Don't turn into a cat lady...

[CTReptileRescue]

Scientists try to sort behavior of hoarding pets
By Ray Stern, Tribune Even with a gas mask on, the strong stench of
cat
feces and urine made breathing difficult for the police officer as he
picked his
way through 3-foot-high piles of garbage. Nearly 20 cats skittered
nervously about the Scottsdale house, which was buzzing with flies and
infested with
spiders, roaches and maggots, a police report states.

"It was clear the homeowner’s life was overwhelmed," said Scottsdale
police
Sgt. Mark Brachtl.

The mess, found by police Nov. 5 after neighbors reported a foul
smell, was
one of two "animal hoarding" cases in the East Valley in a week. On
Tuesday,
about 80 cats were discovered in a Mesa woman’s apartment. The air
had a
higher concentration of ammonia than oxygen.

More scientists than ever are studying the phenomenon, but no one
knows why
some people will live in filth rather than give up cherished animals.
While
the causes and treatment remain a mystery, the problems surrounding
animal
hoarding affect many areas of a community: The homeowner, often
elderly, who may
need counseling, a new place to live, and legal assistance. The
animals that
are mistreated or sick. The property owner forced to pay for
renovation.

Animal hoarders are not necessarily mentally ill, said Gail Steketee,
a
psychologist at Boston University. "The best bet is to call it a
wellintentioned
behavior gone awry."

Steketee is one of dozens of scientists who volunteer with the
Hoarding of
Animals Research Consortium in Boston, a group formed in 1997 to study
the
problem. There is no known treatment, she said.

Animal hoarding, a term coined five years ago, is defined as
collecting more
animals than can be cared for, combined with a failure to realize the
squalid conditions are hurting both the homeowner and the animals.

Between 700 and 2,000 cases of animal hoarding arise each year in the
United
States, the group’s research shows. Three-quarters of animal
hoarders are
women living alone. About half of hoarders are 60 years or older. Many
are
employed and may seem ordinary when outside their homes, experts said.

The crisis builds gradually for hoarders, Steketee said. The person
may
identify with unwanted, stranded animals, and begin taking strays or
salvaging
animals from euthanization at a pound. The attachment to the animals
later
"overwhelms their ability to see what’s in front of their very
eyes."

Steketee likened the mental state of a hoarder to someone living in a
war
zone who becomes so used to an out-of-control environment, "you just
stop
seeing it."

Reclusive by nature, dozens of people are likely hoarding animals
throughout
the Valley but have not been found yet, said Arizona Humane Society
spokeswoman Kim Noetzel. The society responds to an average of four
significant cases
each year in Phoenix, she said.

Stopping a person from hoarding can be a painful experience for all
involved, Noetzel said.

"There’s nothing worse than leaving the scene and seeing somebody in
their
front yard screaming and crying and begging to have their babies
back," she
said. "It’s gut-wrenching."

Though the person may be suffering from mental problems, hoarders
often
return to the same behavior without legal intervention. Officials with
the Humane
Society and Arizona Animal Welfare League said that is why they press
for
criminal prosecution. The goal is to have the person sentenced to
probation
and monitored for a period of time by animal control workers, Noetzel
said.

However, Miriam Carranza of the Arizona Animal Welfare League said a
jail
sentence might be appropriate for some people. The league is preparing
to ask
prosecutors to charge the Mesa woman on 71 counts of misdemeanor
animal
cruelty, Carranza said. The Tribune is not naming the woman because
she has not
been charged.

Rocio Gonzalez, manager of the apartment where the 80 cats were found,
said
her tenant has until Monday to move out. The woman, believed to be in
her
late 30s, was told last year to control the strong cat odors in her
apartment,
but the previous manager never followed up on the warning, Gonzalez
said.

"I feel sorry for her," Gonzalez said. "I think she needs help."

No one answered a knock at the woman’s apartment Thursday afternoon.

In the Scottsdale case, the 77-year-old homeowner told police she
moved out
six weeks ago and that she comes to the house three times a week to
feed the
animals, the report states. The woman, whom the Tribune is not naming
because
she hasn’t been charged, told police her animals were healthy and
not
neglected.

Brachtl said police officers were answering a complaint about the bad
odor
and worked with the city’s code compliance officers, a crisis
counselor, and
animal welfare workers to try to solve the problem, he said.

If the woman does not clean up the mess within 30 days, the city will
charge
for the cost of hiring a company to do it, Brachtl said.

"You can imagine the smell," he said. "It’s a good thing neighbors
called."

For more information about animal hoarding, visit
_www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/ hoarding_
(http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/%20hoarding)
. Contact Ray Stern by _email_ (mailto:rstern@aztrib.com) , or phone
(480)
898-6405

[padiente]

There are a lot of shows on Animal Cops that have to do with animal hoarding. It really is very sad.

[Ginevive]

Wow; I too am pretty confused and amazed whenever I hear of an animal-hording case. These people have absolutely no idea that what they're doing is wrong. How can they miss the starving animals right under their noses?? And more importantly, how can people live in such a messy envirnoment without contracting some sort of bacterial infection and becoming sick themselves?
The whole topic is very sad, as Brandon said. It might seem funny, but whenever I hear about cases like that, it just makes me want to go and clean out my animals' cages even if they don't even need it.

[sk8er4life]

man, i dont think i can ever be an aimal cop because ive seen those shows on animal planet and i dont think i can do that w/out commiting police brutality!

[CTReptileRescue]

man, i dont think i can ever be an aimal cop because ive seen those shows on animal planet and i dont think i can do that w/out commiting police brutality!

With my new job as an agent of the CT Humane Society I have come very close to brutal situations. I will say that I have learned the art of patience...lol
Rusty

[Ginevive]

I would have to bite my tongue until it bled!