AR-News: (US NY) Collectors don't any animals they adopt an favors

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

Most animal lovers have at least one friend who has several animals. When you 
walk into their home, your nose tells you that more than one or two cats are 
present.

It may even be you who struggles with or worries about pet odors in the home. 
But now imagine walking into the home of a person who had more than 50 cats. 
Your nose might sting and your eyes could water.

"How could anyone live like this?" you might think, as you look around and 
see animals, their fur or feces, everywhere.

When people take responsibility for more animals than they can reasonably 
provide care for, that is called animal collecting. It's kind of like not being 
able to resist bringing one more African violet home - except that these are 
living, breathing, eating and defecating creatures who require far more love and 
attention than a plant.

Another problem with owning too many animals is that the vet costs become 
impossible to pay, and owners begin to let spaying and neutering, routine 
vaccination and health checks slide. More animals are produced, making the problem 
worse and worse.

In most cases, collectors believe that they are doing a good thing by keeping 
the animals from a possible death or a home where the animals will be 
"mistreated." They don't realize the conditions that they are keeping their animals 
in constitute neglect.

"I remember one house I went to, someone commented, 'Isn't this better than 
the cats being dead?' After all, they had food," said Lisa Wathne, regional 
director for the Humane Society of the United States, who has visited the homes 
of several animal collectors.

"My response is 'No.' In this particular house, there was no fresh air. The 
ammonia smells were terrible. There was not one soft, clean spot where a cat 
could sleep," She said. "That can't be considered humane - there's more to life 
than having food to eat."

Some collectors consider themselves to be rescuers, providing homes to 
animals that might otherwise be killed or injured outdoors or euthanized at a 
shelter.

Legitimate rescuers, however, are always able to provide care for the animals 
in their home.

There may be minor odors, but each animal receives fresh food and clean water 
and has urine and feces removed on a daily basis. Rescuers seek and pay for 
veterinary care, and all their pets are spayed or neutered or separated by 
gender. They also try to find permanent homes for the animals they are caring for.

Collectors are often too overwhelmed to provide this minimum level of care, 
cannot afford veterinary care and do not advertise the animals for adoption. 
These collectors can be a problem for neighbors, who notice odors and animals 
wandering the area.



full story:

http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2004/02/01/news/home_garden/garden02.txt



"The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.",
Albert Einstein

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