Pet Talk

by Cathy Davis
    Have you ever watched the TV program Hoarders? Let’s have a show of hands, how many of you think these people live somewhere else and there’s nobody like that living on your street? Many of us would be surprised if we knew how many hoarders there are right here in beautiful Houlton, Maine. From what I can see, most of those who hoard “stuff” also hoard animals. The sad thing is that if you watch this show you get the feeling that none of these people understand that the way they live is unusual and unhealthy.
    I have been personally involved in two cases in the local area that involved animals. One of these cases involved a gentleman who has since passed, so I am going to tell some of his story without revealing his name, because I believe there is a lesson to be learned.
    He was a huge animal lover, very well known in his town and in the state, a politician for many years, and a gentleman of “means.” Not tremendously wealthy, but he certainly had enough money to live comfortably, make regular donations to the charities of his choice, and even hire people to come in and help him if he needed it. He regularly donated to several animal charities.
    Over the years his love of animals resulted in him having somewhere around 30 cats inside and outside of his home. Some were drop-offs, others were rescues, and others were born to his unspayed and unneutered pets.
    Like I said, he had enough money, he could have spayed and neutered his cats, but evidently he crossed over that line from cat lover to cat hoarder and could just not get enough. He supposedly loved his little kittens, yet he had no idea if one was dead under the sofa or if they were all healthy and living.
    When we were called in, we visited on several occasions to assess the situation and discovered a home where the litter boxes were so full that the cats started using the rest of the house as their bathroom. In the bathtub, on every floor, in the kitchen around open boxes of food, on top of furniture, everything was covered. I hope you are not eating lunch as you read this because I have to tell you that the smell was overpowering, and I know if someone had gone in with an air tester, the amount of ammonia in the air from the urine would have been 10 times the healthy limit. Bedding was urine soaked, carpeting, and the time of year we were called in was the hottest month of the summer.
    Somewhere, sometime, the good intentions of this intelligent and honorable man crossed the line. These animals were not healthy, many had heart conditions, skin conditions, they were malnourished and full of fleas, but all he could see was that he had saved these animals and thought he was taking care of them because they had food available at all times. When he realized we were going to start removing the cats, he cried, because he thought that going to a shelter where they would receive veterinary care, food, medication, treatment and love was worse than the conditions they were living in.
    I don’t even pretend to understand the mind of a hoarder.  I know they are not bad people, in most cases they are the most kind, sweet, giving people that you would ever want to meet. Many are in the medical profession. They are not bad and they are not stupid, but somewhere there is a disconnect, just like the light in my dining room, there are six bulbs and when one goes out, you hardly notice it, and with these folks, there is just one area where they can’t see that they are doing more harm than good when they keep more animals than they can care for.
    Many states have attempted to pass anti-hoarding legislation. The problem with this is that one person can have 50 cats and not be a hoarder, because they provide a clean healthy living environment, medical care when needed, clean litter boxes, everything you and I do with two or three cats, and then there are those who have 10 cats who are true hoarders. They love their animals, they believe they are doing the right thing by them, but somehow they have failed to give the kind of care the animals need. And it’s not just cats, don’t get me wrong. It can be ferrets, dogs, or “stuff.”
    You can’t pick a number, and that’s why legislation doesn’t work. You can’t tell someone they can only have five or 10 cats. Laws already exist that can remove animals from homes if they are not given the minimum of care, healthy food, clean water, veterinary care when needed. The problem is trying to enforce these laws. We have a small handful of state humane agents and a huge number of animal hoarders. The animals suffer, but so do the people who live in these conditions. You cannot breathe that air, touch anything in the homes without being exposed to toxins.
    If you know of a hoarder, the best thing you can do for them is find them help, and that could be by calling the local animal control officer or state humane agent. It’s not only in the best interest of the animals but also the humans who live with these conditions.
    Cathy Davis is a longtime volunteer for the Houlton Humane Society. She can be reached at houltonanimalshelter@gmail.com or 532-2345.