A strong stench led to a horrifying discovery. Suffolk County officials told the New York Post that, when they responded to reports of a foul odor coming from a Long Island home, they found a house full of felines, many of whom were dead.

“We were called in and we found 28 deceased cats, over 50 cats alive,” Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, told the outlet. “Those cats are right now with volunteer veterinarians, and they have a long road ahead of recovery. They’re all very sick—three of the cats had to be euthanized last night.”

Speaking to Newsday, Gross noted that many of the cats have upper respiratory infections. Others, he told the outlet, are being tested for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia.

Authorities aren’t certain that they’ve captured all the animals. Gross told the outlet that officials placed humane traps throughout the house in order to wrangle some of the cats.

“This is overwhelming to say the least,” Gross told the outlet. “It’s a major undertaking.”

Inside the House Full of Cats

Long Island Cat and Kitten Solution’s John Debacker told the Post that one volunteer at the scene “started vomiting and had to be taken to the hospital” due to the odor.

As such, the house, which did not have power, according to Newsday, was condemned due to high levels on ammonia, the Post reported.

“There were Chewy boxes in every room with holes in them,” Debacker told the Post of the animal supply website. “Mothers like a secure place to give birth and we found kittens, newborns, inside the Chewy boxes.”

As for how the situation began, neighbors claimed to the outlet that the couple who lived in the home were known to leave food out for stray cats. They eventually brought the felines inside, neighbors alleged.

Neighbors additionally claimed that the wife recently died. That exacerbated the situation, as it left the elderly husband to deal with it alone, the neighbors told the outlet.

According to the outlets, the surviving cats will be available for adoption when the investigation concludes.