Carol Wolfson's Response to Duo Zirong's "Rescue" of Over 800 Cats in Shanghai, China

Please also see: How to Help People Who Collect Cats & Dogs (Animal Hoarders)

• Introduction
• Definition of a Hoarder
• PETA Fact Sheet
• Shanghai Daily Full Interview Q&A
• Shanghai Daily Points From the Article About Duo Zirong
• Download Shanghai Daily Article About Dou Zirong: PDF File
• Download Shanghai Daily Article of Carol's Interveiw with Page 2 of Article About Dou Zirong: PDF File

Carol Wolfson here, Founder and Executive Director of SCAA... Listed above is the PDF file of an article which appeared recently in the Shanghai Daily about a woman who has recently intervened and "rescued" 860 cats from a smuggler taking them to Guangzhou for the fur and food trade. Also is my reply, after experiencing many years of dealing with, and trying to assist hoarders, while working and volunteering with various international animal welfare organizations. We can all understand praising the lady for saving these cats from their cruel and barbaric fate, but taking them home as a hoarder is also not the answer (unfortunately there is no easy solution). Only part of my answers were able to be used for the article; the rest of the information I supplied to the Shanghai Daily is outlined below as we believe it will be interesting to our supporters (I also include information from the U.S. Cat Fancier's Association and the PETA media center that explains more about hoarders in general; this applies worldwide).

Shanghai has several animal hoarders ranging in size from 30 to 400+ cats (and now Ms. Duo with over 1,000). SCAA has very strict rules about assisting them (see SCAA Project Terms and Conditions English/Chinese). Currently, there is only one hoarder that will abide by our guidelines, so we are very happy to try to help him and his 180+ cats (we have already neutered all the males, vaccinated the entire population as the cats were fairly healthy upon examination by our partner veterinarian, animals need to be healthy BEFORE vaccinating; to do so if they are sick can make them even sicker or cause their death; provided enough cat litter to keep the "kitty bathroom" area hygienic, and B&Q and Canada Wood have recently provided building materials to create a more mentally-stimulating environment for the cats). This hoarder also has many isolation rooms where he can place sick cats until taken to the veterinarian, thus decreasing the risk of spreading contagious diseases to the general population. If this hoarder takes in any more cats, we will discontinue support of this project as hoarding is a disease and the hoarder must take charge of their own life and make appropriate decisions if they want SCAA's financial and volunteer support.

A Definition of a Hoarder from the Cat Fancier's Association

Hoarding is an illness which is characterized by the excessive accumulation and retention of things and/or animals until they interfere with day-to-day living, such as the care of home, health, family, work and social life. The median number of animals was 39, but four of the cases had more than 100 animals living in the household. In 80% of the cases, animals were reportedly found dead or in poor condition. In 60% of the cases, the hoarder would not acknowledge the problem. Finally, 60% of the animal hoarders studied were repeat offenders. The rate of recidivism is nearly 100 percent. Even after counseling, animal hoarders often simply move and start again.

For more information about this article, see http://www.cfainc.org/articles/hoarding.html

From the PETA Fact Sheet About Animal Hoarders

(More information at http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=27):
Animal hoarders-once described as "collectors" whose good intentions had gone awry-are now recognized as individuals whose mental illness or compulsion can cause criminal behavior with horrific consequences for animals, the hoarders' families, and their communities.

The Animal Hoarder: A Profile
According to Dr. Gary J. Patronek, V.M.D., Ph.D., "Hoarders are by definition oblivious to the extreme suffering, obvious to the causal observer, of their animals."
There are three characteristics indicative of hoarding behavior:

• Hoarders amass a large number of animals.
• Hoarders fail to provide for animals' most basic physical and social needs, including food, water, shelter, veterinary care, and sanitary living conditions.
• Hoarders offer excuses for, or deny, the abysmal living conditions of their animals and, in some cases, their children.

A Fate Worse than Death
Every hoarder's behavior translates into severe, even fatal, neglect for animals in their custody. Overcrowded and filthy conditions make for easy transmission of worms, fleas, mange, ear mites, upper respiratory infections, parvo, distemper, and other diseases and can lead to feces-matted coats and urine burns. Hoarded animals are commonly deprived of basic veterinary care, including spaying and neutering, which causes the numbers of animals to increase, and/or results in the separation of animals by sex and their confinement to small cages or bathrooms. Injuries-including broken limbs and wounds suffered in fights with other animals-go untreated and lead to infections. According to news sources, most of the 61 cats found in a Michigan woman's truck were suffering from everything from skin parasites to respiratory problems, and the majority of them had to be euthanized. A 1999 study conducted by Dr. Patronek found that animals were reportedly found dead or suffering from "obvious disease or injury" in 80 percent of hoarding cases reviewed.

Animals' social needs are equally ignored by hoarders. Cats deprived of human contact become skittish and-if allowed to reproduce-produce feral offspring.

The behavioral problems caused by physical and psychological neglect virtually eliminate animals' chances of being rehabilitated and adopted. For many, euthanasia is the most humane option.

The Threat to Human Lives
Though the jeopardy that hoarders place animals is clear, The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium states, "Animal hoarding has serious consequences for the physical and mental health of hoarders and their families," as well as their neighbors.

As mental-health experts have learned more about hoarding, they have proposed at least three behavioral models to explain the phenomenon:

• Hoarders as "animal addicts: Houston veterinarian Dr. Karen Kemper believes that hoarders are "like alcoholics" and points to 10 behavioral traits that animal hoarders share with substance abusers, including recidivism, "denial that the addiction exists," and "neglect of personal, physical, and environmental conditions."
• Hoarders as suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD): The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) characterizes the hoarding of inanimate objects as a symptom of both OCD and OCPD.(16) One study found that more than 77 percent of hoarders' premises were described as "heavily cluttered" and that an "extensive accumulation" of non-animal-related objects-such as newspapers-was present in nearly 75 percent of the cases.
• Hoarders as suffering from dementia: The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium believes that dementia is among "the spectrum of psychological disorders" that hoarders may suffer from.
  
  The close quarters common in hoarding situations may facilitate the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, such as toxoplasmosis, psittacosis, and salmonellosis. These diseases also threaten a hoarder's human dependents, especially children and the elderly, who were present in more than half of hoarding cases surveyed in one recent study. For example, six children reportedly were removed from a filthy Virginia home that they were sharing with their parents and at least 16 cats and dogs in 2004. High levels of ammonia may also be present in hoarder's homes resulting from accumulated animal urine.
  
  Because of these potential health hazards, some cities-including New York City and Seattle-have created interagency task forces that allow for adult and child protective services, animal control authorities, and health departments to work cooperatively on solutions in hoarding cases.

Interview Questions from Shanghai Daily and Replies

Background: Interview with Carol Wolfson, Founder and Executive Director, of the private, non-profit animal rescue, foster and adoption group Second Chance Animal Aid. SCAA is opposed to the use of traditional animal shelters and uses only a volunteer foster network system where rescued stray companion animals are placed into individual homes so that they can receive high standard Western veterinary care; be observed for health and behavioral issues; and, only when healthy, be adopted into permanent, loving homes. In the two years of its existence SCAA has successfully adopted out nearly 400 healthy rescued dogs and cats, one at a time.

• SD: What do you think of this situation?
  CW: It's absolutely tragic but very common. This is not the first load of cats in Shanghai, nor China, that has been stopped from transporting stolen and stray cats/dogs to Southern China for the fur and food trade. Although not necessarily about food and fur, the problem of stray cats and dogs is universal and not until there are adequate animal welfare and spay/neuter programs implemented by both government and/or large volunteer organizations with huge funding will this problem even come close to a solution. Further, this woman, and others like her, may be applauded for intervening in cruel and barbaric situations, but they are also what animal welfare organizations consider "hoarders" and although they think they are "saving" cats (or dogs), they are actually doing no more than extending their lives in a contagious, disease-ridden, and cruel existence for cats, which are solitary animals. Perhaps having up to eight cats for pets (or to re-home) is almost acceptable, but when one rescued cat becomes ten, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands in a home, this is actually a form of obsessive control disorder; it's a disease of collecting and not being able to stop, despite the outcome to the animals they believe they are saving.
• SD: What are the concerns now with all those cats together?
  CW: It's a cat concentration camp. Nothing less. They may have been saved from a cruel death in these trucks, which is unforgivable and unacceptable of course, but every hoarder we have visited who has asked us for help we have not been able to assist as most cats have chronic and/or incurable diseases spread throughout the population. If you don't have the financial resources to take care of 10 cats properly (and this includes proper veterinary care/check-ups, yearly vaccinations, proper hygienic conditions with litter, nutritional diet, spay/neuter, space for each cat to maintain mental health and stability, etc. etc.), how can one care for 500 or now with this woman, over a thousand cats? It's impossible. The animals end up "existing" but they do not have any quality of life.
• SD: What needs to realistically be done in a situation like this?
  CW: Whatever cats can be quickly adopted out to animal loving people who will provide them with proper and immediate pet care and permanent homes, this should be done. The rest of the cats need to be seen by a veterinarian, and all sick/chronically ill cats should be humanely euthanized. In most hoarder situations it is rare to find any truly healthy animals because they have been infected by the sick animals around them, and the stress of living in this kind of unnatural environment also can lead to chronic sickness and mental illness.
  
  The fact that this woman paid for the cats means she actually is aiding and perpetuating the stealing and breeding of kittens/cats (and dogs) for the fur and food trade. We hear the going rate is RMB 40 for a cat in Guangdong...if she was able to get the cats at about RMB 14 each, what is to stop some other dealers from telling them they will adopt from her and then just selling them on. It is like putting out a public notice that stealing cats/dogs is a profitable business. Only when the buying stops can the trade stop, so even though once again she thinks she is saving these cats, she just told the public and those in the trade, that they can still make money from stealing/breeding animals and that there will always be people willing to buy them, to "save" them... it just keeps the trade growing. We have no immediate solution for this, but whenever someone calls us and says they are at a pet market and a tiny, sick, starving kitten is on sale for RMB 5, we still tell them to say, "No"...scream at the vendor, but you have to walk away; if you buy the animal, you are saying this kind of trade is acceptable.
  
  Further, on the issue of burying cats, in many countries it's illegal because it's a health issue.....when you bury an animal, it decays and the dead animal tissue and disease, etc., filters into the water and ground systems....all dead animals/pets should be taken to a veterinarian for proper cremation and disposal.

• SD: What do you think the outcome will be?
  CW: We don't know, but if she is like most hoarders, she will just keep them in her home until the human health issue (not even the cats' welfare) becomes so large that the government/police have no choice but to take the animals out of her home and put them down. It is irresponsible animal ("pet") ownership at the very worst because she is putting the cats' lives at risk in so many ways.
• SD: Are stray cats and cruelty a big problem in Shanghai?
  CW: What can be done about this? This is a huge issue everywhere in the world. You can point to any city worldwide and there will be animal cruelty issues and stray animal populations out of control. There need to be animal welfare laws implemented in China, which will happen in time, and stray animals (unlicensed dogs) do need to be picked up (those that are obviously pets should be allowed time for their owners to reclaim them and pay fines, etc., but they still should be allowed to get their dogs licensed) and populations controlled humanely. Pet owners should spay/neuter their animals and all dog owners must license their dogs every year; it's the law and illustrates responsible pet ownership. Dogs and cats are not humans and they need proper animal medical care, yearly vaccinations, etc. (people blame the police for killing dogs because of rabies, but the majority of dogs in most Chinese cities are not taken in for yearly vaccinations...there needs to be more education about proper pet care and responsible pet ownership). Communities, in time, can also do 'catch and release' for their feral populations, which works well in many urban areas worldwide.
• SD: What is your advice to the lady who has rescued the cats?
  CW: She must stop now and take care of the cats she already has in her possession. You cannot save every stray cat and dog...it's simply not humanly possible (Can anyone pick up every stray child, disabled or elderly person in need?). She is causing as much harm as good to the cats she believes she is saving unless she gets her population under control, gets them all proper medical care and stops hoarding.
• SD: What is your advice if you see a cat being mistreated in the streets?
  CW: We do not accept any form of cruelty. Our supporters tend to intervene and ask the person to stop abusing an animal, but unless there are animal protection laws, calling the police will not help. One can always offer to take the animal, but you must be able to provide it with proper care short and long-term...if you are not willing to take responsibility for an animal you save (and only one to a few at a time), you are just shifting the burden to others and that does not work long-term either.
• SD: Will SCAA be able to do anything?
  CW: We are a small, private group of volunteers, saving one animal at a time and we ourselves are overburdened and have placed a moratorium on our own rescue intakes. It's crucial to limit the number of rescues in any home, especially if you have your own pets, as newly rescued animals MUST be isolated from other pets (again, a hoarder cannot do this so sick animals are dumped in with healthy ones...vaccinating cats means nothing if you then throw in another 50 sick cats among them...the entire population gets sick). We have helped one or two hoarders that follow our very strict international animal welfare organization rules....you must be willing to euthanize all chronically ill animals that are a danger to a healthy population; provide adequate medical care and nutrition; have space for the animals to run around freely (not in cages but also not able to escape to the outdoors) so that their mental health is relatively stable; spay/neuter all animals; isolate all sick animals; and be willing to adopt out the animals. There have only been one or two hoarders who have agreed to these rules. Most want cash and want to decide what to do with it themselves, which isn't transparent accountability or responsible animal welfare. We, at SCAA, simply save rescued companion animals one at a time, with a community of foster care volunteers, and this is what works long-term.
• SD: What can expats do to help?
  CW: Nothing for most hoarders unless they are willing to offer financial support for spaying/neutering, medical care or adopt. And the use of their money must be transparent; they should be able to offer receipts for whatever they purchase for the animals in their care. Giving money only allows hoarders to take in more animals unless the situation is closely monitored. An expat can contact the hoarder and offer to take an animal to adopt, but to take it for medical care and then return it to the hoarder's large population of captive cats is useless as it will likely only get sick again. SCAA also desperately needs more foster care parents.

Points from the Article about Duo Zirong in Shanghai Daily

• She mentions that 100 of her cats went “missing”. This means that the cats can somehow escape outside, so unless all the animals are neutered, this also means thousands of more stray kittens to be born in the future, thus only exacerbating the stray/feral cat population problem. We urge people to save one animal at a time, then adopt out, then save again...it's the only humane way to save stray companion animals.
• People have poisoned and killed her cats. Unfortunately, this is an ugly side to human nature, but she attracts this kind of attention by having too many animals in one location. There is no excuse for cruelty to animals, but hoarders invite this kind of hatred because they cannot control their own environments over time. One or two pets are loveable; hundreds of cats, with females in heat and both males/females meowing and moaning around the clock, sickness and disease rampant.neighbors are going to protest, often violently (this happens worldwide).
• Regarding the building of a cat sanctuary on a mountain in Hangzhou, this is simply not feasible. It will turn into a no-kill feral cat "shelter" and once people know it exists they will simply dump more and more cats in the area (even if it is secured) until there are thousands and thousands of wild cats... along with the health care and welfare issues, it's simply not humane as every cat needs space and its own territory. It simply will not work in the long-term.
• She mentions also the possibility of people temporarily taking care of a cat and then possibly returning it to her healthy if they tire of the animal. This would be both very stressful on the animal and to return a healthy cat to a sick population only means that the cat is likely to get sick again itself.
  
  We also urge all pet owners to KEEP YOUR CATS INDOORS. As obvious from these truckloads of cats being stolen, Shanghai is a dangerous place to allow your cat outdoors. Along with cat stealing for the fur and food trade, there are also local residents who steal cats for the kabob markets and many people place poison outside to kill feral and stray cats.

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