A Tamaqua man wants justice for dozens of cats, many found dead in a locked second-floor apartment in Summit Hill.

Four terrified cats leapt through a window opened for ventilation after the discovery May 9, and another two bit family members who attempted to capture and rescue them. Those two cats fled through an open door.

“They were the lucky ones,” said Sean Hegarty, the owner of the apartment at 16 W. Ludlow St. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

He 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 cats attempted to claw their way out, desperate to escape, he said.

Hegarty stopped counting at 50, he said, but believes there are dozens more dead cats amid the deplorable conditions.

Dry food was out, but no water — there weren’t even bowls for water, he said.

“These cats just died one terrible death, and that’s why they wanted to get out of there,” Hegarty said. “These cats died a horrendous death.”

His tenant lived in the apartment for 16 years, and he inspected the apartment regularly until six years ago, when he was in a serious motorcycle crash with a long recovery.

Hegarty attempted to do inspections in recent years, but his tenant always had an excuse not to let him come.

He wasn’t aware how bad things had gotten in that time, he said.

Hegarty believes no one noticed anything, because the building, which had belonged to his in-laws, was so well insulated, keeping odors inside.

A neighbor with a common wall did notice an odor, especially from the attic, and confronted the tenant, who told her that she would talk with her landlord about accessing the attic and cleaning it.

The tenant also admitted to owning only two cats — and said she cleaned the litter box daily, the neighbor said.

Hegarty finally gained access to the apartment this month, when he discovered a leak while working on the first floor of the building, and entered due to a potential emergency.

“The day I went I called the police because of the cats. It was a scene out of a horror movie,” he said. “This is the sickest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Hegarty found out that his floors might have been that so-called litter box that his tenant referred to cleaning daily. He found tarps and tablecloths covering the floors — like liners — when he began cleaning.

Hegarty believes he will need to replace everything. Damage to the unit could be $50,000 or more.

“Everything is destroyed in there,” he said.

But more so, Hegarty wants justice for the cats that died trapped inside those walls, and had even urged people to write to the Carbon County district attorney to hold his tenant accountable.

Summit Hill police are investigating, he said. The Times News reached out to Summit Hill’s chief via email regarding the case, but received no reply.