Summit Hill police filed charges against a 58-year-old woman related to an apartment where at least 30 deceased cats were found this month.

Police Chief Todd Woodward said Lori Claypoole was charged with aggravated cruelty to an animal, cruelty to an animal, neglect of an animal and borough ordinances violations for cat vaccinations and licensing related to conditions in the apartment over a four-year time frame. All of the charges carry potential jail time, he said.

The owner of the property at 16 W. Ludlow St., Sean Hegarty, entered the second-floor apartment due to a leak on May 9, finding the numerous dead cats amid deplorable condition.

Six cats were found alive. Four leapt through a window opened for ventilation, while another two bit family members trying to capture and rescue them. Those cats escaped through an open door.

Hegarty found skeletal remains of cats and tons of ash, filth and feces on the floors, and claw and scratch marks all over the walls where the cats attempted to claw their way out, desperate to escape, he said.

He stopped counting the dead cats at 50, but believes there were dozens more.

The unit hadn’t been inspected in six years, when Hegarty was involved in a serous motorcycle crash and faced a long recovery. When he attempted to do inspection in recent years, his tenant provided excuses to prevent him entering, he said.

Hegarty notified police after entering the apartment under emergency circumstances, and has been cleaning the apartment in the weeks since the discovery. He estimates damages of $50,000 or more.