Animal Hoarding

Top 5 Ways to Help an Animal Hoarder
Animal Hoarding »

Top 5 Ways to Help an Animal Hoarder

By Sarah Grace McCandless

Helping the Animal Hoarder

Animal hoarders generally believe they're helping the creatures in their care.

If you know of someone who has too many pets in an unsanitary environment, and the animals aren't receiving proper nutrition or medical attention, you may be witnessing a case of animal hoarding. It might be easy in these situations to blame the hoarder and assume his or her actions are intentional, but according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), animal hoarders generally believe they're helping the creatures in their care. Many experts think mental disorders like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) contribute to the condition, so to overcome it, hoarders often need a combination of anti-depressants and therapy. But it's tough for an animal hoarder to get on that road to recovery without some support. Here are five things you can do to help an animal lover break out of the hoarding cycle.