hoarding

Animal Hoarding

Animal hoarding is a pathological collecting of animals.

It is most often characterized by an individual amassing a large number of pets, failing to provide them with proper food, water, shelter, veterinary care, and sanitation, resulting in squalid living conditions for both the animals and the hoarder.

The hoarder also fails to act on the animals’ deteriorating condition, which often includes severe starvation, dehydration, parasite infestation, rampant disease, attacks among animals, cannibalization, and uncontrolled breeding, making the situation even worse over time.

Sanitary conditions often deteriorate to the point where living and food preparation areas no longer server their original purpose, as clutter, urine and feces accumulate in living spaces.

Animal Hoarding...An Epidemic?

Every town, it seems, has animal hoarders. And it is not only an older woman but men are hoarders as well.

They may start out as having good intentions, but they are animal hoarders. And animal hoarding is about satisfying the owner’s needs, not about taking care of animals.

One cat is followed by a few more, which may begin breeding uncontrollably, and over time the pet owner takes in a stray dog or two, he explained. The types of animals range from the barnyard variety to the exotic.

Before long the house is filled with filthy cages and pens as the owner cannot keep up with the needs of each animal

According to "The Problem of Animal Hoarding," an article written by Tufts University professor Gary J. Patronek, VMD, Ph.D. for the Hording of Animals Research Consortium, hoarding knows no age, gender or socioeconomic boundaries, but may instead be a psychiatric problem.

According to studies conducted by the consortium, an organization formed by college professors and veterinarians in 1997 to investigate the psychological aspects of hoarding, the condition is not indicative of any specific disorder.

"As hoarders tend to be very secretive, many can lead a double life with a successful professional career -- hoarding behavior has been discovered among doctors, nurses, public officials, college professors, and veterinarians, as well as among a broad spectrum of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. There have even been hoarders among human health professionals and veterinarians and veterinary technicians who manage to live a double life, deceiving friends and co-workers about the true conditions at home," Patronek wrote.

"It’s more common than people realize," said Kathryn Bailey, director of clinical services at Northwest Center for Family Services and Mental Illness in Lakeville. "While it may not be a disorder in its own right yet, people need to be aware of it. People who exhibit this behavior may have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some may also feel they have a special power to talk to animals."

Animal hoarding is a burden on the animal rescue system, court system, community, and is a health hazard as well.

It is a huge problem still being studied and evaluated.