How to Prevent Animal Hoarding

Hoarding manifests in many forms, from keeping trash and junk to even hoarding animals. People who hoard animals keep a large number of cats, dogs or other animals in a small home or environment, and often fail to provide basic care, food, water or clean living spaces. Animal hoarding can also be considered a form of animal cruelty. Signs of animal hoarding are visible as malnutrition, medical conditions that have been left untreated and diseases in the eyes and teeth. Steps can be taken, however, to prevent animal hoarding and neglect.

Instructions

• 1

  Educate the community about animal hoarding and how to recognize the signs on an individual's property. Look for unsanitary conditions on the person's property, including a urine odor or fecal matter and unkempt conditions, both on the exterior and interior of the house. Listen for sounds of barking from multiple dogs or stray cats coming in and out of the home.

• 2

  Observe any individual you suspect of hoarding, looking for characteristics that animal hoarders tend to share. Warning signs include refusal to get rid of any animals, a tendency to need clutter in the home, denying that the animals are neglected and having a belief that all the animals are properly cared for. Watch also for signs that the person's public life differs significantly from the life she has at home.

• 3

  Help others to see how the public at large is affected by animal hoarding. The unsanitary living conditions in the homes of hoarders often result in fecal matter and urine outside the home as well. The number of animals rescued could overwhelm or bankrupt a local animal shelter.

• 4

  Contact law enforcement officials, the Humane Society or a local animal shelter about possible signs of animal hoarding. Ask for officials to visit the property to check on the welfare of the animals.

• 5

  Donate to animal sterilization programs. Help individuals who cannot afford to spay or neuter their animals, which prevents the unnecessary breeding of animals that can sometimes create a hoarding situation.

• 6

  Start a neighborhood watch program that focuses on watching for signs of animal abuse and neglect. Visit homeowners suspected of hoarding animals and check the living conditions personally before making any reports to the Humane Society or law enforcement officials.