Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) provide both the care for the rescued cats, the photography and the collage on their Facebook page, which I think is excellent despite the subject matter being depressing. I am sorry for this aspect of the photography. The collage does, though, bring home to us how some people end up living in terrible conditions inside their own homes. We don’t see it because it is behind closed doors.
In this instance WHS tell us that this is a ‘large scale surrender’. The cats’ owners or someone on their behalf must have contacted WHS for help. This is my interpretation of how it unfolded.
Eleven hours ago WHS staff had removed 95 cats from this home. Clearly the cats were left to breed which is often the way it happens. The people lose control because they don’t have the foresight to ensure that the cats are sterilised. It is as simple as that. The situation develops over many years. Some of the cats will inevitably need medical care and WHS are asking for donations.
Although I suspect that this person or persons would have let their home become uninhabitable with or without cats. We are not told but they are probably elderly people who want to care for stray cats so they have a heart but are unable to cope. Although, this may be a plain case of cat hoarding in which case it could be argued that the people have mental health issues. But a house with a huge number of cats does not necessarily indicate that the home owners have mental health issues.
As I said it may be that they are elderly and as a consequence have lost some of their ability to care for themselves and others (the cats). Perhaps dementia has set in although I am speculating as we don’t have information about the home owners.
It is, though, importatant to understand the attitude and mentality of the ‘hoarders’ to better understand how to prevent it happening again and again. This is not uncommon.
Note: The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which does not own or manage animal shelters and is not affiliated with local humane societies which are involved in cat rescue as is the case here.
SOME PAGES ON ‘HUMANE SOCIETY’:
The special cats of San Nicolas Island and the special person who looks after them
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees and their pets entering USA via Mexico
Security camera picture of a woman who is allegedly stealing a cat from Nebraska Humane Society
30-pound cat needs a special adopter to help him lose weight. How should they do it?
Sad “Big Red” a special ginger tabby feral cat who decided to be domesticated
Councilman allegedly targeted 3 cats when driving down suburban road
Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.