Peggy Lea Grant, 59, has waived her preliminary hearing in a Clarion County animal-cruelty case involving 19 cats found at an East Railroad Street rental home. Grant faces two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and 38 misdemeanor charges after two cats died and 17 others were removed from the residence in June. The charges are allegations, and her case is now headed to the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.
Property Owner's Call Kicked Off the Investigation
The investigation began June 1 after the property owner contacted Knox Borough Police about conditions at the home, according to exploreClarion. An inspection reportedly found feline feces, numerous cats, a high concentration of flies and a strong odor. Grant had rented the property until mid-April. The outlet reported that her visits to care for cats left there became less frequent by late May, although she transferred the home's electric bill into her name on April 30.
Police and animal-rescue volunteers entered the residence June 7, the report said. Investigators described poor air quality, a strong ammonia odor, a full litter box and no food or water available for the cats. Responders reportedly wore masks and took frequent breaks while inside. They found one dead cat in an upstairs bedroom and 18 cats alive.
Necropsies Point to Prolonged Neglect
What Pennsylvania guidance says about neglect and intake
The Pennsylvania SPCA says animal neglect includes failing to provide food and water, the type of conduct alleged in Grant's case. The ANNA Shelter says cat intakes generally require an appointment because of space constraints, although sick or injured cats may be brought in during intake-center hours. That policy helps explain why emergency animal seizures may require coordination among multiple shelters and rescue organizations.
Eighteen live cats were transferred to the ANNA Shelter in Erie, an open-admission, no-kill nonprofit founded in 2004 that runs a dedicated Animal Cruelty and Neglect Division staffed by sworn Humane Police Officers. One additional live cat was taken to Clarion PAWS, a volunteer-run, no-kill feline adoption center in Shippenville that provided emergency veterinary intake, but that cat later died. A necropsy report obtained July 6 indicated the cat died from renal disease compounded by severe dehydration and weight loss.
A second necropsy report obtained July 16 stated that the cat found dead in the home had died from infectious pleural effusion, pericarditis and pleuritis, according to exploreClarion. Charges were filed Aug. 26, and Grant was arraigned the next day before Magisterial District Judge Jarah Lee Heeter. She remains free on $10,000 unsecured bail while the case proceeds.
Waiving the Hearing Moves the Case to the Court of Common Pleas
Court documents show that Grant waived the preliminary hearing Sept. 15. Her case is now pending in the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.
Grant faces two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, graded as third-degree felonies. Under Pennsylvania's Comprehensive Animal Cruelty Act of 2017, commonly known as Libre's Law, that grading applies when neglect or cruelty results in death or serious bodily injury, and it carries up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine per count, according to the East Earl Township Police Department. She also faces 19 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, each a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, plus 19 misdemeanor counts of neglect of animals for denying sustenance and water, each a third-degree misdemeanor carrying up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine per count.
A Rural Borough, a Regional Rescue Network
Knox is a small rural borough in central Clarion County with an estimated 2026 population of just 1,061 residents spread across 0.57 square miles, situated nine miles west of the county seat, according to Census Reporter data. The case shows how thinly stretched animal welfare response can be in rural Pennsylvania, where local police relied on a patchwork of volunteer and nonprofit rescues, splitting the cats between Clarion PAWS locally and the larger ANNA Shelter in Erie.
The strain is not unique to Clarion County. National data cited by the ASPCA shows an estimated 3 million cats entered shelters and rescues across the country in 2025, a volume that makes sudden multi-animal seizures like the one in Knox especially resource-intensive to absorb. Separately, Psychology Today has reported that roughly 250,000 animals suffer from severe neglect or hoarding in the United States each year, with cats the most commonly affected species.
Pennsylvania law includes forfeiture provisions for felony animal cruelty, according to the Pennsylvania SPCA. The cats were initially transferred to Clarion PAWS and the ANNA Shelter. Her case remains pending before the Clarion County Court of Common Pleas.
