This is a slightly unusual hoarding case because it concerns a pensioner living in Wales, UK, who is a hoarder of objects to the point where the North Wales Fire Service deemed her home a fire hazard, but she does not hoard cats. As far as I am aware she has several cats at most and on eviction she moved into a vehicle outside her home with them.
Susan Ralphs is 70-years-of-age and she said that she would do everything she can to get her house back. She was living in subsidised housing (housing association). She found herself in a desperate situation and decided to contact the local newspaper in an effort to find somebody to help.
“I will do everything I can to get reinstated as a tenant with Adra and moved back into my house.”
The local county council say that they have a duty to care for her and provide temporary accommodation and that she will be allowed to apply to put her name back on the housing list for a new home. It might be a long wait.
“The council considers every individual who presents themselves as homeless in accordance with relevant homelessness legislation and relevant national guidance.”
Susan Ralphs admits to collecting “a few things” and she claims that she was going to tidy up her house before she was evicted. She is accused of stacking her possessions up to the ceiling in the rooms of her home.
Comment: it is particularly sad because the cats will have a difficult time. It is almost impossible to care properly for domestic cats while living in a vehicle full-time. I hope that the council can rehome her but I doubt very much that they will let her return to previous home or a similar one any time soon. Sh may well be offered temporary accommodation which may prove to be unsuited and inappropriate for domestic cats. She may lose her cats as a result.
The story is of interest to me because in every instance of hoarding that I have read about, the person has been hoarding cats and not possessions. Often people who have a hoarding habit collect both. But this appears not to be the case in this instance.
