It's a sad situation.

There are so many people throughout the country that have been labeled 'cat people' because of their love of animals...they haven't got the heart to give away or fix their cats. And soon, the place is overrun with countless felines.

This was the extreme case with 69-year-old Nancy Helms, who passed away in Hillsdale in Vermillion County, Ohio. The house in which she lived was surrounded by woods and brush, dilapidated, windows broken out, and a truly unsightly mess inside.

Nancy's remains were discovered one January by a person who was attempting to help her out by bringing her food. She was found lying on the floor amidst bags of cat food, cat litter, and more garbage. Cause of death? It was attributed to her living conditions, passing away due to squalor.

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Inside were found many empty milk jugs, cat food cans, empty and full bags of dry cat food, and many, many litter boxes. Blankets and clothes had been put over the broken-out windows to keep out the cold.

Outside was an old rusted-out Ford Probe with a mummified cat found in the back, a huge trash dump, hundreds of empty plastic milk jugs, hundreds more empty cat food cans, and little houses Nancy had made for some of the cats.

The house was a very old house, once lived in by John Thomas Pontoon, who died at age 55 in that house in 1886. Born in 1831, Pontoon was a highly-respected man in the community. How Nancy ended up there is unknown.

Even though neighboring people tried to help her out, Nancy refused help from anyone...and her sad demise was featured on a local TV news broadcast.

Abandoned Cat Lady House, Ohio

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