Eighteen cats and two birds were killed during a Connecticut house fire, but firefighters were able to save eight other pets. 

The blaze broke out just after 1:30 a.m. in the town of Berlin, and the female homeowner, Katherine O'Leary, was able to escape without being injured.

Matt Odishoo, the deputy fire marshal of Berlin, said the fire department brought most of the surviving animals out and revived them, before turning them over to animal control.

The surviving animals include seven cats and one sheep dog named Quigley. They are in the custody of Berlin Animal Control.

"They look healthy. They're traumatized, obviously, but they look healthy. They're good weights," Jan Lund, the animal control officer for Berlin, said.

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One cat is missing.

O'Leary is expected to check on her animals on Thursday.

Animal control plans to go over the pet records and make sure the pets are neutered in good health before returning them to O'Leary.

No local ordinance in Berlin limits the number of pets a resident can have, Lund said, and neighbors have not issued any complaints with animal control.

Officials believe that the fire appears to have started in mudroom. It caused extensive fire and water damage, fire officials said.

The cause is under investigation.

AUBURN, Wash. -- A man who had 74 cats and one dog crammed in his camper may faces charges of second-degree animal cruelty, authorities say.

Jerry Reynolds, who is originally from Oregon, has been living in his truck for the last five weeks while he visits his girlfriend at Auburn Regional Medical Center, NBC station KING 5 of Seattle reported.

See photos, read the story on KING 5

Thursday evening, someone reported seeing multiple cats in the windows of the camper outside the medical center.

King County Animal Control responded and found the camper to be unsafe for the animals.

KING 5 News was there as the cats were counted and examined by veterinarians at a makeshift clinic. The conditions inside the camper were cramped and unsanitary, with feces on the floor.

Reynolds helped animal control officers remove the cats from the camper as veterinarians examined them. He said the name of almost every cat as he handed them to authorities.

Reynolds said he had no other choice but to take the cats with him in the camper, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves.

"It was better than letting them go," he said. 

Officials said the animals were not available for adoption yet, but that more information would be available on the King County animal services Facebook page and the agency's website.

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