csmith
New Member
Joined: July 2008
Posts: 2
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Post by csmith on Aug 1, 2008 14:41:48 GMT -5
so i'm 17, and live with my dad.
our house has always been a mess, but christmas 2005 one of my uncles died, and i inherited one of his cats and my mom got one too.
eventually my mom got sick of it tearing up everything in her house, so she gave hers to my dad and i.
we had just found out we had a female and male and kept procrastinating on getting them fixed.
they soon began to multiply.
i'm not sure exactly how many we have now. :/
the house is so overwhelming, we don't know where to start.
the yard is overgrown, and our backyard looks like a jungle, with weeds and grass as tall as i am.
we recently started redoing the landscaping in the front yard by taking all the plants out(we'll soon replace them with something that will take less effort to keep up with. the bushes/plants we had would normally have to be trimmed weekly.)
we have an underground pool, and that's a mess too. (it looks like a swamp!)
and of course !
we got a letter today in the mail from the city that we have to pump the pool out and clean up the back yard.
we've got several letters in the mail from the city..
im just afraid the next time we'll have to have an inspection. :/
the house is still a complete mess.
i think the last bag of trash we have taken out was about 6 months ago.
we've said we are going to get serious about it, and we'll take out bags after bags.. but it doesn't look any different. i cry every time i'm at home because of how bad it is. i feel like i'm living one big, never-ending lie. (i'm sure a lot of people can relate)
my dad has 6 siblings, and several of them are compulsive hoarders.
two compulsive hoarders in one house is definitely not good :/
so that's me, and my story.
maybe some day i'll post pictures... but certainly not now.
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druff
New Member
Joined: July 2008
Posts: 8
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Post by druff on Aug 1, 2008 16:35:04 GMT -5
Hi there csmith...so good to meet ya.
I`m new here too...and this forum and its members have already helped me so much.
I hope you guys can get a plan together... it is possible...just hang around and start making plans..and if ya need support then post away...
Don`t ever feel alone... just my thoughts
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Post by glowworm on Aug 1, 2008 17:19:01 GMT -5
Hi and welcome.  |
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Post by crazycatlady on Aug 1, 2008 22:12:35 GMT -5
Welcome. You have come to the right place.
Are the cats still reproducing? If so, that needs to be addressed quickly. And call the 6 aunts and uncles, and try to enlist their help. If there are other hoarders in the family, hopefully they will be understanding. A group can clean quicker than one or two people, and since you are getting letters from the city, you need to work fast!
This honestly and truly can be overcome. Many here have done it. Do NOT give up hope!
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Post by phoebepj on Aug 2, 2008 3:23:50 GMT -5
wel;come csmith.. posting is a step in the right direction. might i suggest you start small... one corner of a room in the house.... one closet in the room in the house,, and then branch out until you are able to keep a full room clean. start slow... take out a small walmart size trash bag if you have to.
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Post by messymimi on Aug 2, 2008 19:16:54 GMT -5
Welcome, csmith. Glad you found your way here. I hope you don't think me rude to jump right in with a suggestion, one that has to do with the cats. I happen to work with a local cat rescue organization (I have 6 bottle-feed kittens from 3 litters in the house right now), so this issue is close to my heart. Please, for the sake of yourselves and your cats, contact your local humane group, SPCA, or animal rescue organization. I have been involved in these types of rescue situations. I have seen first hand that eventually the cats will become wild and unadoptable because of overcrowding and not enough human interaction. The inbreeding will cause problems as well -- I have had to bottle raise mentally challenged kittens who will have happy but short lives and never be quite mentally "right". Often once the cats start to become wild, they try to escape. Then, if they have left kittens behind, those must be bottle raised. The escaped adults begin breeding in the neighborhood, and have an awful life of hunger, disease, and worse. When you contact an organization that agrees to help, if they are professional about it they will move quickly to assist you with compassion and understanding. We know how quickly these situations spiral out of control, and realize that you were only trying to give the animals a good home and became overwhelmed. You are not the first in this situation, and will not be the last. Please find someone to help you with this. Other things you can do to help yourself would be to try to pump out the pool and take some trash out even if you think it does no good. Remember that a person who loses 5 pounds has lost 5 pounds, even if he has 45 more to lose. It may not show at first, but it will, and it is still as big an accomplishment as if he only had 5 to lose to begin with. You eat the elephant one bite at a time. (In the case of my house, I clean out Number Two Son's room one dustpan full at a time  .) You sound depressed (which would be understandable), overwhelmed (been there, most of us have), and feeling like you are living a lie is exhausting (because the lie is sucking the energy right out of you and leaving you none for dealing with the problems). It can't all be solved at once, but it can be solved with small, consistent steps. After each positive step, congratulate yourself, be proud, and post here where we will cheer you on. Also post when you can't do anything for the sadness, and we will cry with you and try to encourage you. For the sake of yourself and your dad and the cats, please do not give up.  messymimi |
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Post by Platypus on Aug 3, 2008 10:22:27 GMT -5
Hello and welcome, Seventeen is very young to be dealing with all this,  but I hear your courage and caring in your words and I am sure with help and support you can help your Dad with this. I can only agree with the others about the cats. There is a good website aspcacommunity.ning.com/ with a cat group who may be able to give you information (if you are in the USA). Over population of cats in your home can only lead to misery for everyone, most especially the cats. I am sorry that the female cat's owner solved their problem by giving you one! As you are getting letters so things need to be done soon, does your Dad have a budget that can be used on the house, to get the pool pumped out, to hire a big dumpster to toss stuff in and get carted away? Can the relatives come over and help? You both can't do everything at once, but it sounds as though you have made some really good progress on the front yard. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day! If you could get the pool done, the yard cleared and the cats rehomed, that would relieve you both of outside pressures. You both could then go on to make the inside of the house nice too, at your own pace. I hope this helps a little. Have you checked out the Listzilla forum? I use it a lot when I am decluttering/blitz-cleaning.  |
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Post by zinnia on Aug 3, 2008 21:53:22 GMT -5
Welcome!
I hope you & your dad can create a plan to get some things done inside and outside so you can enjoy your home.
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