Companion Animal Care Articles used with permission from All-Creatures.org
The National Link Coalition reports on a study which documented the numerous negative health effects faced by feline survivors of animal hoarding situations.
Hoarded Cats Found to Suffer Significant Medical Issues
From August 2026 LINK-Letter, The National Link Coalition
August 2026
Images from Canva
A retrospective, descriptive study of 613 cats voluntarily surrendered from 34 hoarding cases to ASPCA sheltering programs between 2021 and 2023 is reporting that the significant need in hoarded cat populations for dentistry and spay/neuter procedures and the significantly longer length-of-stay needed to rehabilitate hoarded cats suggests that organizations working with these populations must proactively strategize to optimize care delivery without negatively impacting their shelter’s capacity for care of other animals. The study by ASPCA researchers described animal hoarding as a complex, often underrecognized public health problem affecting the health and welfare of humans and animals.
The researchers found that only 27.4% of cats had already been altered. Dental disease was the most common medical condition affecting 52.8% of the cats, while 20.3% had moderate to severe disease requiring dentistry procedures. Significant numbers of cats had other medical issues including otitis externa (33.3%), upper respiratory infections (23.8%), ocular disease (21.9%), dermatitis (19.9%), ectoparasites (17.6%), diarrhea (14.2%), dermatophytosis (10.1%), and matting/unkempt fur (4.1%). Most (63.1%) required antibiotics, and a third (36.4%) received psychopharmaceuticals. Behavioral euthanasia rates were significantly higher for hoarded cats than for cats from non-hoarding situations.
They encouraged animal shelters to use collaborative approaches and proactive strategies to improve human and animal welfare and to better manage shelter capacity and resources.
-- Lopez Goicochea, D., Slater, M., & Berliner, E.A. (2025). A retrospective, descriptive study of medical conditions and outcomes of cats relinquished to an urban, limited admission shelter from hoarding environments. Journal of Shelter Medicine & Community Animal Health, 4.
Posted on All-Creatures.org: August 17, 2026
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