Animal Welfare News item | PAWS Chicago

An Inside Look at Animal Hoarding

by Riley Alverson | Nov 01, 2008

Animal hoarding is an often misunderstood and extremely complex public health and community issue. That’s why PAWS Chicago continues to work hard to educate Chicagoans about the importance of spay/neutering and responsible pet guardianship.

Hoarding Stories get a Happy Ending with Planning and Cooperation 

Not every hoarding story has a tragic ending. Taking the right action can not only save animals’ lives, but allow the hoarder to gain a sense of control over a bad situation. PAWS Chicago works with the animal caretakers in hoarding incidents, helping to stabilize the situation and prevent recurrence.

An elderly woman cared for the cats that people “dumped” in her yard, in addition to the strays she took in. Before long, she was caring for over 45 cats, becoming more overwhelmed with each passing day. PAWS Chicago worked with her to have all of her cats spayed and neutered, transferred some to nearby farms and took in some at its Adoption and Humane Center. Today, this woman owns just a few cats, and alerts PAWS Chicago when new cats arrive so they can be spayed and neutered, and eventually become a part of its adoption program.

What is overcrowding? 

It is important to clarify that not everyone who owns multiple animals is considered an animal hoarder. HARC defines non-hoarders as individuals that have more than the typical number of animal companions, in which, all the animals are spayed and neutered and provided with regular vet care and a sanitary environment. 

The phase between hoarding and non-hoarding can be defined as overcrowding. Overcrowding occurs when the number of animal companions becomes overwhelming for the owner and is often a precursor stage to hoarding situations. A person may feel that they are helping rescue stray animals, but if the animals are not spayed or neutered they can rapidly reproduce and the owner can quickly find themselves unable to care for all their animals. 

For example, one female cat and her offspring can produce roughly 420,000 cats in just seven years. This phase becomes an ideal time for PAWS Chicago to help educate and support individuals before they find themselves in a truly out-of-control hoarding situation.

Creating a Support Plan 

Rochelle Michalek, Executive Director of PAWS Chicago, explained that the first part of the process in dealing with an overcrowding situation is to set up a meeting with the individual and other members of the community working to help that individual. Neighbors or family members often call PAWS Chicago to assist them with the problem. During this time, PAWS attempts to learn as much as possible about the individual and his or her situation. 

Success in these situations has been due to the ability to build trust, create a plan of action, and present the individual with options. PAWS Chicago works to educate the individual on the importance of spaying and neutering and show them they have a support team in place. 

“These can be extremely compassionate people that love their animals,” stated Michalek. “We strive to ensure that the person recognizes that by working with PAWS Chicago that their animals are not going somewhere bad.” Not all hoarders are “crazy people” as they are often stereotyped. Many are animal lovers with limited resources. Neighbors are usually aware of their compassion and will sometimes dump animals on them. Without the resources to spay and neuter the animals continue to procreate and the situation gets out of control. 

According to HARC collaborative efforts of independent groups and agencies are typically the most successful in rehabilitating an overcrowded situation. PAWS Chicago might work with social services, local law enforcement, neighbors, health and mental departments, legal aid and the Department of Agriculture in an overcrowding situation. It is imperative to recognize that a varied support team is necessary as each overcrowding or hoarding situation is unique in its severity and in its rehabilitation.

What Is Animal Hoarding?

According to The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC), one of the nation’s leaders in animal hoarding research, the following criteria are used to define animal hoarding: 

• More than the typical number of companion animals 

• Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness and death 

• Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household and human occupants of the dwelling 

• Often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder 

“The effects of hoarding are far-reaching and encompass mental health, animal welfare and public safety concerns,” states HARC. 

According to the Center For Disease Control, the lack of sanitation in some hoarding situations can cause a variety of diseases to become a concern. The following diseases can be transmitted between animals and people: toxoplasmosis (cats), campylobacter (dogs and cats), cat scratch disease (cats), ringworm (cats) and cryptosporidium (cats, dogs, and farm animals).

Holden and Holland: Survivors of a Tragic Situation

When a woman abandoned her tiny apartment, leaving 26 cats to fend for themselves, the building landlord called PAWS Chicago for help. PAWS Chicago sent representatives to the apartment building to survey the situation and stabilize the environment. Six of the cats were diseased and had already died by the time they got there, so PAWS Chicago took the remaining 20 cats and provided them with needed medical treatment. As the cats’ health improved, PAWS Chicago brought them to the Adoption and Humane Center for socialization and adoption.

Removing animals from a hoarding situation and medically treating them doesn’t solve the whole problem. The cats have socialization challenges. They are essentially feral, or wild cats that happen to be living in an apartment. Socialization is often a very difficult task, as cats have had to fend for themselves, fight for food, and have been conditioned to fear human contact. 

PAWS successfully found homes for the cats that survived this tragic situation. Two cats remain at the Adoption and Humane Center, patiently waiting for new owners. Holden and Holland hope that one day soon, they’ll find homes with love to last the rest of their little lifetimes.