Part of me feels a sense of guilt calling my mom an animal hoarder. (I'm almost 23, I'm doing my best to be able to move out within the next several years hopefully idfk I just got off social security disability over the summer and started working) Growing up we always had atleast three cats and a multitude of birds and fish in our apartment. My mom is very mentally ill and can barely keep herself clean so you do the math.

We moved into an actual house a few years ago and my mother was mostly excited about how much space we'd have for more animals. As of right now we have 6 cats, an elaborate freshwater aquarium (it's a cool aquarium I won't lie...) a hamster, a tarantula, a pigeon and three polish silver-lace chickens who strictly stay upstairs which is basically a giant bedroom with a walk in closet as a makeshift chicken coop since it's against the rules of our city to have outdoor chicken coops.

At first it was two chickens and I already hated them but one day my mom came home with a third without telling anybody.

My stepfather and I are beginning to loose our patience. My stepdad told me my mom is not allowed to get new chickens after these ones die but if she doesn't by some oh so silly mishap she's probably just gonna fill the space with a different kind of bird.

The cats are all in good health and have see the vet, I can't say much for the birds' health though. The hamster however has been caught by the cats a few times and the last one we had got ripped in half.

My stepdad and I (mostly me) clean the house basically every day and keep the litter boxes/floor around them clean. The downstairs looks pretty normal I think albeit a tad cluttered and dingey, mostly from cats spreading everything around but apparently the whole downstairs apart from my bedroom reeks of cat piss.

My stepdad is weird about leaving windows open but with this news I was able to convince him to leave them open when we clean to air out the house.

I just don't know what to think. I don't know how to talk to anyone about this besides my biological father since his dad hoarded animals too (worse than my mom does) The most I can do is clean the house every day so it feels normal but this has been my life.

My mom always has a mountain of excuses as to why she can't clean mainly "executive dysfunction" and she goes on about how angry she is at herself and how hard it is to look at a mess that she just can't bring herself to clean. It messes with my head because my emotional side wants to be empathetic but logically I know this behavior is manipulative. I suffer from executive dysfunction a lot too and the only way to get over it is to force yourself to do whatever it is you "can't" do.

She can't do litter boxes because of her asthma. She can't do the dishes because she's too tired. She can't clean up the bird shit because she's out of her medication. I just don't know how to deal with this, this is such a crazy problem to have.

"I wasn't even that mad about the hamster until the fish came into the picture" is an actual sentence I've said while breaking down, this is so insane. Any advice or well wishes are appreciated, it's just been troubling me so much lately and it's been so hard to accept.

What the subject line says. I’ve been removing porn bot/spam bot post now at least once a day (if not more times) for going on three weeks.

The only thing that I have found that works when we start getting those sorts of post is to take the sub private for at least three days to discourage the bots. Last time I think I had to take it private for a week, so I anticipate the same time. Here.

Thank you for your patience everybody. I will post again when the sub is Back open.

My mom has 6 dogs and I can't stand them it's driving me crazy to the point where it's affecting my mental health them constantly barking shiting and pissing everywhere I constantly have to tell her to get rid of them but her and my sister always argue and call me selfish cause of it? What do I do please help

A friend I've known for two and a half years but who feels like a sister/mom to me, went into the hospital last week for wounds on her legs that would not heal. Since then she has been on multiple IV antibiotics and in fairly serious condition. When she was admitted, fleas were found on her. She told me this herself. She was so ashamed. I had a feeling there were problems at home (I'd never been invited there) but told her she should please concentrate on healing, and let her friends help with her cats.

She had a friend go to her house to feed her cats on Friday, two days after she was admitted. This friend apparently found one of the nine resident cats dead, and put him in a box outside on the patio. She didn't tell my friend about this until yesterday. I went to see my friend at the hospital and she gave me her keys, then wrote me a check to pay for her cat's cremation. I deposited the check and then went to pick up her kitty. I gloved up and took a garbage bag to put him in and then took him to the vet to be sent for cremation. At the time, I could see in through the slider and there were two cats meowing at me from inside. There was a tiny place to walk and a ton of stuff piled up.

Today I purchased hazmat gear and went back. This time I went inside and I was SHOCKED! almost no place to walk, junk piled up everywhere, and five cats that I saw immediately. There are apparently three more. Their food and water dishes were empty. I immediately filled them and the cats went to town on the food and water right away. In fact, they were drinking the water faster than I could fill it up. At least one of the cats had sores on its body. I'm assuming flea allergy.

I wandered the house as much as I could. I could barely get through the kitchen into the living room. I couldn't even find the stairwell to get upstairs where there are three bedrooms. I took video and photos.

After tending to the cats I could see, I went back out and removed the hazmat stuff. Even though I was completely covered, I still found fleas on my socks when I got to the car!

I had a panic attack because I knew that I should call Animal Control. I used to work at our local animal shelter and I am heavily involved in rescue/fostering/shelter advocacy. In fact, that's where I met her. But I felt like a rotten friend for calling this in, even though she's obviously disabled in more than one way. I hate to kick someone when they're down. She could lose her condo and is definitely losing her cats. She might face criminal charges.

Did I do the right thing? Any other words of advice or support?

I think my sister is either an animal hoarder or at the very least, quickly going down the slippery slope of animal hoarding and my parents no longer know how to help her. Any advice is welcome.

My sister has always had a hard time making and keeping friends, she has people she talks to online, but she doesn't have anyone to hang out with other than my parents. I say that just to acknowledge the obvious pathology behind her compulsive commodification of animals.

Anyway, she is now 30 years old and has developed this habit of buying animals despite negative consequences on her immediate environment, finances, or familial relationships. It began when she was in her early 20's and had moved back home with my parents. My parents already had our two family dogs with them, my sister convinced them to let her get her own dog because she wanted it to be bonded to her and her only. She got a puppy from the shelter which ended up being a very badly behaved and aggressive adult dog that she became bored of after a year or so resulting in a new found desire for reptiles. When she began buying these reptiles she hid it from my parents because she knew that they would tell her that she could not have them in their home. She ended up joining the Texas National Guard and while she was away at training my parents discovered two leopard geckos, a skink, and a snake in her room. Despite all her dishonesty and lack or regard or respect for my parents and their home, she was not apologetic and acted as if it wasn't a big deal because they were in her room. I was not living at home so I have no idea how this all went but I do know she also ended up buying a tortoise and a cornish rex cat while living at home, all against my parents wishes. Eventually, my parents could not take it anymore and found her an apartment to live in. I don't know where all the reptiles went but I know the tortoise was rehomed and her dog is now my parents dog, so to the new apartment she took her cat. At this apartment she quickly got another kitten because her cat 'needed a companion'. It is important to note that while I don't believe she neglects these animals of food or water, she let her first cat ( a male) spray all over my parents' house and then her apartment because she couldn't find the time to get him neutered. The negligence comes in the form of allowing her environment to become filthy and stink with various pet smells. Anyway, during her stay at that apartment my parents ended up paying her rent nearly every month because she got herself into a financial hole with loans from sketchy quick cash places, my parents also paid the 1000 dollars plus that she racked up in interest from the loan place. They cosigned on the apartment and were afraid of their own credit being ruined. Her apartment became filthy with a general lack of cleaning both her own messes and even the litter boxes etc, despite this she got a puppy. I rehomed the puppy for her because I was shocked and disgusted that she would allow another animal to live in her filth and add to the discomfort her cats were no doubt feeling. After the rehoming not even a month later she got another puppy, a bull mastiff puppy. And not long after that she had gotten a kitten. It is also important to note that every time she gets a new puppy or kitten her story is that she has somehow saved it, even though she never comes home with an animal that looks like a stray it's always a very attractive baby animal (beautiful coloring, eyes, etc.) not one that you would just find. Anyway, she ended up getting a job offer in a town about an hour away and my parents saw this as a fresh start for her so they paid a lot of money to break the lease and move her out to this new town. In addition to spending a lot of money on this, they cleaned out her filthy apartment for her which involved throwing out an entirely black aquarium full of dead fish. Despite all of the financial support and help from my parents, she has never shown gratitude and has only been defensive about her issue with animals and cleanliness. Fast forward to her living in this new town with an awesome new job that she loves, she makes more money than before and is now salaried with benefits. We are all really happy for her and she has been inviting me to come stay at her new place which I was convinced was being treated better than her previous apartment due to her new found energy and enthusiasm for her new situation. This past weekend me and my mom drove down to visit her, we were shocked by the state of her home. Not only was the stench unbearable but the couch and chairs were covered in a layer of pet hair and dander so I did not even want to sit down. Her bull mastiff that was once a cute puppy has grown into a large poorly behaved dog that jumps all over people, and surprise!!! she got a new puppy. Her story was once again; he was being given away for free and he was the runt, even though he is a gorgeous rottweiler husky mix with bright blue eyes. So, she has now accumulated 3 cats and 2 dogs. My parents did not cosign on this home, and they no longer check her bank statements as they are attempting to remove themselves of responsibility for her actions, however they are still terrified of the prospect of her losing this opportunity of a fresh start to her compulsive need for animals. They feel her behaviors are beginning to mimic the ones that led to her exodus of her filthy previous apartment, after all the effort they put into getting her out of that, I don't blame them. Before we left, my mom attempted to express her concern over the new puppy and she was met with immediate defensiveness and denial from my sister. When my mom told her that her home has already become very uncomfortable, dirty, and stinky, she claimed my mom was making up the smell just because she was upset about the puppy. My sister claims that my parents just want to control her, despite the fact that they have had many opportunities to be forceful due to her extreme reliance upon them, not only have they helped financially but they have paid for emergency surgery for her bull mastiff who ate something he shouldn't have, and they used to feed her cats for her constantly when she would be away for national guard.

All of that to say, what should they do? Is there any way to help her from falling back into something completely unmanageable?

My sister is now 30 years old and has developed the habit of compulsively buying animals for the last decade. Initially, she lived with my parents and got a dog because she didn't feel bonded to our two family dogs and wanted a dog that loved her exclusively. She got a puppy from the shelter and encouraged his bad behaviors, laughing when he would growl at people etc. She gave up on him as an adult dog just a couple of years later; consequently, he is now my parent's dog's bad behaviors. While she had him she got bored and started buying reptiles without my parents knowledge even though she was living in their house, she would hide them in her room. They only found out about this because she decided to join the Texas National Guard and was gone for training, they went into her room and were shocked. There were multiple leopard geckos and a Skink, as well as a corn snake. Anyway, she was not apologetic at all about her going behind their back in their own home, just as she was not apologetic about foisting her badly behaved dog upon them. After the reptile debacle and knowing how furious my parents were, she got a tortoise. My parents had to feed and take care of all these animals while she was at training. This was how it all started, my parents eventually rehomed the tortoise while she was away and some of the reptiles died, when cleaning out her room there was a dead snake in her closet. At some point she got a cornish rex cat, while still living at home despite the fact my parents had two family dogs as well as her dog, and they did not want a cat. When she finally moved out, to an apartment my parents helped her get because they could not handle the way she treated their home anymore, she got another cornish rex kitten. By the time she moved out (about a year later) she had attempted to get a puppy (which I rehomed for her) and then turned around and got another puppy, a bull mastiff puppy, despite the fact that her apartment was constantly filthy and she could never afford her rent (my parents paid her rent nearly the entire time she lived there because they cosigned and were afraid it would mess up their credit). She ended up getting a job opportunity about an hour away where she would be getting salaried and have benefits. My parents saw this as a fresh start for her so they paid to break her lease and get her out of the filthy apartment (which they cleaned out for her, which involved throwing out an entirely black aquarium full of dead fish) and helped find her a new place to live. By the time she moved out she had gotten another kitten meaning she had 3 cats and a dog. Fast forward she has been living in this new city, loving her job and has even gotten herself to see a psychiatrist at her own volition and is on medication for her depressive symptoms. I was so excited to hear this and she was equally excited at the idea of me staying at her new place. This past weekend me and my mom drove down to visit her and were shocked by the state of her new living space. The scent immediately hit me as I walked in, it smelled like litter boxes and animals. I did not even want to sit down because her bull mastiff (already huge) was jumping all over us and nearly knocking us down, also her couches and chairs were covered in dog hair and a layer of dander and pet debris. I felt like if I stayed any longer surely I would smell like the inside of the house. Also, surprise!! She got another puppy. My mom was heartbroken to see the state of the home as well as the new addition to it, she knew she could not react or else it would end in an argument and ruin the rest of the trip so we had to pretend nothing was wrong. Anyway, I know she doesn't have a ton of animals but she is now at 3 cats and 2 dogs and it feels like a slippery slope because I can already see a pattern of excitement then boredom that leads to her getting a new animal, rinse and repeat. My mom decided to say something to her right before we left to go home the next day (we stayed in a hotel). My mom told her she is very concerned about the new puppy and she doesn't want any of this to affect her succeeding in her new job, my sister immediately got defensive and was in complete denial at her situation and instead turned it on my mom saying that she was just being mean and was trying to control her. I believe her idea that they are controlling comes from the fact that my parents used to look at her bank statements when she lived the previous apartment because they had to keep paying her rent and wanted to know where her paychecks were going. Also, she racked up at least a thousand dollars in interest on a credit loan that my parents had to pay for her. This time around they did not cosign and have not looked at her bank statements despite their fear that she might be getting into a hole again. Anyway, we the confrontation did not go well and we did end up telling her that her house was filthy and uncomfortable and smelled, just to try and wake her up to the way that she is living, she is in complete denial. My mom cried the whole way home. What do we do? How do we stay in her life without encouraging this horrible habit of commodifying animals? Is this an animal hoarding problem or are we being unfair? My mom is in shambles because she doesn't know how to talk to her about it, and is also worried about my sister being all alone and depressed or even suicidal. Any advice would be very appreciated

To be clear, she has a normal number of cats. The hoarding problem is mostly normal hoarding, but I think my post isn’t allowed on that subreddit because there are cats in the house.

Hi! I am a pet sitter. I recently got contacted to watch somebody’s cats, and they apologized in advance because of the mess. I brushed it off because I’ve seen a lot of messes, but this was something else. I am legitimately worried for them. She has mobility issues, lives alone with several cats, and I am worried for her mental and physical health in the environment she is in. There must be mold, bugs, mice. Etc in there. Piles of stuff. Not even a walkable path through a lot of her house.

I am worried about her. She seems like a sweet lady, without family or friends nearby. I want to help but I honestly don’t know where to start. I am watching her cats because I know she has to go out of town and I doubt she’ll be able to find anyone else short notice and I’m worried about the safety of the cats, but to be honest I feel uncomfortable in her house. I’m scared of spiders and mice and I just know there’s no way they’re not in there. I’m worried for her health living and sleeping in that house.

I feel like there’s nothing I can do as someone who doesn’t really know her and just met her, but I’m so worried. Are there any services I can refer her to? Is there any way I can help her? Please let me know what I should do. Thank you in advance!

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From here: https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/youngstown-news/in-depth-organizations-combatting-animal-hoarding-in-the-valley/

"A coalition of agencies throughout the community has formed to address the issue of hoarding, particularly as it pertains to animals. They meet once a month, and includes representatives from animal charities as well as code enforcement, children’s services, health departments and more."

Watch the full interview for a more in-depth look at the conversation.

​

Is there a way to get an animal hoarder blacklisted from adopting from their local animal sheltures? And is there anyway to report an elderly animal hoarder without takint the risk of them losing their autonomy?

My mom has always had an issue with mess. But since we finally got our own house 5 years ago it has turned into full blown hoarding. About 4 years ago we had a cat and she got pregnant and those cats had kittens and so on. It is my first year in college and it has gotten drastically worse since I left. I would estimate that there are over 20 cats now in our home and my mom cannot control any part of the house. She is very attached to probably 3 of the cats, and unfortunately my cat also got caught up in the mess although he is neutered. So we would want to keep those, I am worried if I called someone, they would take those ones. We had an argument because the cats got into my room and completely destroyed it in the matter of 6 hours. That was kind of an eye opener for her and although she has had those before I really want to help her make change this time. I just need direction. If anyone has ever had animal control come and take pets I also want to hear what that was like so I can prepare myself for the experience and see what I need to do to keep those 4 cats. I am willing to answer any questions or clarify anything if needed🩷

My grandparents have at least 18 cats in the house, and about 50 more outside through the neighborhood. My grandmother feeds outside cats and has basically created a breeding ground in her backyard. They also just generally hoard things other than the cats. You cannot walk in there and the whole place is a giant biohazard. They live in Illinois, and there are animal hoarding laws there where they could actually be arrested (I think) for this eventually. That isn't my main concern, though. They are both in their late 70s and have various serious health issues. My grandpa seemingly has early signs of dementia but I genuinely think it could be from how toxic that house is and breathing the air in every day.

They are stubborn as typical hoarders are, but it's more specifically my grandmother, my grandfather is just along for the ride basically. I'm worried if I call anywhere for help and the cats get taken away that my grandma would legitimately die of a broken heart. We've offered to move her and my grandfather but she won't leave the house nor let anyone inside to clean. She doesn't want to separate the cats and has the belief that no one will take care of them properly except her. It started out just wanting to rescue them but now they're just breeding in the house. They don't have any money to get them fixed and no responsible adult seems to care at all or remotely try to help them.

I'm 24 and I don't live in the same state as them, but I'm tired of my family sitting around letting them live in filth and I need to take matters into my own hands. I've considered the game plan of: trying to find a hoarding therapist to learn more about how to effectively communicate with my grandmother first, and subsequently finding a way to rescue the cats and guarantee my grandma that the cats will go to a safe place. Finally, I want to hire a clean up crew, but then there is the issue of her refusing to give anything up in the home because they're all "memories". She can't keep any of it because it is literally all contaminated with cat urine and feces, but again I worry that ripping these things away from her will genuinely kill her.

I'm just looking for any kind of help or advice, whether it be services in Chicago that I can utilize for animal rehoming, recommendations for counselors, intervention styles, or your own stories of how you helped your family.

Okay:

So for whatever reason, someone (or some spam bot) has decided that our little sub is just the place to post sex/porn ads.

I've managed to catch-and-delete these quickly, but they just keep coming faster and faster. So in an effort to deter this nonsense, I'm setting the sub to restricted mode--people can view posts, but not make new ones.

I’ll keep this mode up for a few days, see if that discourages the spammers.

Sorry for the hassle! PM me with questions.

Me and my mom live in a small house that was already cluttered before hand. We started with one cat that I've had for years, before any of this started. Eventually, though reluctant, my mom aloud me to bring in a random orange tom that followed me home. However, that's not where the problem started. It started when another cat showed up on our door step a year or so later in the beginning of the cold months. Little did we know she was pregnant. Now 3ish years later, we have about 30 or so cats. I'm too scared to count. My moms not an animal hoarder, she knows there's a problem, she doesn't like cats that much and doesn't want them. They're taking over our life's and we need to get rid of them but we just don't know how. Its to expensive to spay and neuter them, we already neutered most of the males but there's still more, and that means they still keep duplicating. We decided to keep 2 of the cats, including our original cats we would have 4, plus an outdoor cat. I'm afraid if we call animal control or something then they'll take all of the cats, including the 4 that are 'actually ' ours and not allow us to ever own an animal again. My moms not a hoarder, we just are being overrun by cats that we can't get rid of. All of the cats are healthy, the worst part is that some might have worms or ear infections but they don't have fleas or mites. They all get plenty of food, water, and all have places to sleep, but we can afford all the cat food and litter. The amount of money we spend on them is insane. We live in the east side of SD and don't have any resources to help us, if anyone could provide absolutely anything that would help with rehoming them, we would be so so grateful. Thank you

I was bedridden with a tumour on my bowel and had a heart attack. My superintendent gave me 19 finches and let them loose in my bedroom…. I should have stopped it. I had my funeral planned and was expecting to die.

Four years later I can walk and eat solid food again. It has taken me this entire year to heal from my foolish passiveness that allowed this disgusting situation to occur.

I had aviaries built for the pet birds in my apartment. No birds in the bedroom, kitchen or bathroom…

I contacted many People to rehome my birds. But no one wants them. I clean two hours nearly daily, and buy all their necessities…. But I really feel like an unpaid employee more so than a pet owner.

since I became healthier, I don’t even know who I am anymore. I don’t enjoy the birds but everyone tells me what an amazing relationship I have with them. And think I am horrible for not wanting to give up my living space to house these birds.

since I am not doing anything else, I feel Cleaning crap is all I am good for. I care about these birds. But am judged so hardly by the bird clubs and rescues I begged for help.

i have a prison sentence of responsibility… and I deserve this punishment. Yet, some pyschology reports says I am worth more than scraping and mopping crap and feeling so much shame. I passed apartment inspections and no one is complaining things are dirty. But i work hours a day to keep it clean. And I know it’s my responsibility but i absolutely am broken. The bird rescues said to put heir number on my fridge so when I die they will take my birds. Why do I have to die first?

I'm seeing if anyone has anyway to help or provide a resource to contact with what has become an animal hoarding situation. My grandmother has a lot of cats inside her home (40+) that have interbred and accumulated over the past few years. She is unable to properly clean up after them due to health issues and get them proper vet care. The entire house has become covered in urine and feces despite her and family trying to clean when able to do so. You can smell the house from 50 feet away before stepping into it. The Humane Society would not help and said we could drop off one cat once per week. The US Humane Society never responded, nor others we have tried to reach out to. They multiply to quick for that to be effective and the family members cannot help due to the times we would have to drop the cats off there. This has impacted my grandparents lives and the animals as well and became a dire situation. My grandparents have agreed to let them go but we can't find help to place them or other solutions. Any thoughts or resources that could help here? I have pictures that I’m embarrassed to post if needed.

Hello and thanks for reading. I'm having trouble dealing with a hoarding situation.

For some background, my girlfriends mom hoards small animals. Mostly Guinea pigs, but she also has a bunny and a hamster. She gets them from neighbors, she breeds them, and she usually buys one or two any time she goes in a pet store. I visited her house about a month ago, and witnessed 2 walls of her tiny apartment lined with stacks of cages, each housing 2 Guinea pigs and a few with 3. Their cages were messy, I assume she doesn't spot clean. They all had matted fur, and would run around frantically and fight each other. They seemed scared. Some cages had small houses for the animals in them, and she mentioned how when she wants one to come out, she'll lift the house off and watch them run around. I found this disturbing, because clearly she didn't understand that stealing the creatures' shelter is probably not a fun experience for them. Many of the animals had stupid names written on their cages, like for instance the one called "Steak". She then mentioned to us how she was beginning an effort to separate the males and females. This is definitely a step in the right direction, typically she is thrilled when they have babies because it gives her more animals to give silly names to and then add to her collection. She explained that she is making this change because recently an elderly Guinea pig gave birth and died in the process. A few more details before I explain my predicament: the bunny's nails were extremely long and twisted, I don't think they've ever been cut. The hamster's water dispenser was attached in a pretty awkward position, with the metal straw basically touching the bottom of the cage, and it looked like he was struggling to drink from it. Many of the animals are buried around her apartment building, but quite a few are thrown in the dumpster if it's inconvenient to bury them that day, and I think this is a pretty clear indicator of how much she actually cares about them, id say it's definitely not normal behavior for a loving pet owner at least. I have 2 cats and consider them part of my family, I couldn't imagine throwing them into a pile of trash. Also, she typically doesn't bring them to the vets. They have had their required shots, but they don't get regular checkups, and they don't get vet treatment when they are sick.

Alright, so after seeing all this, my gf and I had a conversation with her about animal hoarding. We explained that they didn't have the best living conditions, and would probably be happier and healthier with humans that could give them more attention. We tried to explain that she's not in any trouble, but we should do what's best for the animals. We ended it by pleading with her to get some help rehousing them. She got pretty defensive and said she would never do that, and I foolishly mentioned that we might want to get someone else involved.and of course, we left without getting any photo evidence of the place

After this we called the local animal control and explained the situation. It took about a month before they found a day when she was home and they could conduct a wellness check. And then they told me that there was no animal hoarding. They said the cages were clean, she had vet records, she knew what to feed them, and to top it all off, they were well groomed.

I told them that she probably prepared the place for animal control, and they said that it seems unlikely that she would have been able to accomplish all of that. I disagree, I think a month is plenty of time. However, without me being able to provide any photo proof, they closed the case.

Now I'm glad that the bunny got its nails cut for the first time in its life, but my girlfriend and I are still feeling quite uncomfortable about the whole thing. Am I overreacting? Should I just relax because animal control tells me that the problem taken care of now?

I really don't know what to think or do at this point, seeing as how animal control doesn't find any issue. I'd really appreciate some kind of advice

Hi, so my dad entered hospice in November. I never went to visit him at his house because I have a strained relationship with him, and he was never good at maintaining a space. Low to no contact, essentially. I found out that he had 20 cats, where before, I thought he only had 4. Now, my siblings and I have to figure out what to do with these cats and the house. The house smells overwhelmingly of ammonia and feces, there's rotten food, the plumbing doesn't work, 20 years worth of literal trash all piled so there is only a small walkway.

These cats are not fixed. He had the males holed up in his bedroom (at least 6 of them), while the females get to roam the house, who make up the majority of the population. We do not have the money to take them individually to a shelter, plus that would require them to have vaccines and be spayed/neutered.

The TNR program I have researched only says they accept cats if they are returned to their outside environment. Which these cats don't have. They are feral, even though they are inside. I took 2 cats, one that is special needs and the other cat is the most friendly out of the hoard. I'm paying for the vet bills for these 2, but I'm not sure how long I can sustain that.

My siblings don't want to contact animal control because they think my dad will get fined, but I would rather they take the cats even if that's a risk. They may even drop the fine since he is in hospice. I'm looking for other options on what to do here or how the process goes if animal control is contacted. Will they condemn the house when they see it? We are trying to get his estate in order as well so it can't be closed off. Located in Utah.

Tldr: Dad in hospice, 20 cats that my siblings and I need to find homes for but none are fixed or vaccinated.

This is difficult for me to write. Please don't judge me. When I was 12, 16, and 18 I was SA'd. These incidents led to me developing addictions later down the line. It started with food addiction then it snowballed into animal hoarding addiction. I used my addictions as a means to cope with my pain.

After a few months, I slowly started to realize I had a problem. At the time, I could not accept the fact that I had a problem, I was in serious denial. I became aggressive toward anyone who would call me out on it (including my loved ones) and started isolating myself from my family and friends, my relationship with my mom was deteriorating. My life was slowly falling apart and I was becoming more and more depressed by the day. One of the few things that gave me joy at the time was my animals.

Fast forward to today, I have since rehomed 10 of my animals to good homes. This was a huge achievement for me, it was not an easy decision to make, though I knew it was the right one. I now own 1 dog, 2 mice, and 5 gerbils, a reasonable amount of pets. I am in the process of finding a new home for one of my mice (though nobody seems to want him so I'll probably end up keeping him) and my five gerbils. I really want to rehome my gerbils because sometimes they give me PTSD from my animal-hoarding addiction. I feel guilty just looking at them because they're a reminder of how I gave into my animal-hoarding addiction and mental illness.

I'm in a much better place now though I still have the urge to hoard animals. I find myself scrolling through Craig's List browsing through the pets section looking at gerbils, mice, and rats. I don't even want to get any more gerbils or mice though I still have those urges to hoard them despite my better judgement. It's frustrating, to say the least. I want to get pet rats since I used to own rats and I remember what great pets they were but I told myself I wouldn't get any rats until I made a full recovery from my animal hoarding tendencies (or at the very least until I've rehomed all my gerbils).

My boyfriend has been very supportive and understanding about this situation, he helps keep me in check and talks me out of getting more animals. It feels really good having someone who is understanding of my situation and doesn't judge me for it, without his support, I think I'd be much worse off. It felt good writing this out and getting it off my chest. If anyone has any advice for me I'd love to hear it. Please be kind though.

so... my mother has: 2 dogs, 4 cats, 2 parrots, 2 turtles and 3 fishes. we live in a relatively small apartment.

i'll talk about the dogs first. they are around 10 years of age now, and they have never been potty-trained. she always refused to take them on walks (never in their life they have been taken for a walk) so they pee and poo all over the house. there have been numerous times when we would step on pee or even feces and since they sleep on the sofa with her, it smells like urine. the female dog also free-bleeds during her periods.

​

the cats have one litterbox in the bedroom my brother sleeps in. at night the cats are closed in that bedroom so you can imagine the kind of smell i witnessed in the morning.

​

the parrots weren't always 2. she had 3 more parrots: 2 of them were kept in a small cage and they started to depluming themselves due to stress but she refused to set them free until they died. the other one was killed by one of the cats since she didn't train them to get along. the 2 alive ones poop all over the house, on the floor, on the forniture, on mattresses, even on my mother's clothes.

​

i really would like to know your opinion on this, and if it can be considered hoarding. i also think that not letting my dogs outside counts as animal abuse (i can tell that they are stressed, they bite a lot) but i have no one to speak to about this.

also, please note that i do not live with my mother. i visit few times a year. only once my boyfriend and I visited her and he told me he felt very uncomfortable because the house smelled like a "pet shop".

​

please give me a honest opinion. this is something that i think about on the daily

THIS POST HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE MODERATORS

What is your Study: Exploring the perspectives of family members and partners regarding what improves symptoms and quality of life for their relative with hoarding disorder.

Lead Researcher Name: Allegra Styles

Lead Researcher Credentials: BPsychSc (Hons), provisional psychologist, MClinPsych (candidate)

Institution Name: Australian Catholic University

Advisor (For thesis level): Dr Keong Yap - Associate Professor (Psychology), keong.yap@acu.edu.au

Will this work be published?: Yes

Method of study (In person, online): Online

Time required: approx. 55 mins (10 min survey + 45 min zoom interview)

Link for participation: email allegra.styles@myacu.edu.au if interested

Email to contact for questions: allegra.styles@myacu.edu.au

Thank you for your time and interest in this valuable research.

Hello everyone, I am currently unsure what to do regarding my situation.

For context, One of my family member (my uncle) has mental health issues and he has been raising more than 100 cats, at least 50 of them are still here. (5-7 cats hot hit by cars, ~10 cats died from diseases, my grandmother suffocated ~5 of them when I am not aware of, we give away ~20 cats, the rest are gone).

I am currently a college student and I have no time and energy to completely deal with all 50 cats at my yards and garage (they were born and raised here). There has been several times when I tried to relocate my cat few blocks away (that’s within their territory), and I neutered one of them. But I realized that Trap-release program is great but i takes too much time, effort, and money and effort to fix all of them.

As their population continues to grow, the yard became extremely unsanitary, male cats sprayed everywhere, female cats have way too many kittens and the kittens poop everywhere. There are HUNDREDS of flies at my yard and porch and I realized I cannot tolerate this anymore. It has always been an unpleasant experience every time when I enter my house from the front porch. I wanted to hold my family member accountable for creating this hazardous mess.

Whenever I bring up the topic of calling animal control, my uncle said he will kick me out of this house (my grandmother's property). My grandma is upset with this situation and she wasn’t able to confront him, instead she killed some of the kittens by lying to me that she is giving them away to her friends.

My mother, who lives with me, my uncle, and my grandma. She works for the law enforcement in California, and she is well aware of the penalty of hoarding animals. In the past five years she told me not calling the authority because she will be in deep trouble for tolerating my uncle's behavior.

I suffered depression mainly due to hostile relationship with my family member. Now I have some savings and I realized I am financially stable enough to move out. Meanwhile, what should I do to address the cat problems?

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.

On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.

Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface.

This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free. For the visually-impaired Redditors, this decision is disastrous.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.

As we are a mental health sub, r/animalhoarding will NOT be closing down or going private during that period, but we will be setting ourselves to read only mode through June 14th. The mods will be discussing what to do moving forward.

The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do as a user?

• Complain. Message the mods of /r/reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message /u/reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /r/reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.

• Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /r/ModCoord.

• Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th - instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!

• Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.

Thank you for your patience in the matter,

-Mod Team

Pertinent links:

• The post that kicked this all off: r/apolloapp - Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter's pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is.
• r/SubredditDrama - Reddit admins go to r Modnews to talk about how they're inadvertently killing third-party apps and bots. Apollo, for example., would cost $20 MILLION per year to run according to reddit's new API pricing. Mods and devs are VERY unhappy about this.
• r/modcorrd - An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps and how that will impact moderators and communities.
• The Verge - A developer says Reddit could charge him $20 million a year to keep his app working.
• TechCrunch - Multiple subreddits and moderators are protesting Reddit’s API changes.
• Vice - Reddit in Mass Revolt Over Astronomical API Fees That Would Kill Third Party Apps.

And to learn more about some of the affected apps:

• r/apolloapp
• r/redditisfun
• r/Relayforreddit
• r/GetNarwhal
• r/BaconReader
• /r/ReddPlanet
• /r/redditsync
• /r/Infinity_For_Reddit
• /r/JoeyForReddit
• r/RedReader
• r/pager
• /r/BoostForReddit
• r/SlideforReddit

Hello, a friend of mine told me to register and post here.

My step grandma lives in West Virginia in an unincorporated area about 2.5 hours south of Charleston near the eastern Kentucky border. It is extremely remote they don't even have a local grocery store or hospital, it is that rural. She has at least 37 cats, but probably more.

She is 77 years old. Her husband, my grandfather, died approximately 18 months ago. She is of sound mind insofar as she can cook and clean and manage her finances. If you talked to her at the Dollar General she would seem like a normal old lady. But she has severe personality and mental health needs when it comes to hoarding animals.

I visited in March, and that's when I counted 37 distinct cats, including at least 4 that were either very fat or pregnant. I took pictures to make sure that I wasn't counting any twice and so that I could show my mom.

I live in another state. After I got back and talked about this with my husband and mom I decided to alert the local authorities.

I called the County Health Department who said that there is no animal control in that area and there is no limit as to how many cats someone is allowed to own. They also told me that there is no requirement that the cats see a veterinarian or have updated vaccines, as they are allowed to live outside, which some of hers do.

I then contacted the state Adult Protective Services Division and spoke to Heather, who effectively told me the same thing and that they do not respond to cases of animal hoarding unless the animals are dangerous to people like large dogs or wildlife.

Then I spoke to the Sheriff's Office to ask whether owning this many cats was actually legal and the official whose voicemail I was given (whose name I don't remember) eventually called me back and effectively told me to mind my own business, that there is no Animal Control and they don't respond to people owning a lot of animals, because that's their business, not the business of the police.

My final call was to the state police, who told me that this was a local/county matter for all the agencies which had already told me they aren't going to do anything about it.

My concern is NOT just that my step grandma has so many cats now, it's the fact that so many were kittens or pregnant when I was there, so they have all been born in the time since my grandfather died and the situation is quickly spiraling out of control compared to what it was just 2 years ago when I was last there. If I remember correctly they had 6 cats when he was still alive. Since he died it looks like she has just started COLLECTING cats. In another year she could literally have 100.

I am concerned more for her health and how badly the house smelled. I know that she truly believes she is taking care of all of them, but how is it possible for anybody to care for dozens of cats like that, especially somebody who is so old and lives alone when the cats are wondering in and out all day and all night long? Does anyone know of any other resources that will respond to a remote area? I have spoken to my mother and aunt about this and they both basically said they have dealt with this on and off for decades and there is nothing anyone can do because that area does not have animal control or cruelty/protection laws, because it is so poor and rural to begin with.

My mom told me that in the 1990s when they still lived in Florida that my step grandma was ARRESTED for owning too many cats but she didn't have to go to court because she agreed to surrender them all. Once they moved to West Virginia, apparently this shit is legal and just accepted in counties without the infrastructure or resources. I don't see how this could be right, because it's really not about the cats. It's about her.

If this were happening in Florida, I know that she would not be allowed to have this many cats, especially since they are still breeding and making more. I'm at peace with the fact that I am probably being an asshole to some people, but I really think that she needs help and intervention of some sort. My mom and aunt are just sort of resigned to the fact that this is how she is, she is old, and she will eventually die that way. But if I don't figure out how to help her, my concern is that she will die BECAUSE of having so many cats. :/

I recently started helping out a friend of a friend clean up her house and property. I was not expecting 30 to 40 cats (maybe more) when I first visited. This is an elderly lady who lives alone out in the boonies. She seems with it except how bad of shape her cats are in and from reading the info on here about animal hoarding, I guess she can't understand/grasp how bad they are.

Some cats have been messed up by hawks/owls and the one I saw was reopening its wounds from scratching. And there's a lot of wounds on its head, neck and shoulder areas. A few of them look like they're just wasting away on her chairs. Many have a lot of gunk over their eyes and can't see. A few kittens that should have fully opened eyes are also dealing with gunky eyes so they can barely see. One kitten has swollen and gunky eyes. She has eye drops for them but that's it and they don't fully help. A few cats/kittens are very skinny and I can feel every single bone. I don't think they're able to get proper nutrition from their mom. There are also a few different litters of kittens at different stages from different moms. She has a few that are barely a week or two old. One of those kittens had thrown up yellow stuff which I assume is bile? I don't think mom's been around to feed as they were cuddling with an "adoptive" mom who no longer breeds and has no milk. Although I have no idea about cats in that extent. I've never had to take care of kittens.

Her house smells very strongly of cat pee and they will poop and pee on the floor, counter tops, etc but she does clean it up. As much as you can after 30+ cats. She keeps the doors open so they can come and go as they please. Some feral cats hang out to get the food she keeps outside but they stay outside. Although when the females are in heat, the tomcats come in and fights happen.

Her friends know her condition but do nothing. I'm sure it's hard for them to know she's in that kind of state, but still.

She's not in my county (in US) and there's not a lot of assistance with this kind of stuff in her area. I have tried to ask about the cats in a round about way so she doesn't feel judged about them. I've gotten that she will not fix any of these cats as she believes in the circle of life to its fullest extent I guess, even with death being a common event for her cats. She doesn't see it as a big deal with a whole litter dies because the mom is sick and feeding them infected milk or something else along those lines.

What the fuck do I do? I love animals so much and it's so hard to see this kind of abuse. It's harder to know that she can't even see the abuse she's doing to these animals and the disservice she's also doing to herself by letting herself live in a filthy house. I am going to bring out some kitten milk the next time I go out and try to feed some of the kittens. I want to get a cone for that one cat with the injuries from the bird, but I doubt it'd keep it on or that she'd want that.

Help!!

Hi guys,

So I think I have a bit of a hoarding situation in the family, and I don't know what to do.

My mother-in-law, Julie, has about 30 "rescued" cats in her studio apt, and I know from the outset that sounds kinda crazy and that it's almost definitely a hoarding situation, BUT she doesn't tick all of the boxes on some hoarding advice / animal rescue sites, so I have no idea if they'll help.

I'm not only concerned for the welfare of the cats (they do have access to food and water but not really any affection, space, or proper medical care) but also for Julie's mental and physical health.

She's covered in scars/cuts from cat scratches and ringworm. Her apt is filthy and she stinks because of it.

No one accepts her food & she has to change out of her clothes if she visits. No one can go into her crowded apt.

She's in massive denial.

95% of the cats are street cats which have been injured or are of poor health. She also takes in pregnant cats from time to time (kittens do get rehomed). Prob is, she fails to rehome them or release them all once they're better. And because there are so many, 50% of the time they don't get the medication they may need once she let's them out of the cage in her apt.

Julie is so unbelievably kind though and her heart is in the right place, but this is totally out of control now.

Her kids have spoken with her about it multiple times but to no avail. She finally has a grandchild and another on the way - we thought this may be the push she needs to get her act together. Nope. She was almost evicted for failing to pay rent for 4 months. Somehow she made payment - nothing changed.

We have about 2 months until the baby is here and she's no longer a priority, how do we get our MIL back? How do we stop her relapsing? Can we call animal control to take the cats or will this cause a melt down? Some of the cats are old and sick and will almost definitely be put to sleep if taken by the city, I know this will kill her inside. I'm out of ideas. Pls help.

We're in NYC.

Follow-up to this post:

[META] Temporary Move to Discourage Spam

It's been five days, so I've returned us to normal settings. Let's see how it goes.

Thanks to all who reported the porn post, by the way! Keep reporting if you see more!