More than 160 cats have been removed from a home in west Edmonton, only nine of which were healthy enough to survive.

Shawna Randolph of the Edmonton Humane society says they're catching the cats in hopes of saving them.

“[We’re] checking to see if the humane cat traps that have [been] set there have captured a cat and if so, bringing the cats back to the shelter,” Randolph said.

The man who lived in the Grovener area house co-operated in handing the cats over.

The Humane Society now has the key to the house.

“Most of the cats that have been removed have been skittish, but these even more so,” Randolph said. “They are hiding in any nook and cranny that they can find inside the home.”

Cinda Zeibarth, a neighbour who lives down the street, says the smell coming from the house is so bad she wants the place torn down.

“The smell is so bad, it’s horrible,” Zeibarth said. “We can’t even sit on our back deck at all.”

So far one of the rescued cats is ready for adoption and the others are with foster homes.