"Any money she had, she spent on cat food."

[LOL!]

Volunteers save Blanco County 'cat colony'

Why is it always an old woman with cat food? Why don't men do this? Or do they?

 

[WhoDaresWins]

People who do this are called "hoarders". For whatever reason, the animal collectors tend to be women. I can't really comment on the psychology of this. Maybe it has something to do with a misplaced nurturing instinct. The old men would rather spend their money on beer and tobacco I'm guessing. I know of what I speak as I work in this area on occasion. In fifteen years I have only encountered one man who was a cat hoarder. He had fifteen in a trailer and he didn't clean up after them. Gave them each a can of food a day but some of the healthier, more aggressive cats stole the food from the weaker, sicker ones. When the animals are removed, it is not uncommon for these individuals to start collecting again. Most of the time a guardian is appointed to take charge of the situation and the person is placed.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I agree, almost always women, but I dunno why. They do it with dogs, too. We've got a potential one joined up with our rescue group that we are trying to work with. Nightmare.

 

[travelover]

We just had a local case where a guy had 250 Chihuahuas in his house. 150 of 'em dead in a freezer. At least they didn't escape and terrorize the neighborhood.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/03/us/AP-US-Dog-House-Michigan.html

 

[W2R]

Men may not be animal collectors as often as women, but some men do hoard tools, guns, old cars, and/or motorcycles.

 

[ziggy29]

We just had a local case where a guy had 250 Chihuahuas in his house.

Yikes. Yo quiero a LOT of Taco Bell there.

 

[Bestwifeever]

What is it with Blanco TX this week--cat colony and chupacabra in the press--

Mysterious creature draws world's gaze to taxidermy school - CNN.com

 

[REWahoo]

I think the news media is attempting to white wash the town's name.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Hey no one wants to know what I hoard...

 

[ziggy29]

I'm a little less than an hour's drive from Blanco and I never knew they had a taxidermy school...

 

[Nords]

People who do this are called "hoarders". For whatever reason, the animal collectors tend to be women. I can't really comment on the psychology of this. Maybe it has something to do with a misplaced nurturing instinct. The old men would rather spend their money on beer and tobacco I'm guessing.

It has a lot to do with security, and guys rarely hoard animals when they can hoard inanimate objects.

Spouse has discovered the A&E TV show "Hoarders". (Hey, it's August reruns and there's nothing to watch.) These people will scare the bejeezus out of you... especially if you have aging parents who tend to be somewhat reclusive. The food hoarders-- holy crap.

Now when spouse brings home another $1 tchotchke from a garage sale, I keep my mouth shut.

When you watch the website's archived episodes, keep in mind that these are hoarders who have sought help and are hypothetically getting better. I can only imagine the state of mind of the people who avoid the public eye and refuse counseling/treatment.

I'm not looking for a job, but I wonder what the cash flow of a 1-800-GOT-JUNK franchise is...

 

[NW-Bound]

Spouse has discovered the A&E TV show "Hoarders". (Hey, it's August reruns and there's nothing to watch.) These people will scare the bejeezus out of you... especially if you have aging parents who tend to be somewhat reclusive. The food hoarders-- holy crap.

I have not watched the show but it sounds interesting. My mother who lives alone has been known to stock up on meat on sale to the point of overflowing her refrigerator and had to "borrow" room in her friend's refrigerator. Good grief! She was afraid to come to me and my siblings for fear of having to listen to our lectures! And she is not a recluse, in fact an extrovert.

Even in this hog-heaven modern society, the fear of going hungry and the greed of having to pass up on a good sale are difficult to overcome. We ourselves have to keep from overbuying when the local food stores have a good sale. I need to keep reminding my wife that we do not really eat that much, and that there is always a store having a sale every week.

PS. Just watched a bit of "Hoarders" on the Web. No, my mother is not a hoarder compared to these people!

 

[Bestwifeever]

I'm a little less than an hour's drive from Blanco and I never knew they had a taxidermy school...

Probably you've been too focused on dodging the chupacabras to notice.

I wonder if anyone is hoarding chupacabras (yes, I do like saying that word).

 

[ziggy29]

Probably you've been too focused on dodging the chupacabras to notice.

I wonder if anyone is hoarding chupacabras (yes, I do like saying that word).

Useless trivia: The winning team on the first season of VH1's "World Series of Pop Culture" was called "El Chupacabra."

As Casey Stengel once remarked, "You can look it up."

 

[citrine]

Hoarding makes me nervous.....I like to throw/donate/clean every few months to the point of spartan.....is that a problem?

 

[LOL!]

Only if you are tossing out hundreds of cats, chihuahuas, chupacabras, or any combination thereof.

 

[M Paquette]

ISpouse has discovered the A&E TV show "Hoarders". (Hey, it's August reruns and there's nothing to watch.) These people will scare the bejeezus out of you... especially if you have aging parents who tend to be somewhat reclusive. The food hoarders-- holy crap.

OK, I thought the "Clean House" cases were bad. Cleaning out a place with a snow shovel? Yow. Too much stuff.

I feel better about cleaning out the garage now.

 

[DangerMouse]

We watched Hoarders the first couple of weeks, however now we can not bear to watch the show now as it is so scary. First reaction after you finish watching an episode is to roam the house looking to see what you can throw out. DH was so frustrated as they seemed more concerned about the feelings of the hoarder rather than the suffering of those who were having to live with the consequence of the hoarder.