What is a hoarder? A better question to ask is: who is a hoarder, and what is hoarding? A hoarder can be anyone, but the defining characteristic is a person who collects excessive personal belongings, or collects animals in great quantities. The person's house is filled with excessive clutter, and the clutter has no purpose; or, the house is filled with numerous animals. In the context of hoarding, clutter is considered to be the by¬product of our consumerism lifestyles. It includes the many possessions we have purchased, and own. For a compulsive hoarder, possessions are everywhere, and for an animal hoarder, animals are everywhere. Hoarders don't believe they have a problem-they think what they do is perfectly normal, and not out of the ordinary.