Paris cat lady montparnasse
The cats were scared and hungry Screengrab / Le Parisien

French police have arrested a 60-year-old woman who kept 130 cats in her tiny Paris apartment. Video footage shows animal rescue teams trying to prise the nervous pets out of the filthy top floor flat.

The woman was barefoot and dressed in rags when officers entered her 25m<sup>2 flat in Montparnasse. The floor was covered in dirt, cat faeces and fur balls.

"When officers entered the flat they saw a dramatic scene," a policeman told Le Parisien.

"There were cats everywhere, they were under-fed, it stank! The only furniture was a really filthy mattress, a fridge, two litter trays for 130 cats, poo everywhere and no food."

The army of predominately black-and-white cats scurried under pieces of furniture and through a hole in the ceiling when a team from a local animal charity were sent in to round them up.

It took the team from Fondation 30 Millions d'Amis (30 Million Friends) four days to get all of the animals into cages and transported to shelter,s where they received veterinary checks.

"I did not have enough cages," said shelter-master Arnauld L'Homme. "There was a hole in the ceiling of the studio and they walked under the roof in the common parts of the building."

The hunt is now on to find homes for 129 of the cats. Sadly, one kitten had to be put down after it sustained serious injuries during the rescue operation.

The woman was released from police custody but has since been taken to a hospital in Paris for psychological tests.

"This lady created a great problem for all of us," said a neighbour. "You can imagine the smell. Our trustee called the police several times."

In February, a Louisiana mother was arrested on animal cruelty and drug charges after police raided her home to find a crystal meth lab, along with 133 pet cats. Deputies were shocked to find the animals when they carried out a raid on her home in the city Houma.

In April, an Oregon woman was arrested on animal neglect charges after she was found with 42 cats in her car including one that was dead.