Topic : 03/07 When Too Much is ... Too Much

One thing I just had to point out after reading a lot of these replies is that this woman IS spaying and neutering these cats, as well as vaccinating them.  At least, that's what they said on the show.  So many people were saying "this is what happens when you don't spay and neuter" and I just felt the need to correct that statement.  Yes, this is often what happens when you don't spay in neuter, but in this case the woman is taking medical care of these cats.

 

That being said.... 200????  My husband and I have 7, and that's enough in my opinion.  Granted, one of the things I've learned is that it's not so much how many cats you have but how they're treated and how they act.  Like I said, I have 7.  They're indoor cats who aren't interested in outside, all rescues who're fixed and vaccinated, get their yearly vet exam, and get along so there's no fighting.  I even converted an understairs storage area into a "litterbox room" that we keep clean, so there's almost no smell(I'm anal about smells), and even though they shed they aren't messy cats otherwise so it's easy to keep our house clean.  My neighbor, on the other hand, has 5 cats, two of which roam the neighborhood, and one of those roamers gets into fights a lot.  This cat beat up another neighbors cat pretty badly and no responsibility was taken.  Also, in the summer my garden ends up smelling like cat urine because these cats use it at a litterbox.  I've known people with 12 cats where the house is clean and the cats well cared for, and I've known people with one cat where the cat is unfixed and unvaccinated, causing fights and property damage, etc.  Yes, there is a limit to how many cats one can handle, and I believe 200 is far past that limit, but when it comes to the number of cats a person has people should remember to take into account the care that the cat receives and the cat's effect on the neighborhood and other animals. 

I was very pleased to learn that all the cats the woman was taking care of were fixed, well fed and happy..  I am a cat lover and they looked very happy to me.  It was wonderful to see them in a natural environment running free.  So many places put these great animals in small cages for months, even years. 

 

Thank you, lady, for taking care of the animals who have no voice. 

you should have read on tho it was very inlightening for me, however know this i do love all amimals not just cats, and i think she is a wonderful person with a big heart to take in all of those cats and take care of them as she dose,no the artical i posted was just something i found on line in a attempt to see if it were concidered a mental illness in any way, as i never thought about it that way befor, but please do be aware that those arnt my words of feelings in this matter,it was mearley a attempt to learn all i could about this topic and share my results with other readers on the dr phil board,

i love cats. i have four.  two at home and two at work.  each one is spayed and the work cats have their rabies shots and the home cats have had their shots also.  that is enough for me

even though the lady lives on 10 acres and even though she claims she spays and neuter the cats, 200 cats is 190 too many.  she should do the responible thing and adpot those cats out.  cats need emotial support as well as food and shelter.  how can she possibly give emotial support to 200 cats..  if she really loved those cats she should have appiled for a shelter license and done everything she could have done before it excalated into this mess.  please get your cats spayed or neutered.  and if you find a stray there are agency that do low cost spays/neutering take the cats there.  help control the pet population.  i wonder what would bob barker have to say to this 200 cat lady.

I Think she is doing a great thing caring for and giving love to all these homeless cats. I am so sick of all these anti cat people complaining about cats when they should be helping and doing something good to help a cause.  I think her santuary is terrific. I myself am currently taking care of 10 cats and enjoy spending money on my pets !!!  The town should be more concerned with violence, crimes etc. then trying to destroy this nice womans life!!!!!!!!!!

Well maybe 200 cats is to many but I don't see how the smell of cats out side on 10 achers can be any worse than a heard of 40 to 50 head of cows and 80 pigs. that smell is enough to make someone complain but were we live it is zoned agriculture so they can do anything that they want to the zoning regulations do not apply to them.

    My heart goes out for this lady. I hope and pray she can find a way to do what she is doing legally . Her heart is def in the right place and she loves here animals.In my opinion her neighbors are being too harsh . They should all work together to try to help her instead of harassing her. She should be open to their suggestions to to help and learn to comprimise some. Clearly the one neighbor is an animal lover to but there are just so much hidden resentment its not funny. I think she sould go through the proper steps of becoming a registered nonprofit 501(c) or possibly look in to moving out in the country where there are no neighbors and she can continue doing what she is doing on a private basis.

 

    I do private animal rescue and I know it is a huge load to bare at times but a person does not do this type of work because they are forced to...a truly unselfish heart is what it takes.I operate a FREE aniaml placement service at http://www.ourcritters.net if that lady needs help finding homes for some of her cats I would be more than happy to volunteer my time to help her.

 

    

I'm convinced that there are millions of people in the US and abroad who live this way.  No one knows about it thought because it's a secret behavior.  When your home looks like that, you hide it.  I've found a wealth of information on it on line, and I know there's a huge support network out there.  No judgement, but comeradery and support.  Hang in there.  YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

 

As far as animal hoarding goes, I think that's a whole different ballgame.  A completely different set of behaviors and thought processes.  I'm not sure what kind of help there is out there, because I'm not sure that most animal hoarders *know* they're hoarders.  That's a tough one.  I wish you all safety and happiness, and that includes the sweet animals, of course.

 

This woman is  *not* doing these cats any good.   There is a reason why there are laws in place regarding how many pets a person or household can keep, and that's because too many pets means a lower quality of care for each individual animal.  Do you honestly think this woman can give enough attention to each of those 200 cats?  Do you think each one of those cats gets groomed on a regular basis?  I seriously doubt it.   Do you think each of those cats gets regular visits to the veterinarian?  NO, otherwise she would spend (at least) 200 days out of each year at the vet's office!  Any idea how much that would cost? Mmmhmm.

I'm all for pets, animals, whatever... but there comes a point where it borders on abuse or neglect.    Again, there are laws in place to prevent this type of "animal hoarding" to prevent the abuse and neglect of those poor animals.   And yes, I'm sure her entire property smells of litter box.   I have friends with as few as 2 cats who can't keep their small apartments from smelling of litter box.   Imagine 200 cats pooping and peeing everywhere!  Even on 10 acres, that's 20 cats per acre!  I wouldn't be surprised if the health department or the housing commission get involved.

I know most people don't feel the way she does about these cats or understand why she does this. I totally agree with what she  is doing, I do think she should get a license to do it, but I think she is a good person to take all these cats in and take care of them. Her sister said on the show that she does get them spayed and neutered, gets all of there vaccinations, and feeds and waters them. I think the cats did look very happy and I think her neighbors need to get a life and worry about there own problems than hers. She has ten acres of property for those cats, I think that is plenty enough away from the neighbors . I do think she needs to open a sanctuary  and do it the professional way. And I don't see the big problem of her wanting to stay at home with her animals instead of going some where. I only have 3 dogs and I don't like to go off because I don't want to leave them, that is just how some people are and I don't think that is a problem. I think they should let her do what she wants to do with her animals. I do think she should start an adoption program and try to find them homes and do it the proper way, but overall I think she is a great person with a love for animals and just wants to help them and I am very greatful for the things she does for these animals. I think that people should stop hounding her about it and make it seem like it is such a bad thing and start doing the same thing and get these homeless animals off the streets and get them spayed and nuetered and try to find them homes.