Glen Cove woman charged with child endangerment, animal cruelty after officials find more than 160 cats in her house

A Glen Cove woman who allowed her home to be overrun with more than 160 cats has been charged with endangering her daughter after officials found squalid conditions, according to officials and court papers.

Alena Horbatko’s adult daughter called authorities in June, inviting them into the home so that they could intervene to help her younger sister, authorities said.

Horbatko, 54, pleaded not guilty on Thursday morning to 163 counts of animal cruelty and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor.

"It's unfortunate all around," defense attorney Kevin Maccrone said. "However, my client is confident that when the facts come out, it's not going to be quite as it's being portrayed by the district attorney's office at this time, and we'll wait for due process to unfold."

Supreme Court Justice Tammy Robbins allowed Horbatko to remain free on her own recognizance as her case continued. Robbins ordered her not to keep any animals and to stay away from her daughters, except during authorized visitations. The daughters were 18 and 12 years old at the time of the incident.

Glen Cove Code Enforcement Officer Salvatore Gallace said Horbatko’s older daughter called him on June 8 to ask him to visit the St. Andrews Lane home.

"Once I was inside, I saw deplorable conditions in the home that consisted of clutter with boxes, food, fecal matter, cat food, and other debris all over the place," he told police, according to an affidavit. "While I was in the home, I had difficulty breathing with an N95 mask due to the strong odor."

The Glen Cove Fire Department declared it a hazmat scene, and the assistant chief would not let his personnel inside the home without contamination suits, Assistant Fire Chief Carlos Cardenas told police, according to court papers.

"I could smell the odor from the sidewalk," he said, adding it caused "a major health and safety concern."

The house was considered unsafe to live in, prosecutors said.

Investigators registered ammonia readings in the house of up to 18 parts per million, which could cause respiratory illness in animals, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. 

Although the Glen Cove city code does not place a restriction the number of pets a person can own, it does require them to be "kept in an appropriate manner, so as not to constitute a hazard or nuisance."

Animal welfare workers found 166 cats and kittens, including a dead one, in the home. Another kitten died on the way to the veterinarian, prosecutors said.

Most of the surviving felines suffered from upper respiratory and eye infections, according to authorities.

Vets had to remove the eye of one of the cats because of infection, prosecutors said.

"The filthy, cluttered condition of the defendant’s Glen Cove home was unsuitable for the dozens of cats and kittens she was breeding and dangerous for their health and the health of her two children," Donnelly said in a statement.