How do you not adopt a bajillion kitties?

cubbie

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I have two great cats - Gunner and Taylor. Sometimes I wonder if I should add a 3rd cat to the crew. I used to routinely have 3 cats in my house when I was dating this one girl (who will remain nameless LOL).

Anyway, I've noticed some of you have lost the battle and have a bajillion kitties.

I'm not sure what my point is, but how do the rest of you keep the pride small?

 

satai

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Does five count as small? I guess not.

Anyway, I have no advice. I can't help it, I'm addicted to snorting kitty bellies.

Maybe someone else can help.
 

white cat lover

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I have the space & funds to adopt one more kitty, but my parents(whom I live with while attending college), say no!


I don't adopt a "bajillion"(I like your use of the word
) kitties as I volunteer in a shelter & see how happy those kitties are when they get adopted. I get to see the look on the new owner's face. I had one little girl bawling her eyes out begging me not to take her kitty away while they waited for their application to be approved. When she returned for her kitty, she sat on the floor & bawled she was so happy. That's why I don't adopt a bajillion kitties. It makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside when they find their purr-fect homes!


Just IMO, Keith, if you can afford & have space for another kitty, get searching petfinder!
 

halfpint

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Well I have 8 Eight
And if I could I would have more, It brakes my Heart to see the cats that are looking for homes.
Six of Mine I rescued from a busy shopping center parking lot, I already had 2There were 8, I found homes for 2 of the baby girls and cryed every time someone called to see about getting one, I just simply could not give them up.
Its allot of work but I am the one who takes care of them and you won't hear me complain, DH Loves them also and he told me just keep them whats a few more
 

tari

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In my case, I keep it small because I married a guy who keeps me limited to three.

Actually, he was limited to two, but then I totally fell in
love
with Forest and convinced DH to adopt him for me as my first wedding anniversary gift. (I told him that "fur" was the traditional first anniversary gift...and he KNOWS I only like fur when it's still breathing! OK...it was wrong to lie to him, but I NEEDED Forest.)

If it were just me on my own, I'd probably have 20 cats by now...and numerous rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, birds, etc. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a cute face.
 

lisasha3

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I just can't seem to get enough of them!! They just seem to always provide that unconditional love!
That and they keep the bed warm just as good (if not better) than any man could.
 

godiva

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It's difficult... I have quite a few cats already. We take care of my mom so between my husband and I and her, we have 7 cats. To not get hit by the bug again, I just avoid looking at pictures of cats that need homes on Petfinder, and I don't go to petstores with kittens.
 

babyharley

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We have 2, and thats it for us for awhile, if we had more space and the funds, I'd definately have another one!
But with my boys, sometimes it sounds like we have a bajillion kitties!
 

lookingglass

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Space and money have kept me limited to two. Once I get a raise (that happens in less than a month) and move into a larger apartment (in a month and a half) I will adopt a third. When we buy a house DH is going to the shelter and adopting "his" kitty.


To be honest if I won the lottery I would start a no kill rescue in my area. For some reason cats just make sense to me.

EDIT: I also can't go on Petfinder, or make a quick dash to Petsmart. I know my weakness and I avoid it.
 

halfpint

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Originally Posted by lookingglass

Space and money have kept me limited to two. Once I get a raise (that happens in less than a month) and move into a larger apartment (in a month and a half) I will adopt a third. When we buy a house DH is going to the shelter and adopting "his" kitty.


To be honest if I won the lottery I would start a no kill rescue in my area. For some reason cats just make sense to me.

EDIT: I also can't go on Petfinder, or make a quick dash to Petsmart. I know my weakness and I avoid it.
I also Love dogs and I have 1 basset hound, but I feel that Cats do not get the same respect as dogs, when I rescued the ones I have I know for a fact that Animal Control would not have gone and gotten them, and I also know that you will never see a litter of puppies in a Busy Shopping Center parking lot for more then a few minutes.
So if I hit that lotto I'll help you on that No Kill shelter
 

starryeyedtiger

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I have 4 girls- all were rescues. I have fostered several hundred kitties though. I am currently the primary foster mom for my local animal shelter- so i constantly have kitttens in and out of my house. I recently had 5 little boys who were total sweeties- Ruger,Kolar, Magnum,Pirazzi, and Blazer. 3 of them recently went up for adoption and found awesome homes!
I still have two as they were the smaller and more sickly of the bunch- but they will be ready for adoption soon as well. It's REALLY difficult taking in soooooooo many fosters and then having to let go of them- but i do it because I know they need help- and i'm able to place some in loving homes and get them the help they need- then i will be able to take in even more and help more- so if i keep the numbers that i personally adopt down- i will be able to help more overall. On a typical day- i have my 4 kitties, and several foster kittens (i take in the bottle babies and the sickly ones- but i also take in adults as neeeded
) My foster kittens are seperated from my girls and remain so until they recieve a complete clean bill of health from the vets. Once they do- they are socialized around adult cats (my girls, ) dogs - mainly fosters, and a rabbit as well as children. The more they grow accustomed to, the more adoptable they become. I generally keep my foster ktitens at my boyfriend Colin's house where I normally stay- the rest of my animals are at mine/my mom's house (I stay at Colin's because it's safer) So at Colins- i keep my fosters in the kitchen- because it is a large kitchen....and they grow accustomed to the everyday sounds /smells around the house. When they're old enough, I have my nieces and nephews over (they're excellent around animals) and let them play with them and handle them- this gets kitties used to being handled by younger ones. I have had so far a 100% adoption rate with my gang- which is aweosme! So i've very happy about that- the more kitties i'm able to help and adopt out- the more i can continue to help -so for me, i have to have a pinch of disipline and try to not keep everyone i foster. It's hard sometimes though
 

lunasmom

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I don't adopt, they find us. Then, just like some of the men I've dated, after a while they stop being cute and doing their cute things, but it's already too late.

Luna was a stray found at a county fair. B's sister brought it to their home, and when we visited (the same week they found Luna) Luna kept following me around and doing thing heartbreaking drop and lay and dragged herself towards me.

Whitey was going to be given to the Humane Society. We volunteered to take him...he was almost kicked out, but has this knack for flopping over and letting out an adorable purr each time he's in trouble.
 
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cubbie

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Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

I have 4 girls- all were rescues. I have fostered several hundred kitties though. I am currently the primary foster mom for my local animal shelter- so i constantly have kitttens in and out of my house. I recently had 5 little boys who were total sweeties- Ruger,Kolar, Magnum,Pirazzi, and Blazer. 3 of them recently went up for adoption and found awesome homes!
I still have two as they were the smaller and more sickly of the bunch- but they will be ready for adoption soon as well. It's REALLY difficult taking in soooooooo many fosters and then having to let go of them- but i do it because I know they need help- and i'm able to place some in loving homes and get them the help they need- then i will be able to take in even more and help more- so if i keep the numbers that i personally adopt down- i will be able to help more overall. On a typical day- i have my 4 kitties, and several foster kittens (i take in the bottle babies and the sickly ones- but i also take in adults as neeeded
) My foster kittens are seperated from my girls and remain so until they recieve a complete clean bill of health from the vets. Once they do- they are socialized around adult cats (my girls, ) dogs - mainly fosters, and a rabbit as well as children. The more they grow accustomed to, the more adoptable they become. I generally keep my foster ktitens at my boyfriend Colin's house where I normally stay- the rest of my animals are at mine/my mom's house (I stay at Colin's because it's safer) So at Colins- i keep my fosters in the kitchen- because it is a large kitchen....and they grow accustomed to the everyday sounds /smells around the house. When they're old enough, I have my nieces and nephews over (they're excellent around animals) and let them play with them and handle them- this gets kitties used to being handled by younger ones. I have had so far a 100% adoption rate with my gang- which is aweosme! So i've very happy about that- the more kitties i'm able to help and adopt out- the more i can continue to help -so for me, i have to have a pinch of disipline and try to not keep everyone i foster. It's hard sometimes though
Ok, I've always wondered about foster homes. How do you manage the interaction between your kitties and the foster kitties to prevent fights and passing of illnesses?

I admit, I am no expert on what feline conditions are easily communicable. I had to put down a young kitten with FIP and it was soooo hard.
 

eilcon

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For me, it boils down to how many I can responsibly care for. Turns out that's four!
I'd definitely have more if space and money weren't an issue. I also foster occasionally and want to have the means to continue to do that. I'd never turn away a kitty in need.
 

starryeyedtiger

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Originally Posted by churchi4cubs

Ok, I've always wondered about foster homes. How do you manage the interaction between your kitties and the foster kitties to prevent fights and passing of illnesses?

I admit, I am no expert on what feline conditions are easily communicable. I had to put down a young kitten with FIP and it was soooo hard.
Well- all fosters remaine at Colins house until they recieve a clean bill of health from two different vets.
(there are several that work with my shelter- i always get two opinions on each foster- the vets are excellent!!!
) Since my girls are at my house , and my fosters are at colins- they never come in contact with each other. Once the kittens have a clean bill of health though- i will gradually bring them over to my place depending on time and other variables, and slowly introduce them....My girl Jasmine think's she's everybody's momma and always takes in my fosters and tries to bathe them :lol It's really sweet- my girls are so used to having new faces around that they don't mind at all....and the foster kittens adapt well for the most part because i work with them very intensley when they're young- the more time i spend socializing them- the more adopatble they become. I start them young on everything- baths, nail trims, collars (only when supervised), brushing, one on one time if i have more than one, i also have my nieces and nephews over to get them used to kids, and one of the main things i do is socialize them around mine and colin's dog, Fosters. He is a large, active dog- he is very gentle around kitties though and tries to kiss and play with them
....many people who adopt from us also have other animals- and many have dogs- so the more socialization they get from being around a dog (especially a large, active one) the more adopatable they are- (many kitties can't go into homes with dogs- so those that can are more adoptable
). Oh, and I also vaccinate my girls with some of the optional vaccines such as FIP and some others just to be on the safe side- they also recieve Feline Frontline once a month and are current on vaccinations and vet trips
/ Also, after a recent run in with ringworm from the shelter (which resulted in me, colin, fosters, and some foster kittens getting it)....i am now in the process of getting a wood lamp so that i can screen all potential fosters before brining them in. Fostering is hard work, but it's worth it. IT's really rewarding to see pictures of my former fosters thriving in their new homes!
 
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cubbie

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Thank you for the great information Nikki!
 

delilah_blue

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Originally Posted by eilcon

For me, it boils down to how many I can responsibly care for. Turns out that's four!
I'd definitely have more if space and money weren't an issue. I also foster occasionally and want to have the means to continue to do that. I'd never turn away a kitty in need.
Same with me, except my "magic number" is three. I have fostered litters of kittens in the past on a temporary basis, but on a long-term basis I don't think it would be fair to the kitties to take on any more right now. They wouldn't all get the attention or space they need. In the future when we have a larger house and my human kids aren't so young, I definitely would love to have more kitties, and perhaps foster on a regular basis. (I don't know how DH will react to that, though!
)

Christine
 

pami

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I happened to find a pregnant stray cat. She had her baby's and I fell in love and kept them all.
But I would like to add another girl kitty one day.
To make my total 6 cats and 1 dog.
 

lionessrampant

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I work in a building with 300 cats as an adoption counselor. I don't know why, but I just stopped having a desire to bring another one home, which is contrary to what you would think I'd feel. I think it has to do with my apartment only being 450 square feet and the fact that I'll probably move a couple of times before I'm finally settled and the fact that when I AM finally settled, I'd really like to rescue a doggie. Also, working in stray cat rescue and rehab (it's what my shelter does specifically) you begin to be sort of sobered by the amount of work and time cats really DO need, especially our guys who were ALL pulled of the streets and ALMOST all have special needs or are recovering from extensive injuries or have never been socialized with people. Or maybe I just feel that it's really rare that I meet "my" kitties if you know what I mean. I just know that when I get home from the shelter after a full shift, I feel very grateful for my cats and their trust, love and health (all are rescues). I have a couple favorites at the shelter that I would consider taking (4 is the ABSOLUTE ceiling for me, I could no way handle more than 4)...Hydrangea who is a shy but sweet girl who was admitted with her kittens, Dale who is a senior that has several benign cysts that need to be extensively monitored, Circe who has mild/moderate HCM, Jonah who is "very, very overstimulated" but I think is just stressed and misunderstood, and, of course, moody and demanding (but very dignified!) Buckles who survived severe burns all over his body.

ETA: I would get into fostering, but my shelter very rarely fosters out, and when they do the first people they go to is clinic staff members and vet assistants. In a major crisis, though, I would be getting fosters. For instance, in situations like Hurrican Katrina rescues and when the building next to the shelter caught on fire and had to be demolished (therefore all 300 kitties had to be evacuated!)
 

skippymjp

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I had every intention of having 2 cats, but over the years I've ended up taking in a couple of strays, and the rest are rescues from the shelter that were almost out of time. I'm a homebody, so staying home watching something from netflix and brushing whoever decides to get onto my lap at the time is quite fun
I pay for routine vet visits up front, but have a Visa with a $5000 limit locked away for vet emergencies. In short, I have the time and resources for all my gang, but have to draw the line at this being all I can handle. Besides, all the other cats in the house was starting to stress my oldest one. When I brought home the last one, my oldest stayed in the sunroom for 2 months, bless her heart.
 
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