NSW woman jailed for hoarding 74 animals

A NSW woman who kept 74 cats and dogs in "the worst hoarder conditions" an RSPCA officer had ever encountered has been sentenced to one month in jail.

Valerie Elizabeth Hicks, 69, pleaded guilty to 19 charges of animal cruelty at Glen Innes Local Court today.

In May RSPCA staff found 43 cats and 31 dogs at the woman's Deepwater property in the NSW Northern Tablelands in conditions so bad the attending staff were forced to wear breathing apparatus.

Hicks had previously been convicted of 83 animal cruelty charges in Queensland in 2008, said the RSPCA.

All 43 cats, which were suffering from severe psychological damage, had to be euthanised by the RSPCA.

Several dogs were also put down, with the others rehomed after extensive rehabilitation.

"I've been an RSPCA inspector for 14 years and seen some horrific abuse and confronting hoarder cases, but this is the worst conditions I've ever seen animals forced to live in," RSPCA NSW Inspector Alistair Hills said on Wednesday.

Hicks was also fined $19,000 by Magistrate Michael Holmes.