Distressed woman tried to kill her cats

To Rhonda Thomas, a seasoned SPCA humane officer, the 28 cats in two stifling rooms in the Harleysville house appeared afraid and distressed, but she had seen worse. She planned to return for them the next day when she had help.

Then she saw blue pellets in the food dishes and knew the animals had been offered rat poison; quickly, she summoned three ambulances to rush the animals to Montgomery County's three shelters.

Yesterday, 27 of the cats were recovering after receiving vitamin K injections. A dog was recovering, too. "They're doing much better," said Carmen J. Ronio, the SPCA's director. One cat died from what Ronio said was rat poison.

On Monday, law enforcement officials from Towamencin Township joined the county District Attorney's Office in filing a criminal animal-cruelty complaint against the pets' owner, Linda Muchnick, 56.

Muchnick was described in court papers released yesterday as overwhelmed by mounting financial problems. The complaint accused her of one count of cruelty by killing an animal and 28 counts of attempted animal cruelty by poisoning, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

Muchnick set out the DeCon rat poison last week at her home on Bishopwood Boulevard East, Ferman said. An opened container was found on her dresser, court papers said.

There was water, but no other pet food in the house, Ronio said. The SPCA began an investigation of the incident Friday. The animals corralled in two rooms had been denied food for several days before the poisoned food was set out, Ronio said.

"I'm saddened by the desperation of this woman . . . and I'm saddened by the fact that these animals had to be treated in this way," Ronio said.

"This is the first time in my 38 years [in shelter work] where people have been overwhelmed to the point where they would destroy their own animals."

Police went to the house Thursday after they received a call from Lower Salford authorities reporting that a local veterinary clinic had received a letter from Muchnick saying money problems made her realize "suicide was the only solution."

"It would be best for her pets if she killed them along with herself so they could be together in heaven," the note read, according to a court affidavit.

Towamencin officers called in Thomas, whose quick action likely saved some of the animals' lives, Ronio said.

Police found Muchnick unresponsive on the floor in the house and rushed her to Abington Health Lansdale Hospital; it was unclear if she had tried to take her own life. A hospital spokesman did not return a call yesterday.

Muchnick was receiving treatment at Norristown State Hospital, officials said. A warrant was issued for her arrest Monday, but it was unclear when it would be served.

The dozen or so cats housed in the animal shelter in Conshohocken appeared alert and were eating and responding to treatment yesterday.

It was too soon to say what the long-term effects of the poison would be. A necropsy was performed on the dead cat.

"We are 99.9 percent sure that the cat died of rat poison," Ronio said.

Ronio said rat poison is a blood-thinning agent that induces internal bleeding.