It matters to some whether Cheryl Perkins and Ed Criswell are cat hoarders.

If they are afflicted by this mental illness, it would take the edge off the horrific scene Bonner County officials found earlier this month at the pair’s Voice of the Animals Camelot Sanctuary. The sanctuary was anything but Camelot for hundreds of cats found there, more than half of which were euthanized “due to severe illness and extreme suffering.”

A spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States deemed the Camelot Sanctuary as “the largest cruelty case in Idaho.”

Yet, the two operators of the shelter near Blanchard can’t be charged with anything higher than a misdemeanor for creating an environment that spread disease and suffering for the cats and kittens they allegedly tried to save. Idaho is one of eight states where cruelty to animals is not a felony offense. Good can come of this sordid case if Idaho joins the majority of states and passes a law making extreme animal cruelty a felony.

As matters stand now, Humane Society officials told The Spokesman-Review that Perkins and Criswell can move to another state and start another shelter operation. That would be harder to do if they were convicted of a felony. A felony conviction becomes part of their permanent record, making future activities for animal hoarders easier to track. A misdemeanor conviction does not.

Unfortunately, experts say, the recidivism rate among animal hoarders is 100 percent. If Perkins and Criswell are found guilty of the misdemeanor charges, Bonner County officials should try, at a minimum, to prevent them from owning another animal or opening another shelter. They had 10 new animals at their place last week, according to an S-R reporter.

Whether the shelter operators are mentally healthy or not, whether or not they are kind-hearted people who got themselves into a bind by accepting every stray that came their way, they created a shelter where lingering deaths from emaciation, feline leukemia and infectious disease was the norm. Staff writer Alison Boggs described the situation:

“The stench of cat urine and feces was overpowering in the living area of the double-wide trailer where Perkins and Criswell lived. Cat urine, diarrhea and feces covered many surfaces of the trailer, including beds, kitchen counters and flooring. Dogs sitting on worn-out couches in the living room constantly snapped at flies and fleas, and flytrap strips hanging from the ceiling were covered with dead insects.”

Society should shoulder some blame for animal shelters like Voice of the Animals Camelot Sanctuary.

Too few owners have their pets spayed or neutered. The animals produce numerous litters, which are taken to shelters for disposal or abandoned when they can’t be given away. Some owners turn to shelters because they’re tired of their pets or refuse to pay to help them recover from illness or injury. Some shelters, meanwhile, no longer euthanize animals.

That creates a huge unwanted-pet population. And a fertile environment for animal hoarders.