Anyone Else See This?

I've met people like that. . .I won't say mentally ill (well, I don't know them personally, but by the description and based on the people I've known). It's more of a, hmm, denial, maybe? Ignorance? Learned helplessness? They don't know what proper care consists of, what healthy animals look/act like, and don't have the gumption to do anything about the conditions even if someone spells it out for them. You could maybe call it a mental illness, but it's something that could be treated.

I didn't say it was never mental illness. . .just that it's not ALWAYS mental illness. I have met hoarders who definitely showed signs of it being a mental illness. And I've met other people who "hoarded" animals like this and it was not noticably a mental illness. Just a situation that got out of control and they don't have the life skills to do anything about it. Usually true hoarders will get more animals (or whatever they're hoarding) right away after getting cleaned out, but those who aren't true hoarders don't.