Well, I only have two now, unless you count Kimo the cat living under my porch... From the East Valley Tribune (AZ):
More scientists than ever are studying the phenomenon, but no one knows why some people will live in filth rather than give up cherished animals. While the causes and treatment remain a mystery, the problems surrounding animal hoarding affect many areas of a community: The homeowner, often elderly, who may need counseling, a new place to live, and legal assistance. The animals that are mistreated or sick. The property owner forced to pay for renovation.Animal hoarders are not necessarily mentally ill, said Gail Steketee, a psychologist at Boston University. "The best bet is to call it a wellintentioned behavior gone awry."
Steketee is one of dozens of scientists who volunteer with the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium in Boston, a group formed in 1997 to study the problem. There is no known treatment, she said.
Animal hoarding, a term coined five years ago, is defined as collecting more animals than can be cared for, combined with a failure to realize the squalid conditions are hurting both the homeowner and the animals.
Between 700 and 2,000 cases of animal hoarding arise each year in the United States, the group’s research shows. Three-quarters of animal hoarders are women living alone. About half of hoarders are 60 years or older. Many are employed and may seem ordinary when outside their homes, experts said.
The crisis builds gradually for hoarders, Steketee said. The person may identify with unwanted, stranded animals, and begin taking strays or salvaging animals from euthanization at a pound. The attachment to the animals later "overwhelms their ability to see what’s in front of their very eyes."
Steketee likened the mental state of a hoarder to someone living in a war zone who becomes so used to an out-of-control environment, "you just stop seeing it."
Reclusive by nature, dozens of people are likely hoarding animals throughout the Valley but have not been found yet, said Arizona Humane Society spokeswoman Kim Noetzel. The society responds to an average of four significant cases each year in Phoenix, she said.
Stopping a person from hoarding can be a painful experience for all involved, Noetzel said.
If it comes down though, to flys and roaches, then the person really has a big problem. If they can't keep their home clean, and there are feces and such around, then perhaps they do need help. Not legal, punish-type help, just guidance. A person should never be punished for caring. Unfortunately, we live in a "nation of laws" where the police are only concerned with ticketing, punishing, and ruining someone's life because they were a bit different or strayed from the norm.
I think twenty healthy cats, living in a clean environment, isn't not healthy. It's the folks who have hundreds of neglected animals that are sick. It seems once a year there's a large small mammal--rats and guinea pigs are the ones I hear about-- rescue, where hundreds of rats, many of them crammed into cages too small for two rats, let alone the dozen or so in there...I've never been involved personally but I've seen pictures of such (rats and guinea pigs) and it's awful.
Posted by: Victor at November 15, 2004 08:41 PM