An Auckland man faces two animal cruelty charges after the SPCA found 38 dead cats in his freezer for up to three years.
Donald Cruickshank lives in squalor surrounded by more than 50 cats in his suburban home, according to the Herald on Sunday.
Auckland SPCA charged Cruickshank, aged 77, and his friend Tatyana Kondratyeva, aged 48, with failing to care for the animals and not ensuring 22 of them received medical attention.
They have both pleaded not guilty in the North Shore District Court.
The SPCA alleged police officers noticed several unhealthy cats living in filthy conditions at Cruickshank's Glenfield home while attending an incident in December last year.
It claimed SPCA inspectors were almost suffocated by a strong smell of ammonia, food and faeces from 19 cats which were running freely around the lounge and bedroom.
Another 17 were locked in cages with litter trays "overflowing" and another 23 were discovered in a fly-infested unit downstairs.
In a disturbing discovery, police found 38 dead cats wrapped in blood-stained newspaper and fabric bags next to food inside two fridges and freezers.
When SPCA inspectors returned to remove the dead cats, Cruickshank allegedly told them he kept the dead cats so their spirits would be with him forever.
SPCA seized all surviving cats and claimed to have treated 22 animals which were ill with several infections including gingivitis, flea allergies and ring worm.
Cruickshank said the charges were outrageous because he was a cat lover.
"I've been involved with saving cats virtually all my life ... I've spent millions of dollars on cats," Cruickshank said.
He said the cats in his freezer had been there for at least three years because he didn't have time to bury them in coffins.