The Aftermath of the Crazy Cat Lady

We all know someone who we think has way too many cats. The question is, what is too many? Is it 5, 10, 20 or more? Based on our experience, we’d say that when a person can no longer give each cat the attention and care they need, they have too many! When they have too many, they become what society refers to as a “Crazy Cat Lady”. 

When there are too many cats in a living area, being called a crazy cat lady is the last thing the pet owner needs to worry about. Let us share some pretty scary information with you about people who hoard animals:

• More than 25% of animal hoarders’ beds are soiled from animal feces.
• 80% of reported animal hoarding cases had dead or sick animals in the house.
• Animal feces were found accumulating in living areas in 69% of animal hoarding cases.
•  Cats are involved in more than 65% of animal hoarding cases.

So what exactly do these statistics mean? They mean that the person, the animals and the home are in great danger. First and foremost, a person living in a feces filled home is more prone to getting E.coli among many other bacteria and diseases. If the owner is not caring for the animals, they can easily become ill without anyone even noticing because of the condition of the environment. As far as the home, the ammonia like smell is seeping into everything; furniture, carpet, walls, etc and the urine and feces is ruining things too. The house will need a great deal of sanitation and decontamination to become a healthy and livable environment again.

Bio-One Baltimore can not only help with decontaminating the home but we can also help provide support to the person who has become victim to their animal hoarding. We will do everything in a discrete manner so that no one even knows why we’re there. If you know a “crazy cat lady” that could use our services, please call us at 301.473.6733.

You've Already Paid Enough

Finding someone deceased from suicide or murder makes victims out of survivors, especially when it’s a loved one. Exposure to the deceased is a traumatic experience and leads to high levels of distress sometime to a point where life becomes debilitating. Regardless of the way a person dies, you and the rest of the family are left with unanswered questions, devastation, unimaginable circumstances, and countless blame.

With many suicides taking place in the home, loved ones are often faced with having to clean up the aftermath. This makes the tragedy even more horrific as more involvement with the deceased often leads to flashbacks and other symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) like isolation, panic attacks and a loss of hope. Not only are you dealing with grief from the death, but grief as a victim as well.

Bio-One Baltimore understands just how traumatic discovering a death can be. We have supported countless families as they push through the unthinkable. We are privy to some of the most intimate moments among families as they mourn and try to determine next steps. Having such a thorough understanding of exactly how detrimental this can be to everyone involved, it is our primary focus to offer as many resources that we can to provide support.

We partner with many agencies and non-profits that work with victims to assist with the aftermath. While many of our partners focus on providing support regarding funeral arrangements, bereavement and much more, we will be there to help you with the cleanup process to alleviate and prevent more emotional and mental distress.

Once you have the resources and support you need, and we have cleaned up the scene of the incident, we will then discuss payment. Many times when payment is discussed, those in need of services find that their insurance covers the cost of about 95% of services provided. We are happy to partner with so many insurance companies to be able to help victims of tragic death as we understand that you have already paid enough with all that you experience during this difficult time.

No one ever thinks that they will have such a horrific experience such as finding someone deceased. While we hope that you don’t ever experience it, please don’t wait until it happens to try to find someone to help you. Keep our information at hand in case the unthinkable were to happen. We are a phone call away 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 301.473.6733.

3 Things You Didn't Know About Hoarding

You’ve probably seen the show Hoarders or are at least aware that hoarding is when someone collects and saves items like a pack rat to the point that it causes them distress. As a company who cleans up hoarded areas, we’d like to share with you a few things that you may not know about hoarding.

1. Hoarding has a genetic component.

Hoarding is considered a disorder and many people diagnosed with the disorder suffer from compulsive hoarding. The department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins University School of Medicine did an OCD Collaborative Genetics Study and found that compulsive hoarding behaviors is linked to chromosome 14. So, the behavior can be passed down from parents to their children. Often times, it takes a trauma such as abuse to bring out the behavior. 

     

         2.  Hoarders fill up any space they’re given.

When people think of hoarding, they usually think of things piled to the ceiling but what they don’t realize is that hoarders actually use every space they can and it interferes with their daily activities and personal care. A study on hoarders over the age of 60 showed that 45% couldn’t use their refrigerator because it was either buried or it had non-food items in it. 42% couldn’t use their bathtub because it was filled with items and 10% couldn’t get to their toilet. As you can imagine, not being able to take a bath or use the toilet can dramatically affect their hygiene. As a result, many hoarders don’t have people around them because they are ashamed of the way they are.

        3.   Most hoarders are perfectionist.

Sounds counterintuitive, right? When someone’s a perfectionist, they see things as all or nothing. And believe me when I say that hoarders see it as all or nothing. I’ve seen it plenty of times. They have to get that “just right” feeling in order to feel content. As a result, they’ll do it over and over until they feel it’s “just right”. That may mean they won’t just have 5 shirts with the tags on them sitting in a pile. Hoarders will keep buying more until they feel they have enough, until it’s just right. This may mean they’ll have a room full of hundreds of them!

Some interesting facts, huh? We hope you learned something new about hoarding. To get more facts about hoarding and more, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter @bioonebaltimore. If you know someone who hoards and need some help making their environment livable again, give us a call at 301.473.6733.