Shelter euthanizes 81 cats found in home

CICERO, Ill., June 29 (UPI) -- Eighty-one cats found at a suburban Chicago home had to be euthanized after they tested positive for feline leukemia, veterinarians said.

The cats were discovered by firefighters conducting a well-being check on a Cicero woman in her 70s, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania said the cats were taken to the Animal Care League in Oak Park that tested each cat for feline leukemia, a highly contagious disease among cats.

In addition to the 81 cats found in the woman's house, animal carcasses were discovered in her yard.

Hanania said the woman has temporarily moved in with relatives or friends while her house is being cleaned by the village.