Cats , 60 of them.

[catmandu]

a Horrible happening in Hamilton! 60 Cats were found in a house! They wer diseasesd , starving and for the most part had to be put down . the thing is that people like this give other Multi Cat households a bad name! And I have 11 Cats , I am nervous even though my Cats are well cared for and have all thier shots!I just noone calls in the SPCA as I am over in The Cat Department by 9.

[jenluckenbach]

Yes, it is always sad to hear about the horrible conditions some animals must endure and equally sad that this type of happening DOES give multi-cat (dog) owners a very bad name. The well cared for, clean, healthy multiple pet household is never on the news. (except for the Pet Talk express, that is!)

[rg_girlca]

OMG that is horrible, horrible, horrible. There is just NO need for this to go on. What in heaven's name are people thinking when they do these kinds of horrific acts. OHHHHH this annoys me to no end when I read about these things.

Catmandu, in regards to you being over the cat limit by 9, if and this is a strong IF, the SPCA should come to your home, could you just say that you foster cats. Where I live we have a limit of only 2 animals per household, but I have 4. We have a Rufuge for Cats that foster out cats and upon speaking with the woman who runs it, she said that if at anytime anyone should report us, all we have to do is call her and she said she would tell them that I help foster cats for her. Is there any chance that you can do this if you know of anyone who runs a foster shelter?
Just a thought.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

That's dreadful! I remember we had a thread on this a while ago - it's some kind of mental illness, isn't it?

Catmandu, I was surprised to hear the 2-cat rule. Is that a "municipal" or local government thing, or is it your landlord. I once stayed in an apartment complex which had a 2-pet rule (little bit redundant when you consider the woman downstairs from me had TWO RHODESIAN RIDGEBACKS - I am sure 6 cats would have been more managable than those two dogs!

My lease here doesn't even say anything about pets / animals (it was the first thing I checked), but I guess that indicates how little interest there is in pet ownership here - most people dont really have many pets at all!

[IttyBittyKitty]

Originally posted by Ally Cat's Mommy
That's dreadful! I remember we had a thread on this a while ago - it's some kind of mental illness, isn't it?

Yeah, apparently "hoarding" is the symptom of someone who is mentally unbalanced. It is prevalent amongst lonely, older females who "love" animals but are unable to care for themselves, let alone sixty cats. Logistically, it would be difficult for someone of means and healthy mental capacity to manage let alone a person on their own.

60 cats!

It is dreadful how these things seem to turn out.

[catmandu]

I would take some in , but the SPCA thinks that I have enough on my hands! And I called in when 2 strays were beyond help , and too expensive for me to fix.So I am not on the foster list! Actually with 11 inside and 3 strays that I will adopt , From the Animal Welfare I do have enough! After all I am on a fixed income , very fixed!

[moosmom]

IBK,

It's not just lonely, older females that are hoarders. There was an elderly gentlement in CT who hoarded cats (over 48!!) and it cost the town over $18,000 to clean the building up and make it habitable. He was forbidden to own anymore pets and had to reimburse the town for the expense of the clean-up.

Hoarding is an illness. People THINK they're doing good by taking in strays but then they fail or can't afford to get them the medical attention, food and litter they require. It's sad.

Also, there was an elderly gentlemen in Michigan recently who had over 249 cats in his home. It was shown on Animal Cops. The house was FILLED with feral cats. They had no human contact, affection, were sick, emaciated and diseased. Unfortunately all of them had to be euthanized. The man was not charged with any kind of animal cruelty, but was forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation and never again own any pets.

*sigh*

[nodgeness]

I watched that on A.P. I was so angry when I saw all those poor cats who didn't stand a chance! If only people would get their cats/animals spayed & neutered!!!!