Troubling cases of animal hoarding in Kern County raise questions about who ends up collecting large numbers of animals, and why. There are patterns experts say, and those are reflected in local cases.

Accused of animal cruelty, Cynthia Gudger was finally arrested last October. That was months after her home near Tehachapi was raided, and nearly 50 animals found in what officials called filthy conditions.

In November, eleven horses were rescued from a home in Twin Oaks. Animal control officers said they were badly malnourished, and the owner couldn't take care of them.

In 2003, a Bakersfield apartment was raided, and about 30 cats were found inside. That was Debbie Bracamonte's apartment. She started out with two cats, then took in a neighbor's cat that turned out to be pregnant.

"What happened is she had babies, it started snow balling," Bracamonte said. "I started calling SPCA, I said -- 'what do I do?' They told me they were full."

Bracamonte says she had moved to her boyfriend's house, but she left the cats in the apartment. She couldn't find homes for them, and didn't want to dump them off anywhere. "I still rented the apartment, it was $500 a month. I still paid the (power bill) for air conditioning, left the TV on." Bracamonte said she stopped by to give the cats water and food. Looking back, Bracamonte admits it doesn't make sense.

At SPCA-LA, president Madeline Bernstein has been watching animal hoarding cases for years. "One theory is that it's a form of obsessive, compulsive disorder," Bernstein said. She added that hoarders often start out rescuing animals, but then lose control. They can often continue the behavior for years.

Cynthia Gudger is accused of hoarding animals in Riverside County, then Kern County. She was first arrested here under the name "Anita Gilbert." After being arrested, she bailed out of jail, then skipped bail and was on the run for a couple months.

A bail bondsman finally tracked Gudger down in the Los Angeles area, he also found an apartment where she lived for a few months in Fillmore. Photos of that apartment show mounds of trash and debris. Kitchen counters are covered with bottles and plastic bags. The floor is littered with bags and newspapers.

Bernstein looked at the photos, and saw signs of hoarder behavior. "You can see all these papers and Styrofoam containers, and all these bottles -- a lot of which I'm guessing are empty," said Bernstein. "And they tend to collect things, thinking I'm going to need them in the future."

Debbie Bracamonte says now she can see that she used to act that way. "I'd say it was always hard for me to throw things away." And she can now admit things were not OK for the cats. "If I was to tell the truth, the conditions got horrible."

At Gudger's house near Tehachapi, neighbors had reported horrible smells. Bernstein says often with hoarder cases, there will be bugs, feces, animals covered in urine. But some hoarders themselves will live with that. "These people have adjusted to this situation," said Bernstein. "They don't smell it, and they're willing to tolerate this level of mess."

Bernstein said hoarders often insist they are saving the animals, and they're the only ones who will. Bernstein says, no. "They may truly believe that no one will love them like they do, but they're simply wrong."

Even when hoarders say no other homes could be found for the animals, Bernstein disputes that. "Maybe some of them would have to be euthanized, but then I guess you get into this philosophical issue as to what the quality of life is," Bernstein said.

Bernstein said the animals are often suffering -- sick, with untreated wounds, flea-bitten, fighting among themselves and hungry.

That's what the legitimate animal rescuer found with the starving horses from Twin Oaks. "They had no fat on their bodies," Tami Barkley said. She was called out by Kern County Animal Control when they took possession of the horses.

Barkley said one of the horses she took in eventually died. They later found the animal had 30 pounds of gravel in its stomach. She said the other ten are doing well. She's still taking care of the animals until they are ready to be adopted to new owners.

From SPCA-LA, Bernstein says the progression of animal hoarding is hard to break. But she has advice for everyone to help prevent hoarding. "People shouldn't be afraid to call the authorities and say -- I'm smelling something bad, or there's a high level of rodents or insects that wouldn't make sense."

Bracamonte said she's changed after getting court-ordered counseling and being on medication for a while. "I'm not taking anything right now, but it's been long enough years that I've learned a new pattern of life."

She was arrested in 2003, now six years later -- Bracamonte said she has only two cats. She now wants to support options for pet-owners to get their animals spayed or neutered. That would have helped in her situation.

Bracamonte sees cases of animal hoarding, and thinks those people must be embarrassed or not able to see any options. She has advice for anyone who ends up like she did. "Tell somebody, they can find somebody that can get help -- because some people are afraid to let people know they have a problem."