Confessions: Animal Hoarding (Animal Planet)

Much like the similarly themed Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive, Confessions: Animal Hoarding uses shock value -- and morbid fascination -- to suck you in. It's a lot like a car crash you can't look away from, but it ups the ante by mixing in cute animals and their confounding owners, who typically fail to see the error of their ways. Owners like Don, for example, whose wife can no longer live in their home because some 30 cats treat the place like a giant litter box, pushing the house's blistering ammonia levels well into the toxic range.

While both Hoarders and Hoarding: Buried Alive extend a hand to their struggling subjects by offering the services of professional organizers, Confessions doesn't make the same kind of effort. In at least one episode, it was up to concerned family members to find a therapist who could help them stage an intervention for their dog-loving relative, Bonnie, whose home had literally become a dumping ground. And the aforementioned Don skipped therapy altogether in favor of turning himself in to animal control. With that type of approach, it's tough to say whether the experience will truly change anyone.