That's what many call "a collector." The sad thing is, what
often happens is that one day they get overwhelmed and
just lock the cats in and leave them. You see this on the news
all the time. Think about it. How can you care for 70 cats?

Did she "collect" and speuter all 70 or did she just bring home a few and
let them multiply?
Are they all current on shots and does a vet see each and every one of them
every year?
Is she rich or going broke feeding them?

I have 19 right now and figure if I ever get to 24 that's 2 vet visits a
month - that would be the absolute total maximum I could possible handle.
ron

I thought this was very interesting.....

from:
http://www.bestfriends.org/members/faithfully/hoarding.htm

June 4, 2000
Sanctuary News

When Helping Becomes Hoarding

When does the desire to help animals spill over into a serious
psychiatric condition?

By Faith Maloney --Director of the sanctuary

Doris had been dead for about two days before they found her. As the
paramedics opened the door, the powerful stench of cat droppings hit
them like a wall. Panicked cats were flying everywhere throughout the
house; piles of cat waste and old empty food containers lay all around
the floors. After the paramedics removed Doris' body they called the
animal control officer, who then called me to come and help remove the
cats.
  I had seen stories about people like Doris on the news, but this was
the first time I was to see the full effects of a mental condition
known as Animal Hoarding.

The house was filthy, the smell overpowering. The cats were frightened
and hostile. There was no food in evidence, and the only water was
coming from a leaky kitchen faucet. My team and I set about with nets
and carriers to catch the cats and get them the help they needed. There
were several litters of tiny kittens in various corners of the main
living room. It was easy to pick those up, but knowing who their mamas
were wasn't. As we caught each cat, we checked to see if any were
nursing so we could try to match the kittens with their respective
mothers later on.

  By the time we finished the job, we had removed 56 cats and kittens
from the house. Fortunately most of them went on to find new homes. The
feral ones continue to live at Best Friends.

What is an animal hoarder?

  I never knew Doris, so I don't know how she started collecting
cats. Experts tell us that animal hoarding is a mental health disorder
related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  Most hoarders are middle-aged or older women living alone. Often the
animal of choice is the cat - it's easier to keep cats indoors, out
of the prying eyes of neighbors. Usually by the time others are alerted
to a bad situation, there can be hundreds of cats crammed into a house
or trailer.

Some animal hoarders start with the best of intentions. But gradually
the animals lose their identities, becoming objects to be collected
just as some eccentric people collect old magazines or tin foil or
balls of string. Removing the animals is not enough; unless the
perpetrators receive professional help, they often just move to a new
location and start up all over again.

  Not everyone who ends up with too many animals is a hoarder. There
is a big difference between a rescuer whose situation is getting out of
control and an animal hoarder who is mentally ill and using animals to
feed her compulsion. I have met numerous caring animal lovers who have
rescued more animals than they can cope with at home and who have found
themselves in trouble. They are not sick people.

Don't take on more than you can handle

  Take Karen, for example. She came across a large group of uncared
for feral cats in a busy downtown area near where she works. It was her
first major rescue operation. She and a friend trapped the cats, got
them fixed and vaccinated, returned the adults to the colony, and set
up daily feeding schedules. She kept the kittens at her home to tame
them and make them ready for adoption. An excellent plan. Karen's
husband was supportive and since they both have excellent jobs, they
could cope with the added financial burden.
  But, somewhere along the line, things started to get out of hand.
Karen brought in some adult cats who needed special care. One of them
began spraying; then others decided this was a new fun thing to do.
Karen's husband began to see the investment they had made in a
beautiful home going down the drain. Tensions were building between
them.

They both realized that something needed to be done for the sake of
their marriage as well as for the cats. They looked for solutions,
starting with a cattery for the sprayer and his friends, and began to
work with other animal groups in their area to help place some of the
cats in new homes.
  Karen was not in danger of going seriously over the edge, since she
does not have the mental illness that led Doris down that dark path.
But there is still a strong lesson to be learned for all of us about
not taking on more than we can handle.
  If you recognize yourself, a friend, or family member in any of
this, then it's time to stop and think and find some help. A slower,
steady course of care, taking on what can be handled well, will help
more in the end by preventing burnout and disasters. To really help the
animals, we need to be healthy in mind and body. As in all things in
life, balance is essential.

Re-Posted w/o comment and w/o permission from NBC...

http://www.turnto10.com/news/4410847/detail.html?rss=pro&psp=news

Animal Control Removes Dozens Of Cats From Home
Owners Could Face Animal Cruelty Charges

POSTED: 5:47 pm EDT April 24, 2005
UPDATED: 6:02 pm EDT April 24, 2005

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Animal control officials responded to a case of cat
hoarding in Pawtucket this weekend.

Almost 40 cats were removed from a mobile home Saturday afternoon.

Two cats were found dead and some had to be euthanized. The others are
being treated at an animal hospital.

Animal control officers said the couple who live in the home have been
reported for hoarding before.

Two years ago, animal control officers removed 25 cats from the home.

The couple could face animal cruelty charges because none of the cats
were vaccinated.