Plattsmouth Animal Control Officers invaded a home Friday, finding 33 cats, two dogs, and two ferrets. Both officials and the woman who owned the animals say they want what is best for the animals, but what that might be is still up in the air.

What used to be home to the dozens of animals, now sits empty. The home, at 6th Street and 2nd Avenue in Plattsmouth, was deemed unfit for anything to live inside.

"I know I made the mistake of not finding homes for them when they got big enough, and one thing led to another," said the owner, Cheryl Lillie. "Some people gave us some cats, and some of them were strays that came around here during the winter time, we just tamed them."

Lillie thought she was helping the animals by giving them a home, but from the heaps of food inside the house, litter boxes everywhere, and thousands of cockroaches infesting her home, it's clear she was overwhelmed.

"No, my cats were never a burden to me, and my dogs were never a burden to me, they were like my children," said Lillie.

"People that hoard animals believe that they need to take care of the animals that no one else is going to," said Plattsmouth Animal Control Officer, Sue Baker. "They love them and they care for them, but they're not able to. They get in over their head and they're unable to care for all the animals they have and they get too many."

Animal Control Officers say this is not Lillie's first violation. They say she faces more than 100 counts of animal cruelty in Montgomery County, Iowa.

Baker has seen her share of cat houses, but she says Lillies was one of the worst. "This was one of the top ten. It was pretty bad, it was a very unhealthy living environment for the animals."

Now Lillie's cats wait to be examined by a vet at the Plattsmouth Animal Shelter.

According to Baker, many will break out with upper respiratory infections and some are already showing signs.

Lillie hopes the cats will be deemed healthy enough to be adopted out. "I love them very much, and this is very hard on me. But it would help if the public would help us out and go down and adopt them."

That remains up to the animal control officers.

They say if the public would like to help out, donations of cat food, litter, and money for vet care are needed. Anyone interested can call 296-3311.

Animal control officers are waiting to hear what the vet says before deciding if the animals are adoptable and if Lillie will be cited for animal cruelty.