ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A woman accused of hoarding 180 cats in a Wildwood mansion is now accused in a second hoarding case at a new location. FOX 2 News found the suspect reportedly collecting dozens more cats inside a rental home she recently moved into.
FOX 2 was the first to tell you about a Wildwood mansion condemned in September 2024 after being overrun by cats. We also took you inside the 6,000-square-foot home that has been destroyed by the animal hoarding.
Elizabeth Fischer was criminally charged last month with elder financial fraud. Her parents were living with her in the now condemned home, and she’s accused of fraudulently using their assets as she left. Since her arrest last month, authorities discovered dozens more cats at her latest location.
The Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force got a call from the feds that there might be more cats where Fischer was staying at an Airbnb.
FOX 2 went to visit the cats where they’ve been rescued. The Humane Society’s Ella Frank took the call to go get them.
“I was like, ‘Hey guys, surprise, we’re bringing in a couple cats!’ Initially, we thought it was 15. Then it was like, oh, 30! Oh, 39! You know, that’s a shock. It’s hard,” she said.
Authorities have not disclosed the rental property location, other than saying it was in St. Louis County.
Frank said Fischer, “…had only been there for 20 days and in 20 days’ time, it was pretty bad. It smelled. There were cans of cat food scattered all over the place.”
Fischer remains locked up, with these latest findings being part of prosecutors’ arguments to keep her detained.
“Each one will get examined by a veterinarian,” Frank said. “They will get the treatment they need and when they are happy and healthy, they will be made available for adoption.”
Reach out to the Humane Society of Missouri if you can help and stay tuned to FOX 2 for the next development in what’s becoming one of Missouri’s most troubling and bizarre animal hoarding investigations.