Many people collect things: antiques, stamps or coins. Not unusual. Animal hoarders, sometimes known as “collectors,” are people who hoard animals beyond their space, time, and financial ability to cope. Animal hoarding goes beyond simply having more than the typical number of animals. The job definition of a hoarder is someone who:

• Accumulate a large number of animals.
• It does not provide minimum standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care.
• It does not act on the deterioration of the condition of the animals (including disease, starvation and even death) or the environment (severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions).
• Does not act or recognize the negative.

We’ve all seen news stories showing dozens of sickly cats being taken out of a “junk house.” We wonder how it started and how things got to this point. Dr. Gary Patronek of Tufts University has begun a study with professors from other universities to better understand how and why people go from animal lovers to animal abusers. Nearly 2,000 cases are reported each year nationwide. From numerous case studies, Dr. Patronek found some very interesting statistics:

• The majority (76%) of the hoarders were women and 54% were under the age of 60.
• 70% were single.
• The animals most frequently involved were cats (65%), dogs (60%) and birds (11%).
• There was a median of 39 animals per case, but many exceeded 100 animals.
• In 80% of the cases there were animals dead or in poor condition, and in 58% of these, the hoarder would not recognize that there was a problem.
• 60% of the hoarders studied were repeat offenders.

A common and peculiar characteristic of people who hoard animals is a persistent and powerful belief that they are properly caring for their animals, despite clear evidence to the contrary. This is true even in cases where the house is so dirty and neglected that it must be demolished. It has been reasonably argued that, in some cases, hoarders of inanimate objects have suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a recognized psychological disorder. Recent studies link animal hoarding to OCD. Two main features of OCD: People with this syndrome experience an overwhelming sense of responsibility for imagined harm to animals, and engage in unrealistic steps to fulfill this responsibility.

Often the sight of an animal’s mother in need of a home elicits such a powerful emotional attachment that the animal should being acquired Once acquired, the animal receives very little attention to its most basic needs, because attention has already been focused on the next ‘rescue’ effort. There is a reluctance to give up any animal, even when responsible care homes are available.

Our understanding of this problem is still very limited. Although animal care specialists recognize that these people need psychiatric help, there is almost no psychiatric literature on this topic. The researchers are trying to convince public officials that mental health treatment of offenders would be more helpful than criminal prosecution, since punishment has not been shown to prevent recurrence.

Not all people who live with multiple animals are hoarders. Many people are capable of caring for multiple animals, and many people do legitimate rescue work outside of their homes. We simply need to be aware of this problem and be careful not to allow people to acquire animals for the wrong reasons or in the wrong situations. Remember that when it comes to animals, “love is NOT all you need.”

Special thanks and appreciation to Gary Patronek, MD, VMD, Ph.D., Director of the Tufts University Animal Center, for his permission to share the results of his studies.