How many cats is TOO many cats?

[Johelian]

Hello all!
We have just added cat number three to the house (after my boyfriend declared four years ago when we moved in together that we would never have a cat in the house as they were "boring and lazy!"), and - I cant help it! - I'm already contemplating our eventual cat number four. Im just wondering - how many cats is enough for a household? Or perhaps a better way of asking - how do you know when you have reached your limit, aside from financial constraint? I imagine it depends a lot on the individuals; my boy Frazier seems to be more and more welcoming to the newbies that have joined after him (I think because he feels he now has more subordinates more than anything else), but Reese is shy and takes a while to get used to new people. I remember reading on the PDSA site that cats are solitary and living with others can cause stress. Am I wrong to think of adding any more cats? We live in a medium sized detached house, and I would like to think that the cats have plenty of room in the house and garden to get away from one another if they wanted to, but Im worried I might just be trying to justify myself. Any words of wisdom from you other cat lovers?

[angieh]

Hi Johelian - I have never had more than two cats at a time, although at one point we did have three, but one was a frequent visitor rather than a permanent resident. There are members here however who do have more than that and they would be able to give better advise than I.

I do like your three btw - they look happy and tolerant of each other. When I was looking for my second cat I did phone Battersea and was told that they would consider rehoming to me only when my Kizzy had been with me for at least six months and had established routines. I did actually wait slightly less than that.

[Moli]

I have 4, 2 Siamese who are joined at the hip, and 2 Exotics who tolerate each other, but are very much lone cats...They all get on well together...
I foster for the CP, and when I have kittens, one of my boys does get a bit stressed, so think 4 is ideal for me...

They do have their own area's of the house though...

[smudgley]

4 here, maybe 3 or 4 is right for us, def 4 max.

My mate has 11 all indoor cats & loves each & every one of them...... I guess it depends on your individual circumstances

[dandysmom]

I've never had more than three at one time. But quite a few members have happy multi-cat households and would know more than I do. A lot would depend if you thought you had enough time to devote to them individually, and of course the financial aspects. And the OH's tolerance!!

[kado]

Mine is a multi cat house hold. I have 12. Four of them are 7 months today. My OH said only one well that didnt happen. I would never turn a cat away i just couldnt but i would have to find it a home now. There fine most of the time we do get a few squabbles but it works out ok. We do have a boss of the house which is Maisey. If any one of the cats is sitting near where she wants to sit she swipes them so the usualy take a wide birth.

[dandysmom]

From what my friends, who were breeders in a small way, and also took in strays till homes could be found, used to say, there is a sort of tipping point. After a while, when another cat came, the current cats would sort of shrug as if to say, "oh, another one..." and go about their business. I think they had 10 at one time; all happy and well cared for.

[yola]

We had 2 for a long time and I had to fight for no.3, first an old battered stray and then two CP rescue Persians in turn.

My OH thinks 2 is enough . . . I have always fought for 3. But with 2 small boys and a very busy working life I don't think I could cope with more than 3. Folk here know how I agonised (and finally capitulated) to kitty number 3 (Myshka) :D

Ulitmately it's each to their own and it depends in time, money and circumstances,

[farthing]

From what my friends, who were breeders in a small way, and also took in strays till homes could be found, used to say, there is a sort of tipping point. After a while, when another cat came, the current cats would sort of shrug as if to say, "oh, another one..." and go about their business. I think they had 10 at one time; all happy and well cared for.

We have 10 cats at the moment, and I'd say they are very like this. The new cat usually has enough sense not to start a fight when it is so outnumbered. It may be different for us though because lots of ours are old and can't be bothered.
I do always keep a cat seperate for a couple of weeks, but that is as much a quarantine procedure as more of mine have arrived as adults with an unknown history. I also always use a feliway- I swear by them.

[Johelian]

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. I definitely would not think about adding another cat for another year or so even if I did decide to go down that route - my youngest kitty is only 8 weeks old, and I left just under a year between him and Reese. I think its been a good length of time to spend bringing Reese up from kittenhood and bonding with him, and I personally wouldnt want to compromise that by having two very young kittens at the same time (Im sure people do do it successfully though!). In my mind I cant imagine personally having more than four cats total; I think once it gets past that it would start to be awkward to manage as far as time and money goes, not to mention my boyfriend would probably start to go insane! I think it will be Reese that determines whether we ever add another, as he is the shy one and I dont want to upset him by filling his home with too many others!

[Sweet]

11 here and I love each and every one :)

not forgeting Misty who is sleeping peacefully on my grate in the lounge R.I.P. x x

[Liz]

Very Multi here currently 40 odd, mainly ferals but no issues apart from my Ragdoll who was never taught touse a litter tray but now uses the bidet

We have a very large house and lots of land and no neihgbours!

[Kim]

I have 4 cats and 3 dogs. Most of my cats came from the Animal Sanctuary where I was a volunteer and I took in the ones I felt sorry for!!! I think 2 will be our limit in the future, for financial and practical reasons.

[alexgirl73]

I have 3, and while my heart would dearly love another, I know financially we couldn't do it. so 3 it remains :)

[Phoenix]

It depends on what cats you have. If they're OK with other cats then they might tolerate another cat, but there is such a thing as "one cat too many".

Our Dylan would tolerate another female I think, but we can't manage another cat right now.

RB babe Beauty was scared of other cats, so one more would have been too many for Beauty to cope with.

[dandysmom]

I personally feel three is right for me; I'd dearly love to get another but Leia has made it quite plain she wants to remain an only cat ......

[angieh]

............ now could I fit another one in??????????

I think Pip is young enough to take it in his stride, but I would worry about Kizzy being put upon.

[Kazz]

I loved having one cat, but then got two and was never overly sure if they merely tolerated each other as they had never known any different....but I knew they would not accept another cat coming in so remained with two.
I think 2 is about right.........but depends on the cat.

I think its each to their own.

[pookyandjo]

As the others have said i think it really depends on the cat/s.. i dont think there are any hard and fast rules!
If i was catless and getting 3 or 4 litter mates... then that would probably be no problem.. George isn't overly friendly...Harry on the other hand just loves everyone.. even small children:shock:

Cait had been wanting a dog for many years.. and we couldn't get one because i knew that my Tinky Winky wouldn't have coped.. he was so skittish.. but now that he's gone the reason for not having one went as well...so we got Charlie
Harry has shown that she's very adaptable and willing to be friends... I think its mainly because of her personality but i cant discount the fact that she is only 14 months old and can deal with the boisterous nature of a puppy... George on the other hand isn't interested!:roll:

[random]

I have 6 and I wouldn't want any more than that. I also have 4 dogs and a number of small furries. When this lot go i'll stick with 2 of each (2 cats and 2 dogs), mainly because of the restriction of freedom which I, personally, don't mind but it does annoy the b/f (who has never had pets before he met me so quite a culture shock!) always having to be back for the animals, especially the dogs. Getting people to 'pet sit'. Friends and family don't mind one or two but when you have 4 dogs, 6 cats and 5 'other', the willing 'sitters' become few and far between and kennelling them would cost a small fortune.

My only regret however is having them so close together close in age. My oldest is 5 and my youngest is 1, which means if they all reach old age, i'm in for a rough time for a while in 15-20 years from now. :(

The dogs however are more staggered, my 2 middle girls are the same age but Charlie is 3 years older and Star is 3 years younger.

I can't bear to think of them ever going but when they do, I won't be 'topping up' the numbers. I love the house how it is now as i'm still quite young and i'm a bit highly strung, LOL! So I enjoy the 'busyness' of it all, but it's certainly not for everyone.

Apart from the time and the finances it's space, space for more things such as bowls, scratching posts, litter trays, and more cleaning up. More frequent cleaning of the litter trays obviously as more poops and pees but also more hair, more muddy footprints if they go outside e.t.c. Those are the things you forget about!

[rainbow]

Mine is a multi cat house hold. I have 12. Four of them are 7 months today. My OH said only one well that didnt happen. I would never turn a cat away i just couldnt but i would have to find it a home now. There fine most of the time we do get a few squabbles but it works out ok. We do have a boss of the house which is Maisey. If any one of the cats is sitting near where she wants to sit she swipes them so the usualy take a wide birth.

Thats ALOT of cats :shock: I hope the 4 that are 7 months old are neutered/spayed or you could quite easily have 30 cats soon!

[rainbow]

The more cats you have, the less human attention each gets and thats not good. Financially as well, the more you have the less likey you are to afford what the cats truely needs medically and diet wise.

I think more than 5 cats, and you are on shakey ground. And if you must become an "animal collector" the very least you should do is make sure ALL cats are neutered/spayed at 5/6 months.

[Liz]

Just to say all ours here at the Clan are neutered/speyed, fully injected, have a programme injection every 6 months, are wormed every 3 months and all are ID chipped - same for my outside crew - trapping is an art form for them

We chose to have this lot and spend well in to 5 figures annually on them for vets fees - the normal ones and they eat the best of food - Royal canin, Hills, Purina and eat 10 tims of wet every day - my 2 dogs are also injected, ID chipped and have kennel cough and all the things doggies need

Any bills not in the usual zone result in beans on toast for as long as it takes to pay of OH credit card - we also both work full time and they are our world

Elaine can testify I have a happy home although a bit fur ridden at times!!!!

[farthing]

:lol: Same here Liz, although the indoor oldies aren't microchipped. We feed Hi-life, and have found them to do very well on it. All the animals get good quality food and good quality hay. Cats, dogs and horses are vaccinated yearly, the rabbits get their VHD vaccine once a year and their Myxo twice a year. We follow the vet recommendations for all the other animals for worming and any vaccines needed.

We have a happy, if untidy household, but the animals are clean, well fed and content- not so sure about us though!

[dandysmom]

I have only the greatest respect for you, Liz and farthing, for what you do for your animals! Where would they be without compassionate people like you? But I do think that for most people without so much dedication, there is an upper limit, both emotional and financial. For me, three is ideal. Just as all cats are different, so are owners.

[farthing]

I don't think either Liz or I are making any judgement on how many animals people have- perhaps the opposite.
I don't know about Liz, but I often feel I have to defend myself, because people either judge you as a nutter, a collector or that you can in no way look after the animals you have properly- not on here but in the 'real world'.

[dandysmom]

Oh I hope you didn't think I was being judgemental ... just the opposite!

[farthing]

NOOOOO, I was worried you thought I was.:lol:

[dandysmom]

Sigh of relief! We so frequently have stories in the paper about people who are "collectors" and have 20- 30 + cats in deplorable filthy conditions; breaks your heart to read about it. I do wonder how they can not see that they're not helping the cats, but harming them ....

[farthing]

I guess they just don't realise how bad things get, and in many cases there are other problems. I know of a case from another forum, where 600 mice were taken from a house. The owner had mental health problems and just kept breeding them- something like 400 had been taken from him the year before. Some of the mice were dead, living in buckets and many died young due to tumors because of so much inbreeding.

[niki71uk]

i have 2 cats 1 dog.cat 1 is 15 cat 2 is 2 and dog is 5,my dad recently said,when the older cat goes,NOT to get another one,but as i dont go on any holidays anymore (cept for over this easter) wots it matter!!!!!,im leaving my 2 cats with my cousin in their own house less hassel all round

[Aquatic]

I have 1 cat who is about 9 months or maybe less and a dog who is nearly 6
I am hoping to get cat number 2 in the summer :-D can't wait

[Liz]

Like farthing we have to defend ourselves on occassion - mine are all hale and hearty and we do actually home on tamed down ferals as domestics with the roviso they come back to us should it not work out for any reason - we have so far only had 3 back to date and get cards from all the others and their new slaves - ours readily accept anything new having fostered for 10 years they have seen many come and go - those who have stayed couldn't cope with a house of noise, kids or to much "human" stuff but all are happy cats - happier now the power is back and the heating is on!

We both work hard to do what we do at our own expense and do it for love - especially with the ferals there is something magical about them and when they seek you out willingly with out the bridbe or the first purr it is a moment to out weigh all the negative stuff they can have

My house has fur and wearing of dark clothing not recommended as the Ragdoll with come and cast on you, the dogs are casting to and currently I need to do some serious housework but my lot are happy - in fact unless you know where to look you will never see them all at once - but as we have several lookalikes only us as their parents know but it keeps visitors happy!!!!!!