In this episode we are joined by Therese Lillesköld to discuss the issue of animal hoarding and research she has conducted on animal hoarding in Sweden. The animals who are hoarded suffer immensely, but the hoarders themselves also suffer. These people are suffering from a psychiatric illness and often have other underlying social and mental health issues. Therefore, a vital part of helping the animals must include social support for the hoarders, including preventive measures such as intervening and aiding overwhelmed caregivers before a serious hoarding situation develops.  

PodCrew  

Dr. Kris Hill PhD Candidate, University of Exeter kh458@exeter.ac.uk https://katzenlife.wordpress.com/   

Dr. Michelle Szydlowski ms835@exeter.ac.uk  www.internationalelephants.org    @intl_elephants  

Sarah Oxley Heaney PhD Student, University of Exeter  sh750@exeter.ac.uk www.kissingsharks.com

Podlet 

Therese Lillesköld Position: CEO of Empatia AB in Sweden Email: info@empatia.se www.empatia.se   

References cited and other sources:  

Hoarding Disorder diagnosis: https://www.psychiatry.org/Patients-Families/Hoarding-Disorder   Carin Holmberg & Therese Lillesköld (2022) Animal hoarders: Not just an animal welfare problem (Swedish): https://empatiashop.se/product/djursamlare-och-samlade-djur-inte-bara-ett-djurskyddsproblem/  

Gunther, I., Raz, T., Even Zor, Y., Bachowski, Y., & Klement, E. (2016). Feeders of Free-Roaming Cats: Personal Characteristics, Feeding Practices, and Data on Cat Health and Welfare in an Urban Setting of Israel. Front Vet Sci, 3, 21. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2016.00021 

Nadal, Z., Ferrari, M., Lora, J., Revollo, A., Nicolas, F., Astegiano, S., & Díaz Videla, M. (2022). Noah’s Syndrome: Systematic Review of Animal Hoarding Disorder. Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, 10(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1079/hai.2022.0003   

Prato-Previde, E., Basso Ricci, E., & Colombo, E. S. (2022). The Complexity of the Human–Animal Bond: Empathy, Attachment and Anthropomorphism in Human–Animal Relationships and Animal Hoarding. Animals, 12(20), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202835   

Reinisch, A. I. (2008). Understanding the human aspects of animal hoarding. Canadian Veterinary Journal, 49(12), 1211–1215. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2583418/ 

Wilkinson, J., Schoultz, M., King, H. M., Neave, N., & Bailey, C. (2022). Animal hoarding cases in England: Implications for public health services. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.899378   

Kitten Lady (Hannah Shaw) shared her perspective based from many years of experience working with cat hoarding cases. TDLR: A little kindness goes a long way! What do you think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoDYsVlxXs8