MAN WHO ABANDONED CATS ORDERED TO SERVE TIME

A man who abandoned 73 cats in a North Huntingdon home was ordered to serve time in the county jail.  The Trib reports that Judge Meghan Billik Defazio sentenced 48-year-old Matthew Jacobs yesterday to serve up to a day less than two years and seven years of probation upon his release.  Jacobs has served about a year of the jail sentence since his arrest in October 2020 and will be paroled to home electronic monitoring.   Animal rescue officials testified in November that the 73 cats rescued were living in a state of misery. They were able to save 65 of the felines. The remains of nine others were found. Jacobs pleaded guilty then to 25 felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.  During his probation, he will not be allowed to own or keep any animals.