On September 3rd, 101 cats were seized from a Reno property. A team of nine animal officers, from Washoe County Regional Animal Services were sent to a home on Bowie Road, in Northwest Reno to remove the cats. According to city officials, the property was deemed condemned-- due to unsanitary and unfit conditions for human occupancy.
Typically, these types of rare cases take time to access and process additional information, with multiple details dropping as the investigation continues.
I spoke with both Regional Animal Services and the Washoe County District Attorney's Office, who shared new information regarding this investigation.
After speaking with Washoe County officials, they confirmed the tenants were under eviction, with repeated violations. The home was under foreclosure prior to the cats being seized. Authorities issued a search warrant after multiple violation warnings were issued. For several years, neighbors made numerous complaints about the property to Washoe County, stating they noticed foul odors, rats and mice coming from the property. Along with 101 cats, officials found debris and garbage build-up throughout the property piling up for years.
A search warrant was eventually issued, after several incident reports were filed and a site inspection was performed. Washoe County Regional Animal Services, say they learned of "additional cats," being kept at the property after the warrant was served. Animal service officers went back to the property and set traps for several subsequent days and removed additional live cats and one deceased cat.
Several elements in the investigation triggered officials to dig deeper into this case.
The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says, the DA filed criminal charges against the defendant, Arthur Vanderhoef, who resided at the property. Vanderhoef is being charged with multiple violations; including fail to provide air, food, shelter or water to impounded or confined animals;
fail to keep animals in sanitary conditions; endanger an animal; and exceed number of dogs/cats allowed on premise without proper permit.
Vanderhoef is facing misdemeanor criminal charges with a court hearing set for October 14th, 2025.
Despite the dark details surrounding this case, Washoe County Regional Animals Services is happy to report, " 70 cats were taken in by the Humane Society and 40 cats have already been adopted out. The vast majority of the cats are scared but friendly--So, our hope is that for the ones that have been relinquished, they will be readily adoptable into new homes."
According to Melissa Davis, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Nevada Humane Society, "during the first 7 days after your story broke, the community raised $25,000 dollars in donations to help care for the cats."
While timid and a bit scared after experiencing years of trauma, each cat is now up for adoption and ready to find their forever home.
