Cross Breeds - How many animals do you have to own before being considered a "collector"?

How many animals do you have to own before being considered a "collector"?

I see so many people on here who own 20+ of an animal and then own other 'types' of animals on top of that. Isn't that a mental disorder?? Isn't that against the law?? I can only imagine the odor and filth. Yuk!

Public Comments

Depends what kind of animal, and where you live.
I own a bunch of animals but I also live on a farm and there in a barn. I'd call myself a farmer not a cow collector. lol
You can't collect something that is alive (aside from houseplants maybe)
Depends on where you live, and the type of animals. Despite what you think, many animals are pretty clean :D if you tidy up well, nothing really stinks too much.
I have a friend who is a roach collector. He has thousands
I personally have met many people who not only have up to 20 + animals kept as pets also did wildlife rehab and their houses didn't stink. Many people are under the false impression that everyone who owns more than 2 pets have a nasty home. Not true by a long shot. Flip side I have also been in many homes with 1 pet whos home stank to all out doors. Has nothing to do with the number of animals you have it is all on how clean you keep your cages and animals. Some animal collectors do have issues. In their mind they are saving these animals from "the cruel animal shelters" When in fact they are treating the animals far worse than they would be treated in any shelter. If they don't start out altering their animals it gets out of control real quick. And these are the cases that are blasted all over the news. They are not going to show someone who is having their animals confiscated just because they have to many. No one will remember that. But they will remember the filthy house.
When you get above the number that you can properly maintain then you should start getting rid of some. The mistake collectors make is not being able to let go. The get a pet and make it part of the family, which is fine, but then they won't get it fixed and when it has puppies they become part of the family, which is not good. You'll end up with too many. The other way is that someone starts feeding strays, which is bad, not only do you become attached to the dog and feel like you are the only one who can take care of it, your actually hurting the dog. Your just giving it enough care to survive. You should call the pound. Then the animal can be adopted out properly to a loving home who'll take care of all it's needs, not just food. Yes, there is a chance no one'll adopt it and it'll be put to sleep, but as sad as that is, it's preferable over living on the streets with fleas, exposed to the elements, and hoping that you care enough about it to give it that food on a regular basis. What if you go on vacation? What then? Like I said. You should have only the number of animals you can keep up. I think I have a lot of animals, but it's not a bad number. We have 5 horses. We're a family of four with four horses and my cousin keeps one out here. One horse can't be riden, because of founder. We have him because no one would buy him, he's real old, and yes he is part of the family, but the rest of them work. We have two dogs. One is the family dog and one is mine I'm taking off to college. I wouldn't suggest more than two dogs and that's not a real good idea. We have one cat that's inside. The dogs don't come in unless it's below 40 degrees and I have some fish. All animals are properly taken care of.
Just because it is not your lifestyle, you should not knock someone whose it is. If a responsible person can care for that many animals and afford the bills, vet costs, etc that go with them, then it is really not a problem for you to get worked up over. On the other hand, if it is too much for that person or family, and the animals get less than adequate care, then you should report them to the authorities and go about your business.
You are a "collector" or "hoarder" when you have more animals than you can keep in safe, healthy, sanitary conditions. If you ahve the money to hire help or volunteers to help, then you can have many more than someone who has no help and little money.
I don't understand how having a lot of animals suddenly became classed as a mental disorder. Okay so maybe some people have more than they can reasonably afford but all they are doing is trying to rescue unwanted animals that would otherwise die. It's a pretty sad state of affairs that there are so many animals that actually need rescuing and then to add that the people who try to help are called mental ? They should get funding never mind anything else. There was a local lady who rescued a lot of cats and was always in the papers and she managed to get charity status and is now THE local cat rescue center. IMHO people who dump or abuse animals should be classed as mental because if they can do these things to a pet then it follows that they could do the same to a person. This world is twisted.
I have to say "collector" is the wrong word. People can be animal "hoarders" when they don't have the abitilty to care for the animals they've got. And that's dangerous for the animals as well as the owners. My husband and I own 150+/- chinchillas, 4 hampters, and 4 gerbils...all of which are breeding animals. We also have one cat and one hedgehog as pets. This sounds like a lot, but we know of many chinchilla breeders on the "show circuit" with over 2000 breeding chinchillas. Of couse, a few are full timers. One couple (with over 3000) quit their jobs to breed chinchillas full time, and they put their daughter through Med School with the money they earned breeding chinchillas. Basically, it's not about how many animals you have. It's about how much time you are willing to put into properly caring for them. And some people just can't put in the kind of time or effort it takes to own even one animal.
Pardon me ? a collector ? I own a pile of animals but i'm a licensed breeder. And yes, my house has the smell of woodchips, but since they're clean it doesn't smell utterly disguisting, and I steam clean my carpets. No, it isn't a mental disorder. I have loved and owned animals all my life and when I moved out and on my own I wanted nothing more then a pile of pets to keep me happy and occupied. Yes I do have a life and another job ontop of the breeding, I go out with friends every night, I am a normal person with a passion for animals. And fyi, you could have a dozen pocket pets and have the place smell like woodchips, or one cat or dog and have the place reek of urine. No, it's not against the law :)
Some people might consider me and my wife crazy. After all we live with 14 Siberian Huskies. However, I don't agree with that at all. If you can give all the necessary care needed to the animal(s) involved then I see no problem with having multiple animals assuming you are also complying with local laws, though I disagree with many of those. I have seen, I am sure you have, stories of people having a 100 cats or something being taken away. In most of these types of cases the animals were not being taken care of properly, with sick ones, dead ones and droppings all over the house, and half starved ones everywhere. Many of them call themselves rescuers, but I have to say that they are just a bit on the nutty side. Though we have rescued most of our Huskies, we are not a rescue as such. When we take one in, it has found it's forever home. We have taken 4 in that were H/W positive and they were treated for it. Several are special needs. One that we got last year had juvenile cataracts. She has had surgery and has her vision back. We have a couple that have seizures, one very bad seizures. They are being taken care of. We have one with chronic bronchitis that requires meds. Many were abused. Some came from the pound. But in all cases their needs are being met fully and they are spoiled rotten. And no we aren't made of money as I'm a retired firefighter. They get lots of love and in turn give lots of love back.
I dont really like the term "collector", to SOME people having lots of animals around them is more of a passion. Now there's two sides to this, on one side you have ppl that do in fact hoard or "collect" animals in hopes of breeding and selling this i do not agree with! but on the other side, some ppl just like to company of animals and feel more at home when they are surrounded by them. I myself have 12 animals of all types in my home, they are all well taken care of and i could not imagine not having them around.
Well just because somebody has 20+ of an animal, doesn't mean they smell and don't take care of the animal. it might be something like fish or dwarf frogs or mice or something. They probably breed them or something. I just hope that if someone wants that many pets, they take care of them :) and i doubt its against the law. the only reason it would be against the law is if they abuse those poor lil animals =(. and its not a mental disorder, it might be somebodys hobby.