Think that you know an animal hoarder? Perhaps it is a friend or family member. It could even be the person who lives in that disheveled house you pass on your way home from work. You don’t have to sit in silence and watch all of those animals suffer neglect.
Did you miss the first part of this series? You can see it by clicking the following link – Identifying An Animal Hoarder: Animal Hoarding Part 1.
Title Photo Credit: Ion Chibzii via Flickr
Why Should I do Anything?
Photo Credit: Anne Worner via Flickr
If you don’t have a personal relationship with the animal hoarder it may seem awkward to intervene. You may feel like it is none of your business and you should stay out of it. Here are a few compelling reasons for you to take action:
- Taking action could save the lives of the animals.
Animals living in these conditions are starving, sick, injured, and traumatized. Just think of the 250,000 animals who are victims of animal hoarding every year. Imagine the hero you could be to them! - Taking action could save the lives of the animal hoarders themselves.
The humans living with these animals often live in the same filth and squalor as the animals do. How can they possibly be physically and mentally healthy? If this person is a friend or family member, do you really want them living this way? - Animal hoarders rarely seek help on their own.
The animal hoarding situation is only going to get worse the longer it goes on. This situation will not go away if you ignore it.
You can make a difference for the animals, the animal hoarders, and for your community. Just follow these steps.
Step 1: Observe and Record Animal Hoarding Behaviors
Photo Credit: Chris Davies via Flickr
First things first, you want to be sure that the person you believe to be an animal hoarder really is an animal hoarder. Not everyone who has a lot of pets is an animal hoarder. If the person has a lot of pets but they are well cared for, then the person is not an animal hoarder.
Take a good look at the animals and their surroundings. If the animal hoarder will allow you, go into their house and their yard to see the conditions. Is the house reasonably clean or are they living in squalor? Do the animals look well fed, groomed, well-socialized and otherwise healthy? Do the animals look sick, emaciated, or unusually scared? Are the animals always confined to cages? Is adequate food and water provided?
Take note of everything that doesn’t seem right to you. This information will make it clear to you whether or not the person is able to care for the number of pets they have or not. Should you need to call the authorities on the animal hoarder, they will want to know what you’ve observed.
Step 2: Talk to the Animal Hoarder
Without talking to the animal hoarder, it is hard to say just how aware they are of their problem. Most animal hoarders believe that they are helping the animals in their care despite all of the evidence to the contrary. Don’t try to help this animal hoarder on your own. Get friends, family, and community members of the animal hoarder as well as mental health professionals, animal rescue organizations, etc to assist you.
Photo Credit: douglas haase via Flickr
The 2 main goals of talking to the animal hoarder are:
- To make them aware of their situation
- To get them to agree to get help
While the study of animal hoarding as a mental illness is still very new, there are some treatment options. You can find a therapist in your area that specializes in helping hoarders by visiting the websites of mental health organizations such as Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) or International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). If and when a plan for treatment is made with the animal hoarder, be sure to follow up and see that they have complied with the plan.
You (or someone who knows the animal hoarder better than you do) need to calmly talk to them about their situation. It is likely that they will be very defensive. Don’t try to argue with them. Remember that these are real people with real feelings. They may be very good people deep down inside who are suffering from a serious mental illness.
Try not speak negatively about the animal hoarder. Instead, talk about how much easier life would be for them if they had fewer animals. Another approach would be to talk about how much better the lives of their animals would be if they could have access to proper nutrition, veterinary care, etc.
Step 3: Rescue the Animals
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If the animal hoarder has agreed to allow the animals to be removed, solicit the help of an animal rescue organization to help you. The more animals there are, the more help you will need. Make sure that the animal hoarder also receives treatment for their illness. Without ongoing treatment, almost 100% of animal hoarders begin hoarding again.
You may not be lucky enough to have the animal hoarder agree to have the animals removed. Animal hoarders can be very stubborn about their hoarding. In this case, you will have to call authorities to have the animals removed.
If you call your local police, humane society, or animal control shelter they can take firm action to remove the animals and force the animal hoarder to get the help that they need. Your local animal rescue groups may have some good resources for you as well. If you would like legal advice on an animal hoarder you could contact the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF).
What Will Happen In Court
Photo Credit: Roberto Bonvallet via Flickr
Animal hoarding cases are very difficult to prosecute because most states don’t have legal definitions for animal hoarding. In most states, animal hoarding is vaguely covered under animal cruelty laws. It can be difficult to make the charges stick.
The Humane Society of the US pushes for the following sentence requirements for those convicted of animal hoarding:
- Mandatory psychological testing.
- Limits on the number of animals the person can own (no more than 2).
- Lengthy probation periods so that the courts can make sure that the person continues treatment.
- Random home visits from the probation officer during the probationary period to see that the person has not begun re-hoarding.
- If the case is severe enough, the HSUS will even pursue jail time.
Step 4: Be a Part of the Lasting Solution
Photo Credit: in transition via Flickr
Removing the animals and seeking treatment is only the beginning of the journey for the animal hoarder. The event of having the animals taken away will no doubt be very traumatic for them. It will be very hard for them to change their ways. They will need all of the support that they can get.
Stopping in to see how the animal hoarder is doing every now and again can help. If you have a close enough relationship with them, help them to get to their therapy and doctor’s appointments. Help them find new things to do with all of the time they aren’t spending chasing after animals anymore. Let them know that you care about them.
Have you ever helped an animal hoarder to heal?
Sources & Digging Deeper
- Animal Hoarding – ASPCA
- Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium – Tufts University
- Confessions: Animal Hoarding – Animal Planet
- Animal Hoarding – Animal Legal Defense Fund
- What is animal hoarding? Is it like hoarding lots of objects? Can it be cured? – Anxiety and Depression Association of America
- Hoarding – Humane Society of the United States
Hi! My name is Robin. I'm a creative kitty mommy that that loves laughter and education. My cats, Manna and Dexter, inspire all I do on Playful Kitty. 
Hoarding as an illness has flown under the radar for so long – I’m glad to see it is finally being address, and solutions are being looked at. Thanks for this.
If a hoarder doesn’t want to be helped, there’s really not much that can be done. We’re dealing with a situation right now at our shelter where cats were rescued from the hoarder last summer but she never got the help she needed and is doing it all over again.
Wow! We didn’t realize this existed until a few years ago when we saw some shows on TV. I guess it would be difficult to know if someone is hoarding animals or things in general, unless you were able to see inside. Some people keep things so well hidden.
It’s such a difficult situation : if the hoarder doesn’t want help, it’s hard to do something for him or her. Purrs
Animal hoarding is a real problem. It is important that we are all pro-active about change!
You have written a great series! I think it’s important that you pointed out that not all people who have a lot of animals are hoarders. But instead, you’ve clearly outlined what to look for. Great set of articles!
We lived next to an animal hoarder for years. Every time we made any progress she went out and got more. It was a horrible and very sad situation. Both her and her husband were hoarders and animal hoarders. We followed most all of your steps and I do wish I had seen this article back when I was dealing with this. We have since moved and I often think about that situation and hope they have cleaned up their act for the sake of the pets. We called animal control and the shelters many times but without her giving permission for them to enter her home – which she refused to give – they said they could not enter.
Oh man, this seems like it would be super touchy depending on the individual! Great article though, hopefully it can help people get through to loved ones!
So so sad. Thank you for shedding light.
I love these tips, especially the last one about following up and checking in with the animal hoarder. It’s true that most hoarders really start out trying to help and often have their hearts in the right place. Something just got out of hand at some point. They need to be treated with respect and kindness, just as the animals in their homes do.
Animal hoarding is so sad for both human and animal. It is so important to learn the signs and step in to help if possible. Great post and highly informative.
Hoarding in general is a very difficult illness to deal with, and when animals are added to the equation it’s very sad. I have a feeling someone I know is a hoarder, and it’s so hard to approach her. These are good tips.
Not an easy one to tackle. Curious, does talking to them ever work? It seems to me animal hoarding is like any other addiction.
I haven’t personally known an animal hoarder however I have seen that show Hoarders. In one episode a woman hoarded so many animals in her hoarding home there were deceased animals under couches and she never knew. One was so decomposed only the bones remained! So this is very serious and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Their lives are at stake. So sad.
I have never known an animal hoarder but this article is so important for everyone to read as I am sure in all communities there is one or two and addressing it is so important for the health of the hoarder and for the animals. Thank you for this post
Although I haven’t known any animal hoarders, I do believe that most of them start out with the best of intentions and then become overwhelmed. I love this post because you give advice which will help the animals as well as the hoarders. I do know that sometimes people try to give up their animals, and can’t because the fees at the shelter are too high. I knew a woman who couldn’t afford to feed her 4 pets (she wasn’t a hoarder.) When she called animal control, they were going to charge her over $200 to drop them off. Her response was if I had $200, I could afford their food for a long time. The worst part of all, is it was a kill shelter so she could have ended up paying a lot of money and her animals would have been immediately euthanized as “owner surrenders.” Fortunately, she was able to get help from a local food pantry until she found a new job.
I watched in utter sickness animal hoarding on the TV show Hoarders. I don’t think a neighbor or friend can do much, its a serious illness that should only be approached by a professional. These hoarders don’t understand that they aren’t taking care of the animals and it’s so sad. I think I only watch the show to learn more even though it was heartbreaking to see.
PeeS: I signed up for your newsletter awhile ago but I’ve never received even one. Is there a way to just sign up for individual blog posts?
Yes there is! It is in my right hand sidebar. Sorry, it had been a little while since I’ve gotten a newsletter out. I’m working on a great one that will come out this week.
I have not personally helped with a hoarder but I have helped a small shelter that received a large number of cats and dogs from a hoarder 2 years ago. Hoarding can definitely be due to mental illness and very hard to deal with, especially in an isolated person (this case was rural and treatment would have been difficult).
I know people I might consider “on the border” of hoarding, but the cats are in good health and their homes are ok too. I haven’t personally known a hoarder, but we have a few cases each year in the KC area where the shelters are slammed with pets from a newly discovered hoarding situation. I had no idea there were so many pets impacted by hoarding each year!
Occasionally the humane society will get a ton of animals come in from hoarder houses. I think usually if they agree to surrender the animals, they’re not prosecuted.
Hoarding of all varieties is a series thing. I think so many people brush it off as some sort of silly, crazy thing, but it is definitely an illness. Hoarding of items is one thing, but with animal hoarding, there are actually victims – the animals. These are such sad situations. Thanks for raising awareness!
While being very well meaning, your article fails to state that in many cases, the animals will end up being “euthanized”, i.e., having their lives taken from them, due to their being ill, ill-kempt, and/or just unable to find loving permanent homes. The “hoarder”, far from being uncaring, usually if not always begins as a very caring person who becomes upset at seeing what anyone should be upset by: animals for whom no one is caring. I won’t debate the mental health issues, as I’m not a professional; but what I do debate is demonizing those who care but who got in over their heads and became unable to give the proper care. Also, calling humane societies and/or police to intervene so often seems the answer, but in fact only means the animals lose their lives. There has to be a better answer. I do not have this answer, but I am asking the question and begging others to share their thoughts on the subject. Innocent lives are at stake.