Just read the article in your link. Really sad. How does the PHS make room for 250 more cats on top of the 150 they already have?

Soooo sad....do you know what they will do with these cats? I can't imagine that they can house them all at the shelter...please keep us posted. If one wanted to donate, how would we go about it???

I can't wrap my head around 250 cats! It's always horrifying to learn about hoarder situations. You describe the psychological disorder well. It's hard to imagine she may refuse to relinquish control of these animals and a court battle may keep them living in limbo. Such deep denial. In the meantime, no need to wait for these kitties with another 150 available. I'm definitely going to donate to the PHS. Thanks for giving these animals in need a voice.

Kathy,
You can donate here:
https://secure3.convio.net/phs/site/Donation2?1340.donation=form1&idb=1374145000&df_id=1340

I'm sure many of these kitties are being fostered - at least I hope they are. I hope the owner gets prosecuted, I can't imagine the stink and the suffering those cats have been through.

Today I wrote a check in the middle of Sam's Club to give to two women from Manna Food Bank that I didn't even know who were buying bulk dog and cat food to give out to people when they came for their food pickups. It made sense to me, help people feed their pets and then they don't have to give them up and create an economic burden on the county. Until then I hadn't thought about that as an alternative means of helping to prevent people having to giving a pet up.

This story is disturbing on so many levels, but perhaps most of all, that the courts would even admit, hear a case from someone who kept 250 cats in 600-square feet of space. What a god awful waste of resources, time, and money.

Feral cats hollering into the night and pissing on your car tires just doesn't conjure up the awe factor. Maybe thats why they end up the hands of hoarders.

Having said that, what are you going to do; throw a middle aged woman, also responsible for taking care of her elderly mother, into jail? A waste of energy. Get the woman some help

heres a start

http://sites.google.com/site/clutterersanonymous/

Not just cats mark territory! There are also the wild life in Altadena. And those people who walk their dogs and let them poop on your lawn pick it up but it's ok for them to urinate on your car tires or anything else that they can.

I love Altadena and all the wildlife it brings to my home. If this bothers me then I should move to the city.

There's a dog collector in our neighborhood and I can't count the number of times county agencies/workers have been called out and the owners simply wait until they're gone and then start all over again. The wife is manic depressive and won't take her meds so the dogs and the immediate neighbors suffer. I have no sympathy for her, her husband, or her parents who retaliate in small ways from time to time against my friends who live next door and who have suffered, really suffered because of the situation. I think there should be a limit on the number of pets you can have on your property and then we don't have to have these debates.

This is so sad, for the cats, for the hoarder.

PJ...there usually is a limit on the number of animals that can be legally kept in a residential property...given that Altadena is an unincorporated portion of LA county, I imagine it would be the county regulations that would apply. I'm sure Pas Humane Society would know the answer to this question or know where to find it. Probably, your neighbors would have to document in some way, but I would assume the neighbors could be fined or more...

Technically the amount of dogs per household up here in Altadena is supposed to be 3, all though sometimes I have heard that Animal Control is a bit forgiving about 4. I'm not sure about a limit on cats, but there is one. Barnyard Animals, such as chickens etc. may be kept in larger yards, as long as they have good pens/enclosures and that none of them are closer than 15 feet to your or any neighbors house.

I had the opportunity to to be on a film crew that dealt with the rescue of over 100 horses from a hoarder in Ventura county. I worked on and off on this project for over a yr. Let me tell you though cats way cheaper than horses to feed and house they are probably tougher to place as they are most likely feral. And contrary to lita murray's thoughts we do live in the city and feral cats are not natural habitat. I also thinking spending large sums of money on this is a waste of resources. Feral cats are just that.

I think everyone should rent the movie "Year of the Dog", especially as it's filmed in Altadena, and directed by a local. As for hoarding, it's tragic. The Pasadena Humane Society is appealing for a large trailer in which they can house all these cats. I hope the woman is treated for her disorder, realises her folly, and lets the cats be adopted. And on a positive note, my English friend has just adopted a cat that was kept in a small room with 30 other cats and many dogs by one of these hoarders, and she's found the beautiful little cat to be very well socialized, easy going and well used to dogs. So it's happiness all round.

I had to watch that movie twice to really appreciate it, the second time I "got it" and I loved the bittersweet ending.