Putting this stuff on TV for people's entertainment confuses me.
Hoarders featuring rabbits
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katiebear
Well-known member
Zass, I think this is another example of just how demented our society has become......instead of helping the mentally ill we medicate the ones who will cooperate, and shun the ones that won't. The brain and the way it works is not understood at all and there is little research done in the name of "cures" most of the research is being done by pharmaceutical company's in order to sell more drugs.I am not saying that the mentally ill should be locked up in institutions, but when you look at the way they are treated in the U.S. it is pretty sad. A lot of the homeless have mental problems as well as a lot of veterans. So now the Hollywood people get into the act and put them on display on your tv so everyone can laugh at them.Or pat themselves on the back and say "Hey, I'm not sick I only have this problem or that problem, not like that sicko" ........Yeah....we are so advanced as a country...(barf). I don't have a tv not for about six years now..nope don't miss that garbage at all!
Frosted Rabbits
Well-known member
I can empathize with a hoarder-- I know what drives me to 'save' certain things.A common theme among hoarders is LOSS!!! Loss of a person, belongings, etc.. Sadly, some of us lose our sensibilities along the way...
skysthelimit
Well-known member
I'm a little messy and I tend to save things, but...
There is always a clean path around the house, I can see my tables, no clothes on my bed.
I get itchy and germophobic fairly quickly, so I will throw away things. I throw my dishes away fairly frequently, if I left something somewhere and it looks dusty/moldy. I throw away stuff a lot of times rather than wash it, or wash it a few times and throw it away.
And if I see an insect... I start throwing everything away.
There is always a clean path around the house, I can see my tables, no clothes on my bed.
I get itchy and germophobic fairly quickly, so I will throw away things. I throw my dishes away fairly frequently, if I left something somewhere and it looks dusty/moldy. I throw away stuff a lot of times rather than wash it, or wash it a few times and throw it away.
And if I see an insect... I start throwing everything away.
Someone on here discovered a hoarder had been buying her rabbits. It was very traumatic for her when she found out.
I asked her to use her hindsight to identify some signs that may be useful red flags, and I know she wouldn't mind me posting a little of what she said paraphrased if it has a chance of helping someone else.
One sign she mentioned to me that really stood out was that the hoarder (who was claiming to be a breeder) was frequently buying up pet type rabbits (like every weekend, new rabbits) in many breeds and from many different breeders and never ever had any of her own litters for sale.
She was uncomfortable handling young rabbits and acted rather clueless about very basic rabbit care. For someone who must have owned a LOT of rabbits and was supposedly raising at last 5 different breeds of rabbit it's was suspicious.
It's not much to go on, but hoarders are known to go to pretty great lengths to hide their activities.
I asked her to use her hindsight to identify some signs that may be useful red flags, and I know she wouldn't mind me posting a little of what she said paraphrased if it has a chance of helping someone else.
One sign she mentioned to me that really stood out was that the hoarder (who was claiming to be a breeder) was frequently buying up pet type rabbits (like every weekend, new rabbits) in many breeds and from many different breeders and never ever had any of her own litters for sale.
She was uncomfortable handling young rabbits and acted rather clueless about very basic rabbit care. For someone who must have owned a LOT of rabbits and was supposedly raising at last 5 different breeds of rabbit it's was suspicious.
It's not much to go on, but hoarders are known to go to pretty great lengths to hide their activities.
I see how hoarding rabbits could be a problem. They are so darn cute when they are first born. Then watching them grow and change just makes them more adorable.
We started with 2 Holland Lops. They had 2 beautiful kits (one boy, one girl) we plan to keep them because they were our very "first".
Then we have a female lionhead that we bred with a person who breeds lionheads. We currently have 6 beautiful 4 week old babies. All these will be sold.
Each Saturday we go to a local small animal auction (chickens & rabbits). There are 2 different ladies that are always there that we are CERTAIN must be hoarders. They will purchase any rabbit from any breed. Large/small it doesn't matter. I talked to one of the ladies and she said that she had about 150 rabbits that she sells for pets. The other lady doesn't say much, but buys a few every week.
On the other hand we go to the auction to find the cute bunnies as well, but usually not to purchase. I know that some rabbits are bread for meat, and I "guess" that's ok. But when I see one of the "meat buyers" bidding on a cute little dwarf, Holland, lionhead, etc., well I jump in and bid to save these little bunnies. Once home we find new homes for them.... Which hasn't been a problem at all!!!
My most recent purchase last week was a absolutely BEAUTIFUL 5 month old double-mane lionhead. Get this... I got him for $2!!!!! I wanted him so bad I would have bid up to $15!!!! As I said earlier we have a female lionhead who we paid $10 to breed with another breeders male lionhead. Now we have our own male and can breed our own! He loves to be held and is so calm. He's my favorite bunny!
So I see how a person could hoard rabbits if they didn't have the discipline. Fortunately we have discipline, and lack of cages and place for cages! So I don't think we will have a problem.
We started with 2 Holland Lops. They had 2 beautiful kits (one boy, one girl) we plan to keep them because they were our very "first".
Then we have a female lionhead that we bred with a person who breeds lionheads. We currently have 6 beautiful 4 week old babies. All these will be sold.
Each Saturday we go to a local small animal auction (chickens & rabbits). There are 2 different ladies that are always there that we are CERTAIN must be hoarders. They will purchase any rabbit from any breed. Large/small it doesn't matter. I talked to one of the ladies and she said that she had about 150 rabbits that she sells for pets. The other lady doesn't say much, but buys a few every week.
On the other hand we go to the auction to find the cute bunnies as well, but usually not to purchase. I know that some rabbits are bread for meat, and I "guess" that's ok. But when I see one of the "meat buyers" bidding on a cute little dwarf, Holland, lionhead, etc., well I jump in and bid to save these little bunnies. Once home we find new homes for them.... Which hasn't been a problem at all!!!
My most recent purchase last week was a absolutely BEAUTIFUL 5 month old double-mane lionhead. Get this... I got him for $2!!!!! I wanted him so bad I would have bid up to $15!!!! As I said earlier we have a female lionhead who we paid $10 to breed with another breeders male lionhead. Now we have our own male and can breed our own! He loves to be held and is so calm. He's my favorite bunny!
So I see how a person could hoard rabbits if they didn't have the discipline. Fortunately we have discipline, and lack of cages and place for cages! So I don't think we will have a problem.
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I watched the hoarding show with the rabbits, but what got to me was the other lady featured with the chickens, goats and ducks. She had small plastic tubs with grates over top, packed with chickens shoulder to shoulder, stepping all over dead and dying ones at the bottom, ontop of 10 inches of feces and she insisted their health was fine. In the true spirit of hoarding, she didn't even want the people to even take out the dying ones. It was like her brain was blocking out all the suffering, so she had no empathy and she had no sense of reality. The people were way too nice to her, they should have taken all the animals away and she should have never been allowed to own another animal.
The rabbit hoarders were different. They didn't seem like true hoarders, they wanted the rabbits gone but where so helpless they couldn't do anything on their own. Two pathetic people in a dysfunctional relationship, without any sense, who decided to let rabbits go in their house one day (they probably saw the house rabbit society site and thought... letting rabbits run loose in the house without cages would be fun...). Then after the rabbits bred out of control, they didn't have the mental capacity to create a plan of action to remedy the situation, or buy cages, or the strength to bend over and catch the rabbits and contain them in some way. Thier only idea was to call animal control, and when animal control refused to take the rabbits, they just decided they would have to live with it, or ignore it and hope it would go away on its own.
The rabbit hoarders were different. They didn't seem like true hoarders, they wanted the rabbits gone but where so helpless they couldn't do anything on their own. Two pathetic people in a dysfunctional relationship, without any sense, who decided to let rabbits go in their house one day (they probably saw the house rabbit society site and thought... letting rabbits run loose in the house without cages would be fun...). Then after the rabbits bred out of control, they didn't have the mental capacity to create a plan of action to remedy the situation, or buy cages, or the strength to bend over and catch the rabbits and contain them in some way. Thier only idea was to call animal control, and when animal control refused to take the rabbits, they just decided they would have to live with it, or ignore it and hope it would go away on its own.
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So true!!jimmywalt":12htyppf said:
Many of us meat breeders have pet bunnies, too. We currently have two house bunnies... one of which is a lionhead.jimmywalt":12htyppf said:
I'm glad you've had good luck so far... Auctions can be a dangerous place to buy rabbits, because even if the rabbit is healthy, it can harbor a pathogen that it is immune to, but that could wipe out the rest of your rabbits.jimmywalt":12htyppf said:
That is a gorgeous lionhead!
Are you observing quarantine procedures with your new rabbits?
mothergoosemagic
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This is going to come as a shock, but most people have hoarding tendencies. Our bodies are literally designed to hoard calories in case of famine.
True hoarding is a serious mental disorder, and as one of the other posters noted, related to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Like OCD, it focuses on control issues. It can take many different forms, and there is usually a triggering traumatic event when the hoarding is isolated to a few specific categories.
For example, one show featured a mother whose stillborn baby had died more than 10 years before, yet she still couldn't let go of the clothes, toys, and other items associated with her child. She had not been able to process her grief. Working with the counselors on the show, she not only was able to give away most of her child's possessions, but also work through her grief.
"Possibilities" is another version. A "found art" artist saw possibilities in everything, and would pick through trash for salvageable items. If you have a box full of craft items, scrapbooking supplies, etc. just waiting for that day when you'll have a chance to work on them, you fall into this category.
Another form is the "what's normal" variety. Your parent/s were borderline hoarders, so having tons of stuff around was SOP. Most of these folks aren't true hoarders--just disorganized. Yet they can also put their hands on what they're looking for.
One reason hoarding is associated with older folks is because of the Great Depression. Certain items were hard to come by, so to throw out anything still useful was practically a sin. For years, my mom would collect bacon grease in a tin can in the fridge only to toss it out when full. I asked why, she didn't know and asked her mother, only to be told it was for the war effort. The World War II war effort.
True hoarding is measured by the amount of distress is causes the victim. As incredible as it might seem, to throw a toilet paper tube away can cause the same level of anxiety as murdering a kitten. No, it doesn't make sense, but that's because these poor folks are living with impaired judgement. Anti-anxiety meds can help, but most of the therapists on the show start with Cognitive Behavioral methodology. Because control is such a huge issue, this particular therapy allows the patient to make conscious changes themselves rather than being forced into something.
Most hoarders do not like living like this. It's a constant battle for control over their environment versus their need for safety (think Doomsday Preppers). Many would like to clean, but are so overwhelmed they don't know where to start. They're also afraid they might inadvertently throw something valuable away. That's why the therapists are there to guide them through the process. It is extremely difficult to overcome on your own.
Animal hoarders are an entirely different category. They begin with good intentions--rescuing unwanted animals. These are usually substitutes for a lack of human companionship although there have been cases where the hoarders are close relatives like mother and son. You rarely find animal hoarders having other appropriate social outlets.
Unfortunately, because they usually lack the funds to adequately care for living creatures as opposed to inanimate objects like dolls--another common human substitute, the animals begin to suffer from the neglect. But being animals, they still offer unconditional love. Despite what the letter of the law may say, there is a vast difference between neglect and abuse. Just ask anyone who has seen the results of a dogfight.
In the US, mental disease is still a stigma and many folks will not seek treatment. And to be honest, there aren't that many options available for hoarders. Animal hoarders are most likely to be prosecuted and forbidden or limited on the number of animals they can own. But this doesn't stop the "urge" to rescue, or fill the love gap these people feel.
We just have to do our best and not enable these folks if possible.
:?
True hoarding is a serious mental disorder, and as one of the other posters noted, related to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Like OCD, it focuses on control issues. It can take many different forms, and there is usually a triggering traumatic event when the hoarding is isolated to a few specific categories.
For example, one show featured a mother whose stillborn baby had died more than 10 years before, yet she still couldn't let go of the clothes, toys, and other items associated with her child. She had not been able to process her grief. Working with the counselors on the show, she not only was able to give away most of her child's possessions, but also work through her grief.
"Possibilities" is another version. A "found art" artist saw possibilities in everything, and would pick through trash for salvageable items. If you have a box full of craft items, scrapbooking supplies, etc. just waiting for that day when you'll have a chance to work on them, you fall into this category.
Another form is the "what's normal" variety. Your parent/s were borderline hoarders, so having tons of stuff around was SOP. Most of these folks aren't true hoarders--just disorganized. Yet they can also put their hands on what they're looking for.
One reason hoarding is associated with older folks is because of the Great Depression. Certain items were hard to come by, so to throw out anything still useful was practically a sin. For years, my mom would collect bacon grease in a tin can in the fridge only to toss it out when full. I asked why, she didn't know and asked her mother, only to be told it was for the war effort. The World War II war effort.
True hoarding is measured by the amount of distress is causes the victim. As incredible as it might seem, to throw a toilet paper tube away can cause the same level of anxiety as murdering a kitten. No, it doesn't make sense, but that's because these poor folks are living with impaired judgement. Anti-anxiety meds can help, but most of the therapists on the show start with Cognitive Behavioral methodology. Because control is such a huge issue, this particular therapy allows the patient to make conscious changes themselves rather than being forced into something.
Most hoarders do not like living like this. It's a constant battle for control over their environment versus their need for safety (think Doomsday Preppers). Many would like to clean, but are so overwhelmed they don't know where to start. They're also afraid they might inadvertently throw something valuable away. That's why the therapists are there to guide them through the process. It is extremely difficult to overcome on your own.
Animal hoarders are an entirely different category. They begin with good intentions--rescuing unwanted animals. These are usually substitutes for a lack of human companionship although there have been cases where the hoarders are close relatives like mother and son. You rarely find animal hoarders having other appropriate social outlets.
Unfortunately, because they usually lack the funds to adequately care for living creatures as opposed to inanimate objects like dolls--another common human substitute, the animals begin to suffer from the neglect. But being animals, they still offer unconditional love. Despite what the letter of the law may say, there is a vast difference between neglect and abuse. Just ask anyone who has seen the results of a dogfight.
In the US, mental disease is still a stigma and many folks will not seek treatment. And to be honest, there aren't that many options available for hoarders. Animal hoarders are most likely to be prosecuted and forbidden or limited on the number of animals they can own. But this doesn't stop the "urge" to rescue, or fill the love gap these people feel.
We just have to do our best and not enable these folks if possible.
:?
Zass":j0icmhxb said:
For me, it's outright disgusting. I don't have TV, but there seems to be nothing bad enough as long as it amuses the masses, while pointing a finger everyone feels better...
To gloat over psychological problems of other people is not far away from laughing about a cripple trying to run from a wildfire...
Maybe I'm somewhat touchy about that, I need other friends to visit me regularily to not get my messie tendencies get loose, I raise rabbits as therapie, keeps me functional when I have something I must care for, my way to fight depression I'm genetically predispositioned with...
For me it's my two does and my buck, the black doe first of all, was the only one that survived a Myxo outbrake and spent a winter in my kitchen, quarantine.
Preitler
