One of the first things workers at a Florida animal shelter noticed when a woman came in with her cats for spay and neutering — aside from the fact there were 22 of them — was the “overwhelming” smell of urine, one of the employees said.

The cats weren’t in the best condition. They had fleas, missing fur, green discharge coming from their eyes and noses and “lots of wounds from fighting,” SPCA Florida’s public media director Randa Richter said in a Dec. 22 news conference held by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

It was a “clear sign we may have some problems,” Richter said. But the shelter became even more worried when the woman told them the other cats in her mobile home in Frostproof were in “way worse condition,” she said.

The shelter immediately reached out to Polk County Animal Control and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, who went to conduct a welfare check at the woman’s home, Sheriff Grady Judd said at the Dec. 22 news conference. The intense scent of ammonia wafted outside the home and could be smelled from the fence by the road, he said.

When deputies went inside, they found exactly what they were suspicious of: animal hoarding, Judd said.

One of the more experienced investigators said it was in the top three worst animal hoarding cases he had seen, according to the sheriff, calling it an “unbelievable situation.”

“Words can’t adequately describe it,” Judd said in the news conference.

There were 309 animals in total living at the woman’s mobile home — 164 fowl, including chickens, ducks, geese and a peacock, 142 cats and three dogs, according to the sheriff’s office. Most of the cats were walking around inside, Judd said.

“Did you hear what I said?” Judd said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

The home was coated in feces and urine stains, Judd said, and the animals were climbing all over the furniture inside. About 75 chickens were boxed up in wire cages on the mobile home’s enclosed porch area, according to the sheriff’s office news release.

Many of the animals appeared to be “remarkably ill,” the sheriff said.

“Imagine 100-plus cats roaming freely in a double-wide mobile home,” the sheriff said. “Imagine ducks and chickens stacked on top of each other.”

As they continued to investigate the home, deputies also found the woman’s 75-year-old mother living inside the home, Judd said.The woman, who was a second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Junior Elementary School, had been her mother’s caregiver, he said.

Testing of the air quality by the fire department determined the levels of ammonia in the air were very hazardous for humans and animals, the sheriff said.

The woman’s mother was taken to the hospital soon after finding her in the home, the sheriff said.

The woman told deputies that she considers herself as someone who “rescues” animals, Judd said. Her intent may have been good-natured, the sheriff said, but her living situation signaled that she was an “overwhelmed cat lady.”

The 48-year-old was charged with several misdemeanors and felonies related to the animals’ condition, Judd said, as well as elderly neglect. More charges are expected to be filed against her, he said.

She surrendered most of the animals, aside from the three dogs and three of the cats, Judd said.

There hasn’t been a need to euthanize any of the animals that have been looked over by a veterinarian so far, Judd said, and none of the animals were found deceased in the home. The animals have been checked in order of which appear to be the sickest, but euthanization may be necessary if the county can’t find homes for its current adoptable pets, the sheriff said.

“There’s only so much room in the end. If you don’t help us, we don’t have a choice but euthanize,” Judd said.

Now Polk County Animal Control is looking for adopters to take home the cats and dogs they already had to make room for the new ones, Judd said. The animals from the mobile home almost double the number of what can be housed in the shelter, he said.

Although the shelter will be closed Sunday through Tuesday due to the holiday, Judd encouraged those in the area to make the time to consider adopting a pet.

All adoption fees will be waived for the time being, he said, in order to help make room for the incoming cats. The chickens and ducks will be auctioned off Friday, Dec. 22, Judd said.

“Monday is Christmas. If you’ve thought or haven’t thought about a pet for a loved one, now would be a great time,” Judd said.

Frostproof is about 70 miles south of Orlando.

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