Judge Continues Case of Accused Cat Hoarder

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - A woman accused of keeping hundreds of cats, many of them dead, in two Fairfax County homes, said Wednesday she would hire her own lawyer ahead of another District Court appearance in December.

Ruth Knueven, 82, was in court Wednesday to answer five misdemeanor charges, including a pair that could lead to jail time. In all, she is charged with failure to dispose of dead animals, two counts of failure to care for her animals, cruelty to animals and obstructing justice. No plea was entered and the case was continued until Dec. 14.

Given Knueven's age, a prosecutor indicated the state would leave any possible sentence up to a judge. Knueven answered most of the judge's questions with a simple yes or no.

She was first arrested July 8, for allegedly keeping more than 270 cats in a Mount Vernon home. Health officials had to declare the home unfit for human habitation.

Later that week, she was arrested again after county police said they found more cats in a Burke home owned by her family. In that incident, authorities said there were more than 100 dead cats, plus nearly 50 live ones.

"All of these cats had respiratory disease and there were feces and urine all around the house," Officer Richard Henry, a Fairfax County police spokesman, said at the time. He said all the cats found alive in both homes had to be euthanized.

Neighbors in the quiet Burke community on Lakepointe Drive said they had noticed foul smells coming out of the town house, but didn't know what was causing them until police arrived. They said they had seen Knueven hauling heavy garbage bags that they now presume were filled with dead cats.

The Hoarding Task Force of the county health department had said financial and psychological help might be available for Knueven, but it was not immediately clear Wednesday what, if any, aid had been provided.

Knueven faced the judge alone in court, but several people were with her at the courthouse.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)