Only four of the 33 cats found in the apartment, including this one, were deemed suitable for adoption. (CBC)

Two women were charged with animal cruelty and 29 of their cats were euthanized after a raid on their Vanier apartment by the Ottawa Humane Society.

In total, 33 cats, including many in poor health, were removed from the small apartment, while three others escaped, said an Ottawa Humane Society news release Friday.

"What we think we have here is a hoarding case, where a family or individual has difficulty parting with something — in this case animals — and it gets out of control," said Bruce Roney, executive director of the society.

Inspectors visited the home of a 51-year-old woman and her 30-year-old daughter after receiving complaints from neighbours.

They were greeted by an "overwhelming smell of urine" throughout the building. Inside the small apartment, feces covered the walls and furniture and were ground into the carpet.

"There were overflowing litter boxes," Roney said. "The majority of the cats were in distress." Many needed veterinary attention. Only four were deemed healthy enough and properly socialized enough to be handled and adopted.

The rest were euthanized.

Louise Hindle, co-ordinator of the Cat Rescue Network, said many people who rescue cats live in neighbourhoods with high turnover and have low incomes themselves. They can't afford to get the animals spayed or neutered and are soon overrun with cats and kittens.

"People who want to rescue are trapped," she said. "They either walk away from an animal that's frozen in the ice … or they have animals in their house that they can't afford to take care of."

She said right now in Ottawa, it costs $100 or more to spay and neuter a cat. She would like to see a program that makes it more affordable.