Animal Control Finds 81 Cats In Home

[matcom]

<snip>

Two women who apparently thought they could find homes for stray cats ended up living with 81 felines in a San Carlos home reeking of urine and feces, animal control officers discovered Friday.

The cats were remarkably well-fed, and most appeared to be in good health, said Scott Delucchi of the Peninsula Humane Society. But the conditions inside the home were so bad that the health department ruled it unfit for habitation, and the landlord says it will cost thousands of dollars to repair the damage.

"In all of our 25 years of renting -- we've had up to 250 units or thereabouts -- we have never experienced anything like this,'' said the landlord, who asked to be identified only as Joe, as he stood outside the home on the 1200 block of Alameda de las Pulgas.

He said the two tenants, whom he declined to name, were an ex-nun and a nurse in their 60s and 70s. They began renting the home in May.

"They appeared so well-qualified (as tenants) and totally pleasant -- and they totally snookered us,'' he said.

It is not known whether either woman will face criminal charges. Debi Denardi, one of four humane society officers who donned masks and ventured inside the home to rescue the cats, said the district attorney would eventually make that decision.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/06/BAGHR9NBI21.DTL

[underpants]

1. Man that sure is a lot of.........

cats

STOP IT! I know what you were thinking

[ezgoingrl]

2. I know this is a question that many have asked.

But what is the deal with people collecting huge numbers of cats? What is it about cats that draws collectors to them? I've never heard of a news story, "81 Guinea Pigs Removed From Home".

[China_cat]

3. It's a form of ocd

called hoarding. Cats usually are the focus because so many of them are left to shift for themselves and breed themselves into oblivion. It's easy to see them a target for 'help'.

It has been known to occur with dogs, though, too. You're right about never seeing it about guinea pigs, but then how many stray guinea pigs do you ever see?

[murielm99]

4. There is an illness called animal hoarding.

Google it.

It is not restricted to cats.

I decided to learn something about it when a couple in my area got in trouble for animal hoarding. They did have tons of cats, but they also had other animals, including a large pig in their basement.

[amazona]

6. i know some people into this

I think it's a disease but I also think people with the disease get together and reinforce each other's disease.

For example, I know one family, somewhat isolated from other people into animals, that after some struggle with the issue has managed to limit their cat collecting. They are now down to 8 cats, all aging, so they expect attrition to take care of the problem.

However, I know some other women, who are in a community of women involved in spay/neuter, animal shelters, etc. even capture of feral cats, who continue to collect more and more into the dozens. One woman has bought a second home. The first home, filled with cats, would be condemned if the authorities got inside. Yes, the cats are well cared for, but you cannot have dozens and dozens of cats, even spayed ones, free-ranging in a small house without chaos. Now I am told that her second home (originally intended to be cat-free) is just about to become uninhabitable because of too many cats. Meanwhile she has had significant business setbacks and is going to end up with no place to live. Because of cats.

And still she goes out and traps more ferals to "rescue!"

Another friend has many dozens of animals, including two dozen cats, because every time someone in the area "rescues" an animal, if they can't get it a home, instead of putting it down, they call her. She also has many dogs, including a vicious dog that should have been put down years before, but I suppose it won't be until someone (probably her) is severely hurt. She just can't say "no" to a baby animal or a sick animal, and it actually causes her original pets to be put at risk, because the sick ones bring disease and the vicious one has many times injured others.

I do not know how to tell her that her soft heart is actually creating more misery. The animals that could have had a good life suffer because of the animals that can't and just cause unending problems.

There is a limit to how much I can discuss this issue with my friends, despite my grave concern. They know my opinion -- which is that there is a huge over-population of feral cats causing great harm in our area and that these animals need to be put down -- but as they do not agree, I cannot argue with them. All I can do is 1) support their spay/neuter efforts, and 2) refuse to take in any feral animals on my own property, no, not even one! Because that's how it begins. If you take one, you begin to think you can't say no to any, because otherwise you are playing God and picking and choosing who is to live and who is to die.

I just don't know how to help these women. I just pray that they don't get in trouble with the law. One of them is well connected politically so I think she will be safe from surprise inspections. Some of the others, I expect to read about them in the paper one slow news day. :-(

[sniffa]

5. catwoman?

where are you!?