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We
jokingly call them “crazy cat ladies”, but it’s no
laughing matter. Animal hoarding is a pathological
behavior that causes terrible suffering.
Grosse Pointe, MI – A woman who exposed her two teenage
children to the excrement from 42 cats, three dogs and
six birds kept in her Grosse Pointe Farms home has been
sentenced to two years of probation.
San Diego, CA -- Deputies arrested an Oak Park woman on
suspicion of animal abuse Monday after finding dozens of
dogs and cats inside portable pet carriers stacked atop
each other in her heavily barricaded home.
Rapid City, S.D. - Some 100 cats were removed from a
South Dakota home that was saturated with cat feces and
urine. Phil Olson, executive director of the Humane
Society of the Black Hills, said told the Rapid City
Journal that the smell was "beyond anything" he had ever
experienced.
Cortland, NY – A 54 year old woman was arraigned
Wednesday on 49 counts of neglect of impounded animals,
an unclassified misdemeanor, court officials said. On
September 1, police and firefighters worked with the
Cortland County SPCA to act on a search warrant and
seize 275 ill and emaciated cats from the woman’s home.
As a
feline veterinarian and writer, one way I stay current
on feline-related topics is through an internet service
that e-mails me relevant articles. Unfortunately, I
receive articles like those posted above on a daily
basis. The stories are horrifying. Descriptions of
urine- and feces-soaked floors and beds, cats and dogs
living among carcasses, and animals so malnourished that
they need to be euthanized, are frighteningly common.
Terminology
In the past, “animal collecting” was the term widely
embraced by animal shelters for people with a penchant
for accumulating animals. The word “collecting”,
however, was thought to be too benign, considering the
misery and suffering experienced by the animal victims
of this behavior. In 1999, the Hoarding of Animals
Research Consortium (HARC) – a group of mental health,
social service, veterinary, and animal welfare experts –
coined the term “animal hoarding”, as “hoarding” is the
accepted psychological term to describe the pathological
accumulation of inanimate objects.
According to the HARC, a hoarder is defined as someone
who
•
Accumulates large numbers of animals
• Fails to provide the minimum in terms of husbandry
(nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care)
• Fails to act on or remedy the deteriorating conditions
of the animals or the environment, even if the animals
are starving, ill, or dying
• Fails to act on or remedy the negative effects that
the hoarding is having on their own health and
well-being, or that of other members of the household
“There
is a great disconnect between what the hoarder thinks,
and the reality of the situation”, says Dr. Anne
Sinclair, veterinarian and owner of Cat Sense Feline
Hospital and Boarding in Bel Air, Maryland. “They
believe they’re providing good care, when in fact, the
animals are usually starving, diseased, and dying.”
There
are no strict numerical rules that define someone as a
hoarder. It’s the possessive and accumulative nature of
the person, and the violent opposition to letting even
one animal go, that more aptly defines someone as a
hoarder, rather than the number of animals accumulated,
per se.
More common than you think
It is believed that at least 3000 cases of animal
hoarding occur in the U.S. every year involving, at
minimum, 250,000 animals. This is probably a low
estimate, as the secretive nature of most animal
hoarders results in many cases going undetected. Experts
think the numbers are increasing. This may be in part
because pets give unconditional love, something very
appealing in a society in which more people are living
alone and more families are being fractured.
Cats,
and to a lesser extent dogs, are the most commonly
hoarded species, however, there are reports of farm and
wild animal hoarding, including horses, reptiles,
rodents and birds.
Hoarding often goes undetected or is misinterpreted
because some hoarders manage to operate under the guise
of legitimate shelters, hospices, or rescue groups. In
fact, the national push to control the animal population
without resorting to euthanasia has allowed many
hoarders to claim to be a “no-kill” shelter, with
devastating results.
Veterinarians and those in related fields undoubtedly
come across clients that could be considered to be
hoarders at least once in their careers. “I was involved
in caring for cats that were rescued from a hoarder on
the Eastern Shore of Maryland about three years ago”,
recalls Dr. Sinclair. “Over 300 cats were removed from
one home. Thirty of them were dead or euthanized
immediately. It was really awful. I hope to never see
such horror again. And while the case was going forward,
the hoarder was videotaped at a shelter in another state
trying to get more cats.”
Gary
Norsworthy, a board certified feline specialist, editor
of the veterinary text “The Feline Patient”, and owner
of Alamo Feline Health Center in San Antonio, Texas, has
had a few run-ins with cat hoarders. His most dramatic
encounter occurred a few years ago. “She did not fit the
typical profile”, said Dr. Norsworthy, of this
particular hoarder. “She was in her 30s, married, and
enjoyed a middle class income level. At one point, she
had more than 70 cats in a three bedroom house. Many of
the cats were feral, and she often could not handle or
even touch them.” The woman spent a great deal of her
time rescuing cats. When she managed to bring some of
these cats to his practice, it was obvious that these
cats were lacking in basic nutritional and health care
needs. Cats would often present to Dr. Norsworthy with
advanced signs of illness, and he would be limited in
his ability to help, due to the woman’s financial
restrictions. Occasionally, the woman would find one of
the feral cats dead in her home. Their feral nature
prevented her from ever being touched or handled, and
often they died without her even knowing they were sick.
“Although her intention was to improve the lifestyle of
the cats she rescued, the end result was putting them in
a situation that resulted in poor nutrition, exposure to
multiple infectious diseases, and very limited medical
care”, notes Dr. Norsworthy.
Laura
Speirs, a feline behaviorist in Portland Oregon, has had
run-ins with hoarders as well. Two years ago, she met a
woman at the shelter where she volunteered. The woman
adopted three cats. Laura kept in touch with the woman
so she could keep tabs on one of the cats, one she had
fostered and who held a special place in her heart. “At
first I didn’t know she was a hoarder”, says Laura. “She
was a nurse and seemed like a reasonable person. I
thought she was just in over her head and tried to help
her”. One day, the woman finally let Laura into her
house to visit the cat. “I was absolutely appalled by
what I found. There were 13 large dogs in her kitchen,
not housebroken, most in cages, along with 11 cats. The
litter boxes were overflowing, empty cat food cans were
strewn on the floor, the carpet was saturated with
urine, and the air was so filled with ammonia that I
could hardly breathe”, she says. As mentioned above,
hoarders have a pathological attachment to their animals
and are reluctant to let any of their animals go. Laura,
was lucky, though. “With the help of another volunteer,
I was able to get the cat I’d fostered away from her
with the promise of getting her hyperthyroidism treated.
She expected the cat to be returned to her after that”.
Laura managed to prevent the cat from being returned to
the woman. Eventually the woman was evicted from her
house for non-payment of rent and damaging the house.
The woman moved to another county. It’s a safe bet that
this woman is continuing this behavior. The recidivism
rate for hoarders, even after arrest and conviction,
approaches 100%.
Types of hoarders
Experts have proposed, based on how hoarders relate to
people and animals, that there are three general “types”
of hoarders: the “overwhelmed caregiver”, the “rescuer”
and the “exploiter”.
As the
name suggests, the “overwhelmed caregiver” typically
makes an attempt to provide proper care for the animals,
but gradually becomes overwhelmed with the task. This
usually occurs as a result of a change in the
caregiver’s circumstances – the death of a spouse that
helped care for the animals, the loss of a job and
income, acquiring an illness or disability, etc. They
often have a strong attachment to the animals as family
pets, and usually understand that the animals might not
be receiving the proper care. Most of the animals in
their care were acquired passively. They are less
resistant to animal welfare authorities and are more
likely to cooperate with those who try to intervene and
comply with recommendations. Several of the hoarders
encountered by Dr. Norsworthy fell into this category.
In two instances, these overwhelmed caregivers were able
to reduce their cat population as a result in a
favorable change in their personal circumstances. “One
of these clients got married and started having
children, which forced a decision that resulted in
reducing the number of cats. Another got serious about a
boyfriend who was not fond of the huge cat herd, and she
reduced her population to please him.”
The
“rescuer”, on the other hand, actively acquires their
animals. They believe that it is their mission in life
to save animals and that they are the only one that can
provide adequate care. Initially, they rescue an animal
and adopt it out to a good home, but this usually
devolves into rescue-only, with minimal adoption. They
find it hard to refuse any request to take in more
animals. They often work with a network of other
rescuers, avoiding animal welfare authorities and
impeding access to their animals. They are strongly
opposed to euthanasia and this opposition eventually
blocks their empathy for suffering.
The
“exploiter” is the most difficult hoarder to deal with.
They tend to have serious personality disorders that
border on sociopathic behavior. Manipulative and
cunning, they believe that their knowledge is superior
to all others’. They use their charm and charisma to
present themselves as competent and credible experts to
the public, the media, and animal welfare authorities.
They acquire animals actively rather than passively, to
serve their own needs. They lack guilt, remorse, social
conscience, and empathy for animals or people, and are
indifferent to the harm they might be causing. They show
extreme denial regarding their hoarding situation and
will lie, cheat or steal without remorse to achieve
their own ends. They strongly reject any attempt by
authorities to intervene and will manipulate the
situation to evade the law and beat the system, for
example, asking friends and other hoarders to look after
their animals just long enough to evade authorities.
The psychology behind hoarding
Animal hoarding is a pathological human behavior. It
involves a compulsive need to obtain and control
animals, with a failure to recognize their suffering.
What leads people to become hoarders has not been
clearly determined, however, it is believed that an
aberrant attachment to pets in childhood may be an
important contributor to animal hoarding behavior in
adulthood. When consistent human nurturance is missing
from early childhood, for example, in children that have
been victimized by abuse or neglect, or have been
rejected by their parents, relationships with companion
animals might serve as an effective substitute for
relationships with people. Pets, which are nonjudgmental
and always accepting, are often treated as objects of
love and care, and as a means of escape from the
damaging experiences the children in these dysfunctional
families are undergoing. This response may develop into
a generalized distrust of people, eventually
degenerating into compulsive attachment and care-giving
in adulthood, often manifesting as animal hoarding.
Although there are many reports of men, married couples,
and entire families being hoarders, the image of the
“crazy cat lady” has some truth to it. The majority of
animal hoarders are older, socio-economically
disadvantaged women who live alone. Not all hoarders are
socio-economically disadvantaged, however. Hoarders
cross all demographic boundaries, and include those with
white-collar jobs, health care professionals, nurses,
and even veterinarians.
Denial
seems to be a large part of the psychological makeup of
hoarders. They claim they love their animals and would
never harm them, yet deny the deficiencies in the living
conditions or care, often going as far as to refuse to
admit an animal has died. In fact, sick or dead animals
are discovered in 80% of cases of hoarding. By storing
corpses, whether in freezers, attics, or wherever,
rather than having them properly disposed of, hoarders
avoid responsibility, effectively ignoring the death of
their animals.
Animal abuse linked to human abuse
Animals are often not the only victims of animal
hoarders. Hoarding can be a sentinel for serious neglect
of people, especially those who might depend on the
hoarder for care, such as children, the elderly, and
people with disabilities. In many cases of animal
hoarding, human victims were discovered only as a result
of an investigation of animal neglect. For example, in
one case in which more than 30 cats, dogs, rats and
snakes were found living in a home covered in animal and
human waste, the only clean place for the teenage son to
sleep was in the bathtub.
How you can help
Animal hoarders may appear to have good intentions, but
the harm they do to animals is immeasurable. An
individual animal in a hoarding situation may appear to
be in reasonable health and coping well, however, one
must take into context the environment and duration of
the neglect. When multiple animals are kept together in
filthy and crowded conditions, their suffering is
magnified due to such factors as stress by aggression
from other animals, possibly having to fight for food or
to protect a litter, having to cope with being in
proximity to predator species, and the exposure to
contagious diseases.
As
animal lovers and compassionate human beings, we are
ethically bound to report cases of animal hoarding.
Every community has agencies working on behalf of
animals, and it can be difficult to determine exactly
who to call to report alleged hoarding situations.
Initially, one should contact a local animal welfare
agency, preferably one that has the legal power to
investigate animal cruelty complaints and enforce
anti-cruelty laws. These include private humane
societies such as the local SPCA, municipal animal
control agencies, national animal protection groups,
animal wardens, animal rights groups, or animal rescue
groups. These animal welfare groups provide expertise
that is usually unavailable from other responders. If
the agency you call has appropriate jurisdiction, they
will intervene, based on the authority granted to them
via the animal cruelty laws in their state.
As in
any criminal case, the success at obtaining a conviction
depends very much on how closely the rules of criminal
procedure have been followed. Evidence must be properly
gathered, search warrants must be properly executed, and
witnesses must be reliable. Hearsay evidence, poor
quality photos and/or videos, and outdated evidence make
for a poor case. Entering a private home or apartment to
obtain evidence, even if the person entering is the
landlord or owner, is an act that requires a search or
inspection warrant, and may result in the evidence being
inadmissible in court if entry to the home was obtained
without the consent of the resident. It is important to
work with local law enforcement officers for guidance
when pursuing a complaint of hoarding.
If a
community’s animal welfare agencies do not have the
proper jurisdiction for handling hoarding situations,
other law enforcement organizations should be
contracted. These include local police, sate police,
sheriffs, district attorneys, or local prosecutors.
The
Health Department may be helpful in addressing animal
hoarding cases. Because their primary concern has to do
with disease surveillance and matters affecting human
health, the physicians and nurses who staff at the
Health Department understand how poor sanitation can
create dangerous health conditions. Many homes and
apartments in which hoarding takes place are unfit for
human habitation for safety or sanitary reasons, and the
Health Department may prohibit occupancy, which may help
curtail the hoarding situation. In addition, the Health
Department may connect hoarders with appropriate
treatment providers within a community in cases where a
hoarder might be sick from illnesses acquired from the
animals they’ve been hoarding, or from failure to manage
their own serious medical conditions. The Department of
Social Services often works closely with animal welfare
agencies because many animal hoarding cases affect
dependent adults and/or minors as well as animals.
Because most of the suffering in animal hoarding cases
arise from neglect and not deliberate intent to harm,
prosecuting cases of animal hoarding can be difficult
and frustrating. Some animal cruelty laws only focus on
deliberate abuse with intent to harm, and charging
hoarders with animal cruelty may be counterproductive in
those jurisdictions. The recent changes in many state
animal cruelty laws in which the penalties have been
substantially increased have come about to address cases
of deliberate abuse and torture. Ironically, because
most animal hoarding cases are not a result of
deliberate intent to harm, an unintended consequence of
the effort to make deliberate acts of animal cruelty a
felony offense has been to sideline cases in which
neglect is the primary offence, as in most animal
hoarding cases, since neglect is seen as more benign
compared to deliberate acts of cruelty. Adding to this
frustration is the fact that cases involving large
numbers of animals are often prosecuted as a single case
of animal cruelty, either for purposes of expediency, or
because judges discourage multiple counts for the same
case. This results in the court hearing a case involving
one charge of neglect, despite the fact that tens or
even hundreds of animals may have been involved. The
penalty for a single count of animal cruelty or neglect
rarely matches the severity of the crime.
Despite the seemingly uphill battle in terms of
prosecuting hoarders, the criminal justice approach
remains the best method of addressing animal hoarding.
Over the years, legislators, courts, police and
prosecutors have come to take animal crimes seriously,
and for some hoarders, such as the “exploiter” hoarder,
aggressive prosecution is the only effective approach.
Treating the hoarder
Currently, there is no consensus regarding the
psychological treatment for animal hoarders. Experience
suggests that a variety of other mental disorders are
often present in cases of hoarding of inanimate objects,
such as obsessive compulsive disorder, schizoaffective
disorder/schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder,
generalized social phobia, and others. Exactly what role
these conditions contribute to animal hoarding cases
remains to be determined. Identification of these
co-morbidities (other diagnosable psychiatric illnesses)
may be very important, as they are often amenable to
treatment, and resolution of these other disorders may
help hoarders overcome their illness. Imposing fines,
forcing the forfeiture of the hoarded animals, imposing
prohibitions on future animal ownership, and even
incarceration does not resolve the problem. The
relationship of the hoarder with the hoarded animals
must be professionally explored by trained mental health
professionals. This approach, in combination with
conscientious long term monitoring and follow-up, offers
the best chance of reducing the recidivism rate, which
currently approaches 100%.
Updated
7/2/07 |
