Woman Faces Animal Cruelty Charges After Cops Find Dozens Of Cats, A Dog Locked In U-Haul

A Florida woman was arrested after 46 cats and a dog were found stuffed into a U-Haul without access to food or water, according to reports.

Karen Tuttle-Kunnmann, 61, now faces 47 felony counts of animal cruelty after deputies from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office uncovered the alleged abuse and took Tuttle-Kunnmann into custody Saturday.

The animals were found inside the locked moving truck, its storage component as well as another vehicle, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Many of the cats were left in cages, forced to sit in their own feces, without access to any food, water or air-conditioning. The crates were stacked on top of one another to the roof in the back of the vehicle.

Deputies came across the animals after receiving complaints from Tuttle-Kunnmann's neighbors.

Sevim Kline told Bay News 9 she saw Tuttle-Kunnmann loading the truck and contacted authorities after becoming concerned about the animals’ welfare.

“I saw the cages stacked up and the animals in there," Kline told the station. "I asked her, 'Are you driving like this?’ She said ‘Yes I am.’ I told her don’t do that. Please don’t. They will die.”

Kline said Tuttle-Kunnmann told her she was planning to move to Michigan and was trying to move the animals.

“She’s a good person. Not a bad person. She loved her animals. She just made a very bad decision,” Kline told Bay News 9.

Once the animals were found, deputies said they helped unload the cats, adding that some of the animals were even found underneath furniture, according to Fox13.

The animals were taken by Animal Control following Tuttle-Kunnmann's arrest.

According to jail records, she's currently being held at the Pasco County Jail on $5,000 bond for each count of animal cruelty.

[Photo: Pasco County Jail]