Us Animal Hoarder Caught

[Souff]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8185516/u...dden-in-storage

A US animal welfare group has rescued 250 cats that were being hidden in a storage unit by a 62-year-old woman.

Tanya Regan kept the cats in crates stacked on top of each other and fenced off areas in a 180sqm private storage unit on North Altadena Drive, Pasadena, ABC News reports.

Neighbours said they saw Regan visiting the private storage facility after midnight each night to feed the animals.

Authorities also discovered 36 dead cats stored in a freezer.

"They were found in crates, they were found in containers, there were cats found in a chain-linked area and there were free-roaming cats as well," said Ricky Whitman, from the Pasadena Humane Society.

"They were absolutely everywhere ... I really have no idea she got all these cats."

Police also seized nine cats and two dogs from Regan's home.

Authorities said they were tipped off about the cat stash by people who knew Regan.

They said it was one of the worst cases of animal hoarding in Southland history.

"The cats had clearly been fed and watered very recently but their litter boxes had not been changed in a very, very long time, and it was a very dangerous situation health-wise," said Ms Whitman.

More than 20 Humane Society workers donned masks to rescue the cats on Thursday, which smelt so bad a neighbour built a wall to try and block out the stench.

"It was terrible" Rafael Martinez said.

"Sometimes I wanted to vomit."

But a neighbor who lived next to Regan said they never saw a cat while she lived there.

"When she moved here she told us she had only 10 cats, but she came late at night so no one would know," said Wilfred Duran.

Authorities have released Regan but Ms Whitman said the welfare organization planned to pursue her for animal cruelty and neglect.

The Humane Society is caring for the animals.

"This is the most cats we've ever impounded — I've been here 13 years and never seen anything like this" said Human Society CEO Steve McNall.

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[KOE]

Poor pussies I always wonder how people become hoarders

[twodoggies2001]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

[LizT]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

Very true and totally sad that this person chose animals and not some inanimate objects.

[Esky the husky]

Poor kitties.

I'm hoping there are loving homes out there for them

[Little Gifts]

That's a lot of cats to have gotten hold of and I wondered whether some would've even been people's beloved missing pets? Imagine your cat goes missing and that's where it ends up? That would crush me. I wonder what kind of research has been or is being done into animal hoarding? It does seem to be more of a female issue but many of these people have family who also live in the house, including smaller children, so I doubt it is about being lonely or needing something to care for. Apart from the dangers to the poor animals I think it is an interesting mental health issue and there must be a way of helping these people lead normal animal free lives again.

[casowner]

I once saw a tv program and it was a man that was hoarding cats and when asked why he did it he simply said "they need me". It is a sad situation all round

[sandgrubber]

Pitied, ok, but lets hope that most of them get stopped before they get to their first dozen animals.

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

[Little Gifts]

I was reading up about this after reading this story and there are organisations researching this issue. It has links to OCD and the people think the animals need them and they have no idea that they are actually harming these animals. They are generally living in as much squallor as the animals themselves. Cats are hoarded a lot because they can be hidden behind closed doors. Recidivism rates are very high with hoarders which means that they need to be closely monitored after being caught. Most of the animals removed from hoarders have to be pts. Generally only young animals can be brought to health and a social level needed for rehoming. Oh and it is not uncommon for people to start out as rescuers, working closely with pounds and shelters and turn into hoarders. More common with single women but not restricted to this demographic.

[poodlefan]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

Sorry, but I'll save my sympathy for the cats. My guess is most of them won't see Christmas.

[twodoggies2001]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

Sorry, but I'll save my sympathy for the cats. My guess is most of them won't see Christmas.

Me too, but people like this hoarder have some sort of a mental illness and need help as much as the poor unfortunate animals they are trying to 'save'. If they don't get this help, they'll just keep on doing it all over again.

[poodlefan]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

Sorry, but I'll save my sympathy for the cats. My guess is most of them won't see Christmas.

Me too, but people like this hoarder have some sort of a mental illness and need help as much as the poor unfortunate animals they are trying to 'save'. If they don't get this help, they'll just keep on doing it all over again.

Mental illness may explain the behaviour but it doesn't excuse it.

She knew the conditions those cats were in. Mental illness isn't a "get out of jail free" card as far as I'm concerned. She's not insane.

She failed to provide decent living conditions for the cats in her care. If she'd thought all was fine and dandy, she'd not be sneaking around in the middle of the night or keeping them in a storage unit. :

It's damn difficult to hoard cats again if you're in prison or a secure mental facility.

Edited December 20, 2010 by poodlefan

[twodoggies2001]

The woman and in fact most hoarders need to be pitied because they have a 'sickness' and can't help themselves. They truely believe they are doing the right thing by the animals.

Sorry, but I'll save my sympathy for the cats. My guess is most of them won't see Christmas.

Me too, but people like this hoarder have some sort of a mental illness and need help as much as the poor unfortunate animals they are trying to 'save'. If they don't get this help, they'll just keep on doing it all over again.

Mental illness may explain the behaviour but it doesn't excuse it.

She knew the conditions those cats were in. Mental illness isn't a "get out of jail free" card as far as I'm concerned. She's not insane.

She failed to provide decent living conditions for the cats in her care. If she'd thought all was fine and dandy, she'd not be sneaking around in the middle of the night or keeping them in a storage unit. :

It's damn difficult to hoard cats again if you're in prison or a secure mental facility.

No it's no excuse just because it's a mental illness, but she obviously doesn't realise the cats were in a bad condition, and that's just in her mind. She doesn't think straight like you and me and that's not here fault. By putting her in prison is not going to alter her mental state, and what's to stop her doing it all over again when she's out again? That's why I said she needs help.

[lillypilly]

Just imagine, the year is 2008 in a small rural cottage in Harper Oregon lived an elderly husband and wife.

Then add to the image the 552 dogs this couple owned, well Barbara owned according to hubby. Most of the dogs lived inside the home with the couple. The evacuation of this many dogs stretched the local resources considerably.

Barbara never saw the number of dogs she had as being abnormal, they were her babies and no one else could care for them like she could. This old girl spend some months in jail and is more than likely collecting dogs again. It is a mental disease but sadly their dogs (and cats) are the victims.

Around 100 of Barbara's dogs were pts and the rest rehomed by the Humane Society.

The Barbara Erickson case happened only a couple of years ago and an excellent book has been written by Celeste Killeen

In Australia we have many hoarders too, however none documented have had numbers anywhere close to what Barbara had collected.

[Souff]

Every animal hoarder has neighbours and family members and friends who know what the hoarder is up to, and they CAN prevent the problem from exacerbating.

They all have eyes and the ability to see, they also have mouths and the ability to speak ..... and they should be speaking up LONG BEFORE the problem gets to the disgusting levels that we have seen in the media. Neighbours stated that this woman was coming to a storage unit to feed ten (10) cats ..... that in itself should be enough to get the authorities there to check it out. Ten cats, not living with their owner, is an unusual situation in itself. What if she rented a few storage units around town and filled them with cats too?

The hoarder themself is unlikely to seek help. Those around them MUST seek help, even if only for the sake of the animals.

Souff

[LizT]

I guess as in all mental illness the person just doesn't "see it".

Like an anorexic sees a fat person in the mirror and not the emaciated wraith standing there with bones sticking out.

Sad all round.

[Souff]

I guess as in all mental illness the person just doesn't "see it".

Like an anorexic sees a fat person in the mirror and not the emaciated wraith standing there with bones sticking out.

Sad all round.

Correct. Which is why the people around them who can see the problem must seek help.

[twodoggies2001]

I guess as in all mental illness the person just doesn't "see it".

Like an anorexic sees a fat person in the mirror and not the emaciated wraith standing there with bones sticking out.

Sad all round.

Correct. Which is why the people around them who can see the problem must seek help.

the problem is that a lot of people don't want to 'interfere' and then there are the times that the authorities don't want to know or listen.

I still maintain that when a 'hoarder' is finally caught out, instead of punishing this person or people they should be given medical treatment.

I watched a show on TV last night about some people in the UK who were renting a renovated pub. He was being evicted that morning and left before the authorities arrived. He had horses and goats in the basement where there was no daylight whatsoever, several dogs, greyhounds I believe, cats, ducks, geese, and who knows whatever. The place was disgusting, covered in animal faeces and it was not just animals that lived in this house of horrors, both husband and wife together with children lived there. He got the animals out before moving himself. The RSPCA was trying to track them down. The dogs were found and naturally were in a very poor condition. Tell me he doesn't need help. The place looked like a rubbish tip but he called it home for his wife and kids too.