How many cats is "too many"?

Cataria · Dec 5, 2015

How many cats is "too many"? I know there's no real answer to this question, but I would like to hear some opinions on this.

I have been renting for the past couple of years, but I am in the process of buying a house. In two months, I will be moving and be able to have as many cats as I want! The problem is, I am a huge sucker for homeless and/or injured cats, so without having a landlord to enforce a pet limit, I'm a little concerned I'm going to take in a crazy number of cats out of guilt, so I'm trying to set a hard limit on myself so I don't do anything stupid.

The limiting factors that I think are easy enough to see are:

Cost of food, vet bills, etc.

Time available to take care of cats.

But the major concern I have that I don't know how to quantify is making sure all the cats get attention and don't feel neglected. I live alone, I will probably be the only person around the vast majority of the time, and I work full time. I don't want to end up with more cats than I can truly pay attention to!

I currently have four cats and that has been fine, but I am already considering possibly taking in two strays that live near my parents' house. For those of you who have more than four cats, do you ever feel as if you struggle to pay attention to all of them? Have you ever reached a limit where you don't know what's going on with some of your cats because you are too busy?

Thanks, all!

cinqchats · Dec 5, 2015

One more than you can afford. One more then you can keep happy and healthy. One too many that causes undue stress on your other pets.

I'm at 5 with some special-needs and 3 dogs. That is my limit.

kittyluv387 · Dec 7, 2015

What ever number is too much for litter box duties perhaps?? That's probably my defining factor. I also dream of the day I can buy a house and have as many kitties as I want (currently working on this endeavor but Dallas market is terrible for buyers right now).

MoochNNoodles · Dec 7, 2015

CinqChats said:
One more than you can afford. One more then you can keep happy and healthy. One too many that causes undue stress on your other pets.

I agree with this. My girls are litter mates and now seniors with health issues that require daily medications. We have been at the vet a lot in the last year. Those expenses really add up!! If you have multiple senior cats or cats with chronic conditions; that is something to consider for now and down the road. Even young cats can fall ill. Then there are emergencies. I still cringe when I think of the quote for Noodles' care at the ER vet.

There could be other unexpected expenses; say special diet cat food. You will also need to consider the expense of home ownership; the maintenance and repairs.

I could not bring another cat in with Noodles. She is ok with outdoor cats sitting on our steps; but I don't see her accepting a new cat inside without an extended introduction. It wouldn't be fair to her and I worry it would be stress on her heart.

marryberry · Dec 8, 2015

In my opinion, if you feel the specific smell in your apartment, that' s too many cats, or when you feel loneliness with pets and start to forget their names.

donutte · Dec 8, 2015

CinqChats said:
One more than you can afford. One more then you can keep happy and healthy. One too many that causes undue stress on your other pets.

I'm at 5 with some special-needs and 3 dogs. That is my limit.

This. And to that account, the "limit" can change over time. We've had up to ten cats in an apartment at one time (I think we somehow acquired four cats in one year). The last one was named Tenny for being the tenth. Then when my sister moved into the apartment downstairs, the cats got split up (which was later the same year. I was a kid at the time by my parents had the means with which to care for all of the cats then. Oh, and we had dogs too. Yeah, people thought we were crazy.

For awhile, we only had three cats. That was the number we could handle. And now, we have five cats (one with a lot of medical issues - read: a lot of $$$) and two dogs. And that is the new limit. Two of them are kittens and one is a three year old. The other two are 13. We had another before getting the 3 year old but he passed away from acute renal failure last month.

I can say for sure I have limits on the kittens I can handle. I think two kittens will be enough for the next five years.

Mamanyt1953 · Dec 11, 2015

That is going to vary wildly from household to household. There are basics that have to be provided,

Food

Sanitation such as litter boxes

Incidentals such as toys, flea preventative, etc

Vet care (and this will increase as each cat ages

Socialization and love

I know you have the love for all the kitties, but they need to spend time with you and others. Each cat needs some of your time, each day.

As for the first three items, at the least, you should have 1 litter box for each cat, plus 1. Ideally you will have 1 set of everything for each cat plus one. There is a very sound reason for this. Cats are very territorial, and resource guarding becomes a bigger problem with ever cat you bring in. So if you end up with six cats, you need seven litter boxes and at least seven water sources. Food dishes you might get away without the +1 if you monitor feeding.

For some people, eight or nine can be handled. For me, in my financial situation, one is the limit. Be ruthless with yourself, be fair to the cats. Better four who are well cared for than six, when one gets sick and you can't afford care.

That said, I'd love to have a houseful of cats. It's a real hardship to only have the one, but that's for her best right now.

Norachan · Dec 11, 2015

I have 22 cats. It's an absolute crazy number of cats to have, I know, but there are no shelters in this country and I'm a sucker for animals in need. The reason I have so many is that I live in an area where people feed feral cats but never think about TNR. I had 36 cats a few years ago, but I rehomed as many of the kittens as I could and the ones I'm left with have all been fixed. Hopefully 22 is the limit.

The reason I'm able to take care of so many is that I live in a rural area and have a big fenced in enclosure for them. I'd never even consider having this many if they had to be indoor only cats. They'd be miserable, I'd be miserable, it would be so stressful and unhygienic for all of us. They all seem happy and healthy and they get on pretty well together. Having said that I do worry that they don't get enough one-on-one time with me.

Going from one cat to four cats, a stray female and her two kittens, was hard because my first cat didn't want another female in her space. Going from four to six and them from six to ten was easy as the new cats were born to feral mothers and my resident cats had already got to know them outside. Going from twelve to 36, while trying to get all the neighbourhood cats TNR'd and calling everyone I could think of to beg for help rehoming kittens was just insane. When I got back down to 19 it felt like a manageable number.

Introducing cat number 20 was difficult. He was dumped by his previous owners rather than being a colony cat and it took a long time for the others to accept him. For the first few months 2 of the other males sprayed outside of the room he was in. I got through so much Feliway and enzyme cleaner I considered buying shares in the companies.

Sofa.jpg

Norachan
Dec 11, 2015

lavishsqualor · Dec 11, 2015

I have two. One was brought to me by my maintenance man with the umbilical cord still attached and I bottle fed it. Once word got out that I'd saved a kitten another kitten showed up in a box on my car. I'm an apartment manager, fyi.

My two cats are inseparable. They groom each other and even sleep with each other and now they are approaching a year old.

I desperately want to bring in a third. There's a cat, about six or seven months old, at one of my complexes who was left by a renter. I started feeding him about a month ago and now he spends his days sitting in my lap while I work.

He isn't fixed yet and I'm terrified that if brought him home my two cats would go nuts.

I'm taking him in next week to be neutered.

kittyluv387 · Dec 11, 2015

Norachan said:
I have 22 cats. It's an absolute crazy number of cats to have, I know, but there are no shelters in this country and I'm a sucker for animals in need. The reason I have so many is that I live in an area where people feed feral cats but never think about TNR. I had 36 cats a few years ago, but I rehomed as many of the kittens as I could and the ones I'm left with have all been fixed. Hopefully 22 is the limit.

The reason I'm able to take care of so many is that I live in a rural area and have a big fenced in enclosure for them. I'd never even consider having this many if they had to be indoor only cats. They'd be miserable, I'd be miserable, it would be so stressful and unhygienic for all of us. They all seem happy and healthy and they get on pretty well together. Having said that I do worry that they don't get enough one-on-one time with me.

Going from one cat to four cats, a stray female and her two kittens, was hard because my first cat didn't want another female in her space. Going from four to six and them from six to ten was easy as the new cats were born to feral mothers and my resident cats had already got to know them outside. Going from twelve to 36, while trying to get all the neighbourhood cats TNR'd and calling everyone I could think of to beg for help rehoming kittens was just insane. When I got back down to 19 it felt like a manageable number.

Introducing cat number 20 was difficult. He was dumped by his previous owners rather than being a colony cat and it took a long time for the others to accept him. For the first few months 2 of the other males sprayed outside of the room he was in. I got through so much Feliway and enzyme cleaner I considered buying shares in the companies. :lol3: Even now I think he would be happier in a home as an only pet, but it's hard to rehome adult cats (even those as pretty as he is) so he stayed.

Cat number 22 was much easier. She was a sick feral kitten and as soon as she was healthy she started making friends with the other cats. I think that feral cats get used to interacting with other cats as they grow up and so adapt much better in multi-cat households. Being young and female made it much easier for her too.

If you can take in a few more strays then good for you. You'll be making a huge difference to their lives. But as well as the additional cost/space/cleaning you need to think about how your resident cats are going to feel about it and have a back-up plan if it really doesn't work out.

Here are a few of mine.

Sofa.jpg

Norachan

Dec 11, 2015

Omg 22! Thats nuts!!! But wow its great that you're able to care for them all. My hands are full with 2 boys. When i get a house i think id like to foster moms and their kittens from time to time.

lavishsqualor · Dec 11, 2015

Norachan, I think you're AMAZING!

Kat0121 · Dec 11, 2015

LavishSqualor said:
Norachan, I think you're AMAZING!

We ALL do. @Norachan has a really special and very beautiful clowder of cats and she is a true cat whisperer. She'll deny this because she's modest but it's true. The Cat Goddess knows her well and sends her most needy babies to her because she knows that it's the best place for them. She's a treasure. Any cat that finds itself in her care is truly blessed.

Norachan · Dec 11, 2015

LavishSqualor said:
Norachan, I think you're AMAZING!

Kat0121 said:
We ALL do. @Norachan has a really special and very beautiful clowder of cats and she is a true cat whisperer. She'll deny this because she's modest but it's true. The Cat Goddess knows her well and sends her most needy babies to her because she knows that it's the best place for them. She's a treasure. Any cat that finds itself in her care is truly blessed.

Thank you. I'm blushing now.

Mamanyt1953 · Dec 12, 2015

Wow. I am in awe. First I think to myself, "well, it's only 22 more than I have now, I could do this," then I collapse in a pile, laughing just a little wildly. But as you said, most of them live in an outdoor enclosure, so it is almost a colony sanctuary...with some socialization for possible rehoming thrown in. And I am in awe.

detroitcatlady · Dec 12, 2015

Wow that's a lot of cats! So wonderful of you to take them all in

bonepicker · Dec 13, 2015

Unfortunately I am limited to 2 and one outside feral because one of mine attacks other cats, and he cannot mingle. If I wanted to bring in more cats my male would have to be put down, which I won't do!

image.jpeg

bonepicker
Dec 13, 2015

The bad boy Frodo!

jack63 · Dec 13, 2015

19 years ago when I was traveling in my motor-home, I was in a trailer park and one of my neighbors in a single mobile home had 19 cats in it.

3cats.jpg

jack63
Dec 13, 2015

lykakitty · Dec 13, 2015

There are way too many factora that go into it to give a simple answer that applies to everyone. The "one too many than you can afford and keep happy" is a good rule.

For me, my 4 is probably my limit. Not only are there the vet costs, food and litter and other supplies costs, cleaning, training, and socializing to take into account but I also have several other pets so those factor into how much money and time I can put into each animal. There will always be unexpected costs that pop up, accidents happen and even young healthy animals get sick, and every animal needs to get the right exercise and attention.

macha 143 · Dec 13, 2015

I supposed to have one cat only but they pitied me coz I was praying and crying same time lol

Santa listened to me and gave me Mia which I appreciates so much coz Macha very happy!

You need to give love too! :-)

rmnative · Dec 13, 2015

Norachan said:
I have 22 cats. It's an absolute crazy number of cats to have, I know, but there are no shelters in this country and I'm a sucker for animals in need. The reason I have so many is that I live in an area where people feed feral cats but never think about TNR. I had 36 cats a few years ago, but I rehomed as many of the kittens as I could and the ones I'm left with have all been fixed. Hopefully 22 is the limit.

I am very interested in the type of outdoor enclosure you have.We fixed up more of what one would call a run that is enclosed. It's accessable from inside the house at all times. This is exclusively for my indoor cats. It's enclosed with coated wire on all sides with a tunnel around a tree. They love it & spend lots of time outside.

I have 7 inside now in a 4 room house. It gets very crowded. We also have mucho ferals outside that I take care of (as much as I can). The real money goes to the indoor guys. I have

wormer, parasite meds, lysine, etc. for outside. It all adds up to real $$$$. My indoors are all ages 8-19. We are talking big bucks for seniors.

The ferals get as much care as I can give with what I have.

Seven cats inside is my limit.

How many cats is "too many"?

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