Animal hoarding is a psychological disorder that is not well understood. It often involves severe neglect of the hoarder themselves, the animals, and the home environment. Many animal hoarders honestly believe that they take very good care of their pets, and that they are doing nothing wrong. This denial, coupled with extreme squalor, makes the situation difficult to remedy.

Risks of Animal Hoarding

Animal hoarding is more than simply owning a large number of pets. Pet ownership becomes hoarding when the number of pets becomes overwhelming to the owner, who cannot provide adequate food, living space, and veterinary care.

This situation leads to unsanitary conditions when fecal matter and urine collect in the home. This causes unhealthy air quality, and can trigger asthma attacks, especially in children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

Fleas and other insects infest the area, leading to the spread of disease between the animals and humans in the environment.

People who hoard animals often hoard inanimate objects as well, leading to extreme clutter and fire hazard.

Animal Hoarder Cleaning Procedures

If you suspect that someone you know has become an animal hoarder, there are a variety of cleaning procedures to consider:

• Decluttering and removal of trash
• Removal of excess animals
• Deep cleaning
• Household repairs

If the hoarding is fairly minor and the person is willing and able to cooperate with a cleanup, you may be able to clean up the environment yourself.

When Should You Call a Professional Cleaning Crew

Moderate to severe cases of animal hoarding may require professional cleaning, especially if there are health and safety issues to consider. If there are large amounts of fecal matter, urine, or other bodily fluids to clean, live or dead rodents, or infestations of insects, you should not attempt to clean the area yourself. Call a cleaning team that specializes in hoarding situations or forensic clean up. They will have specialized safety equipment and cleaning and sanitizing supplies to restore the home to a habitable condition.

Hoarder Cleaning Cost

No reputable hoarding cleanup company will provide you a quote or estimate over the phone. Each situation is unique, and requires a visit to the premises before the cleanup crew can estimate the amount of work to be done.

If you need to bring in a hoarder cleaning company, especially when there are animals involved, it will be expensive. However, the decreased health and safety risks to both the hoarder and the animals, and the peace of mind knowing that the residence has been professionally cleaned, may be worth the cost.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.