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Animal Hoarding

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  That Alpaca Guy 
#1 ·
I'm dealing right now with what started as a rat and mouse rescue in the home of what we now realize is an animal hoarder. I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the legal recourse we can take here in California to see that he gets the help and supervision he needs, and what we can do for the animals that are there now. Any input anyone can offer on dealing with situations like this would be much appreciated.
 
#3 ·
There's a really excellent site about it here:

http://www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/index.html

Basically, an animal hoarder is someone who compulsively collects more animals than they can care for, to the point where the animals suffer and even die, and is unable to recognize the problem. This condition was only recognized as a mental illness separate from OCD or deliberate animal abuse in 1997, so there is very little specific help for animals hoarders and the recidivism rate is nearly 100%.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by kpickell

a rat and mouse hoarder?! lol. heh, sorry I have no advice, just found that funny. maybe s/he could team up with a cat hoarder.
Actually, he has four cats. While we were there giving the animals some food and water, and cleaning the dead ones out of the cages, the cats were catching mice which had gotten loose.
 
#8 ·
Actually it's pretty gross and I'm sure many animals live crappy lives. I'd never heard of this though.

I did see a show on tv showing people who hoarded other things. They seemed to be unable to throw out wrappers or packaging of any kind so their houses weres absolute disasters of packaging, fast food wrappers, plastic wrap ... you name it , it was there. It is pretty bizaare to see. One of these was a female professor at a Californian university.
 
#10 ·
That pic dk posted looks similar to this house I helped to clean and paint last year as part of a service outreach project in my community. I don't know if that woman had ever washed anything or cleaned up her cats' puke from the floor.

It's really gross, and you do wonder how people can live like that. However, I can honestly say that God equipped me to love her.

I think it's important to not act/talk condescendingly on people who have these kinds of problems. Caring about them is more beneficial.
 
#12 ·
Rushabh,

Obviously not everyone in conditions right for the bubonic plague end up dying from it. If it did kill everyone in unsanitary places, then it would have taken out a whole lot more of our ancestors than it did.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally posted by Rushabh

How come they haven't died of bubonic plague yet (the humans, I mean)?
Sigh. This misperception has plagued (ha ha) rat lovers for decades. It is true that rats can carry the plague. So can squirrels, chipmunks, dogs, cats, and humans. In fact, in 1992, squirrels in a campsite outside San Francisco were found to be carrying the plague.

The danger from plague is not due to the animals who are infected, but from the fleas which they carry. When these fleas drink the blood of their hosts, the plague bacteria lodges in their stomachs. It can then be transmitted to the next animal the flea bites. Wild rats are associated with the plague because their habitat extends from rural to urban areas; thus, when wild animals such as squirrels die, the plague-infected fleas will hop to a new host which may be a rat. When rats enter an urban area, the fleas can then hop to pets or people.

Thus, domestic rats aren't a plague risk any more than dogs or cats. In fact, they may be less of a risk, since they don't go outside to mingle with wild animals, while dogs and cats often do. If your rats are carrying fleas, you aren't taking proper care of them.

Sorry to go on about this, but as a rat person, I get this a lot. It's usually because people don't understand that domesticated, so-called 'fancy' rats are about as much like wild rats as poodles are like wolves.
 
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