Animal Hoarding

Stories abound about people who "collect" dozens and dozens of pets. The people who participate are not collectors, however, they are "hoarders" of animals. It's a poorly understood phenomenon and is characterized by:

Accumulation of a large number of "pets",

Failure to provide minimal nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care, and

Failure to recognize negative impact of large numbers of diseased/dead animals.

Although all types of people have been identified as hoarders, the typical animal hoarder is an unmarried female, probably elderly and living alone. The hoarder is not troubled by having excrement accumulate in their house nor their bed. Although seemingly well-intentioned, the behavior is pathological as demonstrated by their inability to stop collecting new animals even when existing problems are insurmountable.

Animal hoarding poses significant risks to public health. Regularly, the hoarder's dwelling must be condemned for health reasons even after the animals are removed. Of note is that the recidivism rate for hoarders after arrest, prosecution and removal/disposal of the animals is close to 100%.

Years and years ago, I knew a woman who kept a house, separate from her own, specifically for her cats. She had over 100. And she had constant complaints from her neighbors. Her behavior was standoffish to most people. The folks in the community just considered her to be a little wacky and didn't pay her much attention. Based upon recent study in the field by psychiatrists, it seems that there is a significant pathology associated with animal hoarding.