i need help. my mother has taken about 3 strokes and is 80 yrs old. she took up the hobby of collecting every stray cat that passes by, and allowing them to live in the house, the smell is so bad that i can no longer go in the house. my mother is very stubborn, she refuses to go to the doctors for anything. she is diabetic and is not taking her meds. now i know what you are all thinking, why don't we walk in and get rid of the 10 or so cats and get her to the doctors. the last time i had her to the doctors, i asked him to send her to a neurologist as she was showing signs of dimentia. his response was i had to have her committed before he could make an appt. because he didn't think she would keep the appt. he just wrote her out a scrip for something after i told him that she wasn't taking her meds...figure that one out. now if her doctor refuses to help me who can i reach out to. we just lost our father a year ago and after 60yrs of marriage she is finding it hard to cope. i want to get her into an apartment but she refuses to leave her house. her only happiness now is her cats. please help me.

Will your mother let you or someone go in & clean her house? My sister is 87 & has someone come in once a week to do the heavy cleaning. It doesn't cost much & by doing this she can stay out of a nursing home longer.

Can you make an app't with neuro w/o consulting her dr? If not I would find her another dr.

I know how awful a house with cats can smell. She's probably been in it so long she doesn't notice it. With 10 cats she needs at least 2 litter pans & in a separate room at the back of house would be best. If she doesn't already have them the kind that cleans themselves would be best. The only other thing I can think of would be to have air cleaners. How could a person not have dementia with smell of litter pans & breathing in cat hair continuously? I couldn't live in it. Good luck.