This week, the Vancouver Sun ran an article about a man who turned out to have a hundred cats living in his barn. None were spayed or neutered, and many had upper respiratory infections. Stories like this are fairly common in the media, but not everyone is aware that this behavior has a name: animal hoarding.
Tufts University, which has sponsored research on animal hoarding, says it consists of:
1. Having more than the “typical” number of pets
2. Inability to care for them adequately
3. Denial that the situation is a problem.
The stereotypical image of an animal hoarder is a single woman sharing a small, filthy house with a crowd of cats, but in real life there are several types. The man with the hundred cats, for example, may be an “overwhelmed caregiver” – he got all those cats “passively” (by letting nature take its course), and he was aware that things might be out of control (he was happy to let the Richmond Animal Protection Society take 25 of them to the shelter).
Other hoarders may say, and feel, that they’re running an actual shelter. Or they’ll take in any animal at risk of being put to sleep. Some just exploit the animals. It’s “poorly understood”, Tufts says, but hoarding animals somehow meets needs some people have.
But the animals’ needs aren’t met – remember, by definition, the hoarder can’t care adequately for them. They often suffer from unsanitary conditions and disease and may even go without enough food or water. A rescue group may eventually be called in and strain its resources trying to help all the animals.
It’s not just the animals that need help. If you think a relative or friend may be an animal hoarder, Tufts University has some tips on dealing with them.
