Woman Admits Guilt in Cat Case

Lawyer Says Client, Who Had 493 Animals, Is Mentally Ill

Fairfax animal control supervisor Andrew Sanderson removes live cats from a Burke townhouse in July. It was one of two sites from which cats were taken. (By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

An 83-year-old woman caught hoarding nearly 500 cats was suffering from mental illness when she began taking in neighborhood strays, "and the situation got out of control," her attorney told a Fairfax County judge yesterday.

In July, Ruth Knueven was declared an unfit pet owner for her role in an animal cruelty drama that made national headlines after police officers extracted 493 cats -- both dead and alive -- from her Mount Vernon home and her daughter's townhouse in Burke.

Back in court yesterday, Knueven, who now lives in Prince William County, agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. In exchange, prosecutors withdrew four additional misdemeanor charges stemming from the enormous volume of feral cats she was keeping.

Acknowledging both Knueven's spotless criminal record and the mental condition thought to have contributed to her acts, General District Court Chief Judge Donald P. McDonough sentenced Knueven to 360 days in jail, all of which he suspended, and ordered her to pay $500 of a $2,500 fine.

He said Knueven, who previously gave up the right to have pets, will be on active probation for one year.

"The court clearly understands that this behavior is undertaken initially in the spirit of generosity and care, however misguided," McDonough said, noting that "these are very difficult cases."

Although Knueven said only a few words, her attorney, Jonathan D. Frieden, told McDonough that his client is undergoing treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition that he said led her to start hoarding cats when a neighbor began feeding strays.

"She loved these animals," Frieden said. "She thought they needed her, and she was afraid to call the authorities, fearing they'd be euthanized."

Knueven's penchant for keeping strays came into public view shortly after July 8, when neighbors called police to report a strong odor coming from Knueven's home on Ludgate Drive.

According to court records, Knueven was reluctant to surrender her cats and worked with her daughter, Karen Forrest, 57, to hide them.

Police returned to Knueven's home July 11 to check traps they had set and found them empty. What investigators did find were seven cat carriers in the backyard bushes crammed with 33 cats, one of them dead.

According to court testimony, animal control officers believed Knueven was attempting to hide the animals from police and accidentally killed one after putting plastic over a pet carrier. Police cited Knueven's resistance to give up the animals as the reason for searching her daughter's home on Lakepointe Drive. Forrest has never been charged in the case.

Both homes sustained extensive damage to the floors, walls and plumbing, the result of animal waste. Police said they found cats living in nearly every nook of the house, including the drawers, walls and even the chimney.

The incident in July was the second time since 2001 that police had visited Knueven's home and taken more than 100 felines from her.

"She can't talk about the cats without crying," Frieden said after the hearing. "It was a well-intentioned mistake."