Pet Hoarding is Universal

This woman has managed to pack over 130 cats in a two room Moscow flat. Insane! She's nursed many of these cats back to health. Apparently they each get personal attention and even their own name. I think it's a pretty sweet deal if you're a stray in Siberia. I love it when she opens the door to feed them and they start their own kitty mosh-pit....



Here's what the translation on YouTube says:

30 cats in a single apartment. Such noisy company is what one resident of Novosibirsk has chosen. In her two room apartment is where she keeps each of these homeless animals. She found them all outside. Some were sick, others were emaciated from not eating, but she made them well again and fed them well.

So that the neighbors don't complain about particular smells emanating from the apartment, she covered the walls and floors with ceramic tiles that she constantly washes. Nina insists that her cats do not quarrel amongst themselves and adore their hostess. Every cat has its own name and their names she remember by rote and she never gets them confused.

"When I ran out of cat names, I started giving them Russian people names. When I ran out of those, I started giving them first names of people whose names I heard on television shows or concerts, like Sherlok, Watson, Eden..."

Or, you can watch the report in English. =)



All I can think about while watching videos on this lady is that Animal Cop show on Animal Planet, which got me thinking.... Does Russia have an SPCA equivalent? After scouring the internet I found that apparently there is one, but it "has been little studied and is not well known, especially outside the community of Russian speakers." (B. Bonhomme) Some sites say it's called the Imperial Russian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, others say it's Russian Society for the Protection of Animals, or the Russian Society for Animal Protection. It was modeled after the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Either way, I'm sure they're familiar with Nina Kostsovo. No one can have THAT many cats and not get a visit from the animal police.....just as a check up. Or maybe they don't really hang out in Sibera? Goodness knows I wouldn't.