I work for a crazy woman using her 9 cats as her control weapon. The cats live on her huge porch or in their large cages. They were nearly dead when I started two years ago. Filth I won’t sicken you with details. It took weeks to clean. Hoarding nightmare! Just like TV! She wanted me twice a week and I soon learned that wouldn’t work as there were 30-40 dishes full of flies, leftover food and cat boxes untouched. That was my job to clean the giant mess and smell she made while I wasn’t there. Florida is hot! There were tons of electrical ext. cords for broken fans and empty waterers. The job pays me $50 a week. No day off. (Yup 2021-now.)
This woman who owns the cats lives in a fantasy insisting Keanu Reeves will soon pick her up and take her away from her “dreadful" life. She is an attention seeker. She feels at age 75, that she will be discovered and become famous! So the scammers get a lot of money from her! Nothing real matters. Needless to say, I told her ten times that they are scammers! I don’t say anything anymore. I gave up.
Now she has declared, all in one week, that she has mesothelioma, et al., seizures, and two strokes that left her blind! She called an ambulance to meet her attention needs and spent 3 days in the hospital. Nothing is wrong. I want to call our aging agency for intervention. No family but her unhappy husband. Tiny example, his son and wife visited for a few days and replaced the twenty year old shower curtain covered in mold. The lady went ballistic! She cleaned it and packed it with her treasures for Keanu. The visitors left on very bad terms.
She’s been hinting and crying poverty now for some time. Saying she just can’t keep paying out all this money.
I would have left long ago but I really don’t want the cats to die and they will, I have no doubt at all. I am thinking of working free (volunteer) which will disconnect me from her at least financially. I have looked into options from adopting out to euthanasia, it seems there are none, and you will have to trust that I did all homework there.
Any suggestions?
I my Township, your cats and dogs are to be licensed. Only 5 animals to a household.
APS has to intervene. They have to evaluate. If they say she can live like she does, so be it.
Contact the Humane Society, or your County Animal Control office.
You could also contact the County or City Building and Zoning for code violations. You could contact the Fire Department for violations.
I would also contact the local Senior Center if they have a Social Worker if not contact your State Elder Abuse hotline number.
Once you have made some calls I would give notice.
This person is NOT your responsibility nor are her cats.
Cats topic--- they were in dreadful condition two years ago. Now they are happy and healthy. Clean fed watered daily bc I do it. Tomorrow I start setting up a welfare check from the elderly agency. She needs to be taken out of her home. Another filthy chaotic and very toxic member of society.
This forum put the heading up and didnt realize that currently the cats are great. Its the owner who is not.
However, have you thought about the danger you put yourself in by “ cleaning “ this house ? Are you wearing a hazmat suit like they do on TV in that environment?
Stay outside only and care for the cats, until can get a shelter to take them . Call for a welfare check for the people .
Call APS too.
If the lady is still legally competent, it’s a ‘right to rot’ situation. You can’t force change on her. She ‘owns’ the cats, and you can’t force her to change their care either.
If the lady is not legally competent, following some of the suggestions above (eg calling for a ‘wellness check’) might mean an intervention that stops her living in dreadful conditions. The cats won’t be left to die on her porch, as you fear. You will still have no control over them, that doesn’t change, but decisions will be made.
There are many ‘ladies’ and many ‘cats’ living in bad conditions. Perhaps you could find a better employer, and do different voluntary work for animals who need it – for example in a no-kill shelter. You may find that it is easier to move on than you expect.
It’s important for your own peace of mind to accept that you can’t always make changes you think would be best. Some times you need to walk away.
I mean who in this day and age would work under the conditions you do for just $50 a week? I mean really? No one I know would do that, and I bet no one you know would either.
It sounds like you may be a bit of a hoarder yourself(at least with animals)so perhaps that's why you seem to tolerate more than most of us would.
Bottom line is the woman and her husband deserves better, so call APS, and the cats deserve better, so get them out of there ASAP.
Since I invested much time and effort for two years, the kennel is now actually going great. Even though its a large porch, I clean it, feed, and care for these cats. Every day. This is what I want to continue. I really get great enjoyment from it! The cats all greet me with purring and happy looks. They are quite healthy. I have remedied everything that I can.
Animal control will not go there. Our shelters are spilling over with abandoned pets. Animal control will not pick up any animal unless its in a trap and found to be a problem animal. ( Our animal control is managed differently these past three years. Not good. The officers are super though. They have to see hell.) I have done all this checking thoroughly!! Humane Society, ASPCA, etc would not accept nine cats or any! They are bursting out with overload. The vets have issues with drop offs too. Dogs and cats. I do have connection with American Humane up in Maryland. A call to them this week for any places in Florida or near me might be smart. On the agenda! +
I love a great thinktank of ideas from others ; it leads to sound answers.
On Monday coming up ,however, I will be on the phone to find eldercare aging offices and request the welfare check! Yes I know quite a lot about this stuff actually.
The timing is great because the lady called 911 for her trip to the hospital entertainment a few days ago. So that will tie in nicely to a welfare check.😉
I think its possible that she herself might be a con artist with years of doing her "acting" roles. She considers herself very savvy in movie production. I know she just makes up stories. She just told me that her eyes are worse and I should give her my autopay banking info. So its easier. Nope! Then lately she told me" some money just came in". That phrase stirred up a warning. I intend to observe from that standpoint. I dont care about the money because I would care for almost any animal naturally. I can volunteer . Of course she is well aware! Her husband is from Trinidad and a poverty / poor cultural upbringing. I hear some of these things while out on the porch working. He hoards everything too. She is an old hippie and smokes pot all day. Says it changes your perspective.🤔😖 Fifty years ago....
Just being able to ventilate somewhere is very helpful to my own peace of mind. Thanks to all interested parties for your words. 😍😍. I try hard to stop ,look, listen and move slowly. Usually this works best for me. I dont care about feelings much. Prefer action and thinking first and solving problems, at least my own! But the aging office should offer me some guidance that keeps things peaceful and legal. And keeps the cats getting care!
So, I will eagerly update this. Oh yes interestingly, I just learned of a new community center via my health insurance. They are a great resource that I intend to involve myself with. All things to follow like a melting glacier but thats ok.
Thank you for your patience too. As my dearest boss used to say " Karma working, baby!"
"Legal" is not taking $50 under the table for caregiving.
And her "unhappy husband" lives there, too? Why can't he take care of the cats?
Call Animal Control and APS, like others have suggested.
IMO the women should not have been released from the Hospital. Someone must of seen she was not right. Time to call APS and report a vulnerable adult. Explain she has worsened over the two years you have been working for her and explain what you found when you started. You cannot be there 24/7 for her and looks like to me she needs 24/7 care. Do not clean up before APS comes. They must see how this women lives without you. Hopefully they will call animal control. If not, you will need to.
Report her to the Board of Health and Animal Services and leave pronto.
You are never going to fix this if that’s what you think you are trying to do, She’s sick and needs much more help than what you can give.
just leave.
I found Animal Control in that area to be very helpful and easy to work with.
If the cats are fixed, you could consider just "releasing" them BUT I would still provide food and water on the property and keep their cages open so they could return to sleep in a familiar/safe place. At least you probably won't have to deal with changing litter boxes. Cats have instincts and would probably fare better than you think if they had a little freedom.
Sometimes getting help for the animals is quicker than trying to get help for vulnerable people.
Get Adult Protective Services involved as well to alert them to this situation.
You can remain anonymous when you send the police out there, too.
A welfare check is the fastest way to get services going for people like this.
Has APS been called to alert them there is a vulnerable senior living in a hoarded situation with these animals?
Your local Agency for Aging may have some useful information/suggestions.
Good luck and bless you for caring.
Oh boy, what a crazy situation that you have found yourself in!
I don’t know what I would do other than to find good homes for the cats. It’s horribly sad to see cats living in these conditions.
The woman should be placed somewhere. Obviously, she isn’t capable of living in her home.
Best wishes to you.