45 Cats Discovered in Home

Police investigating complaints that a woman described by neighbors as a local eccentric had cut their telephone and cable TV lines discovered 45 cats in her house Tuesday amid piles of excrement and swarms of fleas, authorities said.

“This is the worst-smelling place I’ve ever been in,” said LAPD Sgt. Bob Weisz.

Police arrested Fleeta Koranda, 74, on suspicion of making terrorist threats to her neighbors, who allege that she had harassed and threatened them for years. She was being held at the Van Nuys jail.

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services seized 45 cats, three dogs and a pigeon from her home in the 4000 block of Coldstream Terrace in a hillside, south-of-the-boulevard neighborhood.

Animal Services Lt. Richard Felosky said the department is investigating Koranda on suspicion of violating animal-cruelty and permit laws--Los Angeles residents are allowed to have no more than three cats without a permit. The cruelty charge could be a felony, depending on the extent of the violation, Felosky said.

“Though the cats appear to have adequate food and water, I wouldn’t house any animal under these conditions,” Felosky said, adding that Koranda has a long history with the department of complaints about the number of animals at her home.

“We’ve done everything we can within the power of the law to stop her,” he said.

Records of specific actions were unavailable Tuesday, said department spokesman Peter Persic.

Koranda--the name she gave to police--goes by several aliases, neighbors said. Ron Dvorkin, who lives across the street, knows her as Diane Riccard. Dvorkin said he and his wife found their telephone and cable lines cut Monday night and called police.

“I didn’t see her do it, but based on past experience, I don’t think it could have been anyone else,” said Dvorkin, who has lived at the location for 20 years. He and his wife have called the police many times over conduct that they felt endangered them, he said.

The city attorney’s office said that a hearing was held in 1991 on a complaint that Koranda had tried to run down Dvorkin with a car, but the results of the hearing were unavailable.

Animal welfare officials frequently encounter what they call the “collector syndrome,” said Madeline Bernstein, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles. Some call the collectors “cat ladies,” but Bernstein said they can be men or women and have been known to collect dogs, cats and even pigs.

“Sometimes it is loneliness and sometimes it is mental illness, but it’s quite common for someone who loves animals and cares for their welfare to let a situation get out of hand,” she said. “They don’t notice the deteriorating conditions because they gradually get used to it.”

Koranda’s housemate, an elderly man whom neighbors know as Joe Riccard, said he did not think there were any problems with the animals or Koranda’s behavior. He would not comment further or discuss his relationship to Koranda, though Dvorkin said he has always assumed Riccard was her brother.

Animal Services veterinarians examined each of the animals individually and will treat them for illnesses and injuries, Persic said. They will be housed at the West Valley Animal Shelter and may be held there as evidence if criminal charges are filed in the case.

“Some of them appear to have chronic injuries and nasal discharges. Some are skinny and unsocialized, meaning that they are difficult to handle,” Persic said.

Next-door neighbor Ray Sharim said he moved there three years ago, despite warnings from Dvorkin.

“He told us the people who lived here before couldn’t stand it, and that others around here had moved too,” Sharim said. But he found that the problem was worse than he expected. Until Tuesday, Sharim said he was frustrated that numerous calls he had made to police and Animal Services yielded no results.

“We planted lots of jasmine trees to cover up the smell, but that didn’t help,” he said. “We just hope it will end now.”

Times staff photographer Jayne Kamin-Oncea contributed to this story.