# Old Women and hundreds of cats
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 15, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720 "2005-12-15T14:54:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/1 "2005-12-15T14:54:31Z")
Right. So having read what is roughly my five hundredth account of [some old woman with a ka-jillion pets](http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2005/12/14/1352971-ap.html) I begin to suspect there’s some sort of pathology at work here.
Note: Had one of these occur half a block from my home in Marietta, OH earlier this year. Fark is thinking of making a ‘Marietta’ tag, God help us.
I have the impression that this things are common symptons:
1. It’s cats, normally.
2. Women
3. Elderly
So what’s the deal? Is there some form of compulsion or pathology at work here? If so is it treatable? Just loneliness or what?
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### Author:  [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/2 "2005-12-15T15:29:35Z")
[This Washington Post article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/17/AR2005071701049_pf.html) gives some good analysis of cat hoarders.
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### Author:  [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/3 "2005-12-15T16:03:42Z")
Possibly because cats (in Northern Ireland at least) are less likely to be pulled off the streets by wardens than dogs, so there are more stray than dogs. Then they’re much less threatening and more likely to call round to your back yard and be offered food by someone.
IMHO.
YMMV.
ETC.
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### Author:  [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/4 "2005-12-15T16:08:33Z")
Oh crap! I’m 43 years old (married) and I’ve got 4 cats (It was 5, but one of our furbabies had to be put down with kidney failure yesterday morning) and 2 dogs.
I’m WELL on my way…
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/5 "2005-12-15T16:13:10Z")
My mom’s slowly turning into one, I think. Half the problem is that old relatives and acquaintances keep dying on her and she adopts their pets to keep them from getting sent to shelters. I think there’s some kind of exponential math involved. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/6 "2005-12-15T16:16:22Z")
The delusion at work here is that you are a loving individual in a bad bad kitty-hating world, and that once a kitty is in your house, it is Saved from that world. Even if kitties get sick, starve and die after that, at least it wasn’t the bad bad world of kitty haters that did it. It just sort of happened, despite your best efforts. After all, look: so many others are still living and running around in your house, Saved from the bad bad world.
It starts out being about the cats, probably. After that it’s about you vs. the world.
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### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/7 "2005-12-15T16:20:14Z")
Some psychiatrists believe that people who collect huge numbers of cats (or dogs, or any other animal) are basically suffering from a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Why it seems more women than men go in for cats…I dunno.
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/8 "2005-12-15T16:26:23Z")
ISTR a case from long ago (Boston area, IIRC) involving Russian Wolfhounds - an elderly woman was found to be living with something like a dozen starving Russian Wolfhounds. Rather strange.
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### Author:  [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/9 "2005-12-15T16:42:12Z")
I have always half jokingly said I could see myself becoining one of those bitter old women living alone with her 23 cats and 17 dogs. And unfortunately , it is looking more and more likely , tho to be honest, I can’t really see myself having a number of animals I can’t take care of properly. I obsess over their health and well being too much. Bitter , old, and alone, yes. With my 4 dogs and 3 (soon to be _2_) cats .
I can understand how it happens tho. When you are alone , no family or friends to care if you live or die, the animals care. Aquiring more pets is equalled in your mind with more love. It turns into a never ending cycle. Even tho I know I don’t NEEN any other pets, I find myself looking wistfully at various critters… small mammals, birds, fish…anything to care for and nurture. I have been able to talk myself out of them, but I can sure understand how pet hoarders happen.
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/10 "2005-12-15T16:47:35Z")
In addition to **JerH** ’s post, here’s an extensive article on the how and why of [cat-collectors.](http://www.messybeast.com/collector.htm)
> [@](#):
>
> A cat collector is a person who accumulates an excessive number of cats without the space, resources or ability to care for them properly. She is usually opposed to surrendering their animals voluntarily to anyone; she refuses to surrender them to humane societies because some of the animals will be euthanized. She contributes to the likelihood of their destruction by failing to provide proper health care and by failing to neuter or socialize them. In effect she lives in the middle of an indoor feral colony.
>
> \*In February 2002 a couple in Gothenburg, Sweden, resorted to living in their cellar while their cats took over the rest of the house. They lived in the basement, with no electricity or running water, for several months to escape the animals. Neighbours alerted health inspectors after seeing dead cats in the house. Health inspectors said they had never seen anything like it - inside the house were 3 dead cats and 25 living cats in such poor condition that they had to be destroyed. 15 more cats were caught in the garden and also destroyed. Inside the two-storey residence there were piles of cat faeces. The house reeked of urine which had soaked into the walls, floors and furnishings. Health Inspectors doubted it would be possible to remove the smell - the house would most likely have to be pulled down. The couple were forbidden from getting new pets and faced charges of cruelty to animals, which could lead to a year in jail. The great tragedy of animal hoarding is that animals suffer and die at the hands of people who believe they are saving the animals. \*
>
> A typical collector takes animals in, but does not adopt any out. She says she rehomes them, but cannot bear to part with a single one. She believes that nobody could ever care for them as well as they can, in spite of the evidence of sick cats around her. This unwillingness to part with a cat may extend to when cats are sick, dying or dead. The collector refuses to visit a vet because of difficult questions which could result in all her animals being seized. The cats aren’t vaccinated. Diseases spread through the overcrowded home and cats may become chronically ill or die. Even then, the collector may be unable to part with the cat and keeps the corpse in the freezer. This not any kind of rational decision, it is because the collector simply cannot part with any of their collection even after its death.What Is A Cat Collector?
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/11 "2005-12-15T17:11:52Z")
All comments are getting towards what I am interested in. There does seem to be some sort of pathology that leads to this behavior. Do we have a consensus on that.
As for this…
> [@nonacetone](#):
>
> Oh crap! I’m 43 years old (married) and I’ve got 4 cats (It was 5, but one of our furbabies had to be put down with kidney failure yesterday morning) and 2 dogs.
>
> I’m WELL on my way…
Don’t worry. Knowing you have a problem is the first step! At one point Lady Chance and I had a slew of indoor/outdoor cats at our old farm house along with two dogs, a bird, and several fish.
The arrival of the kids sort of cooled our ardor for pets, though.
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### Author:  [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/12 "2005-12-15T17:20:51Z")
While thin on data (aside from a cat hoarder list with stats), I believe this [Gaping Maw editorial](http://www.pooflinger.com/collector.html) does a good job of getting into the slippery slope mentality of the cat collector.
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/13 "2005-12-15T17:23:47Z")
Waiting for **CrazyCatLady** to show up and provide the definitive explanation. 😉
My grandmother had outdoor cats. She had boundaries to her well-ordered life too. That’s why they were _outdoor_ cats. She put out food on the back porch and they didn’t get in the door.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/14 "2005-12-15T17:31:36Z")
Kinda sorta related thread
[How many cats is the tipping point from cat lover to crazy cat collector?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305724&highlight=collector)
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### Author:  [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/15 "2005-12-15T17:48:36Z")
My neighbor directly across the street from me is a crazy old cat lady. Except that she’s not crazy, and she doesn’t keep more than 3 cats at her home.
Her name is [Dorothy Max](http://www.piratevisual.net/sos/sosarticle.html) . Her sole mission in life is to care for and feed stray cats all over the Cleveland area through her organization **Save Our Strays** , and to find homes for them if possible. She’s a very nice lady and does good work. I’m just glad that she cares for the cats wherever they may be, rather than bringing them home! The cats she does keep have taken a liking to my backyard and often hang out there (it’s kind of nature-preservy).
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### Author:  [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/16 "2005-12-15T17:51:00Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#):
>
> Some psychiatrists believe that people who collect huge numbers of cats (or dogs, or any other animal) are basically suffering from a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I have heard this as well; I would be surprised if it’s not _most_ psychiatrists. This was discussed in a more recent Post article 12/7/05, where pet “collecting” was just one manifestation of a general hoarding disorder. Cats make the news but this behavior seems fairly common. Some elderly people accumulate so much junk that they can’t walk through their own house or sleep in their bedroom. This isn’t just saving your movie tickets, this is about collecting and saving anything you can get your hands on. My wife spent some volunteer hours helping to clean up the home of a woman who had huge stacks of books and magazines and other miscellaneous paper everywhere, totally clogging up the house.
Fairfax County even has a “central hoarding number” to report cases that need attention.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/17 "2005-12-15T17:55:14Z")
Hey don’t worry. That’s what a burlap sack and a deep lake are for.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/18 "2005-12-15T17:58:08Z")
> [@msmith537](#):
>
> Hey don’t worry. That’s what a burlap sack and a deep lake are for.
Ah, yes. Reminds me of an old Soviet saying: “Eez more fun than burlap sack of cats and deep lake, no?”
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### Author:  [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/19 "2005-12-15T18:03:34Z")
Hi,
Working for a vet, we’ve had a few folks that were on the edge of “collecting”. But we also have a stellar client who has over 40 cats, she takes care of them to an extreme (they get EVERYTHING we recommend, vaccinated in a timely manner) plus she rescues and rehomes several cats a month. She works full time, and we’ve heard from other clients that know her that her house is immaculate (although a little like a military camp, it would have to be to take care of all those animals).
I just wanted to point out that not everyone with a bunch of animals is pathological. 🙂 ( I have 8 dogs, 2 cats, and 8 sheep myself)
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### Author:  [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)
#### Post date: [December 15, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-women-and-hundreds-of-cats/335720/20 "2005-12-15T18:25:57Z")
> [@Johanna](#):
>
> My grandmother had outdoor cats.
They were essentially feral cats who agreed to behave as tame when they were on my grandmother’s back porch. Being fed Purina when you’d trying to forage off the land is all the motivation a wild cat would need to be on its best behavior and stay on the nice old lady’s good side. A cat has enough common sense to take the best deal it can get in its own interests.
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