‘Overwhelmed cat lady’ arrested after 309 animals seized from Polk County mobile home: Sheriff Judd

FROST PROOF, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is asking the community to adopt a cat from Animal Control to make room for more than 100 cats that were seized from a hoarding situation.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to a home on Fazzini Drive in Frostproof to do a welfare check after the SPCA reported suspicions of animal neglect.

According to the SPCA, Lisa Lacharite, 48, went to the facility in Polk County earlier this month with 22 cats she wanted to have spayed and neutered.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Randa Richter with the SPCA said Lacharite smelled of ammonia and the cats were in extremely poor condition.

She added that the cats had fleas, were missing fur and had upper respiratory issues. They also had nasal and eye discharge and wounds from fighting.

Richter said Lacharite told the SPCA that the cats at her property are in worse condition and that’s when the facility contacted Animal Control.

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When deputies arrived, they said they found ‘an unbelievable situation.' 

According to Sheriff Judd, Lacharite, a second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Elementary School, lived with her mother inside a double-wide home with 309 animals.

"We seized 142 cats. Of the 142 cats, more than 100 were roaming freely in the house. We seized 164 ducks, chickens and one peacock. And we seized three dogs," Sheriff Judd said. "We found cats that were neglected and cats that were significantly ill."

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Deputies say they did not find any deceased animals at the home.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Lacharite has been arrested and charged with 5 counts of felony animal cruelty and 304 counts of animal neglect. 

"These animals were neglected and abused just by the environment they were kept in," Sheriff Judd explained.

The sheriff explained that Polk County Fire Rescue conducted an air quality test outside the mobile home, and the samples read between 70 and 100 parts per million for ammonia. PCFR says anything more than 50 parts per million is hazardous to human and animal health.

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"Imagine 100 plus cats roaming freely in a double-side mobile home. Imagine ducks and chickens stacked on top of each other four and five cages high that are not defecating and urinating through the open wire onto the animals below them. Imagine a lady who shows up at the SPCA with 20 or 22 cats to have them spayed or neutered. Imagine that when you drive into the driveway…and you can smell the smell from there," Sheriff Judd stated.

Lisa Lacharite mugshot courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Sheriff Judd said he notified the school where Lacharite worked and employees said they noticed she always smelled bad.

"She was nasty, and she was going in ad interacting with second-graders. Can you imagine sending your child to school and a woman who came out of this environment was going to be interacting with and touching your child today? C’mon girl! What is wrong with you?" Sheriff Judd asked.

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Lacharite has also been charged with elderly neglect, which is a felony, because Sheriff Judd says she is the caregiver for her 75-year-old mother.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

"This 75-year-old woman, who is an invalid and can hardly get around, lived in it all the time and these cats lived in it all the time and these cats and these chickens lived in it all the time," Sheriff Judd shared.

Lacharite’s mother was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.

Sheriff Judd says the SPCA took in the 22 cats it spayed and nurtured, and Animal Control will take in the rest of the cats. He said he has waived adoption fees through the end of the year to entice people to adopt an animal to make room for the rescued cats. 

"We have an overload right now because of this rescue that we did. We did our best to save all of these cats, all of these ducks, all of these chickens. I’m grateful that Lisa is not an evil person. She surrendered all but three dogs and three cats to us," Sheriff Judd stated.

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office. 

Sheriff Judd said the ducks and the chickens that were seized will be up for auction on Friday night.

"We need to get them into someone’s home and out of the shelter," Sheriff Judd said.

According to Sheriff Judd, the case is still under investigation and Lacharite may face additional charges.