A Rocky Point Long Island home was overrun by 300500 pet rats after the owner was arrested leaving volunteers to rescue and treat injured rodents
Rats Overrun Long Island Home, Homeowner Arrested
ROCKY POINT, Long Island (WABC) — A home in Long Island has been overrun by hundreds of rats kept as pets by a 48-year-old homeowner, who is now under arrest. Animal rescue volunteers face the task of capturing the rats and finding them care.
Details of the Situation
| Location | Homeowner Age | Estimated Rats | Rats in Walls | Volunteers Involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Point | 48 | 300 to 500 | 100 to 200 | 5 to 10 |
At least 300 rats are believed to be inside the home. Volunteers report that 100 to 200 rats are in the walls.
Pet rats are spilling out of kitchen cabinets and running across the floors. “It’s a disaster inside,” said Strong Island Animal Rescue President Frankie Floridia. “It’s very hard to breathe. You need masks. You need gloves. It’s just a bad situation.”
Rescue Efforts
Floridia and other volunteers with Strong Island Animal Rescue are capturing as many rats as possible. They plan to send them to a vet for proper care. “A lot of them are injured. A lot of them have huge wounds,” said veterinarian tech Kristin Stephens. “Their eyes are coming out. They have big abscesses. We have a few that are going septic.”
Stephens is a volunteer assisting inside the condemned home on Whitewood Drive. “We got about 150 contained. We have them in separate containers, male, female, sick,” Floridia said. Stephens noted there are at least another 100 or 200 in the walls.
Homeowner’s Violations
The homeowner received sanitation violations after an estimated total of 300 to 500 domesticated rats were believed to be in the home. “It’s a very sad situation but we’re doing the best we can with what we have,” Floridia said.
A team of volunteers found rat poison in the basement. “We have seen a couple that have had blood coming from their nose which is what happens when you poison rats,” Stephens said.
All of the rats are being treated for mites. Stephens believes this situation could have been avoided through rat separation. “Everybody knows rodents reproduce very quickly,” she said. “I personally feel that if they were separated, if you keep the males with the males and the females with the females, none of this could have occurred.”
Community Response
“It makes us sad but it also gives us a glimmer of hope that we know that we can get them to safety,” Floridia said. Eyewitness News spoke with neighbors who reported not seeing or smelling anything, indicating the issue was contained to the home.
Volunteers are now seeking good Samaritans for foster care and monetary donations for the rodents’ healthcare.
