Animal Hoarding – A Mental Illness

Why People Hoard Cats, Dogs and Other Pets & Why Hoarded Pets Suffer

Jun 14, 2009

Animal hoarding is a mental illness which results in animal cruelty and abuse. Unfortunately, the hoarder is often unable to see the neglect being inflicted on their pets

Cases of animal hoarding are frequently seen in the news and often result in large numbers of pets which need to be rescued and placed in new homes. Unfortunately and just as often, the animals involved are so badly neglected that they cannot be saved and must be humanely euthanized instead.

What is Animal Hoarding?

Animal hoarding does not, by definition, refer to the eccentric type of "cat lady" who keeps more cats than most people but cares for all them well with regular feeding, grooming, veterinary care and litter box maintenance.

Animal hoarders often deny that their animals are neglected and may be unable to recognize that they are unable to provide essential care for their pets. Animal hoarders quite often offer excuses for the way their pets are kept and often are strongly averse to euthanizing a pet, even in the worst of situations. Pet hoarders often feel that any life, regardless of the quality of that life, is better than not living. It is not unusual to encounter pet hoarders who truly believe that they are doing their animals a favor rather abusing them.

Animal hoarders often continue to "adopt" new animals believing that if they do not rescue the pet, the pet will not be adopted. They may become adept and clever at obtaining new pets and may even attempt to align themselves with animal rescue groups, local pounds and shelters or other humane groups in order to access larger numbers of pets.

Animal hoarders quite frequently keep cats, likely because cats are easier to keep indoors and hidden from view from neighbors and other people. However, many hoarders also collect dogs and/or other pets as well. Animal hoarding is not restricted to dogs and cats and animal hoarders have been been found to keep many other species of pets.

The stereotypical animal hoarder is the single, reclusive, middle-aged to older woman, but animal hoarding is not exclusive to this group of people. Animal hoarders may be female or male, young or old, blue collar or white collar workers, retirees, widows, widowers and may be of any nationality.

Animal Hoarding Linked to Mental Illness

According to the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) Intervention Manual, animal hoarders suffer from a range of mental illnesses, including:

It should be stressed that animal hoarding is not a legitimate effort to rescue or shelter homeless animals. Pet hoarding is a means of collecting and controlling large numbers of animals and focuses on the person's need to accumulate these animals rather than on the physical or health care needs of these pets.

Animal Hoarding is Dangerous to Individuals, Families and Communities

Besides the obvious effects on the animals who are often starving, malnourished, living in squalor and unhealthy, there are also risks to the individual pet hoarder as well as their family and community.

Animal hoarding has been associated, according to the HARC Intervention Manual, with cases of child abuse, elder abuse and self-neglect. Though animal hoarders often live solitary lives, this is not always the case and children and elders have been found living in neglected and unhealthy situations very much like those which the pets are forced to endure. In addition, there are concerns about zoonotic diseases (diseases which can be passed from pets to people) which may be prevalent in animals kept in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions. These zoonotic diseases can pose a threat to the health of individuals living within the community as well as those living within the hoarder's household.

Many cases of animal hoarding result in living conditions within the home which pose a threat to public safety and often the air quality within the home is so poor that rescue workers are required to wear safety masks in order to enter the environment. Pets are often found to be so malnourished and neglected that they cannot be saved. Unhealthy pets are more common than healthy pets in these circumstances and it is not unusual for rescue workers to discover the bodies of dead animals within these homes.

Another problem frequently encountered in cases of animal hoarding is that even when the situation is discovered and the pets removed from the household, the crime is most often repeated within a very short period of time. Sometimes, the pet hoarder has already begun to collect new pets within weeks or months of the previous action. Successful intervention and prevention of recurrence of the hoarding is difficult at best and often animal hoarders will simply relocate to another residence in order to resume their activities.

In short, animal hoarding may be the result of various forms of mental illness and pet hoarding results in needless animal cruelty, neglect and suffering. While offering numerous excuses for their behavior, many animal hoarders are unable to recognize that their animals are suffering. Pet hoarding is difficult to prevent, costly to control and poses a danger to hoarded pets, the pet hoarder, the hoarder's family and the community in general.

The copyright of the article Animal Hoarding – A Mental Illness in Pet Care is owned by Lorie Huston. Permission to republish Animal Hoarding – A Mental Illness in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.