I pray that no one else makes disparaging comments about that 15 year old. What if he reads that someone called him "feral" or a future serial killer? Please don't make his life any worse than it already is! He needs all the help he can get. I wish I had a beautiful child to care and provide for, but my life didn't work out that way. It kills me that someone who had several could allow them to live that way. Yeah, I know... it's a disease, blah, blah, blah. It's also a damned crime [CPS, where have you been?!] and, if there is such a thing, an unforgivable sin. Shame on you, Anne!

First, I can't say for sure, but I believe the cats Mary so-called hoarded were feral cats that lived at the Town Park at the end of her street. The Town had been approached by the same organization some years ago to trap the cats but the town declined. So, where feral cats go? To the nearest dumpster, where apparently Mary had accummulated garbage. Did Mary solve for 3 or 4 years the town's cat population problem???? As far as manipulation from a previous poster here, maybe,I don't know her that well. However, I think Mary's issue is that she never developed a sense of independence, had minimal skills, and the house was all she knew. It was undoubtedly paid for, with the exception of upkeep. Even working, on minimum wage or slightly above, keeping up would be difficult. I'm sorry but I believe Mary was largely a victim of circumstance. Maybe I'm wrong, but she needed to hold on to the roof over her head for whatever reason. Mary failed, there's no doubt. Had she been "smarter", she would have sold high and moved into an apartment that she could afford. My feeling is other's failed as well. The family, the town, the community. This was a joint effort. Somehow, I can understand the downward spiral of how this can happen. I don't know why. You're going along, living your life and then your car breaks down, your company moves, you live where there's no public transportation, you have only extended family, you start calling for assistance from outsiders, eventually they fall away, some by death other's just feel they can't help anymore. You can't call anyone because you have no phone, you're already beaten down and depression sets in. The next thing you know, you're trying hide garbage because you know that will definitely bring all kinds of s.... down on you, and you lose the only place you've known. I think you have to experience this phenomena to have a true understanding. That's all I have to say.