The psychology of animal hoarding

[gritsar]

Not awesome. Just happen to like animals more than most people I have met...present company excluded of course.

 

[xchairity_casex]

my boyfreind would like to consider me a hoarder
but somone here made mention the common sense and mental illness does not go hand in hand?
i have Bi-polar disorder,borderline personality disorder,PTSD ive only JUST gotten on meds and seen a therapist htis past year
but ove owned animals my whole life and NEVER have i EVER been irrisponsable with them my pets have and always will be healthy and happy and ive always wanted alot of animals around me all of my animals have always had a close bond with me becuase of the amount of affection and attention they get from me. whenever my pets get sick ive always been able to sense it before they show any real symptoms case and point? when my female cat got pyometra she acted normal eating drinking had no symptoms except the way she moved i was keeping ym eye on her so closley for no good reason icount take it anymore i schedualed an appointment for her the vets did an exam nothing wrong they said i said check her urine check her blood! so they did they found some crystals in her urine but nothing more but i knew somthing was up kept an eye on her within a few days she started having leakage from her lady bits i took her right in they decided to test for pyometra sure enough that was the cause they were amazed becuase it was so early.

so i guess my point is that just becuase your mentally unstable doestn mean its easy to ignore or overlook a distressed animal i persoanlly cannot see that as an excuse even though i have Bi-polar disorder i still have my wits i still know whats wrong and whats right. you would have to be blind or uncareing to see a dog or cat starving to death or getting sick and ignoreing it im sorry but those people are just plain lazy and selfish im sorry but its true there is NO way anyone could see an animal in OBVIOUS need and think "im taking good care of it" i seen this show of a women hoarding dogs and cats and oen of the puppies was STARVING to death nearly dead and her excuse was "oh i didnt see him" this entire time this women NEVER EVER blamed herself for the animals neglect which tells me although she may have felt bad she refused to acknowledge that it was her fault. which in my book is plain and simple selfishness.
my sister is like that no matter what she does its NEVER her fault. had a guinea pig seh refused to care for refused to feed refused to even look at when it got maggots in teh cage eating it alive "wasnt my fault" she said "someone should have been taking care of it" when she had a pair of birds that died from dehydration becuase she didnt ever feel like watering them "wasnt my fault i ididnt know they were out of water for a week and half"

perhapes thats the key is animal hoarders refuse to accept that they are ever wrong or that they are ever anything other then good or in my sisters case nothing other then amazing the best of the best

she has no mental disorders wheres i have a running list! i have 3 cats,a dog,a tortiose,an 80 gallon goldfish tank and 21 button quail. my fish tank gets cleaned every week 80 percent of the water which is about 60 gallons nO EXCEPTIONS, my buttons cages get scrubbed out every 3 days NO EXCEPTIONS my dog gets a walk for 2-4 hours every single day NO exceptions he gets daily vitamins for his coat and skin NO EXCEPTIONS
my cats have 10 water dishes to encourage them to drink more water to stay healthy every morning all 10 of those water bowls get cleaned out and scrubbed (NO EXCEPTIONS my youngest kitty ema has arthritus and even though seh HATES her glucosamine supplement and i have to fight with her to take it she gets it everyday NO EXCEPTIONS

 

[redhen]

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X's a bazillion...

 

[prairiehen74369]

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You have made a very good point. Mental illness is very sad and one treatment doen't work for everyone. We all need alot more understanding.

 

[gritsar]

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You have made a very good point. Mental illness is very sad and one treatment doen't work for everyone. We all need alot more understanding.

This is very true, when you only have to concern yourself with the the person suffering from the mental illness. When a person's mental health issues involve someone or something else being harmed, it's a whole 'nother ball of wax. Would you intervene if someone suffering from a mental illness was neglecting or harming their child? Of course you would, most anyone would. I'm sorry if my level of "understanding" for the person with the mental illness stops at them being allowed to harm an animal.

And btw, I am unipolar. Have been since birth. It doesn't excuse me for any harm I might do.

 

[prairiehen74369]

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You have made a very good point. Mental illness is very sad and one treatment doen't work for everyone. We all need alot more understanding.

This is very true, when you only have to concern yourself with the the person suffering from the mental illness. When a person's mental health issues involve someone or something else being harmed, it's a whole 'nother ball of wax. Would you intervene if someone suffering from a mental illness was neglecting or harming their child? Of course you would, most anyone would. I'm sorry if my level of "understanding" for the person with the mental illness stops at them being allowed to harm an animal.

And btw, I am unipolar. Have been since birth. It doesn't excuse me for any harm I might do.

I wholeheartedly agree. Saying its ok for someone who is mentally ill to mistreat a child or an animal was not my intent....just want folks to have more understanding of mental illness.

 

[3goodeggs]

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There are so many different paths in mental illness. You did have the ability to see that you needed help and are able to go that route. The awful problem with mental illness is that some people will not under any circumstance admit that there might be a problem. That is where sense and sensibility fly out the window.
Physical illnesses like diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure seem to evoke sympathy from the masses, where mental illness has a stigma of fear surrounding it. When that goes away, when people will want to and are able make the lives of themselves and their families better by seeking help, then the world will be a better place.

Unfortunately, few people are able to understand that they have a problem, or that they need help. All they know is that everybody else is 'crazy and hateful.' (That is a direct quote from someone I know, who refuses medical assistance for their problem.)
A colleague is manic depressive, he knows that only with medication can his life be at all reasonable. The manic part is as dangerous to him as the depressive part. But he is smart, sensible, and not at all delusional. Not all mental illness lacks sense, just as not all people with 'no sense' have mental illness.
To some degree, I think we all have some form of mental issues. Phobias, obsessions, addictions, incurable need to kiss chickens on their heads... unless there is a spider sitting on it.

 

[chicknrt]

chicknrt wrote:

as i new member i have really been facinated by this thread, if i can add that it is ok to judge and disapprove of behaviour that is destructive in any way, but it is possible to hate the behaviour without hating the person by coming to understand that each person (even twins who are brought up in the same home) are capable of misunderstanding really early emotional lessons in life, that can go on to lead to distorted and damaged thinking which then leads to distorted and damaged behaviour... personally i think that if we say we love animals and are prepared to care for even "difficult" animals and seek understanding and acceptance of their ways of being, but we cant spread that to other human beings, we are maybe missing the point?



sorry i certainly didnt mean to imply that destructive behaviour is in any way acceptable or allowable, it is not acceptable by people who have labels of mental illness or not. my point was that whilst doing everything possible to minimise or stop the behaviour, the human being behind that behaviour will only be reached by someone willing to view the world from their perspective in order to help them see how they came to think that way of being is acceptable and be able to challenge it.

on a happier note... my new coop was delivered today.. i put it together despite the high wind and am already to go buy my chickens (knowing that i am reasonably confident that i can meet all their needs and some....... and gain much in return!)

 

[tiki244]

Do any of these shows on tv offer insight or air what was done to help?? Or is it just sensationalism? I would like to see a show if it offered insight. I have never seen one. This is interesting thread.

 

[texasgal]

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Many many people do things everyday that fly in the face of common sense .. lol. This is just one where the consequences are dramatic.