I have recently rescued one kitten and already she is taking up almost all my time. Nope, I am not complaining at all since she is a wonderful kitty and I can't imagine not having her in my household.

But to think that many of the people here with 5 or more cats, how do you manage the time, the care and attention/affection and more importantly, the expenses? I really feel that you are doing a really wonderful thing for them and sheltering them from all the bad things out there.

Most cats don't need to be held 24/7 .. though some may try to convince you they should.
Litter box scooping and feeding sort of comes naturally, the person would do that for one already - so what's with a few more?

And most importantly, if the cats get along they provide each other with company. :)


Though to be fair, I don't understand how parents handle one child - let alone 3-4. :lol3:

For a start, one kitten is hard because they have a lot of energy and it will demand all of your attention. I have 3 cats, and they amuse each other most of the time. I have one hyperactive kitty who demands more attention, but a couple of good play sessions (which we all enjoy) and she's fairly happy.

The kitties generally come to us when they want affection, and they all want different amounts of affection. Smudge comes and sits on your chest regularly and gives you head butts, and is most snuggly when we're in bed. Lily is pretty shy so only occasionally wants attention, and it's generally when it's quiet, so that's fine. Stumpy is happiest just following us around and getting the occaisonal head rub. They'll also snuggle with and groom each other which keeps them happy.

Cost wise, it works out fairly cheap in bulk. We get our cats Felidae premium dry food, and feed them nothing else, and that generally lasts close to 3 months, and costs about $32, so about $10/month - a little over $3/cat per month. Litter wise, we use scoopable litter which lasts a very long time, so doesn't cost much. I get their shots at the shelter which is $10/shot (and no consultation fees), so it's just their yearly vaccinations I need to worry about, and the costs of those are reasonable.

Because they are inside cats, are fed good food, and are happy I don't need to worry too much about injuries or sickness, so the only vet visit we've had is an allergy problem which just needed a steroid injection.

I think you just need to shop around and find the most cost effective way to keep your cat as healthy as you can.

Edit: And as strange_wings said - you have to feed and scoop litter for one cat, so it's not much extra for 3 cats.

If you have kittens, they will often take care of others' social needs. In my case, the adult cats don't seem to need to interact with each other much. The hardest part is probably if one gets sick (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) it's difficult to narrow down who's sick without actually witnessing it.

I have 2 cats, they keep each other amused a lot of the time. 1 kitten is harder work than 2! Your little one would be less needy and probably better off if you adopted a playmate of a similar age :)

am always busy with my cat's, they want attention off me all the time hehe! it's hectic with 2, i'll have 3 by the end of this week, & Candee's only a baby hehe! eventually, will have 4, now that will be fun

I have eight cats and at times fostering several..right now down to fostering just one. yes they do take alot of my time...but I love every minute. l have all rescue kitties and they all are the most loveable babies. I think your kitty needs a playmate!
Remember the saying ""Cats are like potato chips..you just can't have one"
there are alot of kitties in shelters just waiting for a home...good luck!

Having a household of umpteen cats isn't easy that's for sure. It's a lot of work but I wouldn't trade it for anything. As "kluchetta" said, the hardest thing is trying to figure out who it is when somebody gets sick. :scratch: That's where knowing each cat's body language and personality plays a big part. The attention thing is pretty easy as each cat has different needs and chooses when they want my attention. They each have their own time/place when they want what I call "momma time". :) As for the expense, well I'm in denial and try not to think about it. I can't imagine what I must spend on food and litter. I keep my receipts from the Vet but I don't want to know the tally. The last time I saw him he said he was going to add a wing onto the clinic for me lol. Thankfully overall my cats are very healthy.

I'm with the others who say you might consider getting a playmate for your little one. :)

Depends on the type of cats. I limited myself to 6 adult rexes as rexes are a demanding cat for attention. We have 2 cats and a dog - the dog gets jealous anytime you pet the cats :) No rexes now, but I know I could handle TWO Ocicats :)

Since cats have different personalities, you might adopt one that is more independent and not as cuddly and one that wants to be in your face all the time. You adjust to each cat.

Kinda like human babies - you deal with the first one, and thru practice, you learn how to adjust to one or two more kids :)

Kittens are more work. Some people would rather adopt older cats with their personalities set so they know how to deal with more then one cat.

Thank you for all the input here. Actually, I didn't really start the thread because I am having problem with my kitten. It's just that I am really amazed at the wonderful people who offer up their home to numerous cats and is curious to find out how they manage it so I can also learn to be a better parent to my kitty.

Right now, my kitten is extra active to the point of going into hyperdrive at least once a day, usually right before bedtime. She can amuse herself by playing with her toys so it's great to not have to be with her 24/7. I remembered reading through the threads somewhere when all the cats go into hyperdrive and running around crazy, creating sounds like a thunderous stampede. I can only imagine what that would be like! ;)

I have 4 and as others have said they do keep each other company. I always thought Jordan would be a demanding cat on his own and now I know he would be. Due to his medical needs I've taken him on 2 differnt trips now. He is the most needy cat in the world when he spends all day alone. Over Christmas everytime I would walk in the room he would jump on me and would be so upset when I left. The next day after work I stupidly expected the same reaction. Nope he yawned and looked at me like, "oh your home, that's nice I'm going back to sleep now."

The cost well that's a differnt story. For me I just have to plan vet trips out as best I can. I do have to make sacrafices. If they need to go to the vet and I want something, well their vet vist comes first. There is nothing in this world I would rather have than my kitties so it's not much of a choice for me.

I couldn't imagine only having 1 cat, I'd be bored!! :lol3: Like the others have said, my crew keeps themselves occupied, and they sleep a lot :lol3: Some are more demanding of personal attention than others, but it all works out somehow :rolleyes:

As long as they all get along having more then one cat is alot easier! Calamity makes things dificult for me because she has decided she hates the other cats. Thankfully she doesnt fight with them just does alot of growling and hissing till they go away. Good thing Skye is easy going and Sundance is her son and is used to her bad attitude or else I would have a problem. None of the fosters are allowed upstairs because of her.

I couldn't imagine only having 1 cat, I'd be bored!! :lol3: Like the others have said, my crew keeps themselves occupied, and they sleep a lot :lol3: Some are more demanding of personal attention than others, but it all works out somehow :rolleyes:

Yep, exactly! I've currently got 13 permanent cats and 1 possibly pregnant foster cat so I will most likely have a litter of kittens within the next month. I'm lucky to be able to stay home with the kitties all day so I can give them a lot more attention than if I was working all day. But they really don't demand much attention, some do more than others, and they generally keep each other occupied.

It's a little more poop to scoop but I don't mind, and feeding time is fairly easy now that we've gotten into more of a routine.

I couldn't imagine only having 1 cat, I'd be bored!! :lol3: Like the others have said, my crew keeps themselves occupied, and they sleep a lot :lol3: Some are more demanding of personal attention than others, but it all works out somehow :rolleyes:

I went from a 7 cat household to a 2 cat household and I was bored. My adult cats play less and sleep more. Benson is a bundle of energy that I wasn't ready for. He is doing much better in the 7 cat household. The boys play together but the girls play independently.

Litter we get in bulk but the canned food gets expensive. Benson won't eat the same can twice and only likes certain flavors. Lucky & Cello eat like pigs and will steal any food left unattended.

Playtime is never ending. Yesterday I was with them for 3 hours. When one takes a break another comes around. :lol:

Having a household of umpteen cats isn't easy that's for sure. It's a lot of work but I wouldn't trade it for anything. As "kluchetta" said, the hardest thing is trying to figure out who it is when somebody gets sick. :scratch: That's where knowing each cat's body language and personality plays a big part. The attention thing is pretty easy as each cat has different needs and chooses when they want my attention. They each have their own time/place when they want what I call "momma time". :) As for the expense, well I'm in denial and try not to think about it. I can't imagine what I must spend on food and litter. I keep my receipts from the Vet but I don't want to know the tally. The last time I saw him he said he was going to add a wing onto the clinic for me lol. Thankfully overall my cats are very healthy.

I'm with the others who say you might consider getting a playmate for your little one. :)
That pretty much sums it up. The other thing that works for me is that because mine are tolerant of each other and have always been used to sharing me, their "momma time" usually consists of 2 or more cats at a time. They count on me laying on the sofa in the evenings so that a bunch of them can cuddle in with me. When too many get demanding at once, I simply remind them that I only have 2 hands. I have gotten good at giving them scritches with my toes! :lol:

My guys are pretty self-sufficient. Twitch, Lily, & Damita live upstairs....they get fawned over my mom & lil sis. Dorky, PJ, Punky, & Ophelia live downstairs, they sleep with me. Ophelia doesn't like to be touched, so she's easy to "love on". :lol3: Dorky is plastered to my side all night long. PJ & Punky...when they slow down enough....love to sleep with me, too. Cow is in the office, he gets loving when I'm on the computer. "Bailey" is in the bathroom....I haven't established a "loving time" as he's only been here 12 hours. The farm kitties...Molly & Fafeena get individual "love time" when they're in the bathroom for snackies. The Bobs get love when they're in the garage....the other's aren't exactly friendly....so I try to avoid touching them so I can keep the flesh on my bones. :rolleyes:

Expenses....I carefully manage & pay everything I can. But with now 16 cats, most of the bills are paid by my parents. They, after all, are keeping most of the cats(only Ophelia, Dorky, & now Cow are "my" cats).

I do all the "dirty work"...LB cleaning/maintenance....meds.....vet runs....etc.

I couldn't imagine only having 1 cat, I'd be bored!! :lol3: Like the others have said, my crew keeps themselves occupied, and they sleep a lot :lol3: Some are more demanding of personal attention than others, but it all works out somehow :rolleyes:

From no prior experience in caring for a pet to hand raising a kitten, I think I did pretty well. Initially, I was telling myself that one kitten is enough but looking at how well two or three or a household of cats get along with each other, I am really about to change my mind.

I am looking into the possibility of adopting a friend for Lucy Belle. I am a little worried though since Lucy Belle has no opportunity to be socialized with other feline and am unsure how well she will take it. I have a lot of research to do before subjecting her to another kitty friend and also to be fair to the newcomer, I have to make sure that I can really take good care of them both.

So, reading and learning from all of you who have multiple cats really do help.

Oh man, if any of my cats were an "only" they'd drive me crazy! They keep each other so well occupied and entertained that they don't demand much from us aside from meals, a clean litterbox, and a few snuggles now and then. Multiple cats, in my experience, are not a whole lot more work than just one cat.

Our family and friemds think that we are crazy for having the 9 that we have and a 6 mos. old baby but we do just fine. My husband and I make sure that we spend adequate time with each kitty and believe it or not we can all fit on the bed at night!!! As for the cost of owning all of them-we have to buy special food because Uno is allergic to chicken-the main ingredient in almost every frickin cat food, and every one of them has some genetic problem-we are always at the vet-I have stopped keeping track of what it all costs-I am sure I would pass out if I ever found out, but to my husband and I our cats our our passion-we have never had to get in an argument over the cats. We love our cats and would kill anyone who ever caused harm to them. It can be expensive and time consuming, but well worth the love you recieve in return. ( we have rescued or adopted all our cats from bad situations and will continue to do so in the future.)

We have 9 cats. They make a lot of cleaning for me; I'd say at least 50% of my cleaning is cat-related (hair, puke, poop, and pee). However, I wouldn't trade them for the world!

To minimize bowl cleaning, and yes, I know this is not "green": I buy small styrofoam bowls in bulk, and trash them every day (I do 2 feedings. If any are bit dirty, I rinse them out before re-filling them). I have 3 large water bowls that are ceramic. I place a plastic boot tray under both sets of dishes, which keeps spills and kibble off the floor; I wash the trays at least every few days. Since someone likes to play with the water, and gets it all over the kitchen, I place a folded disposible bed pad (incontinence pads) on the boot tray. I buy these in bulk on eBay--a case of 200 (wonder what the seller thinks about DH and I????:lol3:). I also use a few on the living room area rug--Hobbes will not go into the garage to do #1 in the litter (but poops there); our compromise, and to save the rug, is to put these down, and change when he wets (I hide them when we have company!).

Food: We feed Purina dry food, the mid-range stuff (cheap stuff makes Jasmine's fur fall out); their coats are BEAUTIFUL and shiny. I feed them 9 Lives canned food. Honestly, they don't really like the high-end food, and they are all doing very well with what I give them. We get a 20lb or so bag of dry every week, and I go through at least 2 cans of canned each day.

Litter: They like Cat's Pride litter. We buy a huge bag every week--about $4.50-$5.00 at WalMart. I empty it into one of those plastic, flip-top pet food containers (as with the dry food in the kitchen). I sometimes get lazy, and buy the Cat's Pride "Kat Kits"--pre-filled, disposable little trays. I keep these mainly for when I'm in a rush, but see someone's really messed in a litter box. Often, when I have time, like on the weekends, I scrub out those trays, and re-fill them. Not always. They are about $2.50 in stores, shop around--I've seen them as much as nearly $5! For everyday boxes, I buy WalMart's litter trays, about $3.97 each. Sturdy, cats like 'em, and cheap. Mine won't use those hooded boxes, and I find that fancy boxes don't work any better, and just have more parts to clean. I have about 15 of these; I line them with plastic shopping bags, then insert the box into a heavy-duty, drawstring Hefty bag. (The shopping bags help keep wet litter off the box surface, making washing easier.) I'm very lucky in that we have a garage, not used for cars, that's attached to the laundry room. We installed a cat door, and have the litter in the garage. This is sooo nice! We also installed a laundry sink; and we re-purposed an old bathroom vanity, by screwing plywood to the top. It's by the sink, the drawers hold litter supplies (the boxes fit in the door part), and I have a flat surface to wash and prep the boxes on! At least once a day, the boxes get scooped. At least once a week, I empty, wash them out with hot water and soap, and re-fill. I also sweep and mop this floor oncea week. I even put down mats, so their little paws don't have to touch the cold floor!:lol3:

Bedding: They like the Rubbermaid/Sterlite shallow plastic storage bins. I fold up fleece throws I bought cheaply, and put in the boxes, and they LOVE them. Once a week, I remove them, wash in hot water to kill any fleas, etc., and replace with others. Recently, I got rid of a king-size bed comforter. I quartered it, hemmed the edges, and used the pads in the boxes. I can wash them easily. The boxes reside next to the heater vent--toasty warm! When I fostered, I bought comforters at yard sales, and trashed them after each set of foster cats, in order not to pass on disease.

Medical care: We take them to a retired vet, who has vaccination clinics at the pet store. At least we can save on the shots. Flea meds: eBay--Frontline, in bulk. You just have to measure it out yourself; easy. If I take 2 or more to the vet, & they get the same things done, we get a tiny discount. Sometimes, when we get a new cat, and take them in, they give us a jug of cat food, and rebate forms to get xxx-$ off a vet visit. I also scarf up the free cat food samples there (I always leave some for others, of course)!

Love: Oh, they get LOTS of this! I really think it keeps them healthy, too. I have 3 FeLV+ cats, who look so healthy, and are so happy. Sometimes, I must admit, it gets to be a bit overwhelming for me (someone always needs attention, and they are not shy about clawing their way to it). I try to relax, and take the time to cuddle--I know how lucky I am to have these cats. Often, I have at least 3 on my lap, or laying on me in bed. I was home on vacation the past 2 weeks, & I felt like a stay-at-home mom, with all of the naughty kids getting into trouble! (My guys are active!). I had to break up fights, soothe boo-boos (Loki again); give hugs and kisses, and yell at bad cats. I try to give them equal amounts of attention, and more to those going through a rough day. I take turns holding them, if possible. BJ gets his hug and his song sung to him at least once a day. (I'm not making this up, I swear!)

Our family and friemds think that we are crazy for having the 9 that we have and a 6 mos. old baby but we do just fine. My husband and I make sure that we spend adequate time with each kitty and believe it or not we can all fit on the bed at night!!! As for the cost of owning all of them-we have to buy special food because Uno is allergic to chicken-the main ingredient in almost every frickin cat food, and every one of them has some genetic problem-we are always at the vet-I have stopped keeping track of what it all costs-I am sure I would pass out if I ever found out, but to my husband and I our cats our our passion-we have never had to get in an argument over the cats. We love our cats and would kill anyone who ever caused harm to them. It can be expensive and time consuming, but well worth the love you recieve in return. ( we have rescued or adopted all our cats from bad situations and will continue to do so in the future.)


You and your DH sound like us! Our cats bring us even closer together. And all of ours are rescues, too (hmmm...blame my DH for most of them!). Sometimes, we'll be sitting around, and Dh will say, "I LOVE our cats!", and I get that warm, fuzzy feeling.

We have 9 cats. They make a lot of cleaning for me; I'd say at least 50% of my cleaning is cat-related (hair, puke, poop, and pee). However, I wouldn't trade them for the world!



Oh my! Thank you so much for sharing all the info. I just know that it is not impossible to live with so many cats but I really still can't imagine having so man y cats and caring for all of them at the same time. How long have you been caring for them? I feel all warm and fuzzy reading what you are doing and how much love you're showing to them. So blessed are you cats and you too!

How old is your kitten? Bringing another kitten into the house if he is still young shouldn't be a problem. I have 6 (and that IS my limit!!) and we've never done the slow introduce thing. We've always just put them done and let them hiss and posture, keeping an eye on things of course, and within an hour they are off playing. The slow introduce thing is good for older cats who are established, but kitten just want to play!

The real experience is when they are 6 months to a yr old. That is when they still have the energy of a kitten, but getting the size of a big cat. That's when they get into EVERYTHING!! They don't know how big they are and still think they can squeeze into places they explored...but they can't. Yeah, you're in for an experience.

I always say "cats are like tattooes...once you have one, what's one more" (I like the chip thing too!). Caring for more than one isn't that much more.

You and your DH sound like us! Our cats bring us even closer together. And all of ours are rescues, too (hmmm...blame my DH for most of them!). Sometimes, we'll be sitting around, and Dh will say, "I LOVE our cats!", and I get that warm, fuzzy feeling.

That is soo crazy my husband is to blame for more than half of the cats we own!!! When we got married we each had 2 of our own, since then he has brought home 3 more, when I was pregnant I let the hormones get to me and he chose not to argue with them and we added 1 more, then recently I started working for a cat only hospital and a resident cat up for adoption for 6 mos. won over my heart and I had to bring her home (to try!) and within less than 2 days my husband was begging me to keep her!!! It does make you all warm and fuzzy inside!!!!!!

I have 2 cats and the hard part for me isn't the cost, it's that they eat different foods and have entirely different nutritional needs. (A kitten and a large adult).

I only go through a little bit more litter with 2 cats than I did with 1. (I now have 2 boxes instead of 1, although only 1 gets used). The only thing I can't do now with 2 cats that I could with 1 is use crystal litter. It just is too expensive to use when you have more than 1 cat. With regular clay clumping litter, not that much more $$$. Food is only a little bit more a month for Chloe, $20-40 more (for her kitten dry and wet food). I can't wait until they are eating the same dry food and wet food. (Mattie doesn't like leftovers so being able to split a larger 5.5oz can between them will be nice).

I don't have the space to buy things in bulk, but if I did I would.

Kittens do best with other kittens, they entertain each other.

[ There is nothing in this world I would rather have than my kitties [/quote]

I could not have put it any better!!! I do give up alot for them...but they are well worth it each and every one of them

I'm allergic to cats and we rescued one feral kitten to see how it went. Within a week we had two and were trapping, spaying & neutering all the ferals (or strays) that came to the feeding station we put up. At one point we had a colony of about 20 ferals.

Within a year we had four feral rescues now indoors-only pets. We added one more the next year, basically funded the start-up of a no-kill shelter (so now we had a way to develop "distribution" :lol: ) - and we adopted our sixth the year after that. There were a lot of feral kitten fosters inbetween. :)

BUT.... we lived in a small space during most of that - an RV that is 37 feet long and 8 feet wide (we live in a 3 bedroom house now), so it was very easy to tell who was sick, and we got to know each kitty and their patterns and behavior really easily because we all lived on top of each other. :lol:

We stopped at six because that's our comfort level. We think in terms of emergency - and that is how many crates and cats we can fit into the car at one time. They're all happy on RV trips now - and we're scared that a 7th would "break the camel's back" so to speak.

The other problem is that after the first two, the only ones we brought into our home were kitties with problems. If they've got medical or behavioral problems, they can be very expensive to care for, and at this point in time we cannot imagine adopting a cat someone else would. And we no longer have the income we did, so we can't afford to adopt another kitty-in-need. :heart3:

Anyway.... as adults, they don't really hang out with each other anymore. For the first two years, almost every picture I have is of at least two cats - sleeping with each other, cuddling with each other, grooming each other, playing with each other. Now that they're all older, it's basically just Ming Loy who looks at all the other cats as toys - but none of them mind because she's handicapped, and they can run away and jump up a cat tree and get away from her. Flowerbelle enjoys taunting her from time to time.

HOWEVER - there is something to be said for the bond you develop with just one cat. We do have problems with jealousy and attention sometimes. And funny enough, looking back, now that we know Lazlo (our first rescue kitty) as well as we do, it is SO apparent to us that he would have been perfectly happy as an alone cat.

Our experience - having brought in 6 ourselves (3 males and 3 females) and having fostered mostly females - is that females tend to be jealous and take longer to accept other females brought into the home.

Cats are not by nature pack animals like dogs are, and while as kittens they can really enjoy having a playmate around, as adults they're far more "take it or leave it" - though there are plenty of adult kitty-mates. :)

With your little girl, if you're considering adopting another kitty, then I'd adopt a male. All of our males are far more social with the other kitties, accepting of new kitties almost immediately, and our "ambassador" kitty is a male. After the first two kitties, we didn't really "choose" which kitties we adopted - they found their way to us, and circumstances were such that they stayed. We wouldn't trade a single one. But based on our experiences, if I were ever in a situation (God forbid) where I had just one female kitty, I'd adopt a male, not a female - assuming I was in a position to choose my kitty as opposed to being in the position we've been in - where the kitties were choosing us. :lol:

Laurie :D

How about considering becoming a foster mom for a shelter near you? :D

Laurie

Oh my! Thank you so much for sharing all the info. I just know that it is not impossible to live with so many cats but I really still can't imagine having so man y cats and caring for all of them at the same time. How long have you been caring for them? I feel all warm and fuzzy reading what you are doing and how much love you're showing to them. So blessed are you cats and you too!


Hi Tutti,

Thanks for the very nice compliments! We try our best to be good kitty parents.

We started out with 1, who was DH's own cat when I met him 5 years ago. When we got our apartment, I found #2, a stray. Fast forward to over a year later, when we bought our house. That's when #3 came to us, another stray. About 7 months later, DH found Willi and Loki at work, strays. Numbers 4 &5! 1 1/2 years later, DH found a litter of 4 kittens where he delivered (he's a truck driver). Add numbers 6,7,8, and 9! (Three of those ended up with FeLV.)

You know, when we had 3, I remember thinking, "Ok, 3's about all we can handle." Then it got to be, "Ok, we don't need any more than 5; no more cats until someone dies!--I can't handle all of these "kids"!". Oh well...I take it as a sign from God that he wants us to care for strays. Honestly, I see it as my reason for being alive (I think everyone has some talent that they can use to make the world a better place; it's just a matter of stumbling upon it, sometimes). We were talking about our cats earlier today, in the car. I get so much satisfaction from knowing I'm giving them the best care I can. Most of them would have literally been dead, if we hadn't taken them in. We decided that our guys have a great place to live; a lot of love, good food, medical care, warm places to sleep, companionship (other cats), and lots of windows, and places to run and play. Sometimes, I have to admit, they can get on my nerves a little; I just try not to let it bother me.

Even though I can't take in any more cats (because of the exposure to FeLV), a few weeks ago, I nearly found myself fostering again. I was in a store, when I got to chatting with an employee. Her daughter was going to take a 6-month-old cat to the SPCA that day. I gave her my cell phone, and told her to call home, and stop her; taking the cat there could be a death sentence. She was able to get the cat back (she's keeping it). I thought, if my local no-kill shelter couldn't take her (as it turns out, they can't), I could foster the cat in quarantine for a week or so. I must be nuts! but, what could I do--let a cat go to its almost certain death, or take the chance, crazy as it sounds?

I took in my 4th this time last year (boy it's been a year already? sheesh!)

I don't know if it's just me, but they are no trouble at all really. They are independant and sleep most of the days away but seem to have developed their own time slots for affection which don't interfere with eachother.

I have 2 dogs in the house also. No problems there either. When my daughter comes home from college, she always has to comment on the "harmony" in the house amongst the animals.

That makes ME feel warm and fuzzy!!

we are a multi cat household and Feliway makes a huge difference!

Owning 3 cats for me is heaven as they all get along with one another, and also the dog (thank god!)

Although they don't play with one another like they used to, it's nice to see them together in other forms i.e. sleeping next to each other or all eating from the same bowl at once..

The two youngest ones (Shark and Arwen) do have the odd days where they will play up and fight with each other, but they seem to make it up in the end. Brandy does his own thing, he is more of an outdoor cat, whereas the other two enjoy time indoors sleeping.

Overall, I love al three of my cats, no matter what they want to do with themselves during the day, be it sleeping, getting on my nerves with constant mewing or just being there for cuddles! :)

Well we now have six. I originally had 3 dogs and 3 cats and 2 cockatiels and 2 budgies, in a 1000 sq foot home. I rescued a stray who had 5 kittens and one didn't make it. I got all the kitties home and before that we had lost two of our dogs. Well two homes did not work out, one never called me back and the other didn't commit to them and we ended up with my kitten and an additional cat. So now we have six and I did try to find the recent cats homes without any luck and I just could not turn them over to the humane society. They are all extremely special. We joke that we spend less in dog food and more in cat litter now. We now have two dogs, one a smaller dog from the pound. I made a purchase of two of the scoop free cat boxes and they do work well. I also have changed to the crystal litter and I pick it up a lot more than before. We are now looking for more room for us but we have managed quite well and would not give anyone up. Everyone is spayed and neutered.

I have 3 right now... I had always planned on only having 2 cats at any time, but things didn't quite go as planned (happily enough for me).

That said, ours seem to fulfill each other's social needs pretty much. Only one of mine really craves attention on a regular basis, the other primarily wants to play, so it works out pretty well.

On the topic of expenses:
Two things have been really important for me in terms of keeping cost down.
1. Buying large bags of food that everyone can eat (I buy online, enough for 4 months worth at one time, it's cheaper than getting several smaller bags).
2. Finding a good quality litter that clumps well (so that less is wasted on loose clumps) and finding a cheaper litter... I was using chicken feed at one point, ($10 for 50lbs) but have gone back to feline pine right now... Hopefully I can get them to use the regular FP pellets, so that I can eventually switch them to the stove pellets which are very cheap :)

As to vet visits, our vet is pretty good about giving us a "frequent buyer" discount ;) But, spreading the regular trips out helps. I try to keep their dishes, etc. very clean (and the litter box) to keep down on germs. I think also, that feeding them seperately (in seperate bowls) helps reduce the spread of germs.

Art

I have two cats right now. They are from the same litter, though we got Molly a week earlier than Polly. Obviously, I play with them both, but they do a great job of occupying each other. The cost of food, spays, and shots have been larger together than for one cat, but it isn't too much more. They spend a lot of time together and are very close, so I don't feel as guilty when leaving the house as I would if I only had one cat.
Though they are sisters, they are individuals with particular needs, but it always works out. They usually want individual time with me at different times, and it's nice when they both want to cuddle.
I cleaned the litter box the week we had Molly before getting Polly (and I've had 7 cats at once when I was younger, so I'm used to it), so it wasn't much of a change since you do that whether there is 1 cat or there are 4.

i would always try to have 2 kittens. i think they grow up faster if they don't have a buddy to play with.

Like people, they all have different personalities. Katie, my oldest, is high-demand when it comes to attention. More often than not, I'm typing with her sprawled in my lap. If we're on the couch watching a movie, she's in my lap being pet and/or brushed. The rest of the time, she's pretty content to nap on the bed or the back of the couch. Marrs is 7 years old and pretty independent. When he wants/needs attention, he seeks it out. (Often ruffling Katie's feathers if she's already in my lap...I have to explain that we don't bite or hit, but she quickly forgets.) Tiger is three and he was a ferral kitten. Usually he just wants a few minutes of petting in the morning and then he goes his own way the rest of the day. Jewel, the baby of the bunch at 6 months old, isn't overly concerned with attention at the moment...there are ficuses to climb and stray dog kibble to be used as hockey pucks on the kitchen floor! They all tend to pile into bed with us at night, so that seems to satisfy some of their need for closeness, too, without requiring any extra effort on our part. ;)

As long as the litter boxes can all be kept in only one or two spots in the house, it's no more bother to clean several than it would be to clean one. I use the bin feeders and watering bowls so I don't have to refill a bowl every single day. I have short haired cats as well, so there's usually not a lot of intense grooming to be done.

I foster, and it is only tricky when you have more than one cat wanting to be on your knee at the same time, or play with the same toy, and they dont get on. I only have one of my own cats at the moment (will be adopting one of my fosters at some point this year) and she lives in my bedroom, so has her time early morning/late night, either when i Am on the PC, or in bed, and the nearly permanent foster has fallen into that routine too.