Animal Hoarding ((alert))

[Smittenroade]

Sure, hoarding doesn't exist, whatever. Sorry for using psychobabble Anyways, I am just trying to bring to light "animal cruelty" if you like that word better? No more, no less...

I have a friend that kept pigs in half of her house because she didn't have enough room outside and she would not let them go, they were getting diseases and tearing up the walls of the house. To make a long story short, the whole house had to be condemned because of mold. When animals start to affect your life in a negative way it doesnt matter HOW many animals you have. Hoarding is when you keep something and it starts affecting your life in a negative manner and you won't let it go. And yes in some cases it can stem from anxiety, OCD, depression ect.

 

[HLAC]

Illinois defines companion animals as:

Sec. 2.01a. Companion animal. "Companion animal" means an animal that is commonly considered to be, or is considered by the owner to be, a pet.
"Companion animal" includes, but is not limited to, canines, felines, and equines.

So basically pet = companion animal.

As some others have posted, there are already laws about keeping animals in cruel conditions and health codes. We don't need 'hoarding laws'.

 

[flnatv]

Quote:
WOW... almost everyone at BYC would be over the limit... me especially!!! but at the same time... if we don't consider them pets... seems like they don't count. Maybe they can just be called "my little friends".... I'd be wayyyyy over the limit.

Guess I am going to have to look up Tennessee law, but I don't think there is a limit law here.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
Thank you. I agree that these hoarders have some serious issues, and need to be dealt with respect and compassion. If you watch the shows, 99% of them weren't like that until something traumatic happened in their life and it just manifested over time. The lady with the birds still makes me angry when I think about it, because she had a lovely home, beautiful clean birds and was GOOD to them and her only child, a daughter, appeared to be jealous of the attention her mom gave those birds . . .she did have to have surgery on a finger that one of the birds bit, but other than that I thought this was just pure selfishness on the daughter's part. She had a good job, nice car, lovely old home . . .and a lot of healthy happy birds . . .I just didn't feel like this was a real hoarder issue . . .and if you also watch the psychologists that come into the homes of either material hoarders or animals hoarders they DO NOT make them just "get rid" of stuff, they have to talk about it and think about it, and sometimes they simply cannot give a particular thing up because of a memory or usefulness they think is still there . . .I was watching a CSI a few weeks ago, and Gary Sinese made a remark about how many storage units there are now in the USA. Hoarding doesn't have to be in the home, it can be anywhere you have a collection of stuff that appears to be obsessive. Interesting show. . . and really made me think. I am cleaning my house this year, because I think I am a mini-hoarder.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Ahhh...so you've met my mother.

My mother is a hoarder. She doesn't work, which gives her more time to devote to her 40 cats and six dogs...all of which are "fixed," and all of which receive annual vaccines and flea treatments. My mother is on a fixed income (supplemented with an allowance from my eldest brother), yet she spends ALL of her time and MOST of her money taking care of these animals.
It's her life (guess that could be taken in more ways that one). THEY are her life. When her health is good, things go pretty well, although the simple daily routine of caring for them tires her quickly. She is able to scoop her 10-12 litter boxes and mostly clean up any "accidents."
When her health is failing (she has emphysema, and has suffered a few minor heart attacks), then animal crap doesn't get cleaned up, and animals don't get fed. The last time she was in the hospital I went home and cleaned for 2 1/2 days. Crap, crap stains, cat spray stains on about every wall. You would think cats would only spray from the floor - not true - cats will spray from stove tops, counter tops, chairs or couches along walls. It was disgusting!!! As a family, we're at a loss regarding how to address the situation. We all love animals, but feel resentful toward hers (through no fault of their own) and toward her, for caring more about those animals than her own health.
I don't know whether this was in line with the original post or not, but I sure feel better having vented...lol.

 

[Smittenroade]

Quote:
Ahhh...so you've met my mother.

My mother is a hoarder. She doesn't work, which gives her more time to devote to her 40 cats and six dogs...all of which are "fixed," and all of which receive annual vaccines and flea treatments. My mother is on a fixed income (supplemented with an allowance from my eldest brother), yet she spends ALL of her time and MOST of her money taking care of these animals.
It's her life (guess that could be taken in more ways that one). THEY are her life. When her health is good, things go pretty well, although the simple daily routine of caring for them tires her quickly. She is able to scoop her 10-12 litter boxes and mostly clean up any "accidents."
When her health is failing (she has emphysema, and has suffered a few minor heart attacks), then animal crap doesn't get cleaned up, and animals don't get fed. The last time she was in the hospital I went home and cleaned for 2 1/2 days. Crap, crap stains, cat spray stains on about every wall. You would think cats would only spray from the floor - not true - cats will spray from stove tops, counter tops, chairs or couches along walls. It was disgusting!!! As a family, we're at a loss regarding how to address the situation. We all love animals, but feel resentful toward hers (through no fault of their own) and toward her, for caring more about those animals than her own health.
I don't know whether this was in line with the original post or not, but I sure feel better having vented...lol.

No! That was exactly what the original post was about. Wanted to shed some light on hoarding. Have you checked all your options yet? There are many people who have gone through this before, check online and maybe get some advice from them or a "professional". The more you learn, the better off you will be. There's usually an underlying problem that starts it all, lonliness, depression, or maybe just wants animals. But just know you are not alone, I'll help you look for some help.

Check the link below, very informative site regarding helping family members with hoarding.

http://www.ocfoundation.org/hoarding/family.aspx

 

[Rammy]

.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Yes, I've done some on-line research on animal hoarders, and I do (somewhat) understand the origins of her behavior. The "what do we do about this" is the part I don't know. I have brought up the need to "downsize" her animal population, but she simply won't discuss it. I've even discussed with my brother the possibility of cutting off her "allowance" so that she can't afford to feed/care for so many. But he's afraid she'd let her bills go unpaid or go without her own medications so that she could care for those cats

But I'll certainly check out any sites or books that you can point me toward...