[equineRtist]

I just joined last night so I have just read some of the posts that have been on a while. One that caught my eye was one about hoarding animals. A lady who helps me when I do wall murals, has 7 dogs and 19 cats in her house (and only 3 litter boxes). The amonia smell is so strong I can't even go in there. It burns my eyes and nose.

Her husband has built an apartment for himself in their horse barn because he started feeling sick from the smell and he started loosing weight rapidly. At first his Dr couldn't find any reason for it, but when he told him about the animals, the Dr said it HAD to be the reason.

She also has a humane trap for mice and when she catches them in her trap, she puts them in a huge cage and keeps them. She says she just can't kill them and she doesn't have the heart to put them out somewhere in the country when it's extremely hot or cold. It's hard for me to work with her in the winter time because she comes to where we are working with the smell of amonia and mice all over her jacket. Her other clothes do get washed but she wears her jackets a while before washing them. Ask me how I know! LOL!
I'm happy to be retiring from wall murals after the next 3 are done.

[Carrie~Anne]

19 cats???????? O M G!!!! I've got two, I couldn't imagine 19!!

Are you in the country? The reason why I ask is because most cities have a bylaw against owning more than a certain number of animals (thank goodness parrots don't apply ). In our city limits you can only have two dogs or two cats, any more than that and you need a kennel license.

[MicheleB]

oh my Lord...thats terrible for the husband to have to sleep in the horse barn....good Lord she should clean up and not be so selfish towards her husband...and thats just down right nasty to smell that stuff....

[equineRtist]

Yes, we live in the country just about a quarter of a mile from each other.

Her husband suggested just cutting down on the # of animals, he never has asked her to give them all up, but she screeches like crazy when he suggest giving up even one.

If she sees a stray, she picks it up and never tries to find it's owner. She says if they let them run loose and get lost, they are not good pet mommies anyway and don't deserve them.




Yes, she needs help and you are right. I definitely think the marriage is built on sand and has already sunk.

If you even mention one word about "too many animals" to her, she goes into screaming fits. I've never seen anyone quite like her.

[Sage n Tunia]

You probably know already that animal hoarding is increasingly considered a form of mental illness and a form of animal cruelty.

Treatment is difficult, especially in a rural setting, I'd think, where cooperation between animal control and the mental health community might not be as effective as in an urban area. Most feel that without good cooperation between these two community groups, the hoarder will begin a new collection almost immediately after others are confiscated.

This article gives a basic description of the illness: http://www.laanimals...fo_hoarding.htm

gail

[Skipper]

yeah i'd say she falls into the hoarding catagory. hoarders tend to be very kind hearted people who want to do what's best but don't know how to stop and don't see their livings conditions as problems-all they see is how much they love their pets. cats reproduce so quickly too that it's very hard for hoarders to control thier numbers-i would reccommend getting an animal rescue or officer out there to help control the situation. because as you stated before---it can create big health problems to people and it allows viruses to spread from animal to animal just making a bigger problem of it all. sorry so long.......

[equineRtist]

The only good part about this woman is that she goes to free clincs to get her animals spayed and neutered. But then she picks up every cat or dog on the street and takes it home with her.

It was a bit funny one day when she picked up a Jack Russel Terrier that clearly looked like somone loved it. She didn't try to find the owner, but her husband asked around because he didn't want another dog. Turned out that it belonged to a new neighbor 2 houses down. She gave them a lecture about not knowing where their pets were at all times, how that's not taking very good care of your dog and they why needed a fence.

Everyone around here needs a fence if they want to keep their dogs from becoming her dogs! LOL.

Yes. you are both right, it boils down to one thing, she is ill.

[GeorgiaOnMyMind]

You really ought to consider contacting someone or talking to husband and giving him some information about the disease. Hopefully, armed with knowledge, he would be able to do something.

[Quakermom]

pesonally i think animal care and control needs to know whats going on. 19 cats is one wayyy to many and the smell is a health hazard !!!. I advise you to contact them and explain what shes doing.. its not good for her, her hubby and those pets. i know its sounds bad,

but you cant just go picking up pets like that off the street and keep them, at least try to find their homes and even take them to a local shelter and let them know.. as a wildlife rehabber, I've seen my share of people who mean well, but still its too much. so tell her unless you have a permit your not allowed to have so many pets.