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Smells like a meth lab, but it's just lots of cat urine
"Everywhere you looked, you saw cats," New Kensington code enforcement Officer Rick Jacobus said.
The animals were found in the home's rafters and air ducts; the carpets and floors had been soaked with animal urine, he said.
"Your eyes began to tear," Jacobus said. "It was like someone opened a can of ammonia."
Jacobus took police with him last week to inspect the rental house, about 20 miles up the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh, because officers told him the odor could signal a methamphetamine lab.
The three adult tenants were evicted and the Westmoreland County Children's Bureau was contacted to check on the young boy who lived there.
The animals were taken to a local shelter that was struggling to find new homes for them.
A city ordinance allows up to four cats and two dogs per residence.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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