Abandoned Cat Lady House

I pulled in acting like I made a wrong turn, in-case someone was actually there. First thing I noticed was a chain across the front door and overgrown weeds on the long steps leading up. The inside French doors were open and part of the ceiling tiles had collapsed from water damage..but I still was a little unsure of whether this is abandoned or not.

 

I decided to take the chance, all signs pointed to abandonment!

I was right

After circling the entire house in the surrounding sun room I made my way inside the house, I was immediately overcome by the smell of cat…..cat pee, cat feces, cat litter…cat death.

Then, I realized it’s not only cat smells all around me, it’s also cat stuff….

 

 

The next thing that I could not avoid was the wallpaper…awful, awful wallpaper in every room…

 

Upon further exploration of the Abandoned Cat Lady House , the many rooms and the two floors, you get a strong sense of sadness and loneliness, it’s very hard in an abandonment like this one to not draw your own conclusions of what happened. There are so many personal items all over the house, not claimed by any family members….just left

 

 

 

Two of the most heart breaking things that I found in this house were a cane, resting against the couch….as though that’s where it was left when the owner passed away, alone in the living room…

The other, was a card written to a father by his daughter who has moved away to Germany, she talks about keeping up his daily walks and to not smoke so much…

 

There are countless other items throughout the home…

Like this jewelry box, the ballerina still spun when I opened it and the song played one whole time, and then it stopped.

These drawings, done by one of the owners.  There were dozens of pages of these sketches.

 

 

I found a few photos that I had carefully placed in the same spot as where the photo was taken…

 

 

And finally, as if there wasn’t enough sadness in this house, and proof that the owner had died in the house, I found this – what looks like a cat..I wonder how long it wandered the home afraid before she tucked herself underneath the chair and let herself die….

After my first visit I had invited a few trusted explorers to see the place, and not long after that the scrappers made their way there. The copper pipes had been pulled from the walls, the brass light fixtures gone, the kitchen and living room looted.

I have been two times since and this place has become a popular spot among local urban explorers, regardless of the looting, scrapping and the fact that nothing is as it was what I found it, it still attracts visitors and every shot I see from another explorer is another reminder of how sad it felt on that first visit.

 

Update to this story in 2015: This house has been destroyed, looted and tagged to the point that this home is no longer unique or remarkable.  A number of so called explorers have published videos of this house and stupidly published the address and even the name of the woman who lived here.  It is now one of the easiest abandoned homes to find in the area, thanks to a handful of people with no care or regard for preservation.  This house is one example of why I am so careful with who I share information with, and what information I provide when I publish images and stories.  Destruction and looting is inevitable, but anything I can to to hold that off, I will gladly do.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Freaktography