ID: some justice for abused cats

From the Twin Falls Times-News:

Judge’s verdict: For cat resort owner, the horror of the crime deserves jail, not rehab

The woman responsible for what has been called the worst animal abuse case in Idaho history will spend the next six months in jail.

Janet Rasmussen was living in fecal squalor at her cat boardinghouse along with 323 cats, including some dead, when an army of sheriff’s deputies and veterinarians entered her business April 20 with a warrant. Rasmussen, the former owner of Rocky Mountain Cat Resort... pleaded guilty in August to 19 counts of cruelty and 51 counts of neglect, each count a misdemeanor carrying a maximum six-month sentence and $1,000 fine.

Under questioning from her lawyer, Mick Hodges, she pleaded for help, not jail. But when Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Wright cross-examined her, Rasmussen returned punches with punches.

Why had she never attended to several dead cats lying about in her home? Wright asked against Hodges’ objection. Rasmussen retorted with a host of excuses ranging from not having enough time to not knowing they were dead. She intimated how the winter chill and a broken light bulb kept her from cleaning up drying feces from the garage floor. She said heavy furniture blocked her from cleaning it in other parts of the home.

“I got to take care of the living today. I’ll get there when I can,” was ultimately her most succinct explanation...

The site has a link to in-court video of Rasmussen's testimony during the sentencing hearing.