My foster, Romeo almost ended up in this place

[Pugzley]

Warning: Filthy conditions in this video

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=8003560

A month or so ago, my rescue group called and asked me to get a little Flamepoint Himalayan out of my shelter, this other group were on Facebook and discussing getting him out of the shelter. My mentor smelled (pardon the pun) a rat when she saw how many cats they already had in their care on Petfinder and Adoptapet. So, I made sure I was at the shelter before it even opened to get him out. Even so, someone came and also called trying to get him that morning while I was there. Luckily, I beat them to the punch. If I hadn't gotten there when I did, here's where he would have ended up. Romeo is SO cute, he looks like a little cartoon character, I will post pics of him later when my floppy disks get here for my outdated camera. He's really cute and adorable.

When I got him, he was breaking with a severe URI, I had to syringe feed him for many days and keep him medicated with antibiotics, he also has severe gum problems. I don't think he could have survived in that house had they taken him there.

I posted in another area as to how these people get found out, it's usually the stench in the neighborhood that causes calls to be made to animal control. They can be in a place like that for a very long time before the smell gets that overwhelming, so the cats really suffer a lot before they are rescued. ugh!

I can understand someone taking on too many, I diligently police myself and KNOW MY LIMITATIONS. But, why, oh WHY do they stop cleaning the darned house and let the litter boxes get like this. Who could stand that stench? Do they wear gas masks while watching American Idol or what? Blech! I cannot stand the smell of cat pee or poo! It's the worst thing in the world to me.

[nanamouse]

I can imagine, or maybe I can't. My house was (to me) intolerable with five toms spraying. That prompted two of my more aggressive girls to mark, it was awful with just seven cats marking. I was cleaning fourteen litterboxes twice daily, and scurrying around spraying every thing with an odor remover and it still stank. We've since gotten the boys fixed and are replacing carpet room by room with vynil. The first thing when I come home I sniff the air to make sure there have been no accidents, and hurry to clean any I find.
One hundred cats is just not possible for anyone. All my time and most of my income go to keeping eighteen happy and healthy, It strains my abilitys just to find time to give each one individual cuddle time.

[msjdoolittle]

OMG!! I'm sooo glad you saved Romeo from going to these people. After seeing those poor cats living in all that...erm... mess, I know Romeo wouldn't have gotten the love and care you've given him. No doubt his URI would have gone untreated. Bless you for getting to the shelter before they did!

[AutumnRose]

That's horrible. I always feel really bad for animals who are in a hoarding situation, but I actually feel a little bad for the hoarders too. Especially the elderly ones. When I see them I see people who are overwhelmed, trapped, and afraid to lose their animals to people that they don't know will take care of them well. Of course they aren't taking good care of the animals themselves. It's really just a sad situation overall.

I'm very glad your foster isn't going there.

[e1beth1]

I am so sensitive the the smell of urine and feces that I'll search for hours to find a spot if I think there is one. I just cannot even imagine living like that. Thank goodness little Romeo was able to make his way to you.

[Pugzley]

I don't think he would have survived in there being as sick as he was.

It is terribly sad when the hoarders are elderly. They truly do love the animals, they just get overwhelmed with the numbers, usually due to not being able to afford to get them fixed. Animal hoarding has been designated as a mental condition, as well.

Nanamouse, I've got to hand it to you, you work miracles with all these kitties you take care of and you have saved so many. I know lots of them have been in really bad shape when you got them, too.

Beth, tell me about it! Everytime I get a newbie over here, I'm sniffing all over, you never know if you're going to get a cat that won't use the box or what when you get them straight from the shelter. I always worry I'm going to get a chronic pooer or peeer when I get a new one.

Lately, I've been seeing more and more non-profit organizations going down over high numbers and filthy conditions. Recently there were a whole bunch of cats kept inside a storage unit, there was a video, the woman was completely aware that what she was doing was wrong, left cats to have seizures untreated, they filmed her unaware and she really told on herself, she was very cruel the way she talked about the poor cats. I hope she goes to jail for what she did to them.

There's just no end to it, is there?

[LadyPirate]

I'm late to this post, but life has been busy lately.

This is one of those times that I think those people would have been nasty whether they have 100 cats or not. Look at the house. Nothing is picked up, clothes and everything else thrown everywhere. There's no excuse for that.

With that said, nobody can take care of that many cats in a small house like that. That's way too much. Those poor cats suffered needlessly as did the family who was living there. I can only imagine how bad the people themselves smelled.

I have one cat of my own and am keeping my daughters cat for a while. Their boxes are cleaned twice a day, more if necessary. They have their own room for sleeping and I keep a window open in there. When it's warm, they have a nice, screened in porch to play on. Their bowls are washed when used and their bedding is washed twice a week at least. I never want anybody to walk in my house and say that they smell a cat or that they smell my dogs.

I'm so glad your little foster didn't end up there!

[Pugzley]

I know what you mean Lady Pirate, I have 6 cats of my own and people come here and say, wow, I can't tell you even have animals. I also have 2 dogs that stay inside. The vaccuum cleaner and the scoopers get a workout over here, too. I want to screen in my balcony, that way kitties can play out there when I am not outside, they love to go out, but can only go when I am there to supervise them.

It sounds like you have a great place for the babies. :)

[Kittybits]

Wow... That's terrible... I didn't see this thread before either. My mom, though, was starting to have hoarder tendencies. I had to really come down on her to prevent that. Luckily, she did what she could to make sure everyone was fed and clean. However, I had to instruct her on making sure the kitties had a healthy diet (or as healthy as it could be on her income) and that they had to make it to the vets and get spayed/neutered. I've tried forking over a lot of my own money (when I was still a poor college student) just to help her out and minimize the amount of cats she got. She loved those cats dearly, but she had fears that if she didn't take care of them, they would be killed or unloved. She has gotten better over the years, but unfortunately, now I can't manage her because she lives in Portugal. She still brought ALL of her cats over with her, but they had to have their health checked out first. I can only hope she doesn't allow them to get sick. It's very frustrating.