Introduction
There are countless cases of animal hoarding. There is one today in the Wyoming News. A 60 year old man living in south Cheyenne (map marks the spot) admitted he could no longer cope. There were about 50 cats; 32 were removed. His house was unbearable (toxic to humans) for the animal control officers. One room was habitable (of sorts) for humans, the remainder of the house was a total mess. The cats were stressed and so was the man. So, what happened?The interesting part of animal hoarding is the science and psychology behind it. At the beginning a cat hoarder is simply a cat keeper. Perhaps he or she has a couple of cats or a little more - no big deal. Then gradually, or quickly, the numbers grow. There comes a time when it gets out of hand and ACOs (Animal Control Officers in the USA) come it. There is a moment when the line is crossed from manageable to chaotic but the person does nothing. Why?
There would appear to be more than one type of person who is prone to cat hoarding. But despite claiming to love or at least like cats they are unable to recognise that they are hurting them by housing them in unsanitary conditions. They are also unable to recognise that the situation is hurting themselves or at least they don't care.
It is said that the underlying problem is that a animal hoarder is not doing it for the animal but for themselves. This is what Dr. Patrone says. The irrationality of it indicates that this is the case because it takes little awareness or intelligence to recognise when the conditions for the cats is detrimental to them..." More
