How many is too many??? :)

I think one is too many when that one is not cared for properly. if your babies are happy and healthy, I think you have exactly the RIGHT number!

People tell me I have too many children as well. (I have 4) well, they are all well adjusted, healthy, and have fairly passable hygiene habits.

They have all their shots, physicals and clean clothes. My daughter and older son use deodorant, and shower when appropriate. (and what is that AXE stuff he likes? he smells like a cheap cathouse)

I think unless you cannot take care of the numbers, you are doing great!

First of all, HI to a fellow West Virginian!! What part of WV?

To answer your question, it's too many if you can't take care of them or give them the attention they need. People think I'm crazy too because I have 6 cats indoors (although most are allowed outdoors if they want) plus the barn cats. During the summer, there are usually only 3-4 inside at a time but during the winter it's a full house (really bad weather we allow some of the barn cats in to get warm). I may be crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way! People who don't love cats just don't understand.

However many you can care for properly and that you want is fine. For me as far as care if the litter boxes are clean and there are enough litter boxes so they all are using them then you don't have too many. As far as finances go if they all get vet care, have enough food, and the other bills are all paid then you don't have too many.

We have 6 cats, well 5 now since Cleo passed, and 2 dogs (one is fat at 53 pounds, the other is about 12 pounds). While I adore each and every one of them in their own special way and wouldn't give any of them up, for ME, that number is a little high. We will not be replacing the big dog when he is gone and as the numbers of kitties begin to go down, we will probably hold steady there as well.

For me, 3 cats and 1 dog seems to be the right balance. For others that are taking good care of their pets, vetting them, feeding them, loving them, however many you can handle is the right number for you.

Whenever I'm challenged with "Wow, are you a hoarder", I immediately explain that all my animals are spayed/neutered, receive proper vet care and for the most part, were throw away kitties that someone considered too old, too much trouble, not exactly what they wanted, etc. I then explain to them what a real hoarder is and make them realize the rudeness and insulting comment they just made.

I would say you have too many cats when you can not give them basic care like food, water, scooped boxes, on a daily basis. Or if you no longer enjoy your cats and consider them to be a burden.

Of course if you can not take them them to the veterinarian as needed, can not afford basic needs like food and litter then you also have too many cats.

From what I can gather you have the right amount of cats ?

Exactly as the others said, as long as they are all looked after then it's fine! Enjoy your fur family!

Everyone has a different idea of what is too many for them

For me, 5 is too many! I have 3 of my own and am fostering two currently. I'm ready to be back to just three!

A coworker of mine has 28 indoors, and 5 outdoors. I couldn't even fathom that. But they're all cared for, fixed, vetted, etc and it works for her.

The correct amount of cats is eight so you're good.

Oh wait a second, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... NINE... tsktsk. I'm going to have to write you a ticket ma'am.

no such thing as to many I say have as many as you can pay for to keep healthy and love and that number is diff for everyone if I had the room and the money I would have more

Hey, maybe I like how that stuff smells...

There is no one answer to your question, like others have said it's how many you can properly care for (maintain adequate/sanitary housing, afford food/litter/vet bills, S/N, etc).

I am "down" to 12 indoors, with my foster kitty getting adopted. Although I do have 17 cats total, & trust me I get a lot of flack for having that many. I have 2 farm cats who will likely have to come in this winter due to health issues, I am not confident they would survive outdoors during winter. For me, I feel I am pushing the limit bringing the two extra inside, I was pushing the limit with the 1 foster kitty.

I have begun making accommodations to make it work, though. Adding in cat boxes in different places, picked up Feliway spray, and just ordered three new cat trees to make more vertical space should kitties need to get away from each other.

My number of indoor kitties got so high when several of them were no longer surviving outdoors, thus became indoor only kitties.

This is a double-edged sword around here.

4 cats and a dog inside plus two cats outside is a lot for us. My dh has a hard time having 5 animals in the house - even though we have a large home. I am okay with 5, but sometimes, when I am cleaning up fur balls or picking cat hair out of my food (dog doesn't shed), I realize that maybe 4 cats inside wasn't the greatest idea. LOL However, I have other times when I would like to bring in the other two cats and have a total of 7 animals in the house! We will see what winter brings. Momma is such an outdoor cat - through and through. And we give her the garage with doors shut at night for shelter. She is happy. Heated beds in the garage in the winter and I think she and Percy will be fine.

The rule around here is that once an animal comes to live inside our home, it doesn't leave until it dies. So, even on the days when I am picking cat hair out of my food, I still wouldn't consider giving up any of by babies.

I have watched Animal Hoarders and I have to say that seeing 30 and 40 cats in a house makes even me a little claustraphobic! Wow... And really, it is the fact that, with that many cats, most of the "hoarders" just let them pee and poo all over the place and tear the house down. If your animals are using your house as a litter box and tearing it apart...you have too many animals. If you can't afford vet care and they all have mites and are not spayed/neutered...you have too many animals. If you neglect to pay your bills and are about to lose your home, but your cats eat top grade food...you may want to re-think the animals. LOL

I agree with everyone else and want to add that it also may depend on the personalities of your fur family. For instance, when I adopted my Holland I was told that she would most likely do well as an only pet. I am planning on adopting another one soon, so I hope she doesn't totally freak out on me, but as long as I have her, I probably will never go over two.

Right now two would be the max I could have anyway, because my apartment only allows for two, I have a small place, and I wouldn't be able to afford more. Now, if I ever manage to tear myself away from working in non-profit and someday have a big house and lots of disposable income, I could see myself with maybe 5 or 6.

I think 4 cats is almost too many for our family. I also have 3 dogs. We can afford it no problem, feed quality food, vet care. I clean litter boxes, and keep our house clean.

When we adopted Zelda, her and Vivi totally clashed. I think Zelda has been here for 2 years and we have just enough space that they don't get in each other's way very often. I think Vivi is just very territorial and wants to be the boss cat, but Zelda isn't a submissive enough for her. Adding another cat would probably have a negative affect on their quality of life.

So, besides the cost and work involved, I think the quality of life of other people and pets in the house is a factor.

When I had Blue and Sissy, I couldn't bring in other cats at all. I adopted two very old male brother who were in renal failure and just needed a home for their last years. Sissy protested to the point of urinating on my kitchen counter (after 12 years of never going anywhere but in the litter box!). She absolutely refused to go downstairs where the other cats were and she spent that entire year a whole floor away from the other two cats letting them and everyone else know that their presence was not welcome. In that year, she never warmed to either of them. At all.

When she died, Blue was lost without her and even at the age of 14, he willingly accepts me bringing in other cats. He is more growly and less tolerant that Rex and Chloe of Juno's playfulness, but Juno understands the growl and leaves him alone. When she is calm, he will lay down with her and even groom her.

I explained all of this just to agree with the above post that quality of life for the animals also plays a role in how many is too many. For Sissy, anyone other than Blue was too many. For Blue, I am not sure how many would be too many. He is a very loving and accepting cat. For my husband...4 inside is REALLY pushing it!

I've studied hoarding and it seems like the basic indications are--

--You don't have the money to provide basic vet care.
--Your cats are more than six months old and not neutered. (Obvious exception: Breeders who carefully supervise their cats' mating.)
--There are too many cats for the space available--they often come into conflict with each other because of their cramped quarters.
--The shyer cats usually hide because they are overwhelmed by the number of cats present, and you do not have the time to draw them out and give them attention.
--You have cats who have had so little attention that they are shy or even semi-feral. (Obvious exception: Having adopted a feral who could no longer live outside, with the knowledge that it would probably become a feral house cat.)
--Your cats' health is suffering because communicable illness spreads quickly in a crowded environment. Common problems: Ear mites, fleas, and upper respiratory infections.
--Your cats are not getting enough to eat or drink, or are eating substandard food.
--There is a noticeable smell of cat urine.
--The litter boxes are not cleaned daily.
--There are too few litter boxes, so that even when cleaned daily, the litter boxes are soon dirty.
--You are falling behind on keeping the house clean because of the cats.
--Furniture and walls have become stained, dirty, or smelly.
--Cats are using areas other than the litter box because the boxes are too dirty, because they are too shy to use the box with so many other cats there, or because they cannot get the peace and quiet they want when they are in the box.
--You do not have the time to provide daily care for the cats--brushing long-haired cats, checking for fleas, clipping claws, etc.
--You are beginning to avoid having visitors because you don't want them to see your house.
--You have accumulated large amounts of belongings that you have not used in years, and may have one or more rooms filled with them to the point that the rooms are no longer usable.

Any of those is a big red flag. And yeah, the red flags can be triggered with just one or two cats. It's not the number that's important, but whether they are taken care of. Luckily, if you nip it in the bud, you can change situations like this long before they become the sort of tragedy you see on TV or help a rescue group deal with. If you see the warning signs when the cats are merely cramped and cranky, and change things, then they'll never get to that point.

I think if you're outnumbered

My husband won't let me have more than two. He said if I have anymore he called me an animal hoarder. Then he said i would make the cats feel like they weren't good enough. Which to me is not true. I believe only take what you can handle. I feel like ever since Hoarders became a show now for having so many animals your automatically considered a hoarder. People seem to like to label you when they have no clue who you are. That is the sad thing about this society.

We have three. I could easily handle at least twice that many, but what stops me is worrying about who would take my pets if DH and I were to die or become incapacitated in some way. Our extended family could absorb the three of them (and have promised that they will if necessary).

Our family limit is 3 cats - we have the time and money for only 3. I know if there was a stray who really needed our help we would make an exception but luckily, there aren't any strays around here.

Any more than 3 cats - in our family - would be stretching our resources. I would personally love to adopt a few more kitties and a toy poodle, too.

Both now in my 1 BR and, in the near future, my 2 BR apartment, 3 is my max. If I'm being totally honest, 2 was ideal and 3 is pushing it, but I couldn't let Joni's former mom send her to a shelter, and she gets food and water, clean litter, vet care, interactive play both with me and her brothers, and lots of love here. My only concern is space for the three of them to play and go bonkers as kittens like to do (and also to get away from each other if they want) but this will soon be resolved with a bigger place. Until then, we make do playing in the stairwell and keeping the house clean of clutter so they don't run into stuff when they are galloping around.

So it's easy to see how quickly the numbers become relative. If I ventured to adopt a fourth cat at this point, I would hope TCS and my family & friends would adamantly and vocally oppose - not even joking. Sometimes I do feel that pull - sometimes I feel like I could never get tired of adopting cats - but I know it's an emotional issue and that I cannot financially support more than what I have now, in my current situation. (It also helps my apartment maxes me out at 3 cats! )

I totally and completely agree with Callista's whole post.

If & when in the future I get a house, with at least 2-3x the space of my current apartment, I would consider adopting more cats. But more likely, I'd want to use the extra space for fostering, something I'm really interested in. Maybe I could do both!

But I think one of the most important signs that you're in the clear, mentally, about whether or not it's too many, is whether you're able to resist the urge to add "just one more" when you've already acknowledged you're at or close to your limit.

Well, there are plenty of people who are not animal hoarders who have more than two cats. So, please don't think that two cats is the limit for everyone--it is just YOUR personal limit, the number you know you can take care of and give enough attention to.

I've known of people who had as many as a dozen cats, and kept them clean, happy, socialized, and had plenty of attention to give them. In those cases, there was either someone staying home all day, or else an entire family of cat-lovers; and usually a large house to give all the cats a lot of room. Or else they were people keeping a feral colony of about a dozen in their barn, as mousers. I know there are people like that at TCS.

It's a lot like having a big family, I think. You can have twelve kids and give them all enough attention and have them grow up happily--I know; I've met families who do exactly that--but not everybody can manage twelve. The one family I know who does, has the wife staying home as a home-maker and teacher to the kids, whom they home-school, a large house in the country, and the husband with a pretty lucrative job as an electrical engineer, so they can support all those kids. Last I heard she was pregnant with number thirteen; and their kids are always clean, happy, well-behaved. We go to church with them. Not everybody could manage twelve kids--but they can. Same goes for cats. Some people can; some people can't. Some shouldn't even have one.

It's all about knowing yourself and your limits. My limit... ehh, two or three. I have two right now. I really want a dog, though. I want a big dog, so I won't adopt one until I have a yard for him/her to run around in; and it'll have to be a dog who's good-tempered around cats. So, two or three cats and a dog... a bit of a menagerie, maybe, but I can't take care of more. I think I'll stick with two cats so I can keep the third slot open for the occasional foster or stray on the way to a forever home.

I agree with you but if i saw a kitten by our house that needed a home i would take it in and not take it to a humane society. I know that i would be selfish to do so and would like the kitty to be in a good home. I really dislike humane societies cause i don't like hearing animals being euthanized.

You should check to see whether there are no-kill shelters in your area that would let you foster for them. Not every shelter euthanizes cats. So, if you did find a kitten, you could go to one of them and say, "I need help finding a home for this kitten; will you take it in if I agree to foster it until someone adopts it?" Because if you did that, then you could take the kitten to their adoption events, and take advantage of their resources.