Nurse turns her apartment into a hospital for 175 cats with leukemia

(Image credit: AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

last updated 8 January 2015

Maria Torero has given a whole new spin to the term "cat lady." The Peruvian nurse has turned her apartment into a hospital for 175 cats stricken with feline leukemia, the Associated Press reports:

For five years, Torero has ministered to animals as they slowly succumb to the common, fatal retrovirus, which is not contagious to humans or other species. It usually is transmitted through direct contact, mutual grooming, and the sharing of litter boxes, food, and water bowls, according to the website of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She finds the cats in Lima's streets and markets and has them tested for leukemia. Nearly all of the street cats turn out to have the disease, as well as fleas, parasites, and malnutrition. [AP]

It's reportedly pretty crowded in there, with more than two dozen litter boxes.