Elderly woman in Spain eaten by her cats after she died

The desperate cats ate their owner. Photo / 123RF

An elderly woman in Spain who lived alone for over two decades was partially eaten by her pet cats in what police have described as "the worst thing" they have seen.

Colombian national Clara Inés Tobón, 79, was found last week in her Madrid apartment, which was filled with rubbish and animal excrement.

Police had been called after neighbours said they hadn't seen Tobón in a month and noticed a foul smell emanating from her flat.

When police entered the property they were confronted by a gruesome scene.

Tobón, who had been dead for months, had been partially devoured by her cats, with five of them also found dead inside the apartment, El Mundo reported.

Another two were reportedly found alive in poor condition and taken to an animal shelter for treatment.

Tobón was unmarried, had no children and all her other family live in Colombia.

Local reports said she suffered from Diogenes syndrome – a hoarding disorder characterised by self-neglect and apathy.

She had lived in the apartment since 1996 and was well known for keeping the cats.

"Sometimes it smelled bad because of the cats and the boxes of food, but this time there was a very strong odour," one neighbour told local media.

"A policeman told us that it was the worst thing they had seen since they started working," another said.

The apartment building in Madrid. Photo / Supplied

A preliminary post-mortem showed she died of natural causes, but some of her neighbours believe that Tobón had contracted Covid-19.

The dead felines also faced a post-mortem, which confirmed that they had all consumed parts of their owner.

Scientists have previously studied the phenomenon, observing what happened when feral cats got on to a "body farm" used for scientific research in the US.

Researchers at the Colorado facility caught the late-night snacking on security camera, finding that the cats started eating when the bodies were in early stages of decomposition and ended when fluids begin leaking out.

They gnawed through to the bone.

With over 40 bodies to choose from at the facility, scientists found that the cats returned to the same body repeatedly - with one targeting a corpse almost nightly for 35 nights straight.