Cat Hoarder Suspect James Howard Kept More Than 100 Felines in And Around His North Hills Motor Home, Authorities Say

By Dennis Romero Fri., Apr. 15 2011 at 1:49 PM

Fox

Authorities say an alleged North Hills cat lady was actually a man.

We love when people prove stereotypes wrong. Like this guy, James Howard, who was charged this week with multiple criminal counts related to his alleged cat hoarder.

You thought all cat hoarders were crazy old ladies living in homes they've had since the 1950s? Wrong.

This suspect, 58, kept more than 100 cats around his North Hills, yard-parked motor home, authorities claim. Here's what the L.A. City Attorney's office alleges (in a statement):

On January 6, 2011, following a public tip, members of the ACTF [Animal Control Task Force ]served a search warrant at a residence in North Hills where Howard resided in a motor home parked in the yard. Investigating officers found 103 cats on the property with more than 80 found living in the motor home. Seven dead animals were also found in the mobile home's freezer. Animal Services took the cats into custody and transported them to a local shelter for examination and treatment by a veterinarian.

Howard was charged with 46 counts of animal neglect and one count of operating a shelter without a permit.

He could face a year in jail -- if convicted. He was due in court next month.

Tags:

cat lady, cats, City Attorney, felines, hoarders, North Hills

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L.A. Voter

Comment #1 is right, what exactly was the point of expending energy to type this? What do you even mean by "crazy cat lady"? My understanding of this fatuous term is a woman who has and loves a number of cats someone else finds to be a lot. But it doesn't connote an abuser, which is the implication of this article. Whether or not Mr. Howard is an abuser, I will reserve judgment, having had experience with L.A. Animal Services' version of "facts." But has it never occurred to this author that maybe the very subversion of stereotype is what prompted LAAS to go after this guy versus anyone else? Men make better villains than women; the stereotypical "cat lady" may just be too sympathetic for LAAS' taste in press releases.

LAAS has a history of going after people, men especially, whom they think have no resources to defend themselves against whatever charges LAAS likes to throw at them for the sake of publicity. They did it to a friend of mine a couple of years ago (and we became friends after the bust) -- smeared him viciously in the media, trampled his rights, stole his property, and in the course of using tools like catchpoles (which they are legally prohibited from using against cats) they themselves abused his cats, which he had never done. This was a guy who worked as a day laborer who spent every cent he had caring for stray and throwaway cats in his neighborhood. At the end of the day they destroyed his life very publicly, then waited months to very sneakily drop all charges, because this guy had done nothing wrong, except sacrifice his life and his home for living beings in need.

Also ask yourself: Is it really necessary for the Animal Cruelty Task Force to be called in on what is alleged to be a simple hoarding case? The ACTF is composed of Animal Control officers and LAPD. Did this guy have a gun? Why did they need cops, rathers than just several ACOs? Then ask yourself if maybe there might be more serious crimes to investigate, like dogfighting, which is often accompanied by illegal drugs and weapons. If you were a member of the ACTF wouldn't you rather go bust a single guy with a bunch of cats than say, bust a bunch of dogfighters, who might have scary guns?

So maybe. Mr. Romero, you could give a little thought and -- I don't know -- research, before typing (because I can't dignify this by calling it writing) such a foolish, trite piece of garbage. The predicament of homeless animals is a serious subject, as is animal abuse. Try earning your paycheck and not writing a bubblegum comic on your own uninformed prejudices.