Mom's a Cat Hoarder

[christy8730]

hi, I'm new to the site and need some advice to try and help my mom, I feel so sorry for her, we've been through a lot together the past few years because of our four legged friends, I know cat hoarding is a mental problem or that's what is said but she has over 20 cats in her house at least, some of them die when they're kittens due to worms or inter-breeding or no telling what else, she's 61 and she's worked for herself since before I was born and her health is getting worse and she's slowing down as she gets older, she isn't married, it's just me and her right now, I stay with her to try and help her as much as I can but it's gotten out of hand, 2 or 3 of our neighbors call animal control on us when we let the cats go outside and they've been after her about them for 3 years, they've set up traps to catch a lot of the ones outside, most of them are gone except for a few, it's sad really, she gets attached to them when the kittens are born and won't even let anyone else adopt them, I have a few favorites that I'm fond of but the rest I want to help her find new homes for, she mainly has a lot of kittens, she's gotten 4 of her females spayed with help from her family, one of her sisters is a back stabber and calls animal control on her when she gets mad at her and she's lost one of her jobs because of them, she works for her landlords, it used to be their mother's house she used to work for her too when she was alive, the shelters where we live always say they can't take any cats, or they don't have any room for them, we'd prefer not to let animal control have them because they're known for putting them to sleep for no reason and do NOTHING to help try and find them homes, she spends $60 a week on their food and litter and has to clean up after them every day because she can't afford to buy litter every day, I don't know what to do, she won't listen to me or no one else that tries to help her, she's already had to pay a fine because of the neighbors calling animal control so much when she would let them outside, I'm worried about what's going to happen to her next, my cat almost died from Hook Worms and Anemia a couple of weeks ago, she had to have a blood transfusion to save her life, it cost me $1500 to save her, I love that cat, I don't want her to ever go through that again

 

[vball91]

I think you know that the situation is only going to get worse if something is not done which is why you are reaching out for help. Given that there are many intact males and females living together, there will quickly be a population explosion. At a minimum the intact males and females need to be kept apart at all times and not let outside. This includes any kittens 4 months old or older.

Honestly, if you cannot get them all spayed/neutered nd your mom will not let them be adopted, I am not sure what options you have. Maybe it would be best to surrender them to a shelter or Animal Control where they could sort out the healthy ones. It frankly doesn't sound like they are being provided a good quality of life. If there are health issues, whether from inbreeding or not, it's not a good situation to continue to support.

I think you have to ask yourself what is the best thing that can be done for both your mom and these cats and try to make that happen. I really feel quite terrible about the situation you find yourself in and hope you can help make things better.

 

[tylerwaugh]

Whenever she's not home get rid of a few until there is only a few left and then give those cats a proper vet care and shots etc or just get rid of them all at once and the situation they are in now they would rather be put down. And they are probably eating crappy food and over breeding inbreeding fighting to death stepping in crap all day no matter how much it will hurt your mom to get rid of them you guys are torturing the cats.

 

[Willowy]

She will only get more if you get rid of them. So, you have to make a workable situation with the cats she has now. They all MUST be spayed/neutered. Every single cat, not one left unaltered. Find a low-cost spay/neuter clinic and do whatever you need to do to get them there. Start with the females, all of them, even the kittens. Tell her it's for their health (it is). No improvements are possible until every single cat is fixed.

And, yes, it is expensive. $60 a week is less than I spend (I have 24 cats indoors), but I feed only canned food. If she really can't afford that much, the only option is to have some put down until she's at a number she can support . But if she can manage that, it just takes time and effort. Litterboxes do not need to be changed every day if she scoops them frequently, and she needs to have enough of them (Sterilite totes are cheaper then litterboxes and come in better sizes). Tell her not to feed the cheapest food (grocery store generic/dollar store brand, etc.), but something midrange like Purina Cat Chow or Friskies. The low quality of the generic food WILL cause health problems, so the brand-name food will end up costing less in the long run. And add water to it to prevent urinary and kidney issues (but any dry food with water added must be consumed quickly because it gets nasty very fast). Vacuuming and cleaning are cheap/free. It just takes time and effort.

It's not terribly difficult to find homes for young kittens, so do try to rehome them. Post ads at the vet's office and everywhere else you can think of. But screen the potential adopters carefully; you don't want the kittens ending up somewhere even worse. If you can find a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, have them fixed before adoption. Not only will that make it easier to find homes for them, but it will also prevent this kind of thing from happening to other people.

People hoard (anything; not just animals) to fulfill an emotional need. So provide her with a lot of emotional support and don't force her into things. She needs help, not hate, and that's all she seems to be getting from so many people :/. And that makes all kinds of mental problem worse.

 

[Willowy]

I should emphasize---DO NOT do anything behind her back! At all. This is the very worst thing you can do to a hoarder, and it makes them worse. Even helping a person who hoards newspapers, don't even throw one paper out without permission, even though it seems so trivial to most of us.

You need to have a serious discussion with her, about what SHE wants to do and how SHE wants to do it, and then you provide support for her decisions. Obviously, some things can't be an option (like everything just staying like it is now), but make sure she always feels in control.

 

[tulosai]

Whenever she's not home get rid of a few until there is only a few left and then give those cats a proper vet care and shots etc or just get rid of them all at once and the situation they are in now they would rather be put down. And they are probably eating crappy food and over breeding inbreeding fighting to death stepping in crap all day no matter how much it will hurt your mom to get rid of them you guys are torturing the cats.

This is a bad idea for the reasons Willowy outlines.

My question for the OP is: if a shelter would take some of them, would she let them go? If so find the nearest open access shelter to you and take as many of them there as she will allow- preferably intact ones.  It is true that some of them will probably be killed, but if most of them are kittens, it's likely they will try to find homes for the healthy ones.

If you r mom is not willing to get rid of any of them you have to find the nearest low cost spay/neuter clinic and take all the intact ones there :/ 

Is your mom willing/able to see a psychologist or psychiatrist or therapist?

 

[tulosai]

And, yes, it is expensive. $60 a week is less than I spend (I have 24 cats indoors), but I feed only canned food. If she really can't afford that much, the only option is to have some put down until she's at a number she can support

. 

I actually am astounded she manages to spend that little- I only have two resident cats and I probably spend a little over $20 a week on their food and litter! Granted it's wet food and a middle of the line litter (i.e. definitely not the cheapest) but still, I think $60 is really cheap for that many cats.  That said, as you point out, it's a batter of what each individual can afford and still be at least okay themselves in terms of their needs.

 

[feralvr]

I actually am astounded she manages to spend that little-

Same here. Litter and food?? I spend way more than that in one week for six cats.

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Anyway, this is a very distressing situation to hear about and one that is all too common. My main concern is for the sick kittens and the ones whom will soon be pregnant once again. You must get in someone from Animal Control to talk with your mother face to face. I see that on the Animal Cops shows.. I do think they have OR know of a counselor to send out to hoarding situations. They know how to talk with a person such as your mother and know how to get through to them without taking total control and scaring her. She has to see the suffering and understand that her home is not in the best interest of the health and well-being of those kittens. They will continue to breed very sick kittens. This MUST stop, your mother must get help. It is not fair and it is cruel to those cats/kittens. Your mother would be able to keep some of the cats too, once they are all spayed and neutered. Then she will still have a few cats but they will not be able to breed. It doesn't bother me when people have many, many cats as long as they fixed and that they can still afford to feed and care for them.

I completely understand about mental illness and how carefully you have to deal with the sick person. This has gone on, obviously, WAY too long especially if the neighbors are that upset. I don't blame them either. Those kittens need to be rescued, immediately. You mother must comply with Animal Control and work together. Even IF some of the cats/kittens are too sick to save, they will be given a dignified and humane crossing... sad, I know, but better for them than suffering. Don't mean to be tough, but this is a very serious situation and I appreciate you coming on here asking for advice. I think you know what needs to be done.

 

[tulosai]

 This has gone on, obviously, WAY too long especially if the neighbors are that upset. I don't blame them either. Those kittens need to be rescued, immediately. You mother must comply with Animal Control and work together. Even IF some of the cats/kittens are too sick to save, they will be given a dignified and humane crossing... sad, I know, but better for them than suffering. Don't mean to be tough, but this is a very serious situation and I appreciate you coming on here asking for advice. I think you know what needs to be done.

I agree with this also.  To be honest, I understand why the OP is upset that the neighbors keep calling, but in their situation I'd likely be calling too, and I am a HUGE cat person.

 

[peaches08]

What an awful situation.

Agreed with Feralvr. You cannot do this alone, EVEN IF you had the proper training for it. You need outside intervention.

 

[christy8730]

hi, I don't think she would see a psychiatrist, I'm not sure though, she buys the twin pet wet cat food that's sold at Walmart because it's cheaper, I'm trying to help her as much as I can by putting ads in the papers trying to find them a new home, I have thought about putting up flyers in the vets office, her local vet has even told her she has too many, 4 or 5 of our females our spayed, that's it, she's not married so she doesn't have anybody to help her except me, and I've added up how much it would cost for a few of the females we want to keep, it is a little pricey but if it would help her then I can do it somehow, and I can understand why the neighbors are upset too but one of them threatened her life over it, and that is ridiculous, that's a little over the line, and she wasn't even doing anything for her to do that, she said she was walking her dog and he got loose somehow and was running around and she was trying to catch him and I guess the lady thought she was trying to catch a cat and she was driving too fast on our road and she wasn't slowing down, she almost hit her, a few the cats that stays outside have gotten ran over from people not caring or they couldn't see them at night, the ones that stays outside were here when we moved here, they started coming to our house when she started feeding them, the best thing I could do would be to try and talk her into talking to a psychiatrist, we gave away one of her first cats to a young girl and her boyfriend, they had a young baby, come to find out she wasn't being took care of and wasn't being fed, they couldn't afford to buy her food, so she got her back before something happened to her, I don't think she would have a problem giving them new homes, she's worried they won't be took care of, animal control is supposed to take them to pet stores like petco and petsmart so they can be adopted to new homes right? I've heard they do that sometimes, thank you for everyone that's tried to help, I'm definitely going to try and get the few ones she wants to keep spayed very soon

 

[Willowy]

They ALL need to be fixed, or gotten rid of, as soon as possible. Otherwise there will be more and more and more and more (you get the idea) kittens. As I said, no improvement will be possible at all until every cat that remains in or out of her house is fixed. Even if she doesn't want to keep them, if she doesn't get rid of them immediately they still need to be fixed or they'll just add to the kitten numbers. Have you looked into low-cost options in the area? Try calling Spay USA to ask what's available: http://spayusa.org/

Animal control shelters are not known for being well-run. If you have an open-intake Humane Society/SPCA in the area, that would be a better option. Take all of the kittens there, and any of the adult cats who you can't have fixed. Yes, the adult cats will probably be put down, but you NEED to do something about her situation. Remember, even ONE unfixed cat will start the cycle all over again. She really shouldn't be letting any of the cats outside, but if she's feeding the neighborhood strays, they need to be fixed too. Really, I can't emphasize it enough---ALL of the cats that stay there need to be fixed. Even males.

Twin Pet is low-quality, but the canned is better than the dry. If possible, see if she can switch it up with 9 Lives, Special Kitty, and Friskies---they don't cost much more and the variety will help keep the cats healthier.

 

[feralvr]

Please re-read my earlier post. I mentioned that some Animal Control agencies have very experienced people (counselor-like) to come in and talk with animal hoarders. Yes, she does need to see a psycho-therapist, BUT, even more pressing is getting all of these cats trapped and taken away. I think you have to take a strong stand on this and on the behalf of those cats/kittens. It will take much courage and strength on your part, but please consider doing this for the cats and for your mother. This dilemma will only get much, much worse, very quickly. It is not right to continue to allow sick and unhealthy cats to breed and produce more sick babies. I normally don't recommend calling Animal Control, but in this situation, I think it is the only way to get this done quickly. You could try calling aTNR organization or as Willowy suggested - SPCAin your county. Those rescues may be able to take all of the kittens. But, most likely they will have to call in animal control to assist as well if they are not able to take on so many. Please do not let this go on. Be strong for those little beings whom are relying on someone to help.

p.s. Also, just want to mention that IF you just give away those kittens to anyone just to get rid of them, that will not stop the problem. Some people will not get that "free" kitten fixed and let him/her roam. The cycle will continue. It is very, very important to get ALL of the kittens spayed/neutered BEFORE you were to give the away or get rid of them. That is why it is always better to call in help in these situations that way they will get the healthy ones fixed and find homes. That would be the more responsible thing to do IF you can't afford to get them fixed before giving away. Please do not do that. :cross:

 

[djoe]

Someone has said it earlier, even if you send some away; being a hoarder, she will find new ones. The best way is to spay/neuter them. And if you can't afford operating all at once do a few every month, better than not doing any at all. That should be your priority. "Getting rid of them" is not necessarily better for the cats.

In the meantime you and/or a therapist or animal control or whichever approach you can afford might try to make your mom of the responsibility that come with having cats... but I estimate progress will be slow...

Poor cats...