How many cats is too many?

splishsplash

I have several generations of cats who all get along reasonably well. I have lots of beds around the place, several high beds (on top of things) and several 'hidden' beds so they all have somewhere to get away from the others if they want. They also have free rein to outdoors and come and go at will.

I'm not sure why people think cats like living alone. Maybe some cats do, but mine like to snuggle up together mostly.

They're a bit like young kids, really - best of friends sometimes and worst of enemies at others, forming and reforming cliques and ganging up on each other in different combinations at different times. They each have their personalities and needs, so once you can give each one what they need, they'll be fine.

I'd say go for it, poor Mumford looks like a sweetie. I know I'd take him in but I'm not the best one to offer my opinion - I'm a soft touch for strays and waifs.

SensibleSarah

I've got 4 cats (unrelated) currently (and I also foster kittens for a local rescue so sometimes have up to 5 little ones around too) as well as the dog.

I know my cats and therefore wouldn't try to introduce an adult cat to the household - at least two of mine would find that very stressful - but they all accept kittens pretty easily after a few token hisses. With my size of house I wouldn't want any more than 4 permanent adult cats - as it's a fairly small terraced house and if they aren't going outside much due to bad weather etc, they do tend to wind each other up a bit, especially the youngest two.

Generally they don't have any issues getting along - they aren't the cuddling up together level of friendliness, but they certainly don't fight and can all be in the same room happily enough. There is a definite hierarchy though - and the one at the bottom does get 'bullied' a little - by which I mean the other cats subtly block her from resources like food, litter tray etc - so to counteract this I have several of everything in different places around the house which means she can always access what she needs.

I'm pretty much of the mindset that as long as you have time, finances and physical space for a potential new pet, give it a go.

The rescue may be open to letting you take him in on a foster basis to see how things go, and you could adopt permanently after a few weeks once they have all settled. Worth an ask?

Feral_Moon

Yes, I agree that adult cats are often more difficult to integrate into a multi-cat family. I originally started with two, then kept a couple of the subsequent kittens born to each female. They were then spayed but their daughters also reproduced a litter. We kept a couple more but maintained a good balance of (castrated) males and (spayed) females.

Deep_In_Debt

I've only ever had a maximum of 2 cats. I don't have the space, time or money for any more.

When one of my cats dies, I will not get another as I feel it wouldn't be fair on the existing one having to get used to a new cat in her home and I also know that whichever cat is left will love being the centre of attention. My cats are old ladies now, both rescue cats (sisters) and I've had them from when they were a year old.

Feral_Moon

Deep_In_Debt wrote: »

I've only ever had a maximum of 2 cats. I don't have the space, time or money for any more.

When one of my cats dies, I will not get another as I feel it wouldn't be fair on the existing one having to get used to a new cat in her home and I also know that whichever cat is left will love being the centre of attention. My cats are old ladies now, both rescue cats (sisters) and I've had them from when they were a year old.

I felt the same as you. I had two elderly female cats remaining. I wanted a puppy but knew one of the cats would never tolerate so waited a few years. They'd both lived with dogs in earlier times but at 22 and 25 yrs old I felt they needed the respect of a stress free life.

The 25yr old lost her life quite suddenly to renal failure. But not unexpected at her grand age.

We got our puppy whilst the remaining 22yo cat was still in residence. I trusted her to teach my GSD not to invade her space. She fully controlled him from day one lol

She recently passed over from natural causes aged 23yrs. I miss her so much

mrsp1987

We have 3 cats and we know that with our middle cat Darcy, if we got another cat she would be very unhappy. I'd love more but I have to weigh up the impact it would have on our current cats.
If you introduce them well and at a steady rate I don't see why you shouldn't be able to rescue this other cat. It's all about your individual situation, housing situation etc.
I really hope you can rescue this cat!

Flick216

I would suggest that if you can afford it then there are no limits!

I desperately wanted to get two siblings when I got the new kitten but I worry about vet bills - my eldest cat is insured and costs £33 a month as he has had problems in the past. I would hate to be in a situation where I am faced with loads of vet bills and couldn't afford to have my pet treated.

When I win the lottery I will become a proper crazy cat lady

donnac2558

SailorSam wrote: »

One cat, is one to many.

One of you is too many

Lunar_Eclipse

I would say 3 or 4, after which I find large numbers of cats a bit odd.

We have only ever had 1 at a time.

Feral_Moon

Cats can suffer psychologically in multi-cat households so you need to ensure they're all happy and have their own personal spaces. This is when you see excessive grooming and littering outside of litter boxes. All signs of stress. Cats are one of the only pets I know that will significantly SH when stressed.