I think the shelter is getting overwhelmed.

Wow, that sounds to me more like an out of control hoarding problem rather than a rescue. What she is trying to do can simply not be done by one person. The strong cat pee odor, lack of litterboxes, the infections all speak to that.

I am worried too, especially since she no longer allows visitors. That is a bad sign, and to me indicates that she knows she is out of control and is not operating properly. In my opinion, she badly needs to be checked on, to make sure no animals are in immediate danger, etc.

Do you know of any way that someone could check on things? You may actually have to call the ASPCA or someone if it's as bad or worse than you describe.

Sorry this is weighing on your mind.

Cally

I would have to call someone and voice my concerns and have her checked on, for the welfare of the animals as well as her own.

I think you know you have to act. I could go into stories, gruesome real stories of what can happen. But, I'm sure you know. Just a couple days ago a woman in my area was sentenced to 30 months in jail for the horrible crimes she committed against the animals she was supposedly protecting.

It isn't an easy thing to do, but it wil be much harder on you if you don't act and the animals are suffering.

Please keep us informed.


Robin

If it's a legitimate rescue, the animals will not be harmed by having the authorities investigate. This isn't something that you need to take on by yourself. Perhaps you can call it in to your local ASPCA. I turned in a local pet shop some years back. Turns out, it was a horrible place, and was soon closed.

Please call someone, ASAP. And please keep us posted.

I think you should watch, today online, some episodes of the show "Animal Hoarding" from Animal Planet. The people are not evil. They are well intentioned. But things get out of control and the people are in denial or just don't know what to do. This problem may be a psychological disorder.

Please contact whatever animal welfare organization that is working in your area - before it is too late.

Robin

Try here: http://animal.discovery.com/tv/confe...imal-hoarding/

The "Lisa" episode deals with cats.

And here's an article on hoarding itself:

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/confe...y-hoarder.html

Good luck, and I hope you can get this resolved. Please keep posting with updates, I'll try to help however I can.

Upon further viewing, I've also seen that Debbie, Yolanda, Stacy and Mike hoard cats. I haven't found a way to search the videos by the type of animal hoarded, though.

Maybe you didn't watch all the way through? Animal rescue organizations are called in to take the overflow, or some, of the animals, as much as the person is ready to do. Some situations the authorities are forcing the removal of most of the animals. Sometimes they show follow-ups of where the animals go.

This isn't about what families or other people think or say. Nor is it about liking cats more than people or people more than cats. The cats are helpless in these situations. They need help. The people need help.

I like cats more than people. That's why I am so worried about the cats in the dangerous situation you describe.

Robin

How about going to visit VERY soon and seeing how the conditions are? I'm sure you can find a way.

People do get so overwhelmed with this that the animals starve to death. It's a horrible, painful way to die.


Robin

You can anonymously let the animal welfare authorities know of your concerns. Then they can check. Maybe everything is fine. Then you can be reassured, relax, and know you did the right thing.

Really, the welfare of the cats needs to be the primary concern. Doing nothing can't be the right thing.


Robin

This is a tough situation for you. I fully realize this.

You really don't know what the current situation is. That's why someone needs to check.

Surely you must know someone who would drive you over there? A taxi? Someone who you know who still is in contact with this woman and goes there? How did you know she wasn't letting people in? That's a VERY bad sign. How long ago were the ads put in Petfinder? If she is not letting people in, how can people adopt cats?

Do you know for certain she has enough money to feed the cats?

You are worried. You need to find out for sure that things have not gotten out of control.

Robin

You can't stop thinking about it because your conscience is nagging at you.

I'm sure you know the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I'm sorry, but if everything's fine, having someone check out the situation won't hurt. If everything isn't fine, the cats need help. The authorities may already be aware of the situation.

As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

This is NOT the same as calling animal control about a feral cat in an area that practices trap and kill.

All you need to do to start is call your local police. Ask them how and to whom you report a concern about a cat health and welfare situation.

I really doubt this woman would even consider reposessing your kitty, Christy anyway. I am sure this woman has taken on many, many more cats than she can possible care for properly. Her heart is much bigger than her "mind", you know what I mean..... She just can't say no and probably really is in way over her head and might even appreciate some assistance with all of these poor cats ..... I would do something here, for sure

Absolutely true. Someone must take some action in this very distressing situation..... Just makes calls and more calls.....

You think that being sick, potentially not properly cared for, and potentially living in filth is OK? You'd rather risk this than having someone investigate? Sorry, but that's beyond my comprehension.

Not having records, not knowing how many cats she has, a URI circulating... all of these mean that she is overwhelmed, and the animals suffer for it. Are you sure they're all spayed and neutered? Are "intake" cats separated? Are they caged or free roaming? How are they introduced? Are there any FeLV positive cats there? Are they kept separate? How are sick cats separated? Again - if a URI was circulating, they're not. She doesn't have proper records or procedures in place.

This might work if there are 10, 20 - maybe even 30 cats. But 60? 70? 80? More?

I'm sorry, it's not OK.

In all likelihood, there will be some kitties that need to be put down. VERY rarely in large rescue operations are all of the animals healthy enough to keep them all alive. That's why they need to be rescued - so they can receive PROPER care. But it is also very rare that animals get put to sleep because they've got colds. There are very few town or county animal control facilities that are prepared to deal with any sizeable rescue operation, and places like Best Friends, the Humane Society, or the ASPCA usually get involved. Just google hoarding rescue and search news. It happens all the time, sadly.

I don't know where you live, so I can't figure out how animal health and welfare problems get reported. If you're hesitant to call the police, then contact the HSUS and ask them how to report it locally.

Here (northern NJ), the State Police (we don't have local police, the state police are the "local" police) gave us the number of the proper contact at the ASPCA. They are responsible for all animal-related misdeamenors or felonies here, not the police. We were kept anonymous if we wanted (we didn't). They investigated the situation. If everything was fine, nothing would have been done. But there was a problem, and the vet testified, and so they prosecuted the people we reported.

In your case, you don't know there's a problem. But you have reason to suspect there is one.

I'm sorry - but if there isn't a problem, no harm is done. If there is a problem, you helped a lot of cats.

But to hold off because you're afraid some cats may be put to sleep?

If there IS a problem, yes, unfortunately some cats that under normal circumstances could be saved may end up being put down. But no more cats will be put into a situation that isn't healthy for them. It's like spaying and neutering. Yes, trapping the cats and taking them to the vet is traumatic. Some may die under anesthesia. That's rare, but it happens. Do we avoid traumatizing the cats or risking death under anesthesia? Or do we worry about preventing more homeless cats?

It's a question of priorities.

I think focusing on your fear that something will happen to the cats currently in her care is short-sighted.

And again - if there isn't a problem, nothing will happen to them anyway.

With that many cats, and who-knows-how-many potential future cats, I'm not sure there is a way to ensure that.

Read up on your local shelter stats. Find your township's local government page, and look up the budget, see what information is available. Do they have a county shelter? Or do they contract it out? Many places contract out to the HSUS. Some are kill shelters, some aren't. Google for the name of whatever shelter it is, see if there's been anything written about it. Google the name of this woman, google the name of her shelter, see if anything's been in the news.

Ohio is a large state LOL. Perhaps PM me the name of your town, and I'll see what I can find out.

Anyway, my point is, find out if you live in a "cat friendly" area or not. That will help you decide whether you try to pursue this through animal control or a different channel.

My point was that most county shelters aren't equipped to handle large rescues, so they work in concert with the humane organizations. This is how in the largest cat rescue ever (just this past summer, in Gainesville, FL), approximately 700 cats were removed from a facility, and 550 were put up for adoption. Yes, a lot of cats that might have been able to survive in another situation were put to sleep. But it saved the lives of at least 550 cats, and who knows how many future cats.

Laurie! I think your PM box is full. At least I can't get a message to go through.

I emailed you.

Robin

HSUS doesn't actually run shelters (well, they do run a few sanctuaries. Usually for larger animals) or support shelters. Local Humane Societies are not affiliated with HSUS at all.

Hmm, this is a hard situation. I personally would not allow any animal control/law enforcement people into my home at all (they'd have to get a warrant and even then they'd have a real fight on their hands), only because I know that people with a lot of cats are frequently stigmatized, and they would be looking for excuses to take away my cats and kill them. And while I keep things reasonably clean, perhaps it wouldn't be up to their standards. Not a risk I would take at all. So even if you do call an animal control agency, there's a possibility she wouldn't be cooperative (for good reason), and if they didn't have probable cause to get a warrant, nothing could be done.

Can you call her? Ask how things are going? Maybe see if you can round up some volunteers to help her get things cleaned up, hopefully find a few who could help her out on a regular basis. The main difference between a rescuer who is in over her head and a well-run rescue operation is the number of volunteers. . .