So Many Cats???

[jean44]

I have seven cats and it really isn't much more work than four or five. Cleaning litter boxes doesn't take long. I'm retired and home most of the time so I just scoop often. I only have four litter boxes due to lack of good places to put them. With frequent scooping everyone does fine.

Five of them will happily allow me to bush and comb them although I don't do it as often as I should. I'm trying to convince the other two that combing is a good thing but they still don't agree.

I don't clip nails. I made the mistake of not starting that early so they would become accustomed to it. If I ever get another young cat I will start early with nail clipping. They all get cuddles throughout the day.

I feed two meals a day, dry in the morning and wet in the evening, and a small snack of dry just before bed. I just line up the food bowls and direct each one to his or her place. Of course each one has to sample the food in the next bowl to see if it's better than what they have. Eric is on c/d so his bowl is slightly separated from the others. After six year of the RX diet he knows which dish is his and rarely tries to cheat. I have more trouble with Tiggy and Fluffy sampling Eric's food.

 

[punkygirl0101]

Originally Posted by hissy

Right now we sit at 24 cats. I keep a list on the fridge of all the cats that are here. Every morning, each cat gets their own share of TLC depending on the cat, and depending on what he/she can tolerate. They get brushed daily, especially the long-hairs. I start them with brushing the minute they arrive here, even the bottle babies get baby brushed daily. I don't worry about their claws, they have trees and ramps in the cat enclosure they scratch on. The hard woods blunt their claws. They get fed 3 times a day. Wet food twice a day - morning and night- each one gets their own saucer to eat from.

I have 12 litterpans upstairs, and four kiddy pools in the enclosure that they use for their bathroom break. I scoop morning, noon and night. I use Stall Dry for cat litter and a special enzyme powder to break down the urine smell. Out in the enclosure, I use a special small rake to get all the solid waste and a special screen to sift the litter through.

They get flea-treated monthly with Advantage or Frontline. We do it while they are eating so they aren't stressed by the smell or the application.

Sick kitties have two options, the quarantine room upstairs, or the large walk in cage outside (in the enclosure).

All my cats are lean, healthy and happy. I do not free feed. The kibble is put down for 20 minutes three times a day then taken away. This also keeps the dogs out of their kitty food.

I have three cats that stay outside. That is their preference not mine. Cyclone, a cat i rescued years ago recently showed up after being gone for 7 years! He has reverted back to his wild ways so it will take some time before I can get close. I am not pushing him for contact. I well remember how bad it was for him the first time I trapped him and confined him. He is a cat that truly hates being indoors.

I am surprised to see someone else with more than 20 cats!

 

[trinettec]

Here there are 4 permanent residents and currently 3 foster kittys. It isn't much trouble. There are 5 litter boxes and 1 littermaid ( I hope to get more soon) that I scoop each morning. Everybody but Pumkin is shorthaired so I don't brush, I have never clipped claws because they keep them worn on the cat tree. I also find the dog hair more trouble than cat hair in the house because my Aussies don't shed; they molt. Big clumps of hair all over the place. After brushing the dogs each week I don't have the energy to brush the cats. The cats themselves set up a snuggle schedule. Each has thier own time during the day. I usually feed wet food 2 times a day and there is always dry out for them. When I have small kittens I feed more often but the bigger kittys are really good about not mooching from the babies.
The only time I truely questioned my sanity was when I had 4 beening bottle fed at the same time. I don't think I slept at all during that month.