Prosecutors have charged a Butte man with three felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty for allegedly having dozens of cats in his home living amid significant animal waste with no food or water available.

James Russell Mingus, 45, was arrested on a warrant Friday and has since bonded out. Efforts by The Montana Standard to contact him for comment Tuesday were not immediately successful.

Lynette Hogart, Butte-Silver Bow’s Animal Control Manager, said her officers took 33 cats out of the home on Aug. 16 and have been caring for them since. The sheer number has “been a real burden on the shelter,” she said.

The charging documents don’t include the address of the home but say animal control officers identified numerous animal cruelty violations based on the number of cats and “significa

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