CAT HOARDERS How can we know who is a hoarder and who just has lots of well-kept cats? The key is in those words, well-kept. To know beyond doubt if a person is indeed a hoarder, one must enter her home. (I say "her" because most animal hoarders are women.) Hoarders are secretive. They don’t host demonstration parties. They don’t host family dinners or birthday parties. They don’t interact with neighbors. Deep down, they know others will not approve of their lifestyle. Hoarders appear frequently in newspaper articles these days. No longer do authorities look the other way. No longer do the observant keep their mouths shut, afraid to offend. This is a good thing. Consequently, hoarders are being relieved of their cats, and even, in some cases, prohibited from acquiring more animals. Gary Patronek, VMD, Ph.D, quoted by Kelly L, Stone, writing for Cat Fancy Magazine, March, 2006, says, “The tipping point is when the hoarder's focus stops being primarily on the welfare of the animals and starts being on his/her need to keep those animals and get more of them.” That’s when the number of cats becomes so high that the person keeping them stops trying to maintain even a semblance of cleanliness in the home. That person is simply overwhelmed! The costs of food, litter, and veterinarian care cannot be met. Strangely, “...the hoarder’s insight into what is happening is almost nonexistent.” says Randall Lockwood, Ph.D, a psychologist with the ASPCA. “You have an otherwise bright, articulate person who has six inches of feces on her floor.” Hoarders are usually women. Annette Rauch, DVM, a vet at Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy in North Grafton, Mass. says, “They lose the ability to grasp the reality of the situation, and even in the face of abject animal suffering, the hoarder is not able to see it.” Unfortunately, hoarders tend to go right back to hoarding, even after an intervention. They should be required to accept counseling by professionals trained specifically to counsel them. Sad to say, many judges do not realize this, so fail to require it. It is important to remember that hoarders are mentally out of balance. Melinda Merck, DVM, a Georgia vet who has testified in four recent cases, says that hoarded cats often suffer from parasites, disease, malnutrition and mange, and suffer from lack of human interaction too. Such extreme neglect constitutes animal cruelty, she says. Hoarding could claim your cat, if the need to re-home causes you to seek a new home for him/her! Before handing over your animal, require a home inspection. Look for clean pet dishes, and clean, fresh water available for cats living there, and look for suitable, clean beds for cats. Look closely at cats living there; do they have clean, bright coats, clear eyes, and are they at ease? Look closely at litter boxes. Are they clean? Ask if the resident cats are indoor/outdoor. If you seek an indoor home, you may want to reconsider if the answer is that they go out. Ask for the name of the resident cats' vet. Call the Vet's office, and ask if your cat would have a good home if you gave it to that person. Ask if resident cats there are up to date on vet care. If you decide to give your cat to the person, make weekly inspections thereafter until satisfied. Last, require a signed contract. In the event that you visit the offered home and there are no pets living there, that’s a red flag too. Read on. All of the above questions will give you peace of mind, if you get the right answers. Cat guardians need to know that there are people called "jobbers" who pose as animal lovers who will take your "FREE TO GOOD HOME" KITTENS, PUPPIES, HORSES, ETC. and quickly hand them over to laboratories for experimentation, (or in the case of horses, slaughter), or animal "mills," for profit. Such people pocket large amounts per animal, evidently without a twinge of guilt! Such people do not have pets in their homes.http://www.limitcats.org Visit www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding and learn more. Pat 548-8732

How can we know who is a hoarder and who just has lots of well-kept cats? The key is in those words, well-kept. To know beyond doubt if a person is indeed a hoarder, one must enter her home. (I say "her" because most animal hoarders are women.) Hoarders are secretive. They don’t host demonstration parties. They don’t host family dinners or birthday parties. They don’t interact with neighbors. Deep down, they know others will not approve of their lifestyle.

Hoarders appear frequently in newspaper articles these days. No longer do authorities look the other way. No longer do the observant keep their mouths shut, afraid to offend. This is a good thing. Consequently, hoarders are being relieved of their cats, and even, in some cases, prohibited from acquiring more animals.

Gary Patronek, VMD, Ph.D, quoted by Kelly L, Stone, writing for Cat Fancy Magazine, March, 2006, says, “The tipping point is when the hoarder's focus stops being primarily on the welfare of the animals and starts being on his/her need to keep those animals and get more of them.”

That’s when the number of cats becomes so high that the person keeping them stops trying to maintain even a semblance of cleanliness in the home. That person is simply overwhelmed! The costs of food, litter, and veterinarian care cannot be met.

Strangely, “...the hoarder’s insight into what is happening is almost nonexistent.” says Randall Lockwood, Ph.D, a psychologist with the ASPCA. “You have an otherwise bright, articulate person who has six inches of feces on her floor.” Hoarders are usually women.

Annette Rauch, DVM, a vet at Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy in North Grafton, Mass. says, “They lose the ability to grasp the reality of the situation, and even in the face of abject animal suffering, the hoarder is not able to see it.”

Unfortunately, hoarders tend to go right back to hoarding, even after an intervention. They should be required to accept counseling by professionals trained specifically to counsel them. Sad to say, many judges do not realize this, so fail to require it. It is important to remember that hoarders are mentally out of balance.

Melinda Merck, DVM, a Georgia vet who has testified in four recent cases, says that hoarded cats often suffer from parasites, disease, malnutrition and mange, and suffer from lack of human interaction too. Such extreme neglect constitutes animal cruelty, she says.

Hoarding could claim your cat, if the need to re-home causes you to seek a new home for him/her! Before handing over your animal, require a home inspection. Look for clean pet dishes, and clean, fresh water available for cats living there, and look for suitable, clean beds for cats. Look closely at cats living there; do they have clean, bright coats, clear eyes, and are they at ease? Look closely at litter boxes. Are they clean? Ask if the resident cats are indoor/outdoor. If you seek an indoor home, you may want to reconsider if the answer is that they go out. Ask for the name of the resident cats' vet. Call the Vet's office, and ask if your cat would have a good home if you gave it to that person. Ask if resident cats there are up to date on vet care. If you decide to give your cat to the person, make weekly inspections thereafter until satisfied. Last, require a signed contract.

In the event that you visit the offered home and there are no pets living there, that’s a red flag too. Read on.

All of the above questions will give you peace of mind, if you get the right answers. Cat guardians need to know that there are people called "jobbers" who pose as animal lovers who will take your "FREE TO GOOD HOME" KITTENS, PUPPIES, HORSES, ETC. and quickly hand them over to laboratories for experimentation, (or in the case of horses, slaughter), or animal "mills," for profit. Such people pocket large amounts per animal, evidently without a twinge of guilt! Such people do not have pets in their homes.http://www.limitcats.org