22 cats

Hallelujah....someone stepped up and will do something.  Kudo's to you for finding the right people to call.  It's great you don't have to go back in there.  Hope the rest of your day is great!

Mary - I feel a sense of relief plus some guilt thrown in too. It will be fine.

Aloha dear Annette...Oh my dear one....you are so brave!! You did do the right thing, but I can't help wondering what will happen when your friend returns. How much longer is she going to be away? Are you really good friends with her? I know that hoarding cats is a serious mental problem, and your friend will need help. I feel for you, friend. AND, I admire your strength!


Aloha nui loa,

Maui Karen

Karen,
She has been a neighbor for 43 years. Not the back and forth type of relationship... friendly but not close friends.

The mental health professionals will be involved. She has been diagnosed with dementia and her doctor will be in on this also. The planned return date is April 30th.

Thank you for crediting this action with strength. It doesn't feel like strength but more like desperation.

OMG Annnette.....What a saint you are.  I cannot fathom having that many cats.  OOOOOOH, the smell alone must be acrid.  Where I live there is a city ordinance on how many cats/dogs you can own in one household.  2 dogs/2 cats and that's it!  I love cats but developed an allergy a few years ago.  We had two that we loved very much but had to put one down as she got into antifreeze and the other one had gotten run over.  I can walk into a room now and sense there are cats.  I choke up, eyes itch .  We've had people here that have been cited for too many cats.  It usually is a Mental disorder on harboring unusual numbers of cats.    Kudos to you for trying to help out but as others have said:  Your health is at risk.
You are so kind and sweet.

Sandy

Sandy,
I am feeling unsaintly. The cats are her life but I fear they may be the death of her.

The odor burns the eyes and nose. How she can cook or eat in the filth is beyond me.

We live in the country and there are no ordinances that I know of. Farm country - that would be hard.

This situation has been on my mind all afternoon. I am so glad you are getting some help with this. It just couldn't be healthy for you, or your neighbor being in there. We have very strict limits here, not sure if it is 2 or 3 cats, but if someone called saying there  was a house with 22 cats the humane society would be there ( with TV stations) Pronto.

Jean,

This is a strange community. The focus is on "rights" ... very skewed because often "responsibility" is forgotten.  Sure my neighbor has the right to have pets. Since she has dementia, who has the responsibility to make sure the situation is safe for her and the animals? Looks like I jumped into the fire with this.

"Just because you CAN do a thing doesn't mean you SHOULD do a thing". 

Sure she has the right to have all those cats, but the question is should she?  The answer is decidedly NO!  Think of all the nasty illnesses she could get from that filth, and in her mental state she can't make the proper decisions for the sake of her own welfare.
If you took the cats out of the formula here, what would her living conditions be? If she has dementia, it's likely that her home would not be clean or healthy anyway and some social service agency might still need to intervene.

Personally, I think you've only accelerated the inevitable and helped her, the cats and most importantly, yourself. You might be wee, but you're a strong one!

Keep us posted.

Hugs to ya!

So right my dear. Better to have stepped in before they all died. The only food I saw in the house was cat food. Yes, I snooped.

Strong? - that's a hoot, I'm just plain pig headed and hate to take no for an answer.