How Many Pets is Too Many? Where’s the Line Between Animal Lover and Animal Hoarder?

The post How Many Pets is Too Many? Where’s the Line Between Animal Lover and Animal Hoarder? appeared first on A-Z Animals.

We’ve all had that friend who notoriously brings home strays. Old shelter dogs, lost kitties, wild bunnies. It can feel impossible to resist rescuing an abandoned or lonesome animal in need of love and care.

Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown is one such animal lover, as she recently told BBC Radio 1, per Entertainment Weekly, that she has a total of 62 animals, including 25 farm animals, 23 foster dogs, 10 personal dogs (who sleep in single beds), and four cats. Her menagerie has tripled in just over two years when BBC reported that she only had 19 animals. One could argue that she has a veritable zoo at home.

While there’s nothing wrong with giving animals a good home, at some point, an animal obsession can turn into animal hoarding — and that’s the time that you might need help. How do you know if your love of four-legged creatures is turning into animal hoarding? Experts share signs to look out for, including one distinctive sign that all is not OK at home.

What Is the Difference Between Being Animal-Obsessed and Hoarding Animals?

It’s a fine line between loving animals, rescuing strays, and caring for as many adorable creatures as you can (like Brown) and hoarding animals. But a line does exist, and it’s all about the animals’ welfare.  

“You’ll know it’s crossing the line into hoarding if you can’t help but keep taking in more animals — even when you don’t have the space, time or resources to properly care for them,” Dr. Sal Raichbach, LCSW, PsyD, Chief Clinical Officer at The Recovery Team, explains.

Animal hoarding is a complex issue that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) defines as someone “housing more animals than they can adequately and appropriately care for.” There is not a number that identifies whether someone is an animal hoarder or just obsessed with animals. Someone might have difficulty providing minimal living conditions to their pets with two animals at home and another person may be doing great with 15 or more pets.

“There’s no magic number that separates a loving pet owner from an animal hoarder,” Dr. Raichbach continues. “Loving animals means making sure they’re well cared for, not putting them at risk or neglecting their needs — even if it’s unintentional.”

For example, if you starred in Netflix’s most popular series, like Brown did in “Stranger Things,” then you can probably afford to give 62 animals a good life. For everyone else, four or five animals is probably pushing it.

Look at the Home

You can tell by the state of the animal owner’s home if they are veering into hoarding territory. One study by the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium found that most hoarders’ homes had extreme clutter, poor sanitation, non-functional appliances and utilities, and/or animal excrement accumulated to the extent that the homes were unfit for human habitation.

“Loving animals is great, but when it gets to the point where their well-being (and yours) is suffering — like if they’re living in unsanitary conditions, not getting enough attention or if you’re overwhelmed but still adding more — it’s a problem,” Dr. Raichbach says. He notes that “the key difference is whether you’re able to provide a healthy, stable environment or if it’s becoming unmanageable.”

“Loving animals means making sure they have a clean, healthy environment, not just cramming them into whatever space is available,” Dr. Raichbach adds.

Animal Hoarding Is Linked to Mental Health Conditions

Animal hoarding is part of a mental health condition called hoarding disorder, which studies have shown is more serious and difficult to deal with than non-animal types of hoarding. Someone might hoard animals if they have a history of disordered or inadequate attachments to people; chaotic and traumatic psychological and social histories; an unstable childhood; experienced a traumatic event or loss; biological factors; and genetics among other reasons, per ASPCA.

“Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to alleviating suffering for both the individual and the animals,” says Dr. Michael S. Valdez, Medical Director at Detox California who has years of experience helping individuals overcome substance use and mental health disorders.

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), many people may believe they are saving and protecting animals, despite their pets being sick, dying, or dead, and will actively resist intervention. Others may struggle to take care of their many loved pets after a stressful event, and others may be too scared to seek help.

“Animal hoarding is frequently combined with obsessive-compulsive disorders, anxiety, depression, or some form of trauma,” continues Dr. Valdez. “Addressing the behavior is best achieved with the support of mental health professionals.”

Signs That Your Obsession Has Turned into Hoarding

The ASPCA identifies an animal hoarder as someone who:

• Owns an unusual number of animals
• Is unable to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care for all animals
• Lives in a home that has deteriorated
• Lives in an unsanitary home (for example, floors covered in dried feces and/or vomit)
• Has animals who are emaciated, lethargic, and under-socialized
• Have fleas and vermin present
• Is someone who is isolated from social support
• Is someone who neglects their own health and hygiene

What You Can Do If You Recognize an Animal Hoarder

Sometimes, you can contact your local social welfare agency or animal control to help pet owners adequately care for their pets and/or surrender some animals so they can receive better care. However, not everybody will be willing to do what’s best for the animals (they may not even admit that what they’re doing is harmful). In those cases, the police may need to get involved. The ASPCA will work with local law enforcement to rescue, care for, and help get justice for the animals, providing temporary sheltering, forensic services, veterinary care, and more services.

In the meantime, you can help prevent animal hoarding by simply talking about it. “Awareness is part of prevention,” Dr. Valdez says. “Friends and neighbors as well as animal protection groups are amongst the first to notice, and try to help, so their involvement is crucial.”

“A well-informed network eases the intervention and ensures compassion and effectiveness in dealing with these sensitive situations,” he adds.

And if a friend or neighbor wants to stop animal hoarding, support them. According to Dr. Valdez, personal support combined with regular appointments with a mental health professional “tends to yield the best results in terms of long-lasting outcomes” to help people stop hoarding animals.

Loving animals and hoarding animals are two different things, and by recognizing the signs, you might be able to help someone get the help they need and provide a better situation for the animals in their home.

The post How Many Pets is Too Many? Where’s the Line Between Animal Lover and Animal Hoarder? appeared first on A-Z Animals.