A Long Island woman was arrested on animal cruelty charges after police said nearly 100 cats and counting were found inside her house that she shares with her 18- and 11-year-old daughters. Alena Horbatko pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday after she was charged with 67 counts of animal cruelty, two counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Police responded to the home in Glen Cove around 11:30 p.m. Monday after getting a call from the teenage daughter. “She was concerned about herself and her younger sister with the living arrangements, and the smell, and the feces, and the filth in the house, so she reached out for help,” said Glen Cove Police Lieutenant John Nagle. According to the criminal complaint, police observed 65 cats inside the home and 2 dogs located in the backyard. Officer Darren Pittmann reported an overwhelming and strong odor of urine and ammonia permeating throughout the residence. The 18-year-old daughter told the officer “there is so much stuff you can barely walk” and that she had “developed breathing issues due to the terrible smell of the home.” One by one, kittens and cats were brought out from the home. Officers and volunteers who went inside suited up in hazmat suits and breathing masks, describing the overpowering smell. “Every floor of the house from the basement to the top floor is covered in fecal matter and urine,” said Matt Roper of the Nassau SPCA. “There’s hundreds of cats running in and out of the place. They’re on the counters. There’s overflow litter boxes, animal waste all over the place.” “It’s sad, they’ve got cats running around here,” said neighbor James Sutherland. “She has no control over them.” Sutherland said at first there were two cats, and then suddenly many more. He said Horbatko started off breeding some of the cats, but it soon got out of control. He thinks the animal hoarding has been going on for three years. “I think for somebody who loves animals that’s a terrible way to treat them that way,” said neighbor Pat Izzo. The 54-year-old Horbatko was released on her own recognizance. She had to sign orders of protection from her kids and to forfeit all the animals. Her attorney, John Ladis, said “she’ll prove her case in a court of law like everybody else.” Her children are staying with their father.   Horbatko is due back in court on June 15.  The local city shelter is taking in many of the cats, but they are running out of space and reaching out to other rescues to take in some cats. ...read more read less