Cat hoarders! What is the psychology behind it? How common is it?
I've read many accounts of hoarders and animal hoarders over the years. I was clicking through weird news stories a little while ago and came across one about a Pennsylvania man found unconscious in a falling-apart house full of vermin, living and dead cats, and litter boxes from hell.
How does this happen?
Here is a link to the story and a photo of the vilest litter boxes on Earth is at the bottom of it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/09/bats-cats...
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Because they're completely BONKERS!!! I don't want to click the link as I've seen some really sick stuff volunteering :( I really wish the penalties for animal abuse like this was harsher. Far too many get off with a fine. I say stick them in a cage with no food, water and make them live in their own pee and poop for months on end.
Hoarders can be many types but usually they are people who devote their lives to an animal that returns their love in some way. Many hoarders live alone, no longer work, & have families that have left them to form other families, so they turn to cats.It is hard to tell when just keeping cats becomes hoarding. You can have 5 to 10 cats & keep up with feeding them & changing litters daily. Does that mean you are hoarding? What number is the magic number? I think it becomes hoarding when the number is something like 20 & the person is letting feeding & litter care stop.Shelters can have more than 20 cats but as long as they are cared for that is not hoarding. It can be because of illness with the caregiver that starts the decline so the cats start to become feral because of the halting of human contact..The one in Pennsylvania looks like illness was a factor but how long was he ill to let the home get that bad? Didn't he have neighbors? Usually if cats get too numerous the neighbors know. Some hoarders are afraid to take extra cats to shelters because they are afraid the cats will be put to sleep which is common in many places.The term "hoarders" has a bad connotation & many cat people would prefer "collector" because of what appears on the TV shows are extremes. Cat breeders might have more than 10 cats & kittens in their home but would you call them hoarders? It isn't the number of cats it is how you care for them (or don't care for them) that is important.
I think it is quite common. Your next door neighbor could be a hoarder and you would not know it..
I think in the beginning, it just starts off being innocent. Maybe 1 or 2 cats. The owner either loses a loved one or starts to have problems that he/she cannot cope with anymore. All their love and affection turns to the cats. They really feel like they are helping them and want to save some more. They think by not taking cats in, they will die so they get one more and another and another until it gets too overwhelming for them. They suddenly cannot keep up with feeding them and cleaning the litter boxes as there is too much clutter in the house so the cats most likely not spayed/neutered just multiply and die here and there without the hoarder realizing it. Most die of hunger or health problems. Hoarders do not take cats to vets. They leave them to suffer with their injuries or eye infections and so on and still, these poor cats still go to the dirty litter boxes to pee/poop...
I watch the TV show 'Hoarders' and it is disgusting! One lady was keeping her dead cats in the freezer because she could not part with them. It is sad. I know these people have mental problems but I cannot take pity on them. They are 'animal abusers' and should never be allowed to own any kind of pets..