Strays gone wild ... sad story

This happened today in Upstate NY - Syracuse area. The SPCA is removing nearly 200 cats from a woman's home because the bank foreclosed and where's she going doesn't allow pets. Poor woman kept taking in strays but obviously couldn't properly care for them. Would you call her a hoarder ?

http://www.syracuse.com/news/updates...01.html#105757

Originally Posted by Alessandra

This happened today in Upstate NY - Syracuse area. The SPCA is removing nearly 200 cats from a woman's home because the bank foreclosed and where's she going doesn't allow pets. Poor woman kept taking in strays but obviously couldn't properly care for them. Would you call her a hoarder ?

http://www.syracuse.com/news/updates...01.html#105757

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I don't want to say whether she was intentionally a "hoarder"...however if she was not spaying/neutering these cats or getting them the proper medical attention they needed, then she was certainly irresponsible.

Katie

I would say she's a hoarder. She may have had good intentions (in her mind) but when you're not spay/neutering and providing needed medical attention, then you're really not helping these cats. We have 24 cats and we're not hoarders. All our cats are fixed and well cared for.

Originally Posted by HouseofCats

I would say she's a hoarder. She may have had good intentions (in her mind) but when you're not spay/neutering and providing needed medical attention, then you're really not helping these cats. We have 24 cats and we're not hoarders. All our cats are fixed and well cared for.

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How lucky for those 24 and how wonderful of you !!! I can't imagine having that many to care for ! I have 4 now and I would REALLY like 2 more but I'm not sure I'm up to it

"hoarding" is a touchie and tough issue.
For this lady in the story, 200 + cats in 1 home is more than any 1 person can handle.
Would i call her a "hoarder"? probably.

However, I would think that her actions were motivated by a good heart.
with anything, there are degrees of how bad this issue is.

Many people would say that the 24 cats that Houseofcats has is a hoarding offense just due to the #. I would not think that. Hoarding is not about quantity of animals, but the quality of lives those animals have. Houseofcats is a great example of a responcible lover of cats. They are sterilized, well taken care of and loved. I would bet hard money every cat in that house has a name and a history unique to it that houseofcats knows by heart.
I would imagine that the more cats he/she takes in, that new cat addition is treated with love and given the medical attention it deserves.
that is not hoarding IMO.

Taking in animal after animal just to save the animal from:
the outside world, the pound, the shelter, etc does nothing for that cats future without sterilization and healthcare. the actions from a good heart slowly take over the common sense of a rational mind. The cats just become nothing but cats, there are no names, there are no relationships to the cats. The cats become wild from lack of human contact.

We have seen surrenders from hoarders with only 12 or so cats and the living conditions for that woman and those cats were beyond horrible. besides the sickness in the animals, the filth takes its toal on the hoarder too.

so its not the numbers, its the mentality.
and its a battle that one must fight.

I know for me, i have only 4 cats ATM. and it is a good number for us as a family at this stage of life. Plus the 2 older cats, have just had it with newcomers (lol)
but every day i leave those sweet furry faces meowing at me behind those cages
i get one step closer to taking one home.
and thats all it takes to start for some people.

The sadest part of hoarding is that the majority of the cats will die or be put to sleep due to their illnesses.

Agreed....the term hoarder can be misused....I think this is yet another example of why free spays and neuters and more community awareness is needed.

Katie