Our local paper has recently done several articles on the subject of
"Animal Hoarding" after two obvious cases of it and one puppy/kitten
mill that was shut down.  The most disturbing thing about this article
is that 17 of her 19 cats were killed "because of illness or space
restrictions".  Why do I think it was more the latter?

I do want to note that when I went to adopt my fourth cat I was
shocked that the shelter didn't ask for ID, didn't ask me how many
other pets I had, didn't ask about my living arrangements (actually my
landlord was unaware of cat #3 let alone cat #4).  They did insist on
the cat being fixed before being released to me, but seemed way to
trusting beyond that.

From the Latest Article:

"A La Vergne woman who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for having 19
cats in a dirty home said an ''Animals Anonymous'' program would help
people like her deal with pet adoption problems."

"Authorities believe Oberkirsch has symptoms of a behavior called
animal hoarding, where people take in more animals than they can
realistically care for. Some medical experts link it to
obsessive-compulsive disorder."

"Seventeen of Oberkirsch's cats were euthanized because of illness or
space restrictions at the animal shelter, King said. One cat was
adopted in Rutherford County, and another was sent to Wilson County
for adoption. "

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/02/47201393.shtml?Element_ID=47201393