Seventy-eight cats, most of them ragdolls, were recently removed from a single home in Lancaster Township. Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) investigators found the house filled with garbage, debris and animal waste. According to a court affidavit, the cats were suffering from badly matted fur, pink eye, hair loss and red, inflamed skin.

Conditions inside were so bad that rescue crews had to take turns going in and out because of what the affidavit called a "strong, foul odor." One Persian cat's fur was so tangled that it had to be sedated before it could be groomed, according to the PSPCA.

The woman who kept the cats now faces 91 counts of animal cruelty and neglect, according to court records. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams has the power to make sure this case gets the attention it deserves.

District Attorney Adams should pursue all 91 counts. If the case ends in a conviction, her office should ask the court to bar the defendant from owning animals for life, so no other pet ends up in a home like this one. And under Pennsylvania's cost of care law, the person charged, not the shelter or local taxpayers, should pay to feed and treat these 78 cats while the case moves forward.

People across the region are already lining up to adopt them. These cats deserve a fresh start, and the justice system should make sure this never happens to another animal.

Sign the petition to tell District Attorney Adams to prosecute every count and protect animals from future harm.