How many is too many ?

I have a question;  How many pets do u have ?  My daughter has a zoo at her house. She has 2 cats,10 total guinea pigs ( One just gave birth to 3), 2 dogs, 1 bearded dragon,  1 gecko,  1 large bunny.  So count and let us know how many u have. I think I will stick with just 2 cats.

We have six indoor cats. 

How many is too many? One more cat than I will ever have. 

It's all relative.  Someone with a lot of financial resources and a large home/property would be able to deal with far more than most people.  Others, feel that even with smaller resources, they can manage more pets and it brings them enormous joy to do so.  Others, feel overwhelmed with one.  

We have 2 cats which is plenty.  We could manage another small pet and have thought about a guinea pig (Tom adores them and has had them before) but, we are not home enough to spend time with one; they require a lot of human interaction.  We've done fish, but haven't had very good luck on that front.  

3 birds and 2 cats. In the past, I've had as many as 5 birds and 1 hamster.

I think all pets need a certain level of interaction and care, and whenever that base minimum interaction, care, and cleanliness can't be met, that's too many. I'm a full time student and I live on my own and work part-time, so my time and money is tight. I would love another cat, but I know I can't afford it. I would love another bird but I have no space to quarantine, nor the time to devote to it. I'm at a happy maximum now. The last thing I would ever want or allow is a clutch/litter of accidental babies for a multitude of reasons.

If I get a hankering to care for something else, I get a plant. I've an aloe, a corn plant, and acacia plant, a money tree, and a spider plant. I really want a small Venus Fly Trap plant in the future.

Two cats is enough for me and my husband right now, mainly due to logistical concerns. When we go out of town (for example, to visit my husband's family in Kentucky), we bring Charvone and Sakura to my parents' house in San Diego, a 2.5 hour drive away. We always have to take my husband's car because mine is a two-seater sportscar. We could barely fit their two carriers and litterboxes in there. We are also expecting to move again, hopefully to Kentucky for the last time unless my husband decides to re-enlist in the Marine Corps. Maybe when we have a stable household near more friends and family, we could adopt more pets.

I have 2 cats which is what I can handle.  I would like to have 1 or 2 more but I know I can't afford it mainly because of vet bills.  If the additional ones remained healthy and only needed yearly exams I would be okay.  There is no way of knowing that's the way it would be as I found out with Patches.  There is no more helpless feeling than having a sick kitty that needs a vet and no money and no ability to take on debt.

We now have 4 indoor cats.  I used to say we were content with 3 until this little one showed up in our backyard and needed a home.

Only 1 sphynx kitten, 2 gerbils, 1 oscar fish, and soon going to get another sphynx kitten! Yay! Then I think I'm pretty much set. But who knows, things can change hehehe

Winchester said:

How many is too many? One more cat than I will ever have. 

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 Originally Posted by sivyaleah  
 
Others, feel overwhelmed with one.  

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  I may only have two cats but my Aby is a handful so sometimes it feels like a circus

At one point several years ago I had 5 pets: my GA cat, two gerbils, a betta fish, and a small turtle that I rescued from someone. My GA cat had no interest in any of the other pets.

I would love to have another pair of gerbils or maybe something different like an African pygmy hedgehog but I don't trust either cat to leave a furry alone. When I last had gerbils, both cats would not leave the tank alone and I had to closely supervise the gerbils whenever I took them out to play in their playbox.

pinkdagger said:

I think all pets need a certain level of interaction and care, and whenever that base minimum interaction, care, and cleanliness can't be met, that's too many. I'm a full time student and I live on my own and work part-time, so my time and money is tight. I would love another cat, but I know I can't afford it. I would love another bird but I have no space to quarantine, nor the time to devote to it. I'm at a happy maximum now. The last thing I would ever want or allow is a clutch/litter of accidental babies for a multitude of reasons.

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I agree with that

i have 3 now. i definitely think 4 is my limit.

Well.. this is the way I see it..

The more money, the more kittens

I had 7 cats when I met, then married, my husband eleven years ago. He had 1 dog. We moved to the Pocono mts in 2007 when I retired ( instead of Fla... don't ask!!!) where I started a TNR program.

There are only 2 left of my original 7 and a new puppy who replaced hubby's dear departed dog but due to my TNR work I now have 14 indoor cats, 4 ferals living part time on our deck and 7 more ferals I drive to every day to feed. 

Since the cats have been confined to a specific area of our large house and I felt I wasn't spending enough time with them, I have started keeping a few in the bedroom and will change the roster every week or so.

Karen

I think it depends on the money you have for all their needs and the time you have to care for them. I have 4 indoor cats.  I really have my eye on a black cat that has been at the animal shelter his whole life. He is a year and a half old.  I know I can't rock the boat because 3 of my cats are siblings and the oldest one thinks he is their mother.

I have four cats. All indoor living in an apartment and they're all happy and healthy.

I'm thinking of getting another per, but probably not a cat. (four is enough for me atm!)

I think as long as you can afford to give them good food and vet care as well as have time to spend with them all you're all right.

We have 2 - Bonnie and Clyde. I would love more but Bonnie is very timid and although she now gets on well with Clyde I don't think it is fair to her to get another 

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I have 2 cats and a dog and for now, that's working out fine. I agree with most of the others that how many is too many really depends on the person, the size of your home, how much money you have to spend on the animals needs and your personalities of your animals. My dog is getting up in years so when she goes, it will just be the kitties, DD and me. I highly doubt that I will be getting another dog, not for a long time at least. As far as another cat goes, I doubt that I will go looking for one but if somehow one who needed me ended up crossing my path, I would not turn it away. 

Denice said:

I have 2 cats which is what I can handle.  I would like to have 1 or 2 more but I know I can't afford it mainly because of vet
bills.  If the additional ones remained healthy and only needed yearly exams I would be okay.  There is no way of knowing that's the way it would be as I found out with Patches.  There is no more helpless feeling than having a sick kitty that needs a vet and no money and no ability to take on debt.

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do you not have pet insurance in America?

I have two indoor cats and would love another one or two but he who scoops says no.

I have four indoor cats. One stray male cat that I take care of, and one more at my brother's that I'm fostering. Can't find a home for her, and I'm afraid she might become my cat #5. I have no support at home to adopt cat #5, so I'm a little nervous. They are a lot of work, and as a young person maybe I should be doing a little more chilling/partying, but between school and 6 cats, I'm lucky to get 6 hours of sleep But I love them so much, I can't even complain about it.

stewball
Sure pet insurance is awesome, but you still have to pay full upfront and then get those papers processed, then wait for some of that money to come back. Some people can't afford to chuck a big amount of money like that.You never know when a cat can give you a pricey vet bill.Many many many other bills to pay not just the vet bills. That's America.