Animal Lover or Noah Syndrome?

Every so often, news stories come up about people who accumulate a huge number of animals in their home, keeping them in unacceptable hygienic conditions.

They suffer from a psychiatric condition popularly known as Noah syndrome. This is an issue that, besides harming the affected person, has serious consequences for the crowded animals. That's why intervention is always necessary.

Noah Syndrome

Noah syndrome is a psychiatric disorder characterized by the affected person accumulating animals in their home with no limit. These are usually dogs and cats. Logically, this leads to the number of animals far exceeding the home's housing capacity, as well as the person's ability to provide care.

The animals are kept in overcrowded conditions, poorly fed, sick, and with no veterinary oversight at all. This leads to terrible situations like living alongside corpses, animals eating each other, or dying after a long agony with no food, water, or medical care.

On another note, the conditions of homes where dozens of animals that never go outside end up accumulating not only fail to meet minimum hygiene standards, but also become sources of bad smells, pest infestations, or fire hazards. They pose a public health risk to both people and animals. But the affected person isn't aware of the situation.

Animal Rescuers

It's important to distinguish people suffering from Noah syndrome from those who volunteer in animal protection work. It's true the latter can also end up living with many animals at home. But the conditions are radically different.

In Noah syndrome, animals accumulate the same way trash accumulates in Diogenes syndrome. They can happen together. The goal is hoarding objects or animals for their own sake, to fulfill an emotional need in the affected person. Rescuers make room in their homes for abandoned animals. But the goal is to rehabilitate them and put them up for adoption.

Although all of us involved in shelter organizations know the numbers can get out of hand, the conditions of the animals we take in are completely different. Rescuers care for, walk, feed, and provide veterinary care, even if the time available for each individual is limited.

How to Address Noah Syndrome

From an animal welfare perspective, whenever we become aware of a mistreatment situation, like the one animals experience in the hands of someone with Noah syndrome, action needs to be taken. In this case, trying to talk to the affected individuals won't help. They need professional treatment to prevent it from happening again.

The goal, then, will be to inform the relevant health authorities, since we're facing a public health risk. They're the ones who need to intervene to provide the affected person the assistance they need and remove the animals. Ideally, these would be placed under the care of a shelter organization. The problem is how slow this process is.

Shelters usually work alongside units like environmental protection police to handle surviving animals. Unfortunately, many can only be euthanized. The rest recover physically and psychologically and are put up for adoption. Some city councils work with pounds. That's why it's a good idea to inform yourself beforehand and notify a local shelter.

A Second Chance

It's important to know that both dogs and cats rescued from a Noah syndrome situation can fully recover. They'll be able to go on with their lives in homes that ensure their care. As soon as they're rescued, they'll be assessed by a vet. It's common for them to have internal and external parasites, malnutrition, skin issues, infections, and so on.

So, it becomes essential to diagnose, deworm, wash, and treat each one according to their circumstances. Later, they'll also need to be vaccinated and sterilized. But, besides this care, we need to keep in mind their psychological recovery too. These animals may show socialization problems, stress, phobias, and so on.

Staying at a foster home and, if needed, working with canine behavior professionals can solve these kinds of problems. It takes time and patience. It's entirely possible for the animal to recover and live a happy life in a new home.

Study on Noah Syndrome

Lastly, we've gathered some interesting data from the first study conducted in Spain on this disorder. It comes from scientists at the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute. They examined 24 cases from 2002 to 2011. First, they discuss a growing problem that authorities still don't offer a solution for.

Also, when intervention happens, the animals are removed, but the affected person doesn't receive treatment. This means they'll relapse into hoarding, since they're not aware they have a problem. Most are people of either sex, living alone, and elderly. They end up accumulating, on average, up to 50 animals over more than five years.

Unfortunately, a good portion of these, up to 75%, have health problems. These mainly include wounds, parasites, and infectious diseases. They're also malnourished and dehydrated. They endure uncontrolled breeding and housing with no basic hygiene conditions.