cat horder?

sorry if that is not spealt right lol. but what do you class as a cat horder?
i have 10 cats 7 of whom are mine 1 stray who comes and goes, 1 who i sort of rescued who is looking for a home with him being the only cat as he hates other cats . and one that i just took in today who is pregant and due around 4th of march. ( stupid woman finally said she couldnt cope with her having more kittens , but was bragging about it when she saw her having it with a local tom)
mine are all up to date with vacs , wormed, fleed, and S/N. all get love and food of course . but what would you class as a horder? or mad cat women?lol
i cant ever see a cat being treated badly or out on the street. but how do i know my limit? i keep saying no more , that was when i had 3 cats . now look.

I would not count number of cats, but the level of care and attention they recieve.
If they are fed well, vetted, clean litterboxes and each get the love and attention they deserve, well, that would just be a large cat family.

From what I've read, hoarding usually starts out as some cats, that never get spayed and multiply like rabbits. Those litters never get spayed, and so on. Usually a hoarders house is filled with feces, unsanitary conditions and cats that have respiratory infections, gunky eyes, and VERY unsocialized. Not to mention the inbreeding.

I wouldn't classify you as a hoarder but I'm not a shrink either. Sounds like your kitties get regular vet care and you've taken the necessary precautions to keep the population down. Thank you for taking in the strays, or at least feeding them outside, pat yourself on the back! Take pics of those kittens when they are born

I think that as long as they are took care of and are loved, then it don't matter how many cats you have.

If a person has so many that they can't take care of them, then that person needs to get rid of some of them.

ok thanx makes me feel better , last thing i want is someone reporting me for having so many cats , i know i have nothing to hide but still. they dont bother anyone , and any strays get S/N , the only reason i havnt considered the new one have a spay abort is the simple fact i felt the kittens move. and didnt have the heart to do it . yet me brain tells me its best for her. im making a vet appomint for her tomorrow so hopfully they will give her a clean bill of health , if not then i will have to do whats best for her.

If they are all healthy and happy and fixed..then you are not a hoarder..just a crazy cat woman like the rest of us

lol i have had a few comments about being a mad cat women.

Originally Posted by AuntSewissa

From what I've read, hoarding usually starts out as some cats, that never get spayed and multiply like rabbits. Those litters never get spayed, and so on. Usually a hoarders house is filled with feces, unsanitary conditions and cats that have respiratory infections, gunky eyes, and VERY unsocialized. Not to mention the inbreeding.

I wouldn't classify you as a hoarder but I'm not a shrink either.

Sounds like your kitties get regular vet care and you've taken the necessary precautions to keep the population down.

Thank you for taking in the strays, or at least feeding them outside, pat yourself on the back! Take pics of those kittens when they are born

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I agree. And I think the only othe thing I can add is that the person normally is either afraid to seek help or doesn't admit that they have a problem and need help.

To me a horder is someone that can't take care of the animals they have because the number is so crazy that they just can't afford them anymore.
So they just let them run around, un fixed, multiplying over and over and never trying to resolve the problem until someone else finally calls the authorities to come in and help out.

And BTW: we are all crazy cat lovers here. So who cares what people call you?
As long as your cats are cared for, fed, fixed, loved and in good health what's in a name?

I think if you are able to take care of your cats and yourself you aren't a hoarder. I define a hoarder as someone who collects cats does not take care of their health, food or general conditions. a hoarder also neglects their own health and is normally in denial about the condition of their house, their pets, and their own health.

I think since you have so many cats you might want to apply for an exemption if there is a "cat limit" in your area. Some cities or states set a limit for the amount of cats, dogs etc that people should have. I think if you are able to take good care of a bunch of cats and they are loved there should not be a limit.

First and foremost- hoarding is a mental disease. It is a sad diesease that affects many people. For some- it starts out innocently -keeping everything that comes in your home and not wanting to toss out anything.....then it can progress to the point that it affects other lives- such as those of animals. It is very sad to see the pain that hoarding can cause everyone involved. I am a foster mom/volunteer for several of the local shelters here around the midsouth. I have rescued countless animals from hoarders. It is aweful the conditions i've seen. Feces and urine everywhere, matted fur soo bad that animals can't clean themselves and wind up with urine burns because they just soil themselves (worst case i ever saw was with a hoarder who "collected" Persians. ) There were dead kittens everywhere, feces, urine, blood, trash, litter, and the odor was of rotten flesh. The animals hadn't been kept in no telling how long- nor watered. There was fur, ear mites, fleas, ticks, ringworm, feline aids and leukemia and countless other problems. Many animals were just so far gone they had to be euthanized. It was aweful I've seen it many many times. It breaks my heart each time....and what is even worse is many times the people hoarding don't realize they're hurting the animals- they think they're helping them. It often begins when they get just one or two more than they can care for- they just can't say no- they keep taking them in and soon they're overwhelemed and can't care for them or even function. It's aweful. To this day the worst case i ever saw was all the persians we rescued from that hoarder....there were dead kittens everywhere...rotting. She had just left them there It was aweful. There were several hundred cats in that small house. Out of those hundred- only about 150 were still living. And many of them had to be euthanized because they were just in aweful aweful condition medically- they had terminal illnesses due to lack of care and were just so sick. My shelter was however able to save about 30 of them. It took us Hours to groom them- we had to take them all to the emergency vet because they had urine burns all of their bodies (when persians matt fur on their britches- if it is left unattended it can cause severe problems- one of which is urine burns...it's aweful and very painfull for the animals.) The vets and all the volunteers were just soooooooooooo wonderful. Had it not been for them ALL of those furbabies would have died. I am happy to say that all 30 kitties we rescued went on to be adopted. It took months to socialize them all and get them used to human contact (they were pretty much feral because she never interacted with them- they were skiddish of everything.) But with lots of love and good foster meowmys- they went on to be adopted. That is the one positive note to that story....but the tragic thing is- there were hundreds of cats in that house that didn't have a happy ending. So yeah- that is what i consider to be a hoarder.....along with many other things. I will say this- i also take into consideration the condition of the home, hygiene, how clean everything is, and if the person is able to provide adequate attention, care, medical care, and money to care for the animals. I think about things like are the litter pans clean, is there adequate food/water, are the animals all up to date on medical needs and things like that...things of that nature. I try to look at the entire picture.

At the moment I have 25 cats. all very clean, spayed neutered(minus the two I got on the 5th who are going tomorrow none have ever got pregnant in my care(one came pregnant tho). All eat a decent diet with plenty of toys, love and clean boxes...I clean the floor at least once a day(sweep more often) My definition of a hoarder is what you see when the person just can't handle the amount of cats(usually starts with just a few who multiply and are very undersocialized) poop and pee soon cover everything as not enough boxes maintained. then due to not knowing how bad it is the food amount decreases to point cats start dying and thats when someone complains and some sort of ac steps in...to late for most involved. Now to be honest 25 is my limit at the moment-I am working with 2 very undersocialized kittens(the ones getting fixed) and with new job starting I need all the time I can get to help them.

Animal hoarding is a mental illness, and is now recognized as such. It is characterized by a person continually adding on to her existing cat population in the home, and the inability to turn away new cats...the cats are most often not fixed, so quickly the population problem escalates, disease spreads, the hoarder continues to "hoard" cats, the cats continue to breed, some begin to die, the hoarder can no longer feed her cats, the home environment becomes unsanitary due to the hoarder's inability to provide adequate care and maintain hygienic conditions, more cats die (and then the hoarder doesn't know where to put all of the deceased cats and their remains), and the problem goes on and on...it's tragic for both cat and the hoarder. The situation just escalates out of control...and it is sad. Hoarders need serious psychological help.

So no, you're not a hoarder.

Absolutely right

It's when people take on more than they can care for responsibly and it is a symptom of some types of mental illness. It isn't deliberate cruelty, the person involved doesn't meant to cause neglect or abuse, and needs some sort of psychological help.

If you can care for your pets emotional and physical needs then you are not a hoarder.

thanx everyone , and i never properly knew what a hoarder was/is.
that is so sad what goes on. i think and hope that i would know when enough was enough , even though i wouldnt stop helping strays and unwanted cats , i would always get them fixed up and in good health , then rehome them. the cat boxs are always kept clean . and so is the house as i have 3 young children. who are very good with the cats , and all of my cats will come and great you lol. weather they know you or not . but outside there good and dont go to people they dont know. inside you wil be covered in fur if you sit down as they would be alll over you lol. but there all healthy and seem very happy . thanx for all the replys and sad storys . least some found happy endings. and others found rainbow bridge to be happy in .

There are some people who think I am a hoarder. I have 7 ferals cats outside, 1 stray outside, all are spayed and neutered, and I have 4 insiders, all spayed and neutered.

But again, the problem is with someone who really can not take care of the animals. I am the worst housekeeper in the world, but there are no feces, no urine on my floors. My cats are not matted and sick. Everyone gets a hug and pet when they want it and is talked to all the time I am home.

This problem is so heartbreaking, not just for the animals who can not speak for themselves but for the person involved too.