Pet Hoarders: How many cats are too many? | Dr. Justine Lee
Do I really need to answer this question? (And yes, I realize this blog will piss off people who own more than 6 cats!)
Unfortunately, I do.
Years ago, I had two women who brought in their cat into the emergency room at University of Pennsylvania. Both women reeked so badly of cat urine, I couldn’t even close the exam door due to my eyes burning from the ammonia smell. When I asked these women some questions about the cat’s environment, they couldn’t answer how many cats they had (I asked, “10? 20? 60? 100?”). Their reply? “Over 100.” These two women, who were cat hoarders, didn’t notice that their cat was ill until it was on death’s door, since they had so many in their “environment.” This cat was severely dehydrated, emaciated, and had a body condition score of 1 out of 9 (See Purina’s body scoring system that we veterinarians use to evaluate weight). This cat weighed just under 5 pounds (instead of 9), and was so comatosed it couldn’t even lift its head (It ultimately died despite several days of hospitalization and life-saving care).
So, can you imagine having so many cats that it prevents you from adequately being able to care for your pets?
You may hear of the occasional crazy “hoarder” revealed on the news – people with underlying mental disorders that live with a hundred cats hidden in their house (and hopefully nowhere near your neighborhood). Sadly for the cats, the m.o. of your cat lovin’, urine-smelling, disheveled animal hoarder is quite sad. Most hoarders are unmarried and live alone (and you thought it was hard to find a date with just two cats…). Hoarders also come in all different socioeconomic backgrounds and typically are over sixty years of age. To top it off, over three-fourths of hoarders are females, once again giving the single, white female a bad rep. Some more scary numbers?
- In 69% percent of hoarding cases, animal urine and feces was found accumulated in living areas.
- More than one in four (> 25%) of hoarders’ beds are soiled with animal feces.
- 80% of reported cases had dead or sick animals present in the house.
- 60% of hoarders didn’t acknowledge that they had dead or sick animals in the house.
- Over 65% of hoarding cases involve cats (although some also hoard small dogs and rabbits).
While most hoarders don’t read my blog, my general advice to any cat owner is this: I usually recommend no more than four to five cats total. Sometimes I offend my fellow veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and friends when I tell them my cut-off for crazy is six cats. After that, I think it’s medically unhealthy.
If this pisses you off, I’m sorry, but I’m looking out for the welfare of the cats and dogs here. Try finding a veterinarian who has that many – it’s rare, because we know how having this many cats can result in severe behavioral problems. Of course, if you ask ten different vets, you may get ten different answers. That said, until those nine other vets write an opinionated blog about it, I still recommend no more than four or five cats per household.
So what’s the problem with having so many cats? Animal behavior specialists often see more problems in multicat households. Having too many cats may result in urination problems (e.g., not in the litter box!), intercat fighting and attacking, and difficulty in monitoring general health. For example, checking the litter box to see if one cat has a urinary tract infection is more difficult when you have six cats.
So how many cats should you get? I have to say that I initially enjoyed having a one cat household; that is, until I experienced a two-cat household. Now I’m a firm believer in having two cats together. Seamus, my 17-year old, grey and white tabby, was more friendly and affectionate to humans (more to the point, me!) as an only child. When I adopted Lily, a now-9-year-old, female, overweight tabby cat, I had less “loving” from Seamus… he wanted to spend all his time playing with Lily instead. Echo and Lily played together (constantly), slept together, wrestled together, and loved each other up. Since Seamus and LIly befriended each other, I was officially demoted to the source of food and to litter box duty. Seamus’ quality of life, social skills, and exercise level definitely improved while he had Lily in his life. After seeing this, I do firmly believe that cats do benefit from having a companion to play with. Note, a companion or two (not six or one hundred).
I’ve been fortunate to have cats that get a long (despite the first few tumultuous days of hissing and cat introductions). For that reason, yes, I support having a few feline friends together.
Do you have any long-term cat companions who hate each other? What behavioral problems have you noticed?
References:
1. Kuehn BM. Animal Hoarding: A Public Health Problem Veterinarians Can Take a Lead Role in Solving. Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association 2002:221,8:1087-1089.
2. Patronek GJ. Hoarding of Animals: An Under-recognized Public Health Problem in a Difficult-to-Study Population. Public Health Reports 1999;114,1:81-87.
As previously published on www.PetHealthNetwork.com.
I need help!!! My friend is a cat hoarder. I want to ‘intervene’, but before I do, I need the name of a good physchiatrist who deals with hoarding in the Deptford NJ area. PLEASE!!! I’m at my wit’s end.
She has 30 cats at her house & just bought another house with a barn. The cats were to be moved there. They never were. She just filled that house up with more cats
Please help me!!
Oh no – I’m so sorry to hear this. You are such a good friend to help and intervene. I wish I had some resources for you but I don’t at this time. Let me contact some people and email you directly.
I just read your post and it’s been quite a while. You need to contact Animal Control in your area and explain the situation to them. They will go in and check on the cats/you don’t have to get involved.
We have 7 cats and I’m tired of people judging me because of it. Our perfect number was three but over the years we got involved in cat rescue and soon realized there are not enough homes for all the ones who need them. We have found homes for many cats, but the ones we couldn’t we kept. My husband and I have good jobs, no kids, our house is clean, and our cats are healthy and well cared for. If I could rehome some of them I would but I refuse to kick a cat out or take it to be euthanized if I know I have the resources and room for it. Instead of shaming the people who are taking in these animals we should be shaming the people who don’t fix their cats and allow the over-population to continue.
You’re doing great, cat momma! It sounds like you’re providing an excellent environment for them, and I think that’s fantastic. Thank you for rescuing those cats and rehoming those you could. I think the most important thing is that as long as the environment is good for them (and it sounds like it is), there’s no inner-cat aggression, they are kept healthy, there’s environmental enrichment, and they are safe, you’re doing great.
Phew! This made me feel better.
I have four of my own kitties, and now two fosters (which won’t be going anywhere until a suitable home is found).
I’m so worried that I was borderline with the hoarding.
I’m in the process of building a giant cat enclosure in my yard, and they all have enough stimulation.
I have a few that ‘crank’ at each other, but physical aggression rarely happens (those two were my first cats).
Thank you, Lisa, and Justine.
Needed to read this today!
Do not let an opinion define who you are!!! I have 9 rescues currently, and I am no hoarder at all.
I just adopted 2 adult rescues. I have 4 at home already (2 pairs of siblings I rescued as kittens that 3 and 1 my new adults both are 2) we also have a 9 year old (cat seasoned veteran) pitbull and a 18 month old daughter. My brother game me alot of flack calling me a hoarder but we also have a very cat friendly home and our cats are by far the most friendliest healthiest loving cats I have ever met and that is with strangers as well. They are all inside cats as we have big dogs that live next door. We have a room we turned into a cat room for them all with lots of room to roam. Aside from some hissing, everything is going very good but we are seeing more progress each day. I appreciate your opinion and absolutely hate the stench of cat urine and feces and keep our litter boxes cleaned daily.. while sweeping and mopping out the rooms every other day and vacuuming almost daily. Nails are kept short, all cats are given attention and well looked after and the bond they form amongst each other is fascinating. Our shelter that we adopt from know our home situation and have rescued all of our kitties from them and I’m certain that they would never adopt out more cats to us if they sensed we were not doing a good job at caring for the ones we have. Our cet records are up to date and impeccable and I’m also a stay at home mom during the week so there is almost always someone home to monitor their behavior and well being. While I know we cannot adopt any more until we move into our forever dream home ( we own a 3 bedroom ranch with additions on the back and are looking to buy a 4-5 bedroom home with a few acres as we would like to start a farm one day and will be designing and building a cat patio or enclosure outdoors and a sanctuary room to foster kittens and other cats.) It has been our dream to start our home shelter/ rescue for animals. I understand the criticism of one having more than 5 cats, but those that know me know I provide a great home to my kitties while only being mildly crazy (a joke)
You are doing amazing – thank you SO MUCH for providing such an amazing home from them. Keep on keeping on. 🙂
I am so glad to read these comments. I had two cats a boy and girl, they where 20 years old and girl had passed and I was close to her, my step daughter moved out and took the boy with her. So I went through kitty with drawl and after grieving decided to get a kitten. I found a lady that had kittens. I wanted a girl cat and she had two so my husband talked me into getting them both and i am glad i did. They are very close to each other. We have a big house and plenty of room. However A year later we found a stay male cat on our deck. i tried to find him a home and wasn’t able to, it ended up getting cold out and i took him in and he is now a happy lap cat and i don’t know what i would do with out him. However now another year latter i just found two sm kittens that wondered on my deck. They are tiny so of course i am feeding them. I have called every shelter more then a few times no one has room for them. I debate on keeping them but that would make (5) cats omg am i crazy yet. I am thinking i need to drawl the line some where. My house is very clean, the cat litters are always clean and they have a whole bonus room to them selves as my step kids are grown and i only have a 14 year old. So the cats also get a lot of attention . But i don’t know if my husband will be ok with me keeping these kittens and i am like ok i found two, its been two weeks now what if more come. Its really sad the shelters are so over populated. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
I would try to find homes among friends and family! And get them neutered or spayed ASAP!
I have 8.,5 rescued. I keep clean house . I have 5 littermaid cat boxs and 3 litter robot cat boxs and 2 roomba robot vacuum s. My cats all get along ,mostly. I wont get more cats.Unless one comes to my house needing a home. I dont turn.away cats. I only got one cat this way. He ended up to be so loyal acting. I dont care what this blog says,its just one person’s opinion, that dont make her GOD.
It sounds like you’re doing a great job of providing a good house for them. But double that number to 16 cats, and it’s a whole other story. As a veterinarian, I just want you to make sure your cats are cared for.
The harshness of your original blog put me off somewhat…
I’m glad you have redeemed yourself🙃
I agreed with the checking first before condemnation but then you just found someone else to blame. ?
Same situation… I have cared for animals all of my life and it gets wearisome dealing with judgemental & meddling people that need to understand that their “standard” It’s not necessarily right it is just their standard and it does not make everyone else’s standard wrong.
It’s ironic, I’m as judgmental on people who have 5 kids, as they are when they learn I have 6 cats (we only have 1 kid). I think each household is going to be different. We only adopt males, and prefer black cats (knowing they have a harder time finding a home). All 6 get along perfectly (only 2 of them are brothers), and there is little to no aggression in the house. Do we have to divide our time between them? Absolutely but no different than if you have 3 kids. And I stumbled upon this page, because we are considering adopting another black cat. 🙂
i LOVE black cats – that’s what I have now. 🙂 Thanks for adopting these guys.
My husband and I have 7 cats all below the age of one which we adopted first in pairs and the last three at once. They all get along and we keep the house clean and we have our litter robot on the way (and will probably get another litter robot). People judge and it’s hard not to listen but we LOVE our babies and they are all very sweet and never ever fight with eachother. We also have pet insurance for all of them and cut their nails weekly. They even have their own room! I commend you for getting all black cats and for everyone on this page! Cat people for life 🤣❤️
You are amazing! 🙂 Seriously, it’s not “just a number” of 6 – it’s the care that one provides, and you guys are rocking it. Thank you for taking such amazing care of them. The Litter Robot is a game changer for this – they do recommend one per 5-6 cats. I sadly lost one cat so now only have one cat per one automatic kitty litter box (Litter Robot) and I only have to change the box once every 10 days, and there’s NO cat smell in my house now! Thanks for taking such amazing care of your cats, Kelli!
Thank you for this blog. I’m single and live alone with my three cats. I’ve been feeding and socializing a feral boy for several months while trying to find him a home or get the local rescue to help me, with no luck. I just brought him inside this weekend, since we’ve had bad weather. I’ve fostered a couple of cats before, for about four months each.
The problem is that I adore him, and my neighbors all agree he considers me his human. He runs to meet me and could spend an hour on my lap if I let him. Even my family, who think three cats is a lot, were sort of shocked when I said I was still trying to find him a home. I really want to keep him.
My cats are very much cared for, well fed and very much loved, but I always thought three was the cut-off for “too many.” Even when I struggle to clean up after myself, I keep their litter boxes and dishes clean, clean up any of their messes and put them first.
It’s good to see that I won’t be quite into cat lady territory yet if the fourth kitty ends up being a foster failure. I still worry he’d be better off with a home of his own, but I love him as much as my three perma-cats and I’m not sure I’ll be able to give him up. Thank you for this reassuring post.
Of course – it sounds like you are providing an amazing home for them, so 4 is ok in my eyes. 🙂
My husband read this and sent it to me. We have 3 inside cats. One old lady and 2 young boys. She doesn’t like the boys very much. She tolerates them. My question is this. We have noticed a couple of strays hanging around. It’s bitter cold and snowy here right now. They are very skittish so I just put out food and , so far one shelter house. I noticed a third different cat this morning then he saw yet a fourth! He told me I’m over my cat lady limit because you said so. I said your limit shouldn’t include stray/ferals. What do you say?
Lol. I’m ok with it!
I currently have ten cats and one dog…all rescues and all spayed, neutered and with proper vaccinations. I do not want this many cats at all! I found homes for six kittens last year, and then just acquired a mother and her kitten, and no luck so far with homes for them. I have one that is 15, one that is 11, two that are ten, and the rest are younger than that. The dog I acquired last fall, running through traffic, matted and filthy.
I actually have bad dreams about this! Please, no more! I am 77 and worry about the person who is going to inherit my house having to make decisions for all these animals.
Hello, thank you for your blob and post! Thank you to all who have posted on your blog! I have 3 cats: 1st female tabby was rescued at 7 weeks old, she is now almost 3 years old and is the first cat in my house. The 2nd cat is a male black and white, he is about 2 years old and was also rescued at 7 weeks old, the 3rd cat is a female tuxedo and she was rescued at 6 months (TNR), but she purred so much while in the trap I knew she was super sweet. Well, she turned out to be a blessing because she and my male black and white are inseparable, They rough play together, chase each other, and just completely love each other. My 1st cat, the female orange tabby is like the grumpy cat and is definitely a loner and enjoys playing by herself! She doesn’t care about the other animals. There’s more: I have a female chihuahua who is 10 years old, she has a lot of spunk and now thinks she is a cat and I have a what I like to call a miniature black lab, did a DNA and he is mixed with miniature pincher. He is only 16 lbs, I figure God knew I couldn’t handle a big dog with all of the little ones running around. So…. that’s 5 pets, I sometimes think I’m a pet hoarder. My home is clean, they all have pet insurance and are updated on their immunizations. I do TNR in my neighborhood and currently is also taking care of a female calico on my back deck. She is the reason why I started feeding the cats in the first place. She was a kitten with her mom and sibling, my heart melted and I started feeling them six years ago. Once I saw that the colony consisted of six cats in the neighborhood I became responsible and learned how to TNR. Every feral I come across if I’m able to trap will get spayed or neutered. The reason why I am writing on your blog is my feral calico is super friendly to me and now wants to come inside. I love her dearly and she is the last of the original colony, if I take her in will I officially be an animal hoarder. I do understand that if I bring her in, she will need to be in quarantine for a few months, get her into the vet for vaccinations, and make sure she is healthy and disease free before introducing her to my existing pets. I just worry about her and want to protect her. Writing this lengthy message may make others think that I am a crazy cat lady. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you.
I have 4 cats and one dog in a 2 bedroom 3 level house. I have 2 litter boxes on each level and water bowls on each level. The cats all get along with each other and my dog. I would never keep more than 4 cats at a time for many of the reasons in the article.
I need help. My mother has 15-18 cats in her hole and another 8-10 on a back porch. My husband and I just found out we are having a baby we also just returned from visiting. I couldn’t breathe and was miserable – especially since I can’t take many decongestants while pregnant. We made the decision to not stay in house again and to not being our baby into the house either. Did we make the wise decision for our health and our child’s health?
Grew up close to an auntie working in rescue, with 5 dogs and an average of 20 cats in a beautiful old villa and a beast of a wild secured garden (really nice unless you needed to find a specific cat). Many were unadoptable. But she had help, family and rescue volunteers coming several times a week.
I always wanted us to have 6 cats but due to circumstances, we ended up with 7. It doesn’t quite work out, as the one we took in to be the playmate of #6 (he’s younger and kept troubling the others, even bullying the sick one) isn’t happy with the situation. We even moved to a bigger house partly because of them and now plan to let the the younger ones be outside cats as this is a village now – but I’m scared, just the other day we saw a run over young kitten.
Rehoming them failed. No one wants a cat that can bite and tear you up without a notice. We suspect he was kicked or beaten before, he spent 3+ weeks in hiding when we got him and the poor frightened boy’s first contact with me was biting my hand and stare at me. Or one who poos and pees into your bed or anywhere else really. Even when explaining that it would likely go better in a new home. And everyone wants kittens or fancy looking cats. The rescue we had her from said she likely wouldn’t be adopted again and spend the rest of her life in the shelter. That’s not going to happen. She’s my baby, she sleeps with me often and we just can’t abandon her like that.
It got a little better since we moved – double the house size and two balconies already cat-secured. Once we are done with renovations and they’ll have a cat flap to the hopefully soon secured garden it might all normalize.
The worst annoyance for me is when people try guilt tripping us into taking more cats, especially now that the house is so much bigger and we have a big garden etc pp. “Take a few more, what’s the difference?” Uh, food, litter, vet costs? Good places to put the litter boxes? Time to clean after them and keep their vet appointments? Noticing when they are sick? We already have older, sicker cats which require medication and litter box patrols. In case any of the readers is one of those “take one more” people please stop doing that, find someone without so many cats to rehome yours. It adds to the hoarder problem because some of those people just can’t say no and then are afraid to admit what they consider failure.
Once we’ve settled in and if it all happens to work out we might add one more cat just to be able to say we have an infinite number of cats so can’t add any more. #8 – turn sideways, infinity symbol! But that cat would have to be a perfect fit for what we already have, which is difficult so we will probably just let a rescue relocate some outside cats to our garden for us to feed and monitor. Or a cat will just find us again.
Hello, My boyfriend found this post and freaked out saying im over the crazy cat limit lol. So now im slightly worried. I have 5 cats currently 3 that have been with us for years. 1 female (Calico age 8) and two orange tabby brothers (Age 4.) About 8 months ago we moved and found a black and white kitten kept coming to our door and desperately scratching to get in. Since it has been so deathly cold out lately I relented and let her in. She quickly navigated the home and settled herself right in the middle of my bed (Very odd behavior I would think for a stay cat.) So I called up my landlord. Turns out the old tenant had 4 cats and this little one matched one of the discriptions. Shes been here ever since. (Renamed her Eclipse.) The 5 is a 4 week old kitten who is left out of a barn litter where i keep my horse. I kept her because the poor little thing lost her tail and 4 toes to frost bite before she was found. So I guess the real question is is there too many? We live in a one bedroom duplex with two floors, and none of the 4 cats have been fighting, there is a cat tree in everyroom (Save for the kitchen) and a litter box per cat.
There definitely is something as TOO many, but it sounds like you guys are caring fore them well – I would recommend one more litter box or even an automatic litter box like Litter Robot. As long as they get along, they are healthy, they are getting preventative care at your veterinarian, sounds like they are in good hands! I’d try to avoid anymore though… 🙂
okay so I live with my grandma and grandpa they have about 30+ cats and a few kittens I have told my grandma its a health risk because they poop and pee every where. my grandma gets mad every time I mention it to her I don’t know what to do.
so I’m not sure if the other posted so I’m putting it up again.
I live with my grand parents who have 30+ cats and a few kittens I have told them that its a health risk but my grandma gets mad when I mention it to her. I don’t know what to do.
I’m so sorry to hear that. The safety and best thing anyone can ever do in this situation is to call Animal Control, as they have the resources to help both the animals and the person. Best of luck.
I live in apartment house my neighbor upstairs has so many cats outside he takes care of them feed them and gives him homes but they’re overwhelmed I do is smell cat urine cat poop it’s so bad they’re on my porch running my stuff he’s probably got about 30 or 40 cats can’t even walk out the backyard without stepping on poop the urinating all of my grill cover and his dad told him he had to get rid of them he would not do it don’t know if my landlord do it
I have cat problem 🙁 I live near a welcoming center where mean people drop animals off all the time. I’ve lived here just over five years and I had one dog when I moved here… i have three dogs now and that’s because i can find them homes usually but the cats are a problem 🙁 I’ve fixed 20+ cats since I moved here. I’m in the woods so they disappear pretty regularly I think they get killed by the wildlife. I work for FEMA and I have been gone for months because of the flooding my best friend was taking care of my house and my animals for me but he hasn’t been fixing any cats just dumping food and leaving but now it’s a problem I had six cats when I left who are all fixed now I’ve got 22 and I’m overwhelmed I’ve only been home for four days and I have been calling every place possible to try to get homes for these but no one will take them even the shelters are saying they are too full but I don’t know what to do… it’s a major problem here now I’m so overwhelmed. Help!!!
I’m so sorry to hear that you’re overwhelmed – it’s a lot to take on and I would recommend working directly with a humane society or rescue.
I have an alcoholic brother who now has five cats and takes care of the neighbor’s strays when they come around.
His ex wife keeps taking in stray cats in Ohio, and then when she comes to see my brother, she brings him more cats.
He won’t say no to her.
His cats do not look healthy, the litter boxes are chucked full of feces and you can smell urine from outside on the front porch of his apartment.
I did contact his landlord and not sure what will happen next.
My brother is a loner, prefers not being around people and things he can rescue every cat that he thinks needs his help.
He lives in a dump, landlord barely takes care of the place.
My brother can barely walk and has brain issues from a motorcycle accident from years ago and the heavy scotch drinking has added to him not being able to balance himself and he falls alot.
He manages to keep a job, but relies on others due to losing his drivers license from several duis.
I do not feel it is a good environment for the cats.
Not sure what else to do.
I will wait and see what his landlord does or does not do.
My brother now thinks he can buy the house kick out the other tenants so that he can do whatever he pleases.
He is not mentally stable in my opinion.
I’m so sorry to hear that. I would recommend calling animal control as they have the resources to help him and the cats.
I have five cats. Two boys. Three girls. They’re all younger cats — all teenage cats. They get along for the most part, but I have noticed that when they don’t get along it’s the two boys picking on the girls. Hunting them. One of the girls makes a yowling pissed off sound, so I know she isn’t having a grand time. The other girl gets chased into hiding. I work a 8-5 job, so I break up the fights when I can, but I’m not home most of the day and don’t want them fighting like that. They’re all fix, no medical issues, and I happen to think it’s just because they’re boys being boys, but is there a way to fix this? Does it even need to be fixed?
Thanks for any help or advice!
There’s definitely things you can do to improve this! A Feliway diffuser, calming collars, supplements, and prescription medications. I would talk to your veterinarian about this!
I’m not sure what to do! I’ve been feeding a stray boy, he has been coming and going.. but since I got a new kitten to call my own (another male, to be neutered end of the week) now the little stray has started to hang around more so! I’m still feeding him when he comes.. But new kitty has cottoned on to him! Can I introduce them to each other? To the point How!! ? Would so appreciate your help, I feel I’ve got in a pickle with them both & feeling guilty for lil stray boy
My friend and her mother have 16 cats and they live in a tiny apartment! I told her that’s way too many but she justifies it because the cats are indoor/outdoor. My mother told me to report them to the local SPCA but I don’t have the heart to do it since the few of the cats I have seen appear fine and healthy. But I do know they do not take the cats to the vet regularly and some bully the others, according to my friend. I’m so torn on what to do because she’s also allergic to cats but she and her mom are animal lovers and refuse to get rid of the cats. If you have any advice I would greatly appreciate it.
The SPCA doesn’t necessarily “get them in trouble” but makes sure that they are well taken care of!
I just brought home 2 black kitties from a litter of 5 black kitties. It’s close to Halloween and I fear for them. My daughter is already attached and we have 3 currently (15 yrs, 7 yrs and 6 yrs). My oldest hid and hissed when I brought home kitty 2 for 2 weeks, then they became best friends playing all the time (both female). Then we brought home kitty #3 (male) and they both hid and hissed for a week or so and then got over it and came out but they stopped playing together completely. The boy wanted to play with them and they hissed at him. Now, no one plays together, well rarely my oldest will chase the boy in play but he’s rough and she’s little so when he tries to play back she hisses. #2 hisses at him anytime he comes near and will smack him if he gets close enough. We gave multiple litter boxes and clean them regularly. I hate cat urine smell and no one knows we have cats until they see them. I’m so nervous to introduce these 2 with the others. I think my boy will accept them (male and female siblings) but the older 2 I am afraid they might act out and if they start peeing outside the boxes I’ll have a problem.
My question is, is it ok to take stray cats as barn cats (we have 5 acres and a nicely insulated pole barn they could get in.) I wouldn’t fi it until they are older and of course would fix them and keep them current on vaccines. Or is there a better mix of males to females? Do 2 males compete and pee? Right now they are in the garage in a plastic play pen area because they are flea infested. So until the fleas are treated I can’t bring them in. Also, they weren’t introduced to a litter box and they need training, right now, they eat the clay litter so I don’t know what to do, I obviously don’t leave it with them to chew up and without a mommy cat to show them how to use it, will they ever?
I would recommend taking them to a vet, getting the their full series of vaccines, testing them for FeLV/FIV (Kitty AIDS), getting them neutered/spayed and then making them barn cats. Otherwise, the amount of kittens you’ll get from pet overpopulation will be horrible. Or see if you can find homes for them. You can bring them in sooner – they just need a dose of Capstar from your veterinarian which kills fleas quickly and can be used on young kittens. Use clumping litter – not clay and show them how to use the litter box. Make sure they have dry + canned food at all times and if they are really young (< 3-4 weeks of age), you'll have to mash KMR milk replacer + kitten food until they are eating well. Please consult with a vet asap.
Is 12 cats to many because I have 12 cats and a dog and I don’t attend to get any more cats and my dog is not good with other dogs so he is the only dog and when he dies of old age there will definitely only be the cats
It depends on how many is “too many.” If you can’t provide food, environmental enrichment, and preventative veterinary care, yes, IMO, it’s too many, but check with your veterinarian.
My friend has more than 30 cats in her home she is at a total loss as what to do the problem is so bad they there is always 1 pregnant I don’t wanna get her in trouble but where can we get rid of them
I would get them spayed and neutered ASAP – that’s part of the problem – you’ll have to find a veterinarian to do that and fix that or the problem will quickly worsen.
Me and my boyfriend both started off with one cat each and we moved in with each other about six months ago. Sadly it’s on the bad side of town where many cats are dumped and strays run about. We took in a stray that was very affectionate towards us but didn’t get along with his cat. A few months later we noticed her getting quite large and found out she was pregnant later having two surviving kittens. All the cats tolerate each other now with occasional hissing and I dearly love all five. This puts us at 3 adult cats (one is technically under a year so still a kitten but I consider her an adult with the two 9 weeks old around.) Well today I found another affectionate cat and when I told my bf he said ok but I also acknowledge he’s getting quite frustrated. I know taking on another cat is stressful to him however we only have one animal shelter in town as the other closed a few years back so I’m worried even if they do take the cats around they will ultimately be put down. Should I let the new cat be taken by animal control or find a home? Should I find the kittens homes as it would be easier? Or should i care for the six with an absolute limit of no more? ( I should mention all six are female and although there are territory disputes the oroginal five don’t often fight) I know I’m walking a thin line but I clean the litter boxes twice a day and get regular vet visits for them. I don’t want my relationship to suffer but it’s not fair for the cats to be killed for the sake of it either. What should I do?
I personally would recommend spaying and neutering all of them ASAP and finding homes! Thanks for taking such good care of them!
I was hoping for some advice here as it seems to just pertain to cats. We own a two story home with extra rooms and one large enclosed porch we redid to make it a four-season game/pet room as there are windows for cat trees, etc. We have 3 beloved chihuahuas two girls 10 years old and a new baby boy under a year. Our son is 21 and has a cat that has been his for some years. She is almost never visible as she doesn’t like people so much. Our son is leaving next year and Luna is going with him. Our conundrum is this; my daughter (18) and I have recently been spending time at a cat rescue. We have fallen in love with all of them but feel one especially would fit into our household and be prepared for our chis and (on some occasion) Luna the cat. We put in our application for her but, as happens when you are at a rescue, are thinking to adopting one other besides. We are being careful however as we have the chis (4 lbs, 5 lbs and 8 lbs). Everything in our home is enclosed right down to the dining room being separate. We are always at home even with work because we never want to leave the chis home. When we camp, our son and daughter help out being at the house and are adamant when they leave to be here close to us in the city; I know we can always rely on them as we are Ren people and take our chis once in awhile to Ren fairs locally overnight. We have a good vet and are being careful but wondering if having 3 cats (while our son is still at home) and 3 chis is just too much. All of our animals are indoors without problems although Luna tries very, very hard sometimes to escape). What are your thoughts on mixed animal households in regards to cats being added. Thanks for any advice.
I’d talk to your vet, but 3 cats sounds good to me! 🙂 As long as they have a safe place to get away from the Chis, and everyone gets along, I’d ber supportive as long as you can care for them all!
I have 12 cats and 1 dog I started out with just 3 cats then my cousin had 4 kittens that someone dropped at her house and they were only 3 weeks old so I brought them home and bottled fed them and planned on getting rid of them well that didn’t happen I got to attached and said well what’s 7 cats there’s other people who has just as many ,then one day on the way home from work this thing runs across the road and it’s pooring down rain and I stop and get it, it was an orange kitten about 5 weeks old brought it home and said well what’s 1 more , so then about a month later my grandmother who lives on a farm had 2 baby kittens who came to her door and my cousin took them and was gonna try and keep them but her dogs tried to kill them so she called me and I took them and said well I’ve gotta try and get rid of these when they get old enough or my husband is gonna divorce me, well guess what I got attached to these kittens also so now I have 10, so a year goes by and my sisters kids ran across some kittens just born in her backyard and we noticed the mother had never came back and there were 4 of them, I said I just can’t let these baby’s sit here and die so I said I’m gonna try and foster them and maybe I can start fostering kittens, 2 of the kittens didn’t make it the first 2 nights , the other 2 went every where with me so I could feed them on there schedule i took them to 2 different vets bc they got sick one said oh they’ll never make it and did nothing for them then the other one I got medicine for them well now they are 6 months old and I still have them I got attached to them also and could not get rid of so I said I could never be able to foster bc I get to attached, I know some people think I’m crazy but I don’t care I love all 12 of my cats yes they are all inside and I couldn’t imagine my life without all of them they all have there own personality 4 of them sleep directly on top of me and the others all around me I know I get told all the time I don’t see how your husband puts up with that many and I tell them bc he knows that all 12 of my baby’s is what makes me happy so he’s happy and I have to say my baby’s do make me happy and I don’t care what anyone thinks of me having so many so don’t worry about what people thinks of you bc of how many cats you have I think cats are also good for anyone with depression or feeling alone bc they keep you entertained or mine do anyways and they know when your having a bad day bc they’ll come and cheer you up and if I could I would have more cats but I think I better stop at 12 before I’m divorced 😸😸
I’d really recommend finding homes for them as soon as they are healthy kittens – use your Animal Control or local rescue groups to help, Craigslist, your veterinarian, etc. IMO, it’s too many kittens/cats!
I have lots of animals between dogs, cats, lizards and a snake, we have 14 total. We also foster kittens so I know how hard it is. Usually I love all the kittens and sometimes it breaks my heart to adopt them out once they are healthy and of age to be adopted. So far we have fostered 19 kittens and have adopted two of those fostered! So I understand when it is hard to let them go. I also feed and take care of a few strays (mainly feeding because many won’t let me touch them). But others I will take to my vet and have checked out. Honestly I believe hoarding is only hoarding once it effects your live or that of the pets life. This includes your husbands life too. My husband loves the fostering side because he knows they will eventually be adopted out. But if you keep everything that finds you eventually you will be so overwhelmed that you won’t be happy anymore. I believe everyone who saves animals like you and I do should always try to find them a home that they will be spoiled at. And if that fails then and only then should you consider keeping them. This is only my personal opinion but if it isn’t effecting you, your husband or the animals happiness then it is fine. But if you are not trying to adopt them out you will eventually have way too many!
My mom says cat urine and their fur is bad for the health of young babies and that some cats have even suffocated babies. Is this true? If so why? And Is there studies on health of cat owners/child health of parents who are cat owners?
Cats don’t intentionally suffocate babies. However, babies are a source of body heat and a cat may lie on top of them for warmth. From personal experience, though, whenever there was a baby in the home, our cats kept far away (babies tend to be loud and grabby, which cats don’t enjoy)
Glad I found this post! I’m getting ready to bring kitty #4 home. I was feeling like “The Crazy Cat Lady” Not that I want 4 cats! I adopted two (siblings) from a shelter. Then another kitten who was not in the best living situation. I have fallen in love with her and my other two cats like her too so I’m keeping her. Then on 10/27 a 3 mo. old kitten showed up out of nowhere. I have 6 ferals I’ve fed since they were kittens. This one kitten is not theirs because I TNR’d them. It came from another street. Anyway, it’s border line feral but I’ve worked with it every day to get it more socialized so it’s adoptable. It worked and I can actually snuggle it now! I’m #20 on the shelter waiting list so he may be with me for a while. It’s freezing outside and other cats bully it and try to steal its food. I have to bring it in. Being my neighborhood cat monitor is so hard. I work full time and have health issues but I can’t let any of them suffer. Please people……… SPAY AND NEUTER!!! If you can’t afford it, contact some local shelters. They may have free vouchers. The low cost clinic near me does some free or at a very low rate. If you need help with TNR, use social media to find who nearest you does that. I had a lady provide me with traps and showed me what to do and hooked me up with the TNR clinic. It’s hard work but worth it when no more babies are born. Good luck!
This article made me feel guilty, because I lost my home a few moths ago due to my husband having a stroke and we had to move in with my mother, resulting in our 6 cats being in one room together (our bedroom), they’re all taken care of, but I feel so guilty, even though this situation is only temporary, we’ve had these cats each for a few years! I am not sure how to get rid of this guilt…
Don’t feel guilty – do what you need to do to take care of yourself and you’re in a unique situation. No blame or guilt allowed – I’m sure you’re caring for them as best you can during these stressful times. Hang in there and prayers to your husband.
I found this article searching for laws on how many cats one legally own. I have an unstable family member that takes blows at my family every turn they can. Just recently it’s been my cats. Like some of those who’ve commented we also rescue and re-home. We currently have 11 permanent cats living with us. All healthy, happy, well cared for, vet checks regularly, in a 6 bedroom home. Some fosters came back multiple times as those who adopted had various excuses. Cat scratching furniture, allergies, etc. We are at our limit. I wouldn’t keep another. People can be judgmental. The biggest comment is “wow I don’t even smell cats.” Like how do I do that? Um, change the litter and have multiple boxes. Some friends have one and their homes stink. People ask me how many cats i have. I joke I don’t really like to throw numbers around. I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
Well I’m glad i found this page. And really glad I am not alone in the multiple cat/ rescue lifestyle. So many people are so judgmental about how many cats i have, always offering unsolicited advice. I have 8 cats at the moment and I care for 6 feral colonies. I am currently house/land shopping so that I can better accommodate my gang of 8 and possibly move my feral friends onto my property so that i no longer need to drive around for an hour every night to bring them food. It is disheartening to see folks assume everyone with multiple cats fits a stereotype and more sad for the cats that people give them up or avoid them in order to not be stereotyped.
I have 7 cats, 3 of which were fosters that never got placed and are now too bonded to be adopted out separately – so I’m keeping them; 2 that just showed up one day, walked in my living room, and never left (i did do due diligence to find owners) and 2 that I’ve had for 13 years… The only issues we ever have is when my moms cat visits – she hates everyone humans included. My babies are all up to date on everything, have multiple cat condos, they go to the vet twice a year (unless there is an issue) and i get kidney tests done every time b/c it is hard to monitor for UTI with 7 litterboxes. I spend time with each of them individually- the 3 siblings are never far from each other so they get group playtime too. They all sleep with me or in their condos. I also feed and care for feral cats in the neighborhood. and have 2 older dogs. My vet says i’m crazy but also that i have the most loved and well adjusted pets. He cried with me when I had to put my 20 year old down due to cancer. My goal in life is to open an animal rescue. If I can afford with time and $ to care for them, then i will. I do feel i have maxed out though at the moment.
Sounds like you are doing an amazing job. 🙂 Thanks for caring for your kitties so well!
Hi I have 20 cats and was wondering if 20 cats was by law to many and thay are all well looked after and all there vet work is complete and up to date
Hi I am wondering if I am bracing the law in Sa owning 20 cats because I have checked with the Cancil in my area at least 1 a month and ever time get told there is no by law to how many cats you can own and was wondering if 20 are still ok and I am now at my limit as well
I have 7 cats now one showed up my papa and I can’t kick a cat out and we can’t find any homes for them they are playful we have more than one litter box we change them regularly they don’t fight so I think I really don’t have too many cats.
My family and I have 10 cats. 4 indoor due to being pedigrees ( 3 Maine coones and 1 ragdoll) all the other 6 are free to go in and out as they ask. We have 3 water bowls filled at all times. And multiple litter trays which are always kept clean. They receive a bowl of wet food each a night as well as having dry food in the mornings, available all day then before bed over night. Our cats are all perfect weights and all perfectly healthy. Except one Maine coone which has the cat flu gene but does not display symptoms so has been cleared by our vet) they all get booster jabs when due and have all been spayed or neutered. All our cats come in at night as we’ve had a cat go missing as he wanted to come in over night but we were sleeping. (He’s safe now) this allows for us to check them regularly for any sign of unusual behaviour. Such as we have one cat who’s goes outside most of the time (we rescued him as he had been abandoned by his owners and left outside for 6 months as they’d moved and left him behind). So if he doesn’t go out we check him over and determine if a vet visit is nessacary but it’s 99% of the time because the weathers bad. I fee having multiple cats is fine as long as they are content and well looked after
Hi, I was wondering if you you could help my Daughter has 11 indoor Cats and doesn’t keep in good health and I was wondering if the cats could be adding to her Ill health in some way.
I have been trying to get her to give up some of her cats but isn’t having any off it.
Sorry, I don’t directly help but would recommend contacting your local animal control for help! They can definitely help!
Is it ok to own 16 cats as long as you can look after them the correct way and I did at one point have 25 cats but not all of them got on with each other so I have reduced it to 16 and was wondering if it is still ok as long as thay are well looked after the right way
It depends – my general rule is one can’t care for that many cats that well. Are all the cats vaccinated and up to date? Are they all dewormed annually and do you have 17 litter boxes that are scooped daily? Are they on heartworm and flea/tick medication (if outdoor) and tested for FELV/FIV? Are there Feliway diffusers for all cats to get along? Are there scratching posts in all the rooms? Is the housing clean and free from odor? Do you see your veterinarian at least once a year with all those cats? If not, no.
Hewo! I’m only 13 but I wanted to read about others opinions on how many cats ppl should have and I just wanted to tell you, my father and step mother help rescue cats on there spare/free time and with that we have 12 cats right now but they are all healthy and as in your story abut the ladies that smelled like cat urine, it is the worst smell and hard to get out smell and I’m glad that our cats are smart enough to use the litter box. Our cats are all very friendly and I bet you would love them, seven are black which I still stand with black cats being the friendliest! Thank you for your time.
I have 9 cats. I acquired 4 new ones this summer that we rescued. One kitten was seconds from death in middle of busy intersection. The other 3 were siblings that we trapped. I already had 5 cats that were all rescues at some point. Im maniacal about keeping the litter boxes and house clean. All cats are vetted and up to date on vaccines and flea treatment. It IS a lot of work to have 9. But im used to it now. In fact, I networked with other rescues and shelters and now an official foster and volunteer. This way i can continue to help animals and not add another as a permanent pet. I agrre that there needs to be a limit to be able to care properly for each pet. 6 is a good limit. I am making 9 work but its not for everyone. I do LOVE my 9lives crewe.
Thank you so much for all that you do – you are a saint and I really appreciate you saving them! 🙂
Best of luck and good cat karma for you!
Hi I have 12 cats and live in a housing Sa house and thay are ok with 4 cats but are not ok with 12 cats even though I have down size them from 30 cats to 12 and was wondering if I was to keep them outside in a outside cat enclosure all the time including in the summer time when the weather was not suitable would it work in a way of being able to keep all 12 cats because I am unable to rehome any of them because they are all the very best of friends and toatch to all of them as well
I have 15 cats and was wondering because I have since changed the litter box over to a self cleaning litter box and are still finding that some of the cats are going where thay are not meant to go and was wondering if I was to put 18 self cleaning litter boxes in the house instead of having the litter trays that you have to clean your self if that would fix the problem with the cats and have found by putting 2 in I have found them not to all go else where but have gotten one that is still going elsewhere other than the litter box
No, because it’s likely behavioral that you removed the litter boxes suddenly – with cats, you have to move very slowly or you’ll have behavioral inappropriate urination. SLOW transitions!
Hey! I have 7 cats inside (one is an outside female who was small and the males around here picked on her) and all my cats get the love, attention, and medical help they need. My dogs as well. All fixed as well, except the kitten who is going to get fixed SOON. Granted they ain’t all mine (a couple were my dad’s and he passed then my mom has her cat and my boyfriend his). We take good care of our babies and all are healthy! We even take care of the strays outside!
I need help. My mother has 15-18 cats in her hole and another 8-10 on a back porch. My husband and I just found out we are having a baby we also just returned from visiting. I couldn’t breathe and was miserable – especially since I can’t take many decongestants while pregnant. We made the decision to not stay in house again and to not being our baby into the house either. Did we make the wise decision for our health and our child’s health?
Yes absolutely – you have to protect your unborn child! It’s also likely that it’s illegal to have that many. I would recommend calling the Animal Humane Society for help for your mother.
I have four Hyland lynx cats. They are all siblings from a reputable breeder. They play fight but that is normal . But they love love eachother and all love me alot. They are very social and given the best quality food. And have a large cat run in the back. These cats are so social they love being around us ( two toddlers ) and love eachother. Four though is my line. And I know the Hyland cat is more social than other cats so if I didn’t have Hyland cats I would have stuck to only two. But I agree . Cats should have a companion but there is also a line . But also depends on the owner and the reason for keeping large numbers ( fostering ect)
I currently have 7 cats in my home (4 are going to be rehomed in a few weeks because unfortunately, a recent cat that I got was not fixed and we were told that she was, and surprisingly gave birth to 5 heathly fur balls five weeks ago at the age of nine months.) My family is still debating if we should keep one of the kittens due to already owning 2. We have two large litterboxes (one in house and one in garage where the older cat (we got her almost two years ago at a animal shelter) likes to stay due to the dryer making it warmer in there) due to my cat’s pregnancy, she did sometimes have trouble getting to the litter box due to her having difficulty getting her body high enough to actually get in the litter box, but we cleaned the area every time she missed. So, our house is clean, we have some problems with aggression with the older cat, but any animal we introduce to her warms up to her in a few days if we do it right (putting the animal in a room where she can smell them and get used to them) we also have a older pug who acts like a second mother to the kittens (although the momma doesn’t like it all the time) Are we boarder line hoarding due to the fact that we have a few fishtanks that we take care of and keep clean, a beardie that we make sure is well fed and taken to a vet if we suspect tail rot, a turtle who is my brother’s but I take care of them as well, 2 cat’s (possibly 3 soon) that we keep the litter box cleaned and make sure we give them all attention when they want it, and a dog who sleeps and lives for walks and rarely goes to the bathroom in the house (she sometimes does when we leave her for a bit too long, but we don’t scold her due to it being our fault because we didn’t get home in time to let her out). We live in a three bedroom duplex with a fairly nice sized yard. I really don’t want anyone to try and report us to animal control saying that we are hoarding and I want to know if we are hoarding animals. (All animals go to the vet at least once a year for shots, checkups, and other things)
My family has 7 cats, 3 girls and 4 boys. They all have plenty of space and we give them all equal attention and spoil them here and there. Though we found a baby girl kitten who is around 4 weeks old, she is very sweet and social. My family is thinking about keeping her which would mean we would have 8 cats. I fear of my cats would change their attitude and feel more stress. I don’t want any issues to happen and I feel like the baby kitten deserve to be with another family who doesn’t have as much animals as my family does. But at the same time I want to keep her. I don’t know if my family should keep her or give to a family we know who will take care of her.
I’ve always seemed to end up with three cats. I’ve actually never gone out and adopted a cat before very recently, they all were foundlings/rescues/rehomings. One of my cats had to be euthanized this past winter (he had urinary obstructions, we got him the PU surgery but he had scar tissue and re-obstructed) so we’ve been down to two. We’re adopting a third now via a rescue.
At this point I’ll only take special needs cats. One of my cats has myotonia congenita (she’s awesome) and the cat I’m adopting has probable cerebellar hypoplasia. I have a healthy (aside from asthma) 9 year old cat and he’ll probably be my last “typical” cat. This helps limit it- when I was at the rescue for my new cat I wanted to take home ALL of the cats! I think if I was to have another cat show up at my home that was healthy and adoptable I’d either rehome it or give it to a shelter/rescue.
Bless you! I love cat owners like you. 🙂 Thank you for taking our special needs cats out there. You earn amazing veterinary karma.
Best,
Dr. Justine Lee