The psychology of animal hoarding

[punk-a-doodle]

Hoarding of any kind seems to have a genetic root. I know a few people who grew up with hoarders (and for whatever reason, it was really common for us to see obvious cases of hoarding in Virginia), and it was something that had expressed itself in an aunt, grandfather, brother, parent, etc. Basically, it showed up in various family members even if they were not being raised by those people. I'm not super familiar with the psychology of hording, but it actually seems to be very related to control to me (usually relating in turn to insecurity and anxiety, not disorders characterized by lack of empathy). I have a family member with undiagnosed OCPD who also seems to express some traits of possession hoarding. OCPD (not to be confused with OCD) is marked by seeking control over everyday minutia. Empathy is still very much present, but not always easy to see in someone who has this little rulebook in their heads that no one else can possibly grasp, but are expected to.

There is often confusion about animal hoarding in that people think it is the number of animals you own. Rather, hoarders have certain shared characteristics and a certain delusional outlook. Like personality disorders such as OCPD, we don't have an excellent grasp on it or on treatments or cause yet. Going back to the issue of control, many do have the idea that they are the only people who can possibly care for the animals, animals who they rationalize would obviously otherwise be abused and/or mistreated, even though in reality, that obviously is not the case. I do see some parallels in that AR groups often strike me about ultimately being about power and control.

 

[debilorrah]

I can tell you one thing about keeping horses. The price of hay varies greatly from month to month. So keep that in mind when figuring if you can afford it. When we got ours, hay was around $6.50-$8.00 for a 100lb bale of alfalfa. Over time, it rose to $25-$28 a bale. We quickly discovered we could not afford to keep them at that rate and re-homed them. Alfalfa is now $16 a bale, still too high and it has been a year since we re-homed them.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

One of the animal hoarding reality shows was about a guy that hoarded chickens. No, really!

My wife was watching it and said "I was real close".

 

[Mama_Bear]

One more question I would add to yours - is what happens if we need to evacuate?

In the wake of the fires, floods, and other natural disasters the country has been experiencing -- I'm aware that we would have to MOVE our animals with us if we should need to get out of the house for an extended period of time. We have a caboodle of cats and dogs and now our chickens. We could get the chickens scooped up and crated, the dogs would be easy; but it would be a challenge to catch the cats!

 

[CarolJ]

Quote:

I think I'm pretty close, too!

 

[gritsar]

Some interesting thoughts.

I personally know one person that I would consider to be a hoarder; though at the present time she only has four dogs and two cats. The thing is, she cannot care for these animals by meeting their basic needs and rarely spares even a pat on the head or a kind word for the animals. She has this real twisted mentality. She only wants to feed her dogs the very best dog food on the market, but can't afford it. Rather than feed the dogs a food she considers inferior, she lets them go without. I'm sure the dogs would prefer a bag of Ol' Roy to going hungry, but she can't see that. Many attempts have been made by her friends and family to get her to give these poor animals up to someone that could care for them without success.

It's just a sad thing that's been weighing heavy on my mind lately; especially with our economy the way it is. So many people just scraping by yet they bring more mouths to feed into the equation. It's mind boggling.

 

[Nicole01]

At what point are you considered an animal hoarder? Just curious.

I have a cousin that is what I consider a true animal hoarder. Her mother is also a hoarder, but not with animals. Both have many unresolved issues they need to deal with. They both think of themselves and no one else. Neither except responsibility for anything and barely take care of themselves.

 

[chicmom]

I do think hoarding is genetic....My ex FIL was a hoarder, and now that I'm not married to the ex anymore, (we do communicate alot because we have two sons), I can see that his house (where I used to live) is getting very cluttery. The only difference is that twice now, he has realized that he was beginning to hoard, and he had a dumpster brought in and filled it full of stuff. So he's trying to get control, but I know that it's hard for him.....I truly believe it's in his genes.....

The ex FILs brother was also a hoarder. His wife managed to keep the main floor of their ranch home nice and neat, but she couldn't stop him from filling the basement with junk so full that you couldn't get around down there.

So there was definitely hoarding tendencies in three of the family members.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

PS, on the abuse issue. I have met many a person with hoarding in their family who did not have emotional/physical abuse present. In relation, why can two siblings grow up in the same household and only one hoards? Is it because one has a set of big girl panties around, and the other doesnt'?

While we as an individual can ultimately do much to shape our lives with mental coaching, genetics plays a huge role. Genetics itself is often also not enough to put something in motion. It may mean someone is prone to something genetically, but often it is the interaction of genetics and environment that really come into play. To use an example of a twin study, two twins were found who grew up in separate homes. Both were really messy. When asked why, one replied it was because their mother was so strict so they hated cleaning. The other replied that their mother was too lax, so they never developed the habit. Most likely scenario is that they shared the same genes that influenced their behavior. They were both rationalizing something that most likely had to do with their genes. There are methods that could have been implemented for both to get them cleaning, but I wonder how many things go on in my own life where I am rationalizing something that really has more to do with genetics than whatever I try to pin it to.

Sometimes I run into something where trying to only change the thought process doesn't work, but changing the physiology works. For example, I know several people with severe, severe clinical depression. Meds were the only thing that ultimately got them to a point where behavioral techniques could then be implemented. Schizophrenia is another one. Most understand that without meds that alter the brain chemistry trying to treat something like that is just not going to work. We also know that it is an interaction of genes and environment that causes schizophrenia to express itself.

Grit- the example of food you gave is a really good one. That is the sort of disconnect that marks hoarding.

 

[navasima]

Quote:
Actually, the empathy factor of animal hoarding, is, in the hoarder's mind exactly the opposite. They truly believe that no one else could ever love these animals more than they do and that they have dedicated thier lives to saving them from awful fates. Many express a very "special connection" to their animals which they are sure could never exist for any other human.

gritsar - The reason that this behavior is classified as a psychosis is because it defies what would be considered rational thought. Those who truly have the disorder and aren't just sane people being irresponsible, can be looking at a grossly injured, ill or dead animal and tell you with complete confidence that everything is just fine. The old line that people who are truly insane don't know that they are - is sadly quite applicable.