PITTSTON – Animal control workers said the smell was overpowering as more than 100 cats, many of them malnourished and sick, were removed from an elderly man’s home.

The homeowner was hospitalized recently and can’t care for the cats. Pittston Animal Control Officer Howard Morang said the owner, whom he would not identify, agreed earlier this week to allow authorities to remove the animals.

While 102 cats were removed Wednesday, another 30 to 50 of the animals could not be captured and remained inside, some hiding in walls and ceilings.

One dead cat was found in the home, a three-story structure on state Route 126 in Pittston, about six miles south of Augusta.

Cat feces and urine covered furniture, a countertop, stove and refrigerator in the house, and some animal control workers who removed the cats complained of headaches and nausea.

Workers wore protective suits, gloves, goggles, boots and air masks, which became coated with grime.

While many of the cats were hungry and sick, most were in better condition than officials had expected, said Sherri Thomsen, executive director of the Kennebec Valley Humane Society.

After being taken to an animal shelter in Augusta, “some of the cats have gone through two or three bowls of food, and four or five bowls of water apiece,” Thomsen said. “Some had to be euthanized [because] they just weren’t going to make it.”

Surviving cats will undergo tests to see whether they can be adopted, Thomsen said.

“It was a very terrible situation,” said Morang. “We took many, many cats [Wednesday], and there are still more to go. They run from you, they hide. We’ll go back with some live traps and get the rest.”

The Kennebec Valley Humane Society is accepting donations such as cat litter, cat food and money.

The organization can be reached by calling 626-3491 or by writing to Kennebec Valley Humane Society, Pet Haven Lane, Augusta 04330.