A Russian lived for 32 years in a heap of garbage, feces and cat skeletons: five Gazelles were taken out

A terrible story was revealed in Tomsk. A 42-year-old man diagnosed with cerebral palsy lived for 32 years among garbage and surrounded by numerous cats. Volunteers removed 29 animals from the cluttered apartment and discovered several cat skeletons. It turned out that the man did not go outside and did not eat for weeks.

We learned about the Tomsk recluse completely by accident. Animal rights activist Elena Yashchuk received a message from a complete stranger who said that in one of the houses, behind a locked door, a heart-rending meow had been heard for several days. Volunteers are needed to save animals. Elena immediately went to the specified address.

“Even without knowing the apartment number, I could find it by smell.” Already on the first floor there was a terrible stench. I went up to the fifth floor. The author of the letter met me there; she had the keys. When the door was opened, a horde of cats rushed at me. They were terribly hungry – and it seemed that they would tear me to pieces. But the worst was yet to come…

The entire apartment was littered with garbage from floor to ceiling. There was feces in it and maggots crawling around. In some places there were cat skeletons lying around. And then a man crawled out to the volunteers. It was the owner of the apartment.

“He couldn’t walk and just crawled on his hands.” For these maggots and feces. He appeared to be about 40 years old. A normal, adequate man. We looked at each other for several minutes. I was shocked. Having come to my senses, I turned to him: “Do you need help?” He replied: “Yes.” I simply couldn’t believe that a person, and even a disabled person, could live in this garbage dump,” animal rights activist Elena Yashchuk told MK.

It turned out that the owner of the apartment was named Alexey. He is 42 years old, he is disabled from childhood with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Alexey has diplegia – damage to his legs. He cannot walk without support. At first his mother took care of him: he underwent treatment, went to sanatoriums, went outside on crutches and with his mother. But in the early 90s, the woman began to have mental disorders. I started taking things from garbage dumps and cluttered up my apartment. The number of “finds” became more and more numerous. The garbage prevented my son from doing his homework – he was still a schoolboy at that time, so he went out to the staircase and studied there. Then my mother slammed the door to the kitchen and stopped cooking. Food was also brought from garbage dumps.

– Lesha said that he hasn’t been in the kitchen since ’98. For some reason, mom began to be afraid of the refrigerator,” animal activist Eleonora Sazonova, Elena’s friend, told MK. – Then cats appeared in the apartment…

– The number of cats, as well as garbage, grew before our eyes. The landlady paid more attention to the animals than to her son. I bought dry food for them and took care of them. Cats are mostly tame, some are even litter box trained. Some cats have the same color. Apparently they just multiplied. When the animal died, it was not taken out of the apartment, judging by the scattered skeletons, volunteers say.

At the end of 2023, Alexei’s mother died. She was 79 years old. A relative, the owner of the apartment, took care of the funeral, but he didn’t care about the garbage, the cats, or the disabled person.

– Alexey is an absolutely normal person. Kind, with humor. He just lived in such conditions his entire adult life and gradually got used to it. His house needs to be cleared of garbage, his life needs to be improved: the only comfort he has is cold water. He needs examination and treatment,” Elena Yashchuk urges.

In the chaos they found Alexei’s passport and crutches with difficulty. He and the cats were taken to Elena’s house – he couldn’t be left alone. And at this time they began to clean up. Volunteer girls spent a week collecting everything in garbage bags and loading it into trucks.

“I didn’t think there was so much garbage.” We took out five Gazelles! None of the neighbors helped us. On the contrary, they were unhappy that we were placing bags near their apartments,” recalls Eleonora Sazonova.

– Alexey hasn’t been outside for 20 years. I remembered that I used to go to the movies and eat ice cream. I bought him ice cream. He was so happy! I started eating normal food. Very little, but regularly. I remembered that I used to have to eat once a week,” says Elena Yashchuk.

Elena agreed that the shelter would take the cats into her home. But she doesn’t know what to do with a 42-year-old disabled man.

– We are negotiating with the co-owner of Alexey’s apartment to exchange one apartment for two. Perhaps Alexey will buy an apartment on the first floor. It will be convenient for him to leave the house. Volunteers will help with the stroller,” suggests Elena. – I don’t understand where the neighbors were all this time, why didn’t they write complaints? Where were the local police officers looking? They entered the apartment when Lesha’s mother’s body was being taken out… Where were the doctors and social workers? How could a man for 30 years live with a crazy mother in terrible unsanitary conditions…

MK will follow the development of this story.