 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / General Topics / August 2004How many is too many?
This spring we had 4 cats of our own, then found a hungry stray with a very large belly... two weeks later, we had kittens! Unfortunately one kitten died at 7 weeks. We found a great home for another one. We find ourselves left with the mom (who we planned to keep all along,) and 3 kittens. This means we are currently an 8-cat household, all of them inside. We own our own home, but 8 cats? How many is too many? How many until cats start peeing everywhere and things are out of control? How many before it's not fair to the cats? Rhonda >This spring we had 4 cats of our own, then found a hungry stray with a >very large belly... two weeks later, we had kittens! [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >How many is too many? How many until cats start peeing everywhere and >things are out of control? How many before it's not fair to the cats? In my experience, things start getting sticky around the point where I had 200 square feet of nominal floor space per indoor only cat. I currently have about 100 square feet per cat, but they have 24/7 access to outside - litter pan odor is my main problem, but much of that is due to the stinky perfumes the vendors add (I'm trying to find a usable clumping litter without the added scent, but there isn't much choice around here). -- T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) DO NOT send attachments: messages with attachments are deleted at the server. In the fine newsgroup "alt.cats", Ted Davis <tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu> artfully composed this message within <news:9qmni0118osqo6m08hhb6tkokfqvdsitlr@4ax.com> on 24 Aug 2004: > litter pan odor is my main problem, but much of > that is due to the stinky perfumes the vendors add (I'm trying > to find a usable clumping litter without the added scent, but > there isn't much choice around here). I use Arm & Hammer and they make a fragrance-free, but it's hard to find (here, at least). Most of the pet stores and even the grocery store (that only carries boxes that are too small to be economic) usually only have the "fresh scent" stuff and I hate that smell.  SignatureCheryl Hmmmm. Unless we find a couple more homes, we're at 200 sq ft per cat. We'll have to see how it goes. Never thought we'd have this many. Four was always a good number. :) Rhonda > In my experience, things start getting sticky around the point where I > had 200 square feet of nominal floor space per indoor only cat. I [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > -- > T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) DO NOT send attachments: messages with attachments are deleted at the server. >Hmmmm. Unless we find a couple more homes, we're at 200 sq ft per cat. >We'll have to see how it goes. > >Never thought we'd have this many. Four was always a good number. :) Eleven is a good number too, but if I had to keep them inside there would have to be some serious rehoming. I bought my home and property in the country as much so I could have more cats, and could let them be outdoors as much as they wanted as for any other reason. T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu) SPAM filter: Messages to this address *must* contain "T.E.D." somewhere in the body or they will be automatically rejected. >This spring we had 4 cats of our own, then found a hungry stray with a >very large belly... two weeks later, we had kittens! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >Rhonda Would depend on several things. First off what does the city, township, ETC code say is the limit for the number of pets you can have ?? Second have many can you afford to feed and take care of the way you should including vet care, good food, ETC ?? If you ever watch some of these shows like on animal planet there are "collectors" who have more then they can care for but swear that there is nothing wrong with they pets. I would seriously think about trying to find a good home for a couple of them. Oh, we definitely have been looking for homes for them! It has not easy to find homes we know will be good. Thanks for the reply, though. Rhonda > I would seriously think about trying to find a good home for a couple > of them. > This spring we had 4 cats of our own, then found a hungry stray with a > very large belly... two weeks later, we had kittens! [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Rhonda as long as the cats all get along, and are well socialized, then its fair to the cats. However there is the long term medical care to consider.. the yearly trips to the vets for vaccines, any medical problems that come up. not to mention the cost of having them put down when it is that time.. Pets are extremely expensive.. if you can afford it, and they all get along, (and there are no city issues to deal with) then I say you are all set.. especially since your concerned about it getting out of control. When you don't have names for them all, I'd say its out of hand :D Hi Connie, Our city doesn't have an inside cat restriction, so we're okay on that end. We're introducing the new cat family to our resident cat family. So far it's going pretty well; a few hisses and paw-raisings, but nothing major. The medical is okay; we can cover the vet bills. We've had 6 cats at one time prior to this, and one was very old and being hand-fed, another was diabetic with pancreatitus. Wow, I had no idea there were internist vets, and I think we've paid for ours to now live in a castle! Anyway, I'm not as worried about expense as quality of life -- fairness to humans and cats. And living in a home that does not have yellow streaks down the walls... If we can't find another home or two for the kittens, we'll make it work. Thanks for answering, Rhonda > as long as the cats all get along, and are well socialized, then its fair to > the cats. However there is the long term medical care to consider.. the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > especially since your concerned about it getting out of control. When you > don't have names for them all, I'd say its out of hand :D |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.