How many cats is too many?

blizeH

Hi,

We took a couple of 10 year old cats in from the shelter around 5 years ago, and sadly Mo recently passed away from cancer.

Murphy was on his own for a few months and seemed happy, however we read a listing for a cat who was having an awful time in a shelter, so on Sunday we were joined by Misty also. Misty has settled in really well, but Murphy is still unsure of her - they haven’t fought, but Murphy will hiss at her if she comes too close to him (she’s very inquisitive) but it’s only been a couple of days.

I've now just noticed Mumford also, who has been in the shelter for almost a year without a single enquiry or visit, and he hates it there. I'd love to offer him a home, but I'm worried that 3 cats could be too many considering Murphy seemed to quite enjoy being the only cat.

We're also in a slightly weird situation where we may be looking after the parent in law's two cats whilst they go travelling. Any thoughts please?

HappyMJ

I'd say six cats is too many. Does it really matter? As long as they all get attention and can get some space on their own then have as many cats as you like. Also as long as you can keep on top of feeding them and keeping the litter tray clean without it impacting on you too much.

blizeH

Thank you. We have a Sureflap so they'd be allowed outside whenever they liked, and aside from my girlfriend's sewing room they'd have free roam of the house too.

My girlfriend works from home so they wouldn't be left alone much either Also, your signature - my hero!

tea_lover

Anything over about 40

catkins

I think unless you are looking at having a really high amount like 20, it's up to you.


The most I have had together was 10 but I was living in France in a house pretty much on its own surrounded by farmland and woodland
I never intended having that many but I took 6 with me to France and then over a period found 4 abandoned cats or kittens.


One was at a service station on a motorway. The poor thing was so skinny and crying at everyone. It was just being ignored though and people were trying to shoo it away.


Me and a friend also found 2 really young kittens. We searched and searched but there was no sign of mum. They were so young they were not weaned and we had to bottle feed them. We searched for mum for a few weeks but never found her.

Rambosmum

3 cats is too many. We have three. Had 2 from the same litter, 1 sadly got run over so we got another after a while as cat1 seemed lonely. It worked well and cat 1 & 2 got on well.

A year later our elderly neighbour brought a kitten round that she'd found in her garden. We took care of it as all shelters were full. After a few days it became clear the cat was disabled and though we tried to rehome it, no one wanted a disabled cat.

Cat 3 has caused mega stress to cat 2, cat 1 is pretty laid back. Despite all 3 being castrated there is an awful lot of spraying from 2 & 3. We've used feliway which didn't work and now cats 2 & 3 are permanently on zylkene (a herbal supplement), to keep them calm.

If things are good with your current 2, don't risk introducing a 3.

Feral_Moon

I've had 20+ cats at one time (due to two giving birth to kittens at the same time) and they all got on extremely well. They had their favourite spots in various places around the house. Some liked to curl up together, others preferred solitary sleeping places in the kids' rooms. And a couple of the boys preferred to stay mostly outdoors and keep the local rat and rabbit population under control.

SailorSam

One cat, is one to many.

borkid

We've had upto 8 with no problems then at another time it took months to introduce 2 kittens to 2 elderly cats. It depends on so many things, cats temprament, size of house/garden, location. We now have 4 cats and they have their own ( by choice) separate spaces fro sleeping. We have a large house and the garden backs onto fields so lots for them to do and space to get away if they want peace from the others.

What I would say is be wary of introducing new cats too quickly, cats ( mine anyway) aren't keen on change.

pigpen

It depends on the cat.. my rescued stray Pi is an absolute turd.. he alone is too many.. previously I had 6 and they were all fine and happy together

My cousin and uncle both had 8.. that was a couple too many..

2 would be nice.. if I could pick which 2 lol

lee111s

One is too many

Feral_Moon

:rotfl: at the non cat people

happilymarried2013

:rotfl:at the non cat people commenting on a cat related post.

No amount of cats is too many tbh. It depends very much on if you have the space, the money for food and cat litter and enough laps for them to curl up on.

We had three - I'd love another one, two, three, four etc but for now I'll have to be happy with my two queenies and the puppy

GwylimT

It depends on the individual cats, cats are as a rule not social creatures so the majority do prefer to live alone.

We only have one cat at a time, for the reason above and so things like pet insurance and feeding costs remain at a fairly reasonable level.

missbiggles1

GwylimT wrote: »

It depends on the individual cats, cats are as a rule not social creatures so the majority do prefer to live alone.

We only have one cat at a time, for the reason above and so things like pet insurance and feeding costs remain at a fairly reasonable level.

I'm afraid that if everybody felt like that, the rescue shelters would be even fuller than they are already and anyway, feral cats live quite happily in groups.

We went up to 7 which was too many in a 2 bed house (big garden) with 2 dogs as well. Now we're down to 3 1/2 which is much better, even with 3 rescue dogs.:(

gunsandbanjos

As others say it's 100% dependent on your current cats temperament and the size of your house.

I have 2 cats and I know my house isn't big enough for a third.

gunsandbanjos

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I'm afraid that if everybody felt like that, the rescue shelters would be even fuller than they are already and anyway, feral cats live quite happily in groups.

We went up to 7 which was too many in a 2 bed house (big garden) with 2 dogs as well. Now we're down to 3 1/2 which is much better, even with 3 rescue dogs.:(

Why/how do you have 1/2 a cat:eek:

missbiggles1

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

Why/how do you have 1/2 a cat:eek:

She comes and goes - I assume she has another mummy in the next street.

cyantist

Our cat wouldn't put up with another one. We rehomed her from a couple who she had adopted. The initial owners got a kitten, our cat was having none of it so just found someone else to move in with.

Though I'm not sure what she would do about it if we did get another, given that she is blind now and unable to find another home like she did before.

Anyway, if Murphy isn't getting used to Misty too well, maybe you should stop at 2? Unfortunately there will always be a cat in need. You can't have them all! (This is what my husband says to me on a weekly basis anyway)

Mrs_Z

As others have said, it depends on your living arrangements. Isn't there a rule of the thumb that goes as many cats as bedrooms or something like that? Joking aside, do you have enough room for them to escape one another if they don't get on?
We went from 1 cat to 3. We had cat 1 from a kitten, felt sorry for her being the only one as being lonely when we went to work so we introduced a rescue cat 2 which was slightly older. They never got on. Cat 1 was in total shock, cat 2 who would 'never be a dominant cat' according the rescue place, took command straight away and almost bullied cat 1. Roll on 2 years, and cat 3 is introduced. Tension between 1 and 2 is now divided between 3 of them, so is some way it's better for cat 1. However, none of the cats ever became friends; they didnt fight but merely tolerated each others presence. We lived in a 2 bed house at the time, no children, so there was enough space for them to divide the house into their own territories.
Fast forward to 2014 and cat 3 is the only one left. When she realised that cat 2 was no longer around, she had a personality change overnight and became the most affectionate and loving puss whereas previously she'd been rather grumpy!
All cats were spayed females, not sure if that would have made any difference. Would I do it again; probably yes in order to give them all a home BUT in hindsight, we would have been better off taking a pair of kittens to start with I think.
The decision is yours - wish you best of luck!

missg2210

I have 4 cats and they are fine.

I had 2 which were brothers and introduced a third. Which went well, unfortunately 1 got run over and I felt 3 was a good number so I rehomed another, then I saw a kitten up for rehoming so took that one.

So that took me to 4 cats. All go ton well. Then 1 got knocked down and then I had 3 and a tiny kitten so really needed to rehome one mor ekitten and she absolutely hated the new one and would hiss and spit at him all the time. 2 years down the line all is well, They have their moments where they continuously fight but its all love really