**Correction: This page previously incorrectly stated that the Blairsville Police Dept. undertook a two-year investigation. It has been updated to reflect verified information that Animal Control Officer Russ Harper was sworn in to Westmoreland County to handle this case. (July 22, 2025)**

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. (July 16, 2025) — In Defense of Animals, an international animal protection organization, is deeply disappointed by a lenient sentence given to Kimberly Rose, the president of the now-defunct Cat Aid Network, after she was convicted of aggravated cruelty, torture, and extreme neglect involving over 200 cats.

On June 23, Rose was sentenced to only eight years of probation, to be served concurrently — meaning she may serve as little as two years of supervised probation despite facing 26 counts of third-degree felony aggravated cruelty to animals, including 13 counts for torture, and 13 for causing serious bodily injury or death, along with more than 100 third-degree misdemeanor counts of animal neglect. Most charges were withdrawn as part of a plea deal. 

Each felony count could have carried up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine, making the maximum sentence 182 years and $390,000 in fines had she been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“Two years probation for 26 felony animal cruelty charges and over 100 misdemeanors is a sick joke and a grave miscarriage of justice,” said Doll Stanley, Senior Justice for Animals Campaigner with In Defense of Animals.

In Defense of Animals presented District Attorney Adam Joshua Barr with a letter signed by 10,312 animal advocates supporting the maximum prosecution of Kiberly Rose and fellow Cat Aid board member Pamela Curry, whose case remains pending. 

“More than 10,000 In Defense of Animals supporters called for alleged obsessive cat hoarders Rose and Curry to be prosecuted to the fullest extent, and this non-custodial outcome sends a dangerous message to would-be abusers. Prosecutors and Judges would be wise to recognize the depth of suffering that cruelly treated animals suffer and hand down sentences that may deter future abusers,” added Stanley.

Animal Control Officer Russ Harper was sworn in to Westmoreland County to handle this case. A two-year investigation uncovered horrific conditions at Cat Aid Network’s mobile unit in Derry Township. Veterinarian Dr. Danielle Vought found that many cats suffered from permanent respiratory damage, ulcerated mouths, gingivitis, fleas, diarrhea, and untreated infections. The trailer was filled with garbage, and reeked of ammonia from widespread urine and feces contamination since the cats had no litterboxes. Thirteen cats were found dead.

The conditions were so extreme that Ninth Life Rescue in Greensburg removed 211 cats from their living hell — many of whom had originally been placed in foster homes and were brought back under false pretenses. Frankie’s Friends took in more than 80.

“Whether from hoarding, fraud, or ineptness, this kind of cruelty is devastating — not only for the animal victims but the entire rescue community,” said Stanley. “Justice should not depend on someone’s intentions, but on the suffering they caused. Sentences must reflect the severity of the harm caused since they may be the only deterrent for future shocking cases. In Defense of Animals is no stranger to exposing, shutting down, and compassionately rescuing jilted animals. This form of cruelty ranks as a ten for its facade of compassion.”

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Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, (662) 809-4483

Images: https://bit.ly/CatAidPA

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters defending animals, people, and the environment through education, campaigns, and hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, California, and rural Mississippi since 1983. www.idausa.org/justice4animals

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