OT - animal hoarders

It would be exhausting to have that many animals.  It would be like a full time job!  Especially if you are keeping the house clean and taking good care of them.  If I had 15 cats, I'd spend an awful lot of time cleaning litter boxes, which is not my favorite activity (but I do it).  One reason I prefer cats to dogs is that they are less work but 15 of them would still be a LOT of work.

I know one person who has nine dogs!! Crazy.

I have two cats, and would love to have more, but I can't do it and don't want to show up on Animal Hoarders! 

I wish I could rescue all the cats/kittens that are up for adoption.

I'm with the other posts - you have to be able to feed, care, and vet anything you bring into your home as well as maintain cleanliness.  Care includes brushing, playing, trimming nails, and the animals mental health.  I have kitties and each has to have enough space, brushing, vetting, nail trims, feeding, playing, etc.  It is expensive and time consuming.  Wellness visits alone can run into the hundreds of dollars.  Illness visits as you say go into the thousands.  I had a kitty with cancer that we spent close to $8000 dollars on for care over a 2 year period.  Dental visits are usually in the $500 dollar range - EACH.  You have to be willing to take that on when you bring in an animal.  Hoarding really isn't a number of anything.  Someone could be overwhelmed with just one, two or three of something others can have 20 and be fine.  I get a bit annoyed when someone assumes that people are hoarders just looking at a number because of the cases put on television and that make the news.   The focus should be that the animals are not healthy or well taken care of.  They don't have the space they need, vet care, grooming, cleanliness etc are all in bad shape.  I have seen people take care of multiple animals in a neat healthy environment.  Friends of the family have 10 dogs.  They are in great shape.   I guess sheer numbers would eventually catch up - if there was no one else (or group) to help and for space constraints.

The episode I am watching now is about this guy that thinks he is "on a mission from God to save pit bulls."  He takes in strays, which he cannot afford to care for.  He lives with his parents, he can't even support himself.  But he has 19 large dogs.  And steals from his parents to buy food and things for the dogs.  Makes me wonder why the parents let him live there.

I always want to say "oh my god, how could anyone ever lead a life like that" but then again, I feel like someone could look at me and be like "oh my god, how did that woman let herself get to 355 pounds!?"  Of course, you need food to live and you don't need 158 chickens... but I do understand when it's a brain problem.

I've had issues with hoarding my whole life. If i want something, i want them all.

I do recognize this within me, and I work to combat it.

I've seen cat hoarders on TV and what I've seen are two types. In one instance, you can tell that they took on a cat, or cats, who had kittens, who had kittens, and suddenly have a bit of a hell-hole run by hundreds of cats that are all sick, half wild, and the owners are shell-shocked and in denial over their homes and lives being taken over.

Another type of hoarder is the kind who has more cats than is reasonable, but they've gotten them fixed, get them medical attention when they need it, but have a difficulty saying no to the addition of more furry friends.

I'm not quite sure if we count as cat hoarders. We've gotten the majority of the female alley cats fixed in the area, adn as many of the tomcats fixed. The kitty-cat population explosion in the alley was nipped in the bud. Of course then a goodly number of the fixed cats decided they were ours. With a main thoroughfare out front, people sometimes abandon their kitties near our house.

 Chickens are not very cuddly like kitty cats!