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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Sept 7, 2009 22:02:47 GMT -5
- The Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine has the Center for Animals and Public Policy. They have a very informative resource that is a gathering of articles from the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC). vet.tufts.edu/hoarding/This is the best website in existence regarding issues with animal hoarding. The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium was a group of professionals and agencies that worked together over a number of years to research animal hoarding, and these pages are from that work. They've also updated with links to more recent research. There is a lot of information in all these articles. Reading it will help you to understand the animal hoarders you read about, see on TV, or meet in real life. And they may help you to understand yourself, too. Some of the articles are about the conditions of the animals and their care. Other articles are about the people -- the psychology of animal hoarding.
Official definition of animal hoarding:The following criteria are used to define animal hoarding: - More than the typical number of companion animals
- Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, with this neglect often resulting in starvation, illness, and death
- Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care and the impact of that failure on the animals, the household, and human occupants of the dwelling
Three Stages/Types of Animal HoardingThis is about the PEOPLE who do the hoarding. It was written by Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD for a housing conference in Massachusetts. The link is from the Animal Rescue League of Boston. www.masshousing.com/portal/server.pt/document/2685/animal_hoarding__what_caseworkers_need_to_knowEASY-TO-PRINT Chart: Three TYPES of ANIMAL HOARDERS: vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/typology.jpgHere are the three stages/types -- paraphrased in my own words, imperfectly:1) Overwhelmed caregiver:Overwhelmed pet lover. Passive in acquiring pets. Unfortunate situations due to changes in life circumstances. Didn't intend to have too many pets but now does. Pets are family. Her self-esteem is linked to her role as "caregiver". Difficulty with problem-solving, but still somewhat aware of reality.
However, it's still "animal hoarding" ... so it is part of the definition quoted above -- and the animals are not getting adequate care. 2) Rescue hoarder:a person who originally had begun to rescue animals from bad circumstances with the intention of putting them up for adoption to good homes -- which is reasonable ...
... but at some point she began to think that she alone can provide the best care, and is no longer willing to adopt the animals out.
She continues to ACTIVELY rescue, but doesn't find good homes for the animals she rescues, so her collection grows.
-- a "mission" has crossed the line into unavoidable compulsion. She might have enablers or a group helping her to acquire animals. Sometimes the animals live outside her home. 3) Exploitive, manipulative.Animals are things. Lacks empathy for people or animals. Lacks guilt /remorse. Power trip. (end my imperfectly paraphrased definitions).
OFFICIAL DEFINITIONS:written by Gary J. Patronek, VMD, PhD for a housing conference in Massachusetts. The document is from the Animal Rescue League of Boston. as posted at Tufts animal hoarding website www.masshousing.com/portal/server.pt/document/2685/animal_hoarding__what_caseworkers_need_to_knowvet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/typology.jpgThree stages/types of animal hoarding:
EASY-TO-PRINT Chart:
Three TYPES of ANIMAL HOARDERS:vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/typology.jpg
I suggest reading the ENTIRE article on the stages/types of hoarding. It's only 3 pages. It gives info for how to help the hoarder. Very informative. www.masshousing.com/portal/server.pt/document/2685/animal_hoarding__what_caseworkers_need_to_know
The challenge of intervention-- what types of animal hoarders may respond to which types of intervention or not (based on the above three types): vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/approaches.jpg
Traits/Deficits of Animal Hoarders:vet.tufts.edu/hoarding/faqs-hoarding/(from the section of that page titled "Who are hoarders and why do they hoard animals?") animal hoarding knows no age, gender, or socioeconomic boundaries. It has been observed in men and women, young and old, married as well as never married or widowed, and in people with professional or white collar jobs. There have even been hoarders among human health professionals and veterinarians and veterinary technicians. It is not uncommon for hoarders to be secretive, living essentially a "double life" at work vs at home.
animal hoarding is likely a final common pathway from a variety of traumatic experiences which result in dysfunctional attachment styles to people and lead to compulsive and addictive behavior.
See this graphic for a descriptive model:vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/wrkngmodel.jpgAnimal hoarder's impaired judgment and actions, or failures to act, may arise from a variety of factors. These include difficulties understanding relevant information about animals’ needs, inaccurate appreciation of a situation and its consequences, being unable to reason about treatment options and alternative courses of action, faulty self-governance, psychological defenses and behaviors in response to stress, as well as magical thinking, lack of insight, and other cognitive distortions. When these impairments become associated with functional deficits (e.g., failure to provide adequate food, water, proper sanitation, necessary medical care, and failure to recognize and attend to fundamental behavioral and mental needs of animals), incompetent care occurs and animal suffering results.
Diagram of traits here:vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/traitsndeficits.jpg[/quote]
What does the word "sociopathic" mean in this context?Note that the document says that stage 3 Exploitive "tends to have sociopathic characteristics". The word "Sociopath" is no longer used in professional psychiatric terminology. It has now been replaced by other words as follows: "Sociopath" as defined in USA:
in the American Psychiatric Association's
"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual" (DSM-5)
It is now officially called
"anti-social personality disorder"
which is "a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood."
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Proposed Definition of Antisocial Personality Disorder
for the newest edition of the DSM-5 (to be published May 2013)
can be found here:
www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevision/Pages/proposedrevision.aspx?rid=16 (link now broken)
As follows:
- Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by:
1. Impairments in self functioning (a or b):
- Identity: Ego-centrism; self-esteem derived from personal gain, power, or pleasure.
- Self-direction: Goal-setting based on personal gratification; absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or culturally normative ethical behavior.
~ AND ~
2. Impairments in interpersonal functioning (a or b):
- Empathy: Lack of concern for feelings, needs, or suffering of others; lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another.
- Intimacy: Incapacity for mutually intimate relationships, as exploitation is a primary means of relating to others, including by deceit and coercion; use of dominance or intimidation to control others
- Pathological personality traits in the following domains:
1. Antagonism, characterized by:
- Manipulativeness: Frequent use of subterfuge to influence or control others; use of seduction, charm, glibness, or ingratiation to achieve one's ends.
- Deceitfulness: Dishonesty and fraudulence; misrepresentation of self; embellishment or fabrication when relating events.
- Callousness: Lack of concern for feelings or problems of others; lack of guilt or remorse about the negative or harmful effects of one's actions on others; aggression; sadism.
- Hostility: Persistent or frequent angry feelings; anger or irritability in response to minor slights and insults; mean, nasty, or vengeful behavior.
2. Disinhibition, characterized by:
- Irresponsibility: Disregard for -- and failure to honor -- financial and other obligations or commitments; lack of respect for -- and lack of follow through on -- agreements and promises.
- Impulsivity: Acting on the spur of the moment in response to immediate stimuli; acting on a momentary basis without a plan or consideration of outcomes; difficulty establishing and following plans.
- Risk taking: Engagement in dangerous, risky, and potentially self-damaging activities, unnecessarily and without regard for consequences; boredom proneness and thoughtless initiation of activities to counter boredom; lack of concern for one's limitations and denial of the reality of personal danger.
- The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.
- The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual’s developmental stage or socio-cultural environment.
- The impairments in personality functioning and the individual's personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).
"Sociopath" is defined internationally:
by the World Health Organization's
"International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems" (ICD-10)
It is now officially called
"dis-social personality disorder" or anti-social personality disorder"
Dis-social (or Anti-Social) Personality Disorder:
Personality disorder characterized by
- disregard for social obligations, and
- callous unconcern for the feelings of others.
- There is gross disparity between behaviour and the prevailing social norms.
- Behaviour is not readily modifiable by adverse experience, including punishment.
- There is a low tolerance to frustration
- and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence.
- There is a tendency to blame others,
- or to offer plausible rationalizations for the behaviour that is bringing the patient into conflict with society.
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After reading the above definitions for the word "sociopath" --
- the proposed APA DSM-5 "anti-social personality disorder";
and
- the WHO ICD-10 "dis-social/anti-social personality disorder" --
I am not sure which of those two terms that the Animal Hoarding article is referring to -- when it says that the Stage Three Exploitive Hoarder "tends to have sociopathic characteristics" ... but I think you get the general idea.
Diagnosis assigned to individuals who habitually violate the rights of others without remorse.
Individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder tend to be charismatic, attractive, and very good at obtaining sympathy from others, by describing themselves as the victim of injustice. While the intelligence of antisocials is widely distributed, they possess a superficial charm, and have an intuitive ability to rapidly observe and analyze others, determine their needs and preferences, and present it in a manner to facilitate manipulation and exploitation. They are able to harm and use other people in this manner, without remorse, guilt, shame or regret.
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Sept 7, 2009 22:05:28 GMT -5
The above was animal hoarding as it applies to the PEOPLE who do the hoarding.
The following is for the ANIMALS.Scale for judging level of neglect in animal hoarding ...
neglect to the ANIMALS:from Tufts University Information from Gary J. Patronek, as described in "Recognizing and reporting animal abuse - a veterinarian's guide" published in Denver Colorado by American Humane Association, 1997 Tufts Animal Condition and Care (TACC) score is derived from 4 scales: - Body Condition scale
- Weather Safety scale
- Environmentsl Health scale
- Physical Care scale
They are described in detail here: vet.tufts.edu/hoarding/pubs/tacc.pdf- |
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Sept 7, 2009 22:06:14 GMT -5
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Post by success19 on Sept 7, 2009 22:26:30 GMT -5
Shirley was a 1 and 2.
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MiSC
Banned
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 1,611 
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Post by MiSC on Sept 7, 2009 22:43:31 GMT -5
I really don't believe animal hoarding and hoarding are the same things. Maybe I just WANT them to be different, but I do believe that.
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Sept 7, 2009 22:51:55 GMT -5
- Theories of causes of animal hoardingI really don't believe animal hoarding and hoarding are the same things. Maybe I just WANT them to be different, but I do believe that. It seems that the jury is still out on that ... Dr. Randy Frost and Dr. Gail Sketeee (who reasearch compulsive hoarding for household hoarding and who wrote "Buried in Treasures") were part of the staff of the Tufts consortium a few years ago. They were trying to figure out the connection (if there is one). Some researchers feel there is no relationship between household hoarding and animal hoarding. They see them as separate disorders. Other researchers think there is some connection. One of the articles mentioned a theory as to what (if any) relationship there is between hoarding THINGS and hoarding ANIMALS. It said that people who hoard things have an emotional attachment to their things. If a person is already inclined towards that emotional attachment to things ... such inclinations may be further increased by the hoarder's perception that the animal loves them back. It is healthy and wonderful for a person to have a loving bond with her animals. But such feelings can be warped if the person is imbalanced and already has a tendency to emotionally attach to things. At some point, a line is crossed .... And then the person cannot let go of the animals, even if she is incapable of caring for them appropriately. Here's a link: Article by Dr. Randy Frost from the Psychiatric Times, April 1, 2000: www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54031Theories of causes of animal hoarding: - Animal hoarding might be related to regular compusive hoarding of household items, as just discussed.
- Animal hoarding might be a form of OCD -- yet quite a DIFFERENT form than OCD household hoarding of things.
- Another theory is that animal hoarding derives from "attachment disorder". If a person had a bad childhood with no good relationships, she might crave the bond with the animals that she didn't have with people. But somehow her perception of her relationship with her animals becomes distorted.
- The animal hoarder may suffer from delusions (a "focal delusional" disorder).
- The animal hoarder may have a form of dementia.
- The animal hoarder may have an impulse control disorder.
- Animal hoarding is sometimes explained with the "addiction" model.
Lots of possible explanations/theories/causes. Lots to read in Dr. Frost's 5-page article. www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/54031Here is a link that gives a summary of the possible causes of animal hoarding. www.animalhoarding.com/How-Animal-Hoarding-Develops.htmlAnd another article by Dr. Gary Patronek that describes more of the possible theories: (See section called "Roots of the Behavior") vet.tufts.edu/hoarding/pubs/municipalawyer.pdf- |
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Post by annieblue on Sept 8, 2009 5:57:53 GMT -5
Gosh, thank you for presenting all of this, Lioness.The new DSM & ICD definitions & criteria for 'sociopath' really have me scratching my head. As usual, these 2 entities classify the same condition yet do it with such different language. This always bothers me, & I always hope they will eventually get in synch on this stuff, but no, not gonna happen. I can't remember where I first heard it, but my working definition of a sociopath is someone who has no sense of moral obligation whatsoever. That one covers plenty enough.  Again, thank you.
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Post by messyang on Sept 12, 2009 16:21:33 GMT -5
I am an overwhelmed caregiver.
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Post by workinprogress on Sept 12, 2009 17:17:37 GMT -5
I have 7 cats, and while I scoop their litter boxes daily (I have 7 litterboxes), I do feel like I am getting out of control with being behind on vet visits, and having one cat in particular who is 14 years old and blind and who tends to pee on the floor. We have some damage to floorboards where she was peeing in the living room before she went blind. Now she is mostly living in the kitchen, so not much danger to the floors (easy to clean up after).
I'm a cat lover who isn't doing all she should to take good care of her cats. And I know I cannot have more. I've also recently started volunteering at the local animal shelter cleaning up the cat rooms.
But I am "only" 41. I fear that later in life I may slide into #1 and then #2 and I so don't want to. (The reason I say I may slide into #2 is that my answer to "what would you do if you won a lot of money" has always included starting a cat rescue... and I know how easy it is to get overwhelmed with that. If it's that knee-jerk with me that it's what I would do if I were rich, then if I got dementia, I'm pretty sure it's one of the things I'd try to do.)
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Post by CourageouslyLion SeeksSerenity on Sept 12, 2009 17:53:48 GMT -5
- Best Friends Animal Society is a great organization. They have a five-page section of their website on animal hoarding. Page 4 explains the difference between real animal hoarding and almost animal hoarding. They give the example of "Doris" who is a full-fledged animal hoarder with a mental illness, and "Karen" who rescues or cares for lots of animals but SEES the potential problems and nips the tendency in the but BEFORE it becomes full-fledged "animal hoarding". It's a very fine line but they do a good job of explaining the difference. That difference is explained at this link (page 4 of the 5-page series on animal hoarding): www.bestfriends.org/allthegoodnews/specialfeatures/hoarding4.cfmIt would seem to me that any of us could cross the line into becoming a Type 1 "overwhelmed caregiver animal hoarder" ... if we had more animals than we were able to give healthful care to.
One of our members tells a very brave story of how she worked through her issues: Her story is here: takeonestepatatime.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=6993
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onedge
New Member
Joined: July 2008
Posts: 49
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Post by onedge on Sept 13, 2009 9:15:22 GMT -5
I needed this thread. I have 5 cats of my own and at my limit. They are spayed/neutered and well taken care of. In fact, they are fat, happy kitties that have the freedom to come in and out as they feel. I have thankfully been able to keep up with the house so that there is no damage and seldom a cat smell. In fact, I have been told many times by people that you would never know there were that there was even 1 cat despite that many.
Here is my delimma, I have a hard time taking animals to a shelter because I don't want the euthanized if they are healthy. Finding a no kill shelter that isn't at their limit is difficult. Someone in the neighborhood abandoned a cat and a neighbor and I have been feeding her but know she has multiplied and decided to hang out in the front of the house. They have become a nuisance wanting to be fed 24/7 and trying to run inside the house. I can't use the front door to air out the house now and there is a male cat that followed them and started to spray. I am now overwhelmed and see that I will need to call a shelter before either I am reported for too many or start to affect how I care for my own.
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Post by Chris on Sept 13, 2009 9:52:35 GMT -5
onedge -- I had that happen here -- stray cats had kittens and they were in my yard. [my yard is shaded and sheltered and attracts cats] It is tricky but the kittens if caught before they are wild can get into a shelter easier and be tamed and adopted easier. When they multiplied in my yard it took a lot for me to deal with it because I am like you in that I have my limit (I have 3 spayed/neutered and can't take on more) and I worried whether they would be adopted -- feared whether they'd end up put to sleep. It's not easy to deal with -- it takes time and emotional and physical energy. In my case I found I simply had to remove the outside cats (except the one spayed female that is mine) because I couldn't afford the spaying or feeding of any more. The shelter worked with me -- I did sponsor 3 kittens in (paid $10 each) but at this time I'd not have the funds to do something like that. I really feel for you ---- I do know that more and more cats multiply quickly if something isn't done about the breeding females -- and it's heartbreaking when they are too wild for adoption and you can't find a no-kill shelter. The spay/neuter and release is so great but costs money to someone. Sometimes veterinarians will provide help sometimes not.
I wish you good luck with this -- I know it's very difficult for a cat lover to have to remove a cat from the yard or deal with shelters -- I've been there.
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Liz
New Member
Joined: August 2009
Posts: 55
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Post by Liz on Sept 13, 2009 23:29:48 GMT -5
I have 5 cats and one dog. They are all well fed, but if one were to have a serious problem, I would be hard pressed to get all the money for the vet. I have had times where I have had to scrape up the money and it was hard. I do realize, that I have too many pets, but at the same time, I have drawn the line at acquiring more and have been making efforts to give the ones I have currently, the best that I can. I do not take them for yearly check-ups, and sometimes I feel a pang of guilt about that, but Quite frankly, NO ONE I know does this, unless their pets are old or infirm. I do realize prevention is the best thing though. I have goals to better my life financially, and when that happens, they will start going to the vet for regular check-ups. I have also been looking into pet insurance. There seem to be some that have decent rates and that might be financially possible in the future, for me.
I can see how one could become a real animal hoarder. I think it would be easy to slip into, and that is why I know I must NOT take in any more animals.
On a lighter note, my room mate called me an animal hoarder the other day. I laughingly told him, that while I was not an animal hoarder at the moment, I did have plans on becoming one in my old age. We had a good laugh at that and he probably went back into his room to imagine me in a poo encrusted house overrun with every species of animal imaginable.
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h
New Member
Joined: September 2009
Posts: 7
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Post by h on Sept 20, 2009 11:51:20 GMT -5
"Someone in the neighborhood abandoned a cat and a neighbor and I have been feeding her but know she has multiplied and decided to hang out in the front of the house. They have become a nuisance wanting to be fed 24/7 and trying to run inside the house. I can't use the front door to air out the house now and there is a male cat that followed them and started to spray. I am now overwhelmed and see that I will need to call a shelter before either I am reported for too many or start to affect how I care for my own." It's wonderful that you recognize your limitations -- your cats will thank you for it. About the cats in the yard: if you don't want to call a shelter, you might consider trying to participate in a trap/neuter/release program. Basically, the idea is this: when people try to deal with the problem of feral cats by rounding them up and killing them, or even just taking them away, that doesn't work well: new cats just come in and take over their territory. By trapping them, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them, they keep their territory, but they are spayed/neutered, so they don't multiply. When they spay or neuter cats, they also take off a tip of one ear; this way, people will know that this cat has already been spayed or neutered, and won't put it through the trauma of being re-captured and (for females) put through surgery unnecessarily. This is done while the cat is under anaesthesia for the spaying/neutering, so it's not painful; in any case, having some stranger open up one's abdomen only to discover that one has already been spayed is a whole lot worse than this could ever be. There are low-cost spay/neuter clinics, and people who will help to make this possible even if it doesn't seem to be. Alley Cat Allies has good information about dealing with feral cats here: www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=285And a form where you can request individual help here: www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=285(Note: this is only for feral cats, not cats that are your or someone else's pet.) |
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Post by DJ on Sept 20, 2009 17:22:36 GMT -5
i try to get my pets in for yearly checkups and we should probably get frequent flyer miles or something for all the vet trips... one of the ways i've been able to actually afford it is because i do alot of the work myself because i use to work as a vet tech... the vet knows we will be in and out for quick things. and anything that's nonsurgical he sends me home with the supplies to do it myself...
i also sometimes ask if i can get a discount for a multipet trip. not all vets will do this.. one of my bosses really dreaded multipet appointments, others loved them..my current vet that i take the pets to will discount if i bring them in in a group. he knows me and knows i will hold while he examines while his tech does charts. instead of 15 minutes x5 cats it usually ends up taking less than an hour for all 5. ditto for the ferrets.. instead of the base fee for each pet he'll only charge me for 1 or 2 of them and then the cost for anything that needs to be done.. vxs, blood draws and so on..
i also trust my vet to not pawn anything subpar off on me and told him that i would be grateful for opened meds at a reduced cost.. it came up when he was out of the kidney meds i needed for geriatric cat but he had an opened jar in the fridge. they have a short shelf life so he just gave me the rest of the jar free of charge and wrote it off.. i've gotten free or reduced cost meds this way because if a powdered antibiotic gets mixed with water and then is unneeded for some time it also has a short shelf life and will usually end up needing to be tossed anyway so he'll pass it my way of one of the critters needs an antibiotic and he has some on hand by chance, and he also is understanding about the high cost of pet med care so things that can be gotten at a human pharmacy, he'll give me a script.. Target's 4 dollar generic list has come in handy multiple times with my zoo.
just figured i'd mention things that come in handy in surviving vet costs with a menagerie:/
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