Nothing could have prepared this Kansas City homeowner for the frightening revelation of what was living in the walls of his home when he stepped foot on his front porch Wednesday morning. He was about to find out some nightmarish news, and no one had any idea of what to do next.
Evicting someone from a home is an exhausting process that no one wants to go through, even if they do it legally through the courts. It can still take months upon months of spending days in court, negative interactions, and nasty meetings. And no one wants to be evicted, either, especially if you’re hiding something.
Along with the sheriff and an army of officials, he reached his front door, ready to remove all of the possessions in the home, as well as the people living there. But once the gravity of the situation was realized, no one wanted to go inside. Not one person wanted to find out what was going to happen next.
The inside of the home was incredibly stuffy and oddly damp. As small amounts of sun crept in through the sealed windows, the house remained silent. Needless to say, removing a tenant after a long and complicated battle was more than intense. The house had a threatening feel to it. It seemed more like a portal to another dimension, rather than a house on a quiet street.
The moist, stagnant air attempted to cover up the odor that made everyone stop dead on their course. The all too familiar smell of decay hid a chilling fact. Maybe he should have brought the police with him, he thought as he walked into a room covered in red.
The owner of the home and the authorities had no clue what they were walking into. Once they realized that they were dealing with a different type of monster, their mentality completely changed. This wasn’t just about evicting someone from their home anymore. There were bigger things involved now.
The tenant stood outside of the house, calmly explaining to the camera crew how he pulled it off. There was not one hint of remorse on his face as he explained the whole graphic scene that played out in his mind. He appeared to be calm on the outside, but only the man knew about the demon he was battling inside of him.
Renting your house out can come with a bunch of troubles. A lot of contracts state that the tenant isn’t even allowed to put nails into walls, just so the owner doesn’t have to repair any of the paintwork or the structure. The acts that Sean Casey committed were beyond anything that a homeowner was capable of dealing with, and things were just getting started.
There was red liquid dripping off of the cutting board, and there was more found in the refrigerator, waiting to go under the knife that was waiting patiently on the kitchen counter. The odor they were smelling was raw meat, but the meat wasn’t being prepared to be cooked. The meat had a much more terrifying future in front of it
As the authorities were being called to the house, Sean had no clue as to why people were making such a fuss. Not one person would walk into the living room of the home, but as they waited for their backup to arrive, the sheriff and the other officials began to throw all of Sean’s possessions onto the pavement.
In the middle of the living room, inside of what authorities believed to be a homemade hot tub, was the largest alligator animal control had ever seen. He was just quietly floating in the water, minding its own business. The 7 foot long, 200-pound alligator named Katfish, had been living in the home with Sean for four years. But four years ago, Katfish was only 11-inches long! Oddly enough, this zoo doesn’t stop here.
The house appeared to be the home for three other reptiles, as well. The gorgeous, smaller cousin of the constrictor, the ball-python, barely hit the 6.5 feet mark. While its much larger family members reach 30 feet or more! Unlike Katfish, pythons aren’t exactly aggressive. They decided it was best to just hide out, and they curled up into a tight ball and tucked their heads away.
There was also a kitten and a rabbit that were removed from the home. All of the animals were brought to different wildlife sanctuaries to keep them safe. Katfish was also taken temporarily to the Monkey Island Rescue and Sanctuary in Greenwood. The rabbit and the snakes were brought to KC Pet Project, which is a shelter close by. The kitten was allowed to stay with Sean, but now he had no place to live, and all of his belongings were on the front lawn.
Animal control understood that they couldn’t move an animal as big as Katfish, so they called an animal rescue group that could safely remove him. “This thing was massive in size, and it took over four of us to handle this,” said James Donovan with KC Animal Control. No was injured, but it was obvious that Katfish wasn’t happy about being taken out of his home. So what was going to happen to all of the critters?
Even though exotic animals, such as alligators, aren’t allowed in Kansas City, Sean would still fight for Katfish. “I don’t know what the procedure will be to get him back, but I’m going to fight to get him back,” Sean said to the cameras. “He had his own way of saying, ‘Hi,’ to people. They’re not big ferocious animals like people think. They have personalities,” explained Sean.
Sean explained that Katfish’s diet mainly consisted of steak, deer, fish, and chicken nuggets. Sean also explained that Katfish was just like a dog. “He was like a dog. I don’t think he knew he was an alligator. I tell people all the time I’ve got an alligator who can’t swim. He is scared of the dark and scared of thunderstorms,” said Sean.
Katfish also roamed all over the house like a dog! “I built him a ramp to get back in his tank because he is a big lizard. He was going to come out and play. He liked to come out and play. Oddly enough he liked to come to sit on my lap,” said Sean.
“He told me about how unique it was that he built this, basically a pool in his living room, and he would fill it with water. Katfish was just sitting there like me and you are sitting here right now. He used to take Katfish through the McDonalds drive-thru line, and everybody knew who he was. He would sit right next to him,” he explained to the new crews.
Sean is still planning on getting his lovable alligator back. As soon as Sean’s story went viral, people were crying for Katfish to be returned home. “It would be great for Katfish to stay with his owner because his owner is a wonderful caretaker, but at the end of the day, we are just looking for a place where Katfish doesn’t have to move around,” said a wildlife worker.
Sean even got the assistance of the local law firm to help. Jungle Law attorney Lauren Sienna stated, “I feel like when there is an exotic animal in Kansas City, it makes sense to call Jungle law, so people tend to reach out to us.” He also explained that Katfish was taken care of extremely well.
“I knew he was passionate about this animal. He grew him up from 12 inches to almost 7-and-a-half feet, now 200 pounds. He’s very well-kept. He said he kept him better than he does himself, and by looking at him, I think that is the truth,” said Jungle Law attorney, Tristan Woods.
Alligators are extremely social creatures that typically live in family-like situations. Sean was Katfish’s family, and now he was being uprooted and brought to an unfamiliar environment. That’s enough to make anyone feel a bit sad. How would Katfish respond to the new changes in his life?
“Katfish is a remarkable alligator because, as you know from personal experience, he is pretty friendly. We just want to make sure that everything that’s required in his lifestyle is available to him,” said Sierra. Everyone is rooting for Sean to get his gator back and one of his friends even made a GoFundMe account called “Katfish.”
Sean had Katfish since he was just a small little gator! Imagine how Sean must have felt about watching his favorite reptile being taken away. Even though alligators have a bad reputation of being angry and aggressive, Katfish was a loving gator, who had a responsible owner caring for him. So what do you think? Do you think Katfish should be returned to Sean?