Animal hoarding is a mental illness where individuals keep an excessive number of animals but cannot provide for their needs. It negatively affects the welfare of animals and the public. The root cause is unclear, but therapy and monitoring can help.
Animal hoarding is a mental illness in which an individual keeps an unusually large number of animals in his or her possession, but is unable to provide for all of their needs. For example, a person may have dozens of cats in their home, but the cats don’t have access to adequate food, clean water, or a sanitary living environment. Animal hoarding is typically the result of a mental illness, but affects more than the individual themselves, as it also negatively affects the welfare of animals and the general public. In most cases, the hoarder truly believes that they are helping the animals and as a result, they are unwilling or unable to see that the animals are in poor health due to their living conditions.
In many cases, pet hoarders collect large numbers of pets, such as dogs or cats. In some cases, they may pick up other animals, such as rabbits, birds, or ferrets, and they might even pick up large or farm animals, such as horses, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, or chickens. Occasionally, a hoarder will keep exotic or wild animals. Regardless, there are usually too many animals that are kept in a small space and not given the proper care. In all cases of animal hoarding, the hoarder believes that the animals are better off living in poor conditions than living elsewhere.
Research is currently unclear as to exactly why a person engages in animal hoarding. Some research indicates that it may be the result of a personality disorder mixed with an attachment disorder. Other research links it to other mental illnesses, such as depression or paranoia. Sometimes, a person can start hoarding after some kind of emotional trauma, such as the death of a pet or even a loved one.
There are several telltale signs that a person is engaged in animal hoarding. For starters, there are usually too many animals for one person to keep. Generally, there will be dirty conditions, such as rodents, fleas, urine, and feces throughout the house as well. The person will believe they are helping, but will consistently use poor judgment and be unable to analyze the situation, causing harm to themselves, animals, and even surrounding neighbors. For example, the person might develop a rash from flea bites or a cough due to poor air quality resulting from an abundance of urine and feces in the home.
It is often difficult to deal with someone who is into animal hoarding. Since the root causes of the condition are still being discovered, therapy is a common starting point. If mental illness is treated, hoarding can end. Often, the person should simply be monitored and should not keep pets that she cannot keep. This intervention can be carried out by family, friends or a protective services agency.
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