possible animal neglect

[kjk]

i went and purchased some chicks today (my first) and ran into a situation that was a bit troublesome. I'm not sure where to go with it. so any suggestions are appreciated.

the woman i bought the chicks from lives out in the country (as do i) and has some acreage (i believe she said 11). as we were walking around her outbuildings looking at her birds, i kept seeing more and more cats of varying ages. several litters of kittens of different ages. a few cats with severe eye infections and all of the cats very thin.

before i left, i went inside the house to use the bathroom. there were at least a dozen small dogs inside. badly in need of grooming. inside the bathroom was a dog actively giving birth in a plastic tote.

bottom line is that i feel like there is some overall neglect going on here and i'm not sure where or how to report it. i want to be a responsible individual.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[redhen]

You need to follow your gut..none of us saw the place. If she had a bunch of sick animals, then yes, i'd say its neglect..But maybe they were being treated? Most likely not though.

 

[scbatz33]

If you feel the animals were underweight and possibly sick you can always make a call to the local ASPCA/Animal control and express your concern. They will follow up with a visit to the property and review the situation.

On a side note - you should definitely make sure you quarantine any animal you bought from the place

 

[cthrash1]

As far as the cats are concerned...They are probably interbreeding which would explain the infected looking eyes...Were they snotty and raspy too? A lady we bought a house off had cats(not at the house we bought) and they really got out of control and kept breeding and then those babies would grow up and breed and before she knew it she had probably about 60-70 cats/kittens. She had to end up calling animal control to take some of them.

 

[vpeterson]

It sounds like she should be reported. Animal hoarding. The cats need to be treated and fed. Get advice from a local animal shelter if you don't want to report to the police. I volunteer for an animal rescue and sometimes in cases like this we can work with the people to get some of these animals placed in programs and up for adoption. This person sounds like she is over run with animals and may appreciate some help getting her numbers down. Good Luck.

 

[Sitka]

Not treating her animals' illnesses = neglect. I would definitely call the ASPCA or other authority to have it checked out. Animal hoarders are blind to the neglect---no matter how many animals they have, they often think they are all being taken care of just fine.

 

[amarook]

sounds like a hoarder... I would call someone.

 

[rufus]

Sometimes a feral cat colony will establish itself on someone's property. The cats don't belong to anyone, and there is no humane way to handle them. They usually are too wild to touch.

The best way out is not to feed them.

Rufus

 

[OccamsTazer]

Animal hoarding is a serious disease both for the person and for the animals!
Report it, and if you are ignored or brushed off, report to a higher level!
Always follow your instincts.

 

[kjk]

Thanks for your responses guys.

I'm familiar with farm life and feral cats. Most of these were fairly friendly. There were just tons of them. I didn't even see all of the outbuildings.

There were also loads of birds. In every sort of cage/box imaginable. She said she bred the dogs when I spoke to her over the phone.

I just hate to see animals suffer. I reported the situation. Hopefully something will come of it.