PORT ANGELES – Julie Yu will go on trial Feb. 4 on eight counts of animal cruelty, three of them felonies.
Yu, 52, pleaded not guilty Friday at her arraignment before Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood.
She is represented by public defender Jonathan Feste.
Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Kelly said the trial could last a week.
Yu was charged after police and animal authorities removed 31 cats from her mobile home at the Welcome Inn on U.S. Highway 101 near Port Angeles on Oct. 10.
Three kittens also were found dead.
The three first-degree cruelty counts each carry maximum penalties of five years in prison and/or $10,000 fines.
The five second-degree counts are misdemeanors that carry maximum 90-day jail terms, $1,000 fines, two-years of probation and forfeiture of the animals.
Many of the cats – several of which have borne kittens – have lived in the Clallam County Humane Society shelter, 2105 W. Highway 101.
Others of Yu’s cats are at Dr. Paul Weiseth’s All Animal Veterinary Clinic in Port Angeles.
The seizure of the cats was prompted by a report from Weiseth and Port Hadlock veterinarian Virginia Johnson to the Clallam County Humane Society about the number of Yu’s cats and the severity of their illnesses.
Both had treated some of Yu’s cats.
Johnson became concerned after Yu insisted on taking sick kittens home, the veterinarian said soon after the animals were seized.
Johnson said this week that her attorney has advised her not to comment.
Yu filed a lawsuit Oct. 11 in Clallam County District Court demanding the return of the cats, as well as $100 million from the city of Port Angeles, $10 million from Clallam County, $1 million from Johnson and $200 million from Weiseth.
Yu also is seeking $100 million from the Peninsula Daily News.
At one point, Port Angeles police said, Yu had 75 cats in her mobile home, which was less than 900 square feet.
