EVERETT — A mother and son whose former Granite Falls house was found littered with dead animals and feces were charged Friday with six counts of animal cruelty.

Prosecutors allege that Diane Cowling and Michael Cowling were criminally negligent when they allowed numerous cats to starve to death. Both Cowlings were arrested a few days after police found 31 dead animals and three emaciated cats inside the Granite Falls house they once owned.

The house was in foreclosure, and the dead animals were discovered Jan. 21 by a locksmith hired by the mortgage company to change the locks.

Diane Cowling, 55, told police that she had no money and was too sick to care for the animals, according to court documents filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court.

In her statement she said that “she didn’t know where to clean up the mess.” She told investigators that she didn’t want it to get so bad but “she couldn’t seem to stop it.”

Michael Cowling, 36, told investigators that he’d gone to work the summer in Eastern Washington, and when he returned he found that the animal problem was out of control. He explained that there had been a sick animal that infected the others, killing them off.

A veterinarian examined the live cats seized from the home and determined that animals were starving, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Randy Yates wrote in court papers.

Witnesses told police that they noticed a terrible smell coming from the house as early as 2008. Another witness told investigators she offered to help get the cats spayed and neutered. She gave her phone number to Michael Cowling but didn’t hear from him, she said.

Officers seized two cats and a dog from the Cowlings’ Lake Stevens home at the time of their arrest.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.