An Edgartown woman is facing criminal charges of animal cruelty, after police and a Boston-based animal rescue group found 65 cats being kept in unsanitary conditions at her home.

The cats were safely rescued and placed under veterinary care in Boston, police said.

Jennifer Winsper, 48, will be charged with two counts of animal cruelty, according to the Animal Rescue League of Boston police enforcement division.

On Wednesday afternoon the ARL and Edgartown police, including the town animal control officer, executed a search warrant at 557 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, according to a press release from the ARL.

They found 65 cats that were being kept in an inadequate facility, the release said. “Conditions inside the building where the cats were being kept had poor air quality, an overwhelming odor of animal waste, and was incredibly hot,” the release said in part.

The cats were safely removed and transferred to the rescue league’s veterinary care services in Boston, the release also said. The cats “will likely need weeks of treatment,” according to the release.

Ms. Winsper was not home at the time the search warrant was executed, but her son was in residence and called his father, according to reports from Edgartown police and ARL.

The search warrant was the result of an investigation that dates to 2019, according to the ARL, when the property was inspected following complaints of sick cats being sold off-Island. A similar complaint was filed with the Edgartown animal control in June of this year.

Following that complaint, Edgartown animal control officer Betsy Buck, along with the state Department of Agricultural Resources, inspected the property and determined the conditions were detrimental and dangerous for the animals.

Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee thanked the rescue league for its assistance.

“We are very appreciative of the strong partnership we have with the Animal Rescue League of Boston,” Chief McNamee said in the ARL release. “Their resources and expertise are invaluable to a small police department, especially one out here on Martha’s Vineyard, in cases like these.”