Dozens of cats were rescued from a filthy home in Albertson last week, but neighbors are asking why it took so long for officials to act.

According to neighbors, the elderly woman who owned the Evans Avenue house recently died, leaving her son, who suffers from a mental disability to care for about 40 cats. They also say the son was hospitalized days ago. The Nassau County SPCA arrived at the house with animal rescue volunteers and began removing the cats last Thursday.

Neighbor Ed Jordan, a former NYPD officer, says he witnessed a lot of squalor during his tenure, but has never seen anything like what he saw in the house across the street. Heinz Wesch, who also lives near the home, says he?s unable to open his own windows because of the smell. He says he can?t even sit on his deck.

Neighbors say they complained about the problem to the Town of North Hempstead for the past year, but nothing came of it. Two weeks ago however, the man who lives right next door says he sent a letter to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, which finally netted results.

Most of the cats were removed over the weekend. Many are available for adoption, according to the Nassau County SPCA. The Town of North Hempstead issued a statement saying the first 311 call it received about the house was last Friday.

Nassau County SPCA