# How can people live like this!? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 30, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610 "2011-08-30T11:52:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/1 "2011-08-30T11:52:27Z")
So… Yesterday, myself and a couple of other ladies from the animal rescue group we’re all a part of, went to save some animals. The place was way in the middle of nowhere, hidden by trees. The place made a junk yard look decent-- trash all over the place, remnants of vehicles and mobile homes, and a regular home that was a toxic hazard on the inside. (Junk to the walls and a layer of animal crap to boot). There were numberless cats that looked like skeletons with skin over them, crawling with fleas, suffering from eye and respiratory infections. Were any of them fixed? Of course not! There were also a handful of dogs on rather short chains. The owner was moving out of town and was going to abandon them all, but got talked out of it and contacted us instead. We got out a handful of cats that were deemed ‘adoptable’. A couple of the dogs are going to be shipped out to rescues in another part of the state. Most of the animals will be left to die. From what I understand, such situations are not uncommon out here, and it makes me want to vomit. How can anyone be so irresponsible with animals? So foolish about their own habitation? Is the concept of “don’t shit where you eat” unfamiliar to them? _Headdesks._ ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/2 "2011-08-30T12:07:40Z")
> **[Animal hoarding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_hoarding)** > > Animal hoarding, sometimes called Noah syndrome, is keeping a higher-than-usual number of animals as domestic pets without the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability. Compulsive hoarding can be characterized as a symptom of a mental disorder rather than deliberate cruelty towards animals. Hoarders are deeply attached to their pets and find it extremely difficult to let the pets go. They typically cannot comprehend that they are harming their p An... Read about this? Otara ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/3 "2011-08-30T12:29:45Z")
Yeah. Knowing about it doesn’t make the final results any less disturbing, though. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/4 "2011-08-30T12:38:11Z")
> [@Waxwinged](#): > > Most of the animals will be left to die. I assume you mean euthanized? ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/5 "2011-08-30T12:45:56Z")
Where are you? Please tell me these animals will be taken out of that situation and either be rehabbed or euthanized. Please tell me there are charges pending on the owners? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/6 "2011-08-30T13:44:27Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Where are you? > [@Waxwinged](#): > > Most of the animals will be left to die. Sparta? ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/7 "2011-08-30T16:27:50Z")
> [@Waxwinged](#): > > So… Yesterday, myself and a couple of other ladies from the animal rescue group we’re all a part of, went to save some animals. Do you also say things like “Yesterday myself went to the grocery store”? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/8 "2011-08-30T16:31:59Z")
Because that’s the important part of the story, here, Snow Pea. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/9 "2011-08-30T16:55:00Z")
No, it isn’t but it’s got the potential to be VERY distracting, which doesn’t do the REAL most important part of the story any favors. Nor does the ambiguously-phrased fragment “left to die.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/10 "2011-08-30T16:56:16Z")
> [@saje](#): > > Where are you? Please tell me these animals will be taken out of that situation and either be rehabbed or euthanized. Please tell me there are charges pending on the owners? Yes, please tell us they will be euthanized - “left to die” sounds like your group just walked away and left the starving cats to continue starving. I’m an animal lover and I would find it very hard to kill an animal, but I’d still find a way to put a bullet in their brains before I’d leave them to starve to death. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/11 "2011-08-30T16:57:07Z")
Hoarding, whether of animals or inanimate objects, is a mental illness. That’s pretty much it. When you are inside the illness, the question of “how can you live like this?” often doesn’t make a lot of sense. Or, it does, but the person feels helpless to do anything about it. Easy to look in from the outside and judge, but that’s not productive or helpful. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/12 "2011-08-30T17:01:21Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No, it isn’t but it’s got the potential to be VERY distracting, which doesn’t do the REAL most important part of the story any favors. I dunno about you, but my brain doesn’t go into a tailspin everytime I see errors. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/13 "2011-08-30T17:03:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No, it isn’t but it’s got the potential to be VERY distracting, which doesn’t do the REAL most important part of the story any favors. Only to people with nothing better to do than play english teacher. Or do you really think people are sitting out there thinking over the story confused as to whether waxwinged was including herself in the group going to the animal hoarder? Answer: no, no one is confused about that. I will agree that “left to die” is ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/14 "2011-08-30T17:11:18Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Only to people with nothing better to do than play english teacher. Or do you really think people are sitting out there thinking over the story confused as to whether waxwinged was including herself in the group going to the animal hoarder? Answer: no, no one is confused about that. Yourself isn’t really a stickler, then? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/15 "2011-08-30T17:16:32Z")
He tries to keep it on the inside. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/16 "2011-08-30T17:17:03Z")
Myself wants to get away from the grammatical nitpicking and back to the question of where and in what condition are those animals! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/17 "2011-08-30T17:18:03Z")
Myself approves of **Snow Pea** ’s grammar intervention, and my other self approves of rescuing cats. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/18 "2011-08-30T17:42:23Z")
I have to wonder to what degree this person considered these animals to be pets. There used to be a bunch of feral cats at a place I worked. One guy felt sorry for them and began bringing in catfood and feeding them. And of course, learning there was a place where they were fed, a group of cats started accumulating in that area around feeding time. Now if somebody had come upon this scene, they would have found a couple of dozen cats, many with health problems. And if they decided this guy was their “owner” they would have considered him to be a hoarder and a horrible owner for letting his “pets” exist in such poor condition. But the reality was that the cats were already in poor condition before he came along and he was just making some attempt to help them. Same thing with the trailer owner. He or she may have started leaving food out for a couple of local strays and never planned on assuming overall responsibility for a pack of animals. Is he really a worse person than the guy in the trailer next door who throws rocks at any stray animal he sees and chases them off his property? ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/19 "2011-08-30T19:22:14Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I assume you mean euthanized? I HOPE you mean euthanized, and not left to suffer. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610/20 "2011-08-30T19:54:30Z")
Where I live the animal shelter won’t pick up cats unless someone is bitten so they may very well be left to die. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-people-live-like-this/594610.md?page=2)