Here's Why The Monmouth County SPCA Is Looking For This Woman

EATONTOWN, NJ — The head of the Monmouth County SPCA explained why the agency is now looking for a woman who secretly dropped off 20 male cats early Saturday morning at the back door of their Eatontown headquarters.

"I see what people are saying online, that she's a Good Samaritan," said Ross Licitra, executive director of the Monmouth County SPCA. "But she did this in a very clandestine way. First, she came in at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday. Then she put masking tape all over her license plates. So she knew what she was doing was not only fundamentally wrong, but also illegal."

If found, the woman could be charged with abandonment of a domesticated animal, a disorderly persons offense, which carries a $250 to maximum $1,000 fine per each animal.

She left the 20 cats — all male — stuffed into two crates at the SPCA's Eatontown headquarters, without food or water and a note that said their caretaker had died, said the agency in a Facebook post that has now gone viral. You can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/Monmo...

The woman still remains at large.

"We're hot on her trail," said Licitra. "She would have been an angel if she showed up at 9 a.m. and said, 'I have a car full of cats and I need help.' But we can never tolerate people showing up in the middle of the night and dumping animals on our steps. The mere fact that she covered her license plate shows she knew what she was doing."

The Monmouth County SPCA charges a $250 surrender fee per cat or dog. Licitra said that fee pays for the animal's care for "about 20 days" and after that, the agency has to survive off donations to keep the animal fed and cared for. The Monmouth County SPCA takes in about 5,000 unwanted pets per year, and 94 percent of them are "saved," meaning they are not killed.

However, the Monmouth SPCA will euthanize some animals if a vet determines they are too badly injured or sick, or if they are too violent and aggressive.

"I cant tell you how many times we've waived the fees or reduced them for people," said Licitra. "If we tell people it is OK to just dump animals here, we would come in every morning and there would be animals strewn all over our campus. We've found dogs tied to a chain at the front of our facility."

Licitra also said he thinks this woman's story of "the owner passed away" is fishy, because the cats are all male.

"Where are the females? Were they breeding them and selling kittens? Pet breeding is a big business," he said.

The woman is described as white, driving a black Mazda CX-7 (with a blocked-out license plate)

If you can identify this woman or have any information, please call the Monmouth County Cruelty Hotline at (877) 898-7297. You can remain anonymous. If you would like to make a donation towards the care of these cats and the hundreds of other animals they are currently caring for: bit.ly/36qAGeh