Collecting conundrum: Spotlight turns to animal hoarders, but why do they do it?

By Mike Peters

Across the country, incidents of animal hoarding are on the increase, and Greeley is no exception with three cases in the past year.

In the latest case, police and animal control officers have removed 260 cats — 127 live cats and 133 dead — from David Parsons' home, 810 26th Ave. The home has been sealed and labeled as “unsafe for human occupancy.” Parsons was removed from the house when the huge number of cats was discovered, and police are not saying where he's living at this time.

No charges have yet been filed against Parsons.

But Parsons is only one of a number of people who may be suffering from a mental illness that takes control of the lives of people who obsessively collect animals. In Greeley, 101 dogs and cats were removed from a home just four blocks north of Parson's home earlier this year..." Link