EL PASO, Texas -- To outsiders, it seems like a demented form of abuse, but after a rash of animal hoarding cases in our area, KFOX found one very new theory about why it happens.

"They're kind of collecting animals, the same way that some people collect newspapers,” Dr. Richard Patterson, a clinical psychologist, said. “But what they really are in denial about is that the animals aren't being taken care of."

And the animals in some recent animal hoarding cases in Southern New Mexico were certainly not taken care of. In a matter of months, animal control officials seized hundreds of cats, dogs, birds and horses.

"They really do believe that they're providing better care than anybody else could," Patterson said.

While the generally accepted explanation calls animal hoarding a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, Patterson said there are other theories, including a controversial one.

"Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that's usually linked to cats,” explained Dr. Rhonda Fleming.

It's the reason pregnant women are advised to keep away from cats, as the parasite in humans can cause severe birth defects. But some in the science world speculate it may also have something to do with animal hoarding. The theory goes that the parasite infects a non-feline host, and because it can only reproduce in the gut of a cat, the parasite renders the host attracted to cats. Sounds plausible, but not everyone agrees.

"There is no scientific rationale behind it, that in a normal person, that parasite will go to the brain and that will make their behavior erratic and they will love cats and they will not smell their urine, that has absolutely no scientific support," Fleming said.

Those who support the parasite theory say many animal hoarders have been tested to have toxoplasmosis. But Fleming believes it's just coincidence.

"If you have someone who has 30 cats or 10 cats,” she explained, “It's more likely to have a positive evidence of being exposed to toxoplasma than someone that doesn't deal with cats."

While this doctor says no, the theory will perpetuate, no doubt with the help of the Internet, where dozens of sites exist dedicated to the possibility. Patterson hopes for more research.

"The whole area of animal hoarding is worth pursuing because in fact there's very little that's been done studying it from any perspective," he said. "It's far more common than we realize."