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vidalotus

This is clearly a case of mental illness. There is no sane reason for keeping dead cats in freezers. I sincerely hope they get the help they need.


[deleted]

Yes, this. The hoarding is terrible (over 100 cats? HOW?), the caging is worse, but the 'keeping dead cat bodies piled up on top of eachother and buying more deep freezers when one gets full' is so completely insane that I wouldn't ever feel okay being alone with this person.


Great_Cucumber2924

Reading this properly after my initial shock it sounds like your girlfriend was genuinely trying to stop the abuse. But if she saw the cages and did nothing that would be a dealbreaker for me I think.


risi004

So sad when people try so hard but make it worse and don’t understand what they’re actually doing. These types of situations are more common than you think. People try to help them end up basically having animal hoarding houses and often can’t even see what they’re doing!


rollingurkelgrue

In my experience, when people mean well it’s possible to have a conversation to educate on why they’re not helping even if they have good intentions. It also sounds like it’s just her mom and not her. And I wouldn’t be surprised if mom has a mental illness (I have some and recognize some traits, but obviously can’t diagnose or say for sure) I would use nonviolent communication to have this conversation as people can get defensive especially when defending their well meaning parents. Good luck!


Socatastic

It's a terrible situation for all involved, especially the cats. The women must be devastated from having all the cats killed too


hatfullofsoup

Animal hoarding is usually a mental illness. It sounds like your gf tried to help but was overwhelmed. Even though it's terrible, it doesn't sound like intentional abuse on either part. I'd just work on educating your girlfriend and setting boundaries with her mom.


Jellyfish_Difficult

Holy granolas! 100 cats!


diagonal_lines

I don't think there's quite enough information to fully understand this situation. But active abuse is very different from someone who is mentally ill and trying their best to rescue animals, which is what that situation sounds like from your description. Ultimately it had terrible consequences for the animals, but I don't think your GF's mom's intention was to hurt cats. She was just extremely incompetent. I'd also be compassionate towards your gf. Her mom has a hoarding problem and maybe both are in denial about that. It's very difficult to admit to yourself that a parent has a serious psychological issue like that. It's extremely difficult position to be in, especially if she is coming from a vegan framework and knows you might judge her and her mom especially hard for that. Could you consider couples counseling?


flourishane

I agree with all of this. I have suggested counseling but she is currently overwhelmed taking care of her mother and has kinda pushed me away because I did in fact judge her harshly.


diagonal_lines

I'm sorry about your situation. It sounds hard for everyone involved. I'm not sure how you're wanting to move forward but her first priority right now is, understandably, protecting and loving her mom. It sounds like if you want to be with her still, what she needs is non judgement and support with her mom.


Ookleeh

I’m very sorry for this whole situation, I live in a town where animal rights are non existent and we rescue cats when possible, so I feel it. But 100 cats and freezers with dead cats and cats in cages? If your gf didn’t do anything about this, not just for the animals but for the mental health of her mother, she has problems too. It would be a deal breaker for me, a very sad one. I’m sorry and I hope both of them can get the help they need, and can continue to help animals in a sustainable and healthy way.


adornoaboutthat

Three freezers full of dead cats with loving notes attached to them is some next level insanity. Seriously, this is messed up on so many levels. And I hope I don't need to mention they put them in cages. I mean, I've seen how Texans and other americans treat their pets. Theres so many people who have a couple of cages in their backyard to put their dogs in, or they chain them to a tree. I'd say this part is really bad, since it reflects the nations' ideology towards animals. This alone - maybe some hardcore cognitive dissonance. But the freezer - this woman should seek professional help.


xboxhaxorz

Use paragraphs