Cat Hoarding Repeat Offenders
Cat hoarders who are repeat offenders should be banned from keeping cats for life.
Repeat offending cat hoarders have hoarded 400 cats over four occasions
One family of cat hoarders living in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, New York State, USA have undergone an intervention by the authorities on no less than four occasions with the total number of cats involved reaching almost 400.
The latest intervention by the police, firefighters and the local humane society, involved no less than 150 cats. Fifty of those cats were hiding in the walls of the home.
It took two days to remove 98 cats. It is projected the it will take a further two days to remove the fifty cats inside the walls.
Most of the cats were very ill with the usual health issues: fleas, ear mites, URIs etc..
Thus far 12 cats have been euthanized because they were too ill.
The key element about this cat hoarding story is that these people are repeat offenders.
Nothing that the authorities do stops them. Do the authorities try to stop then offending again? The police say all five of the family could be charged. It seems that they won’t be and if they are it will be a mild punishment and no restrictions imposed as to future conduct.
Is it not possible for courts in America to impose restrictions on animal ownership as part of a criminal sentence for animal cruelty? They should be banned for life from keeping cats.
It must be a failure of animal welfare and the legal system to allow a family to become committed cat hoarders on a grand scale four times involving about 400 cats.
The family’s property has been condemned, we are told, which, to me, means that it will be destroyed.
Let’s think too about the neighbours if there are any. The smell emanating from the house could be detected out in the street.