrath was operating the Saint Francis Animal Sanctuary in an apartment on Sayre Street in Buffalo's Riverside neighborhood, when 32 cats were removed from the home, on August 6.

Just a week later, animal rescue workers were called to a home on Arkansas Street, where the found deplorable conditions.

"The cats are everywhere inside, they are in the ceiling, in the walls, in the rafters, in the basement, there's holes that go above the cupboards to the attic, that they crawl back and forth," said Lindsay Styborski, of the SPCA Humane Law Enforcement.

20 cats were found inside, all suffering from respiratory illness.

One of the cats had to be euthanized.

A neighbor says McGrath was rescuing the animals. "Maybe she tried to help 'em, and didn't expect this to turn out. She seemed like a nice person," said Cheryl Hellerman.

If convicted, Joanne McGrath faces up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.