RAPS is engaged in one of the largest operations we have ever undertaken — rescuing scores of kittens and cats from a disastrous hoarding situation. "We were called by a family member to intervene in a situation where a person with some significant issues had been hoarding cats and kittens in a large townhouse,” says Valerie Wilson, manager of the RAPS Cat Sanctuary and RAPS Adoption Center. “What we discovered was unlike anything most of us had seen in decades of animal welfare work.” When the rescuers arrived at the home in Newton, dozens of cats and kittens scattered like insects. Opening bathroom cupboards, drawers and looking behind appliances, there were kittens and cats everywhere throughout the house. The entire house was festering with urine and feces everywhere and the stench was unbearable. The home has almost no furniture and the frightened kittens were scampering under urine-soaked blankets to hide from the human “intruders.” When our team cold-called unannounced, there were no litter boxes and most of the cats were locked in a room with no furniture, surrounded by feces and urine.