Are 6 Cats better than 2?

ritchela

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My question is, are 6 cats better than 2? We are a multiple cat family and I thoroughly enjoy watching them interact and role play with each other. The age difference is from 18 years to 5 months. It is so interesting to observe their behavior with each other. The youngest has been adopted by our 9 year old female, she grooms him and although she has never had a litter and has been spayed for many years, he pretend nurses. It seems to satisfy a need in each and they are very close. Each has his own unique personality and they all give our family hours of entertainment with their antics. We love our cats and they bring so much to the family.

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4meezers3kids

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You've got MY vote!

I tremendously enjoy all the kitty interactions going on in a larger group. It's ... kaleidoscopic!

I feel like a feline Jane Goodall, sometimes!
 

katiemae1277

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I tell you, I have 12 cats right now, but scarcely more than a year ago I only had 2 and at that time my house felt so empty! I don't think I could ever have less than 6 from this point on. The relationship dynamics are so awesome to watch, and of course never having an empty lap is always a plus!
 

gomer

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I have five and they get along fairly well, but I personally would like to have just two.
There's too much cat-managing I have to do throughout the day. And they're into everything. They all need different food, one doesn't to use the litterbox and is we'll looking into prozac, another has a sensitive stomach and vomits all the time, one hates every other animal in the house, one picks on the other one, one gets into food on the counter constantly (while I'm standing right there).

I love them, but they're far more work than my dogs most days.
 

meow meow

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Someday I'd like to have 3 - right now my DH says only one. I do believe strongly however, that as the number of cats goes up your risk for litterbox avoidance issues goes up greatly with it.
 

white cat lover

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I have 6, plus 2 foster kittens. One will kill most of the other kitties any chance she got. So, I have 3 who live strictly upstairs, 3 who live strictly downstairs. And my two foster boys are strictly in my bedroom. I can tell horror stories about Ophelia attacking Lily & how Lily had to have stitches.

Not all cats are going to get along. I don't mean to talk you out of a larger family, but you have to be willing to accept the fact that even if they do not get along, you need to work something out so they can live in peace.
 

twstychik

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Originally Posted by meow meow

Someday I'd like to have 3 - right now my DH says only one. I do believe strongly however, that as the number of cats goes up your risk for litterbox avoidance issues goes up greatly with it.
I'm not so sure about that. Frankie was an only cat for almost 6 years before I got Wickett and for 4 of those 6 years she had litter box issues. She has improved in the last year and a half but getting Wickett didn't improve or worsen her "issues" and while I'm not convinced it helped she has gotten better and he LOVES the litter box!
 

katiemae1277

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Originally Posted by meow meow

Someday I'd like to have 3 - right now my DH says only one. I do believe strongly however, that as the number of cats goes up your risk for litterbox avoidance issues goes up greatly with it.
I have to disagree with this, I've actually never had a litterbox issue other than one cat a few years ago, and I am constantly bringing in new cats, not too mention the sheer number of them


but I definitely agree that sometimes all the kitties will not get along, I am beyond lucky in that all my babies get along very very well (now at least
)
 

sadieandziggy

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Provided a person keeps a clean home and has time and money to care for many cats then great, I'm up for it.

I want to keep 2 of my newborn kitens but DH says only one. I'd keep them all if he would let me.

I love the cuddles and the playing.

There are too many stories about small houses being over-run by cats whose owners do not clean up after them and the cats are in bad health. We have programs on T.V about these situations and it makes me really sad.

Glad you can care for so many, I think it's lovely.
 
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