Five dead cats discovered in carriers in the woods and three dead rabbits in hutches have led to criminal charges of animal cruelty against the animals' Butler County owners and caretakers.

Authorities said the animals died of starvation and other factors.

Butler County humane police officer Janice Lawniczak filed separate cases at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg.

Charged with multiple misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals in the deaths of the cats are Kevin Delehanty of Cranberry Township and Tamara Rusz of Mars.

Jennifer Mele of Winfield Township is charged with three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in the deaths of the rabbits.

According to the criminal complaint, Lawniczak went to Mele's Clearfield Road home Feb. 19 in response to a call concerning the shelter of rabbits there.

All three rabbits — each in its own hutch — were dead. None of the animals had food or water, Lawniczak said.

No one was at the home, but the next day, according to charging documents, the officer spoke to Mele.

The defendant said the rabbits belonged to her husband, who had been away for some time, and she did not care for them. Lawniczak asked the woman why she didn't feed them.

“Her response was that she worked too much,” documents said, “and (she) could not feed or water them. She did not seem to see a problem.”

Lawniczak took the rabbits home and buried them on her property.

The complaint accused Mele of leaving the animals without food and water and with insufficient shelter.

The investigation into the deaths of the cats began Nov. 13 when authorities found the animals abandoned in woods off Bear Creek Road in Winfield Township.

The felines were in carriers placed close to one another. In each of the two carriers, Lawniczak said, were two dead cats. A third carrier contained one dead cat.

Also in the third carrier was another cat, which escaped when the door was opened.

“The deceased cat had been mauled by the live cat,” documents said, “and the body was torn into pieces.”

Authorities said they subsequently caught the cat that had escaped and it is being housed at the Butler County Humane Society.

While searching the area, Lawniczak said she found garbage bags that contained mail addressed to Rusz. A neighbor told authorities that Rucz and Delehanty had been living nearby on property her mother owned.

On Dec. 8, the officer contacted Delehanty, who allegedly admitted that he and Rusz “knowingly and willingly abandoned all six cats, while they were still alive” in the woods.

The pair is accused of abandoning the cats and leaving them without food or water and with insufficient shelter.

All three defendants face preliminary hearings June 12. They could not be reached for comment and online court records did not indicate if they have attorneys.