(www.meowbarkblog.com) — If you think we have a lot of pets at our house, prepare to have your mind blown. This isn’t quite as bad as the 800+ small dogs and parrots found in an Arizona home early last year, but it’s still pretty bad.

Police in Chester Township, New Jersey (just about 30 minutes from my hometown), found 80 cats and 1 dog in a million-dollar home that was full of animal feces up to 2 feet deep in some parts of the house. And in a similar story, police in Plano, Texas, found 21 cats holed up in a motel room with a man who faced previous animal cruelty charges and had stored dead cats in his fridge and freezer.

Animal hoarding is a serious problem, and AnimalHoarding.com reports that about 1,500 new cases are discovered each year in the US. If you suspect a case of animal hoarding, contact your local police, animal control, or SPCA.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Humans aren’t the only victims of the tanking US economy. Sherry and Tim Sterner of Caroline County, Virginia, are in foreclosure and need to find new homes for their 46 rescued cats now that they’re moving to a rental property in nearby Spotsylvania County.

Read more about the kitties, the couple, and the situation at Fredericksburg.com.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(www.meowbarkblog.com) — Your pet knows when you need a hug and when you need to play, so it’s no surprise that Fluffy and Fido can tell when you’re stressed about the economy. They may not know exactly what it is that’s filling your heart with angst, but your pets definitely feel your agida, and they experience it themselves, too.

Read more about pet recession anxiety.

Contents Copyright © 2009 Kristen King

(www.meowbarkblog.com) –I have never seen anything like this before!

The video says it’s nursing… I wonder if it uses both mouths? Or just one? Crazy…

But apparently it’s not that uncommon, because here’s an adult cat with two faces:

Oh. My. God.

I think I may never leave Pickles outside alone again after reading this article. The short version is that a 15-foot python stalked and then devoured a Chihuahua in Australia earlier this week, while the family’s 5- and 7-year-old watched in terror. I’ll spare you the photo, but for those who are interested, you can view it here. But seriously, it’s gross and pretty horrifying, so use your judgment.

You may be thinking, “Well, what could they have done?” And if we’re talking about the children, the answer is, “Nothing.”

But the article explicitly states that the snake was hunting the dog for days and that they saw the snake in the dog’s bed. And yet, rather than protecting the dog, maybe keeping it inside or walking it somewhere else, the owners let it out with two small children knowing full well that a hungry15-foot-long snake was in the neighborhood and jonesing for a Chihuahua fix. Oh, good idea, people. Just brilliant. You realize that you killed your dog, right?

In a video filmed at the zoo where the snake was taken after being removed from the family’s home, you can see exactly how big it was, and you can also see that it is still digesting its last meal.