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’m fixing to visit my sister in Georgia and here neighbor has concerns about her health she has started hoarding cat’s and from what I gather her home is become unliveable and she want get rid of them what can I do. I’m so not looking forward to this trip scared of what I’m about to face thank you Pam
I’m so sorry to hear that – it might be a good opportunity to help out, schedule a veterinary or animal rescue visit at the same visit, and help coordinate some help. I would call an animal control officer and set up an appointment while you are there, as you typically have to schedule these for a rescue/animal control for surrender, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate your help!
I feel whatever number you can financially afford to give the best care to the animal is the number because each household is different. People have loads of kids (6+ )and they are well behaved and taken care of however, some can’t take care of one child. My kitties are my children and I watch their health, behavior and happiness. I am very in tune to them and they’re isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for them. My husband is the same, we try and provide a rich environment for learning and exploring plus I’m a neat freak! I have 6, but I understand my situation might be the exception and not the rule. I believe that the tricky situation comes in to play when the animal ages and may have more health issues which can definitely become financially challenging, but my love for animals was bigger than kids so that’s why I decided against kids! Lol
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 have more than 10. They are all well cared for and Vetted. They are all fixed. I will not turn a cat away, but have no plans in getting more. =^..^=
I had a feral mama cat to have kittens on my property! I kept two of the kittens and found a home for one ! Trapped the mother TNR brought her back home ! 2019 I tamed the mother brought her inside She’s with her girls and turn out to be a awesome cat ❤2020 had another feral show up with kittens again She took over Layla’s territory When they got old enough I trapped them mother and babies They were spayed shots put them as barn program at my house all have been spayed loved and cared for including the vet❤ I didn’t consider myself a cat person I quess I am 😀 plus am 62 🤣🤣
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 have 5 cats and one kitten and I feed two outdoor cats. They are all fixed and they ALL get along and enjoy each other most of the time. I think cat population control is very important when being a cat rescuer.
Thank you for all that you do!
I agreed with the checking first before condemnation but then you just found someone else to blame. ?
I have nine cats. First started with a brother and a sister. The owner kept them in the basement and occasionally fed them, barely cleaned their litter boxes and they would be lucky to have water. I received a phone call that the boy cat was acting off so I said I’ll take both to the vet and you will not get them back because I’m adopting them. Indeed the boy need extreme medical care because he had a broken leg. $4500 later he was mine along with his sister. The third one I received a phone call from a family member that this mom was transferring her kitten across the street; was hit by a car and killed instantly. She then said she thought the mother was decapitated but it was just the kitten who rolled off the street. This 2 week year old kitten was still a bottle baby and I had experience already with kittens so I took him in. I thought three was it. I was content with two but one more would be IT. Well then I became involved with a cat rescue by making donations and attending the rescues charity events. I ended up having a conversation with the rescue director and told her that I would foster only fir them. Well one day she called and said there is a mom with 7 of her 3 week babies in the shelter and they are looking to put them down because the shelter was crowded. Well here I was with 10 cats. 4 were successfully adopted. I made It quite clear that I could only foster because of my busy work schedule. Then she would call and say hey you have to come to this adoption event…… well I just found out I was pregnant and could not be bothered so I adopted the three. Here I was with six cats. I am not crazy…. I am good hearted. All my cats have the proper veterinarian care and are fixed. My mother in law just passed away and she has three cats so I am at number 9……
Oops didn’t mean to post that under your comment.
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.
Very good point Lisa, I love your post. I’m in the same situation. We started with 2 and started rescuing strays and all kittens and cats in our town(we even rescued a feral kitty that we have had for 2 years because we love her and our heart hurts and aches for any animal that is homeless with no food, no warmth and no one to care and love them. We now have 6 that are our fur babies that are staying with us and we have rescued 32 other cats and kittens in our town and found them homes. People do judge us for having 6 cats. It’s just me and my boyfriend, we recently bought our house, I have a great job and I enjoy cleaning. It’s not always perfect but my house is clean, people need to not judge what they don’t understand because this has been a very wonderful rewarding experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.. The feral cat that we rescued is the most sweetest, appreciative cat I’ve had . It has been a truly wonderful experience that is so rewarding. I definitely would recommend rescuing a feral , there are people is say that you can’t have a feral as a house cat ,THAT IS NOT TRUE. It take time and patience and of course it TAKES LOVE, but feral cats are so appreciate of their rescuer. All animals deserve to have a family that cares about them THEY DESERVE TO FEEL WHAT LOVE IS . ❤️❤️❤️❤️I love reading stories like mine that their are still good people that are willing to rescue and love cats like I do. So thank you Lisa. From Lisa Simmons
Thank you for taking care of them so well! 🙂 I will shamelessly advertise for the Litter Robot with 6 cats – you can provide a clean bed of litter for each cat and only have to empty the bin once a day – I’d recommend starting with one Litter Robot per 4-5 cats, but with 6, 2 would ultimately be better. Thanks for taking such good care of them! 🙂
Best,
Dr. Justine Lee
PS Here’s a $25 code if you need HERE for the Litter Robot. It’s pricey but worth it. 🙂 I love mine.
Yes it’s very sad how people judge a person that has alot of cats especially men and now with covid 19 there more opinionated than you’d ever imagine I think some some critica need to get a life and judge not.
Totally agree with you Lisa. Loving cats and taking care of them responsibility should be commended!
Yes it’s very sad how people judge a person that has alot of cats especially men and now with covid 19 there more opinionated than you’d ever imagine I think some some critica need to get a life and judge not.
Yes it’s very sad how people judge a person that has alot of cats especially men and now with covid 19 there more opinionated than you’d ever imagine I think some some critics need to get a life and judge not.
We have 11 cats. We also had 3 pets we lost one of our pet babies due to him getting tetanus he progressed so quickly I made an appointment for the vet for the following day and he passed that night. The rest of the rescue kitties I have tried to rehome but no one wants them. So 11 cats it is. But they are all fed they go inside and outside they use litter boxes or outdoors to potty. They are all healthy. The food can get expensive at times but we manage.
Agree
Will you all listen to yourselves. Most of you are in denial and confirming your bias with each other. As a service provider going to an average of 600-900 homes a year I can tell you first hand most all homes with an abundance of cats stink. You can’t smell it because you have gotten used to it. People can smell the stench on you when you do go out in public, they just don’t say anything. Too many cats are bad and unhealthy no matter how you justify it. I went to a persons home and could smell the stench once I got out of my car. I fixed her ac, and had to change and wash my clothes as soon as I got home, just from walking in her house. My car seat had to be disinfected due to holding the smell from my contact. Her house is tidy but stinks. Other providers have walked away and for good reason. This lady wants her ductwork replaced due to cats ruining it and no one will do it. When the air comes on, it pulls all the stench from the crawlspace and puts it in the house. They are both coughing and wheezing constantly due to this but she refuses to remove the cats because they have no place to go or get away from other animals but the crawlspace. I could not convince her of how unhealthy her situation was. Her situation may be worse than some of you here, but she started with two cats herself. Just know people can smell that stench.
Spend a little time at a county pound or even an average animal rescue and you might be a little less judgemental, maybe even develop a little compassion. The cats lives are more important than your opinion 😉
Judgmental much? Sounds like you qualify as a Karen. There are countless people that have 5-10 cats, they are loved, well-cared-for, and in clean environments. I’m retired (61), in relatively good physical shape and one of my duties is to clean up after and care for momma and her five kittens. Their two rooms are vacuumed/hair brushed weekly and then washed down with Rescue™ brand veterinary cleaner. They have numerous litter boxes that are cleaned and scooped three times a day by yours truly and washed out at least once a week. We’ve had many people come into our house that don’t smell a THING.
I also give them a half hour of concentrated play time in the morning and evening. Plus I go in regularly for my dose of cat love, hand out some treats and cruise the Web with my iPad.
Don’t play God with your opinions because YOU ran into a bad situation and can hide behind your safe keyboard anonymity. You come off sanctimonious and judgmental, not to mention a bit of a human rectal orifice.
Hi Lisa , we have 7 cats too . was wondering if all your cats get a long , any advises on how to make them get along . presently they are in pairs with the eldgest one being with us . We are moving out to our own place with our babies and wanted to make a nice cat room for them . Wondering whether I should have the room partitioned as it presently is at my parents place for them , or let them all be in one room without any partitions amongst themselves , and have cat poles , toys and so forth present.
OMG this thread also made me feel so much better. In 2019 I left my awful marriage with my two young cats. My ex got a kitten (my poor suggestion) and after a few weeks was going to bring it back to the shelter because it was “too much” (despite me buying him everything kitty needs and showing him how to take care of it)… I ended up taking in said kitty, so I was at 3. Then in 2020 I finally started my dream of fostering. I of course fell in love with my first foster… a young momma cat who was so stressed, she had licked naked patches and sores all over trying to sooth herself (found out a year later from an x-ray that she had a small gun pellet lodged a little more than an inch from her heart O_O Some horrible human had shot her with a pellet gun while she was a stray!). She was instantly the little girl I didn’t get the opportunity to have in my marriage. So now I’m at 4. I have a good income and keep my home clean, people hardly know I have that many cats and they all get along well or tolerate each other (thanks Jackson Galaxy! hehe).
SO, here I am, I’ve fostered and found forever homes for 2 beautiful adult cats and now I have a 21 week old kitten who is just amazing. She loves to sit on her human’s shoulders and be carried and she’ll even run and jump into my arms when I call her and put out my arms. I just adore her and feel like she’d be a great addition to my life and (hopefully!) my kittos’, but I’m also feeling selfish (there’s someone else out there that could need her love and what she’s very different when she isn’t a kitten anymore and it causes problems). The biggest issue though for me is that people look at you like you’re insane when you say you are thinking of adopting a FIFTH cat. I also worry I’ll never find another apartment that will rent to me despite me keeping such a clean home and all my cats regularly go to the vet.
*SIGH* Anyhoo… this thread made me feel less like a selfish, cat hoarder, so thank you. Still trying to decide if I can let her go or will keep her. This is so hard. 🙁
Comment *Thank you so much Lisa Daley! I wanted to keep 4 cats – but I just acquired my 7th cat because I, too, cannot turn away an animal in need. I would love to be able to rehome him, but he has medical issues – and it is almost impossible to place a healthy cat let alone one with special needs. I also feed and provide outdoor shelters for the ferals that I spend my own time and money to TNR. I’m emotionally exhausted from the shame I receive from other people over being a “crazy” cat lady. I also receive a ton of hate from people over the ferals. No one ever directs that kind of hate and shame towards the people to CAUSE the problem – just towards those of us who are trying to fix it. Thank you for your post – I’m feeling extra vulnerable today and your words were the exact support I needed.
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!
I am a cat person, I have five cats. I don’t think I’m a hoarder. But if you ask my family members they think I’m crazy. Because I have so many. I just love them all so much. I don’t believe I’m a hoarder. My cats are well taken care of.
Five cats is totally legit. 🙂 You’re doing great! 🙂
It’s a shame you’re judgemental of people with 5 kids. Everyone’s life choices are going to be different, they could choose much worse things to be than to be parents to 5 kiddos.
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.
Jamie, don’t be overwhelmed. As you mentioned before, nature has a way of taking care of a lot of them. We live in a forested area in the city, and unfortunately, many in the feral colony do get killed by other wildlife, and also, just traffic and unsafe drivers will take a few out also. I am a Christian and I have to mention this, because in our case, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has helped us immensely to be able to manage both outdoor and indoor situations. So, as a Christian, I’d say keep the faith. We prayed about our feral colony situation that they would not overpopulate and it’s been twelve years and no overpopulation. Of course, we trap n release when we can. You sound like a very compassionate person. It will all work itself out. Do what you can, and don’t worry about the rest, it’ll be all right. And if someone criticizes you about cats, ask them this: “do you like snakes, rats?” There have been situations where cities got rid of all/most of their cats to their own doom, as quite quickly the rats and snakes and other vermin moved in. When that happened, these cities were begging to get the cats back, lol.
Jamie I hope you have managed to rehome some of the cats. I was on holiday and had to rescue some mothers with kitten and at some point I kept at home 14 cats. I have taken care of the kittens, advertised, called shelters and the vets. They have helped me to find homes for them, so for now I have 9 in total. But it is still a lot of work and too hard for me. All the cats are lovely and healthy now, I have vaccinated, microchipped them, so hoping to rehome some of them. But I wonder how many I can keep, These rescues are friendly and clean cats, but my own 2 cats have gone crazy, one is escaping from home and the other one started soiling the home, so this is very difficult for me. I would love to have 3-5 cats, but it will be very hard to make a decicion which ones. I have to keep those that get along with other cats, and not the ones that I love most. Anyway, I hope to find homes for as many as possible. I understand how you feel.
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.
Animal control?really there a very corrupt organization and do not help they make money taking cats and taking a person’s dignity but that’s jus my opinion I do understand if someone’s home is awful but they mess with even good people and sound people on top of the mess cats create meaning I’ve heard of people doing quite responsible taking care of there cats mess n so on breeders the whole kitten kobotal and can’t level with animal control I recommend another option then calling animal control on anyone !breeders lose there jobs n livelihood
I’m glad backyard breeders “loose their job and livelihoods”, backyard breeders that need to get a real job and stop creating an overpopulation of homeless animals! They being so lazy by relying on pets to make their income; majority of those fur babies are in horrid living conditions. So yes, I’m happy, and will continue to support animal control and animal welfare and report!
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!
“contain them” when you are away. Get large spacious carriers, knock out walls in them, and connect them, as we did. You can design each “condo” as you like, as you know each cat’s likes and dislikes. Add litter boxes, watering areas, and playing and sunning areas within those carriers, and place clean cardboard in there for scratching areas for them. We have small paving stones in some of ours, they really like the stones. We add racquet balls for them to play with. I’d suggest avoiding the small cat toys that they can actually get choked on, racquet balls are best.
You will come home to happy cats, as “all they want” is food, water, enough space to lay around, a bit of sun…you’re good to go. It’s not a good idea to let too many play all at once, this leads to fighting. We have two cats that can have run of the house and get along fine all the time. But the others do not, so we let one cat at a time have run of the house when the others are contained.
And as I mentioned in another comment, you can make a fully gated doorway by using a wooden frame and inserting pet gates with small square openings; we have two of them, and you can let a couple of cats go into a room that you don’t use much, and they are fine in there, because they can still “see” the family. This works well for us, BUT, if a person uses a fully gated, see through door, make sure you put down something like yoga mats, on the flooring of each side, because the cats will climb those gates…no problem…but if they fall, like on a hardwood floor, this “could lead to injury”. We had a pregnant cat, fall and die…so just make sure your hardwood floor is covered with thick mats, and you’re good to go with the gated doorway thing.
God Bless You and Good Luck. It’ll all work out. Just plan a little and put some work into it, you’ll be much happier and so will your cats. There is no law that says a cat has to have the run of the entire house “all the time”. Set some boundaries for them. Cats actually like carriers that have walls and tunnels and holes they can crawl into and out of. Yes, it’s important that they get plenty of exercise as well, but it’s also important that you, as people, have time to yourselves as well.
It’s all about balance, isn’t it. Take care.
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!
Animal control is a horrible recommendation. They only euthanize. Craigslist is just as bad if not worse. People look for kittens/cats/puppies, etc on Craigslist, as well as other places, to use for bait for dog fighting, snake food, many horrible things! How can you be an animal person, looking out for their best interest, and give such terrible advice. It’s also not just a piece of cake to find them homes. It’s extremely hard to find good homes for any animal, but especially cats. I run a rescue, I should know. I will never judge anyone for the number of cats, or animals period, that they have as long as they are well cared for. It’s a heck of a lot better than them being on the streets to starve, freeze to death, be tortured or be killed in any number of ways!!
I disagree – depending on where you live, our local urban animal control works with dozens of rescues to get these guys into homes. Best of luck and thank you for helping safe pets!
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.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, “temporaily containing them” by making “spacious” condos for them, will help you, and your animals. You’d be surprised how many large cat carriers will fit along one side of a wall, and you can have someone help you cut out interior walls and put as many together as you need to allow each cat to have their own individual home, with several rooms for each within those carriers. Our cats love their carrier homes, and we are content in knowing that when they are in there, that they are safe, fed, have their litter boxes, enough gated areas and windows to see out, play and scratching areas, etc. You’ll get good at designing better and better condo situations for your cats, when they need to be contained, and yes, let them out several times a day to have run of the place, but when “you” need time to yourself, it’s an excellent option. If you only have “one extra room” for your cats, you’ll be amazed at the possibilities if you build them indoor condos…spacious ones…and place them where they can get plenty of light in the afternoons. Ours will go into their condos even when all of the gates are open, as they love them.
And as I’ve mentioned in earlier posts as well, if you have a room that you can make “their room” for the ones that can get along well….just place a fully gated doorway there, so they can see out, when not allowing them to run completely all over the house. And remember, if you do this to put down thick mats if they climb the gated doorway. This is a must for their safety, but other than that, you will be very happy with your results. When we have company come over, we have our cats in their rooms or condos, perfectly and happily contained. Visitors can see them, but they aren’t all over them, you know. It’s a win/win.
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.
You’re doing an excellent job, and yes, multiple litter boxes, and plenty of food and watering locations is essential. And don’t worry. With properly spayed and neutered cats, their lifespans don’t go on forever. But you’ll be content in the knowledge that you gave them an excellent, safe and happy life. Good for you!
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!
You’re doing a good job, Wendy!
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
My husband and I have six cats, two Litter Robots, a big house, good jobs and no kids. We have cat shelves throughout our home and want to build a catio next year for them. Their ages range from 1 to 8 years old. They love each other and get along well, which we are pretty lucky about. We have said we were not going past six, but I can see us caving though. Trying not to though! I am also with a local kitten rescue. Two of our cats were adopted through the rescue.
My friend has two small chiweenies who come over often and all our cats get along with them. It has made me want a small dog, like a KC Cavalier because I have never had one. I have held back though, worrying that we are crossing a line. For us we look at our cats as our children. We don’t have any and never wanted any so we have more room, time and money to put towards our pets.
It sounds like you guys are providing an amazing home! 🙂 Thank you for all that you do for your kitties! Small dogs are great. I grew up with a small dog, and he had a lot of respect for cats! 🙂
It might be very beneficial for you or someone you trust, to do a blog about TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return). it’s a wonderful solution for people who can’t stand seeing homeless cats. It is the only effective way to control feral populations.
My husband and I trap all feral cats that come to us . we pay to have them neutered, vaccinated and release and provide food and shelter. Some run away. they have to “work it out” and develop the colony they want to have. The cats will keep the mouse and rat population down and will keep new cats from your yard. Eventually they die off but in the meantime they “take up space” in the food supply so that the population does not explode.
It’s hard work, It’s expensive and it can be painful and sad at times for sure. BUT, it’s a solution to hoarding. There are often shelters that will help you to get started. You can also do your own fundraisers.
The cats that can be or are already socialized (strays that have been abandoned) are the ones we try to find “forever homes for” but it is so hard..so, we have a lot of cats. They are very healthy, get vet care, litter boxes scrubbed weekly and cleared of waste all through the day. they always have fresh water and the best food we can afford. We play with them, brush them daily, de-worm, help with hairballs as needed and protect them from fleas and basically spoil them.
When we go on vacation, we have a house sitter and neighbors who work together to take care of them.
Anyway, please consider TNVR if you are in the situation where you will not allow a cat to be homeless but you can’t have more cats in your living quarters.
There are lots of way to provide warm and safe living quarters for them.
NEVER kill/euthanize stray/feral cats unless they are sick or dying. It does not help at all. Cats can have MANY litters every year and new cats will just take the place of the cats you “disposed of” NEVER feed cats unless you are going to neuter and take responsibility for their well being.
You also need to have already neutered and vaccinated cats BEFORE they go to a new home. make sure the new “owner” reimburses you for the costs you incurred…mainly because it helps you feel comfortable about homing the cat with them and it gives you money to continue your work.
You are AMAZING! Thank you for all that you and your husband do, and please feel free to post any of the fundraisers in the comments below!
Bless you!
Dr. Justine Lee
I will start off by saying I currently own 5 cats, but that is only after my oldest cat (20 years old) passed away. We only adopted him when we saw him in a very small cage in a store and could tell how sick he was in that environment and wanted to provide him with a more comfortable place for his final days, however long that would be…that was 11 years ago. I somehow nursed him to health, would take him on walks when he would wear his harness and leash, treats, snuggles, pets and brushing.
That being said, this could have easily been a hoarding situation depending on the amount of awareness of myself and the cats in addition to the type and size of environment I and the cats live in. As a mental health counselor, I do encourage animals for emotional support, but do not think pets in general are for everyone. I pride myself on taking care of the environment that the cats and I live and actively seek regular vet appointments for them. My opinion on hoarding any animal follow the guidelines of what the APA defines as an addition: engaging in the activity to the point that causes a problem in a minimum of 2 areas of your life, attempts to reduce or quit engaging in the activity have been unsuccessful.
Growing up, I had over 40 cats. They were all outside because I was not allowed to have indoor pets (except a parakeet). Mostly all of them got along well. Ocassionally the males would fight for territory, females,etc. The female cats would often break them up which I think was a bit funny. When you keep them indoors I believe you will have more arguments with fewer cats because they feel the stress of confinement. I believe mine got along so well because they were on a large acreage of land. So that is important to keep in mind. Even people that get along can get on each others nerves when confined together in small spaces.
We had too many. My mom was raised on a farm and they just didn’t spay/neuter. The cats did what came naturally and we ended up with 40. Then we got neighbors who had cat-killing dogs who must’ve been let out at nights and this culled the numbers down to one male who eventually left and was probably taken in by someone. It was sad. We lost them to disease too since we did not have the money to take 40 some cats to the vet. They didn’t even have their rabies vaccinations. It was by the grace of God that none of them got that or that I got rabies. My grandfather was always afraid of them because he had a relative who died from rabies obtained from a cat bite.
It’s easy to judge people but people get over their heads sometimes and some people don’t understand how quickly it can get out of hand. I have only two now. Indoor exclusive. I would love to have 1-2 more but that’s my limit because I want to be able to give them good health care and good nutrition. Some of it is selfish because I experienced so much grief as a child seeing many of the cats/kittens die and not being able to help them. I only want what I can care for and that’s what I would suggest if people ask my opinion. THink of resources, space, and the personality of the cats. Some cats want to be the only one while others do better with a companion.
You are amazing – thank you for being so kind to share your story. It is really hard to see what you did, and what you said is so true – they multiple SO QUICKLY, before you know it, it really gets out of hand number wise. Thanks for being an amazing cat mom to your two.
For those who do have financial limitations, a lot of low cost spay or rescues will help you spay and neuter them (look for a rescue that does something called TNR (Trap and Release).
Best,
Dr. Justine Lee
Hello! I live in a 3 room 2 bath single wide trailer on my grandparents farm. I let my two adult cats out for a little bit today since the weather was so beautiful. They always stay very close to the trailer, and have flea collars. I left the door open for them to come inside when they were ready and sat down. To my surprise, a little kitten just walked right up the steps and into the front door of my home! I of course want to keep this baby because it chose me! I have it isolated in the bathroom with warm blankets, food, and a litter box right now. I already love it, but I’m stressed I might not have enough space for all three cats! My kitties are like my children and are more spoiled than some human kids. My adult cats are 2 and 3 years old, and I cared for both of them since they were tiny. They have been pretty curious and uneasy since the little one has claimed us. Any advice? I don’t want to upset my older cats by adopting this one too, but I also love the new baby and I’m conflicted.
It sounds like you should be ok! Your place sounds spacious enough for 3 and as long as you quarantine initially and help them slowly adjust, they may accept the little one!
My mother moved back to ger home place. Several feral cats were there. 5 yes later she has anywhere from 8 to 10 cats in the house probably 30 outside. She actually had 1 Male neutered recently then he disappeared. we can no longer have family gatherings there. Nobody can stand to enter the house bc the smell gets on us. My son is having a baby and he will not even allow his wife to go to her house. My mother smells as well. We have tried to talk to her she shuts down emotionally and gets real sad. She knows it’s too many. Is embarrassed of the situation. She was just doing the humane thing by feeding them. Has anywhere from one to three litters in house at anytime. Its turned into a medical and psychological issue. I’ve been told ways of poisoning them but no real logical way. I am desperate bc our family has been unbanned by this and I’m becoming angry bc it seems the cats are more important than her first granchild. She has agreed to remove all but one cat if I can find a place that will come get them and not kill them. I just need help in any form please.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Cats can reproduce SO quickly, so it’s not unusual to see such a sudden number of litters around. The first way of helping her is by calling the Animal Humane Association or Animal Control – you won’t get her in trouble, but you’ll be able to get help to get those cats cared for. Finding a local trap and release (TNR) feline group is also VERY helpful as they can help trap and get them neutered or spayed! Best of luck and help sooner before it gets worse!
As mentioned before there is not a golden standard for the number of cats someone can have. Nor there is a standard human profile. I am 40 years old, yet I share my house with my spouse and our 21 (neutered) cats. Plus we feed and neuter stray cats too. All the cats we have indoors were in big need when we first took them. It was either that or death (too sick, or abandoned babies, etc). Finding homes isn’t easy obviously, nor a fact for every cat. We don’t have a big house really, just a small 1 bedroom apartment with a small balcony. But that doesn’t mean its dirty it that we have aggression problems. Of course, it is a huge responsibility to have to provide good food, affection, love, and vet services to so many cats, and yes many times we put aside our personal needs in order to help cats in need. But it is manageable if you want to. People who choose to dedicate their life (or a big part of it at least) to help others in need are not necessarily problematic, even though there are cases that are.
I need help,my parents have way too many cats.Most are outside but there are so many that my father has to hose his windshield off to drive his car.There is so much poop in the yard you cannot walk in the yard or even drive in the driveway without poop getting on your tires that stinks for days.they allow these cats to live under there house and they are pooping so much the smell is coming up through the floor.
I have counted as many as 50 cats but there must be more than that.
I think what bothers me most is they see no problem with all these animals peeing and pooping everywhere.there are at least 4 liters of brand new kittens right now.
I’m unsure of what to do,they love these cats,but they are unable to give medical care to this many.many have crusty eyes and sneezing.
Oh, I’m so so sorry to hear that – that sounds really horrible. Please know that you can make an anonymous call to the local humane society or police department as it’s the best way to get the animals help.
While I realize that the extreme cases where someone has many, many cats…relatively sane people can keep a good number of cats if they have the space, living facilities, etc, to give them a happy, healthy life. Of course, spaying and neutering to prevent further litters, is crucial. I’m surprised that some of these owners haven’t considered making large cat “condos” for them, at times when they can’t all have “run of the house”. We have a very spacious 9 ft by 7 foot, six carrier “condo” for one of our larger Bombay Cats, and for the other five, they have two carrier condos when it is necessary for them to be away from people. We “also” have two rooms that they can access fully that have fully gated, steel grated see through doors, so they can see the family but be away from the general population as well when necessary. And those rooms are cat proofed for their safety, with fun items they can play with and plenty of litter boxes and water, and access to windows. We have decided also, that as these die out, no more will be brought indoors, as our situation is manageable, but yes, for us, “six” is a bit much. Our outside feral colony numbers a solid eight when they all come to eat…but again, we are very lucky here, nature takes care of a lot of that population, and we also try to get a female every so often and get her spayed and put back out. I think key is doing what’s best for the animals, you know. And like anything else in life, you get out of it, what you put into it. My husband and I have worked hard to give our cats a clean, decent, pleasant environment to thrive in, and others can do the same if they really “care” about that animal/animals.
hi i have a feral cat named bob always hanging around my porch i would love to find a home for him but my parents say no because we already have four cats and he will pee everywhere I would love to take him to an animal shelter but we only have a pound in Amarillo and we don’t have a tnr program we only have a euthanizing program i cant change that im only 11 years old but I do want bob to have a home this is just one of the cats that has lived on our porch there used to be a white cat named snowball who had kittens named twinkie twinkle and flurf and before that there where kittens that lived in our backyard and than there was a cat named cricket i cant go two weeks without seeing a stray or abandoned cat and my parents cant go a month without nearly hitting a cat with the car there are way to many cats in Amarillo and i seem to be the only one noticing it three of our four cats where found in the wild we adopted twinkie and flurf and my parents found my other cat named kitty face at a car dealer ship as a kitten when i was three.
Thanks for trying to save this kitty! See if you can Google a local TNR (trap and release) rescue in your area! There are lots around! Just on Google, I found this one:
https://www.facebook.com/critterhavenrescuetnr/
I obviously cannot vouch for them as I don’t know them but worth contacting!
Best,
Dr. Justine Lee
hey doc! I live with a hoarder who has 9 cats. All rescue. There’s a bully present who terrorizes all the others. Cats are overfed, given catnip too frequently and excessive amounts of treats. House is dirty with urine and feces smell and fecal and urine through the house. My question is how do I convince her shes hurting herself health wise and hurting these cats when she really believes shes helping them?
Oh man. That is so tough – the best way is to advocate by talking to the veterinarian – I would also see if you could make sure you talk to an animal rescue or low cost spay neuter for help. Investing in a Litter Robot or automatic litter box will help too as it cleans frequently. I would consider a Feliway diffuser too and separating or adopting out the bully cat. Also, consider calling an animal humane society to report for help. Good luck. Best, Dr. Lee
I just adopted my fourth cat 🙂 I’ve been a three cat household for most of my life! At this point I’ve limited myself to only adopting hard to adopt cats with special needs (makes it easier to say no!), I adopted a 6 month old kitten with CH this summer. My new kitten desperately needed a playmate (my older cats like her but she can be too much) and the rescue we adopted her from had a 7 month old partially blind kitten who failed two adoptions because she’s “too playful”. So of course there was no choice but to get her.
Definitely closed to any future cats for the foreseeable future though!!! It’s hard because instinctively I want to save all the kitties.
We have 10 beautiful cats. We have plenty of room and they all get along very well. We have all of them neutered/spade. We never wanted thus many but each has a story but they were basically rescues. I will say there is a difference between hoarders and rescuers. If someone is unable to keep up with medical care and the cleanliness they are hoarders and need help but there are those of us that are able to care for these poor animals that were just left to die.
I have 13 cats, and we all do very well. I keep a close eye on my cats so i know if any of them are sick. In saying that, keeping too many cats does cost money. I’ve stopped at 13 cats and don’t plan to get any more. Xx
Hi. I have nine cats and feed one stray every day, and another two strays whenever they come. I also currently have two rescue kittend I found in a bad situation and am hoping to rehome. All of my own cats are rescues that I failed to rehome. My cats all get along except for the oldest who is kept seperately. I have a side of house run that links to two large enclosures and alm my cats are desexed, vaccinated etc. I love them to bits however I have to agree it’s not really the ideal situation to keep so many. There’s a point where your cats go from being an important part of your life to your whole life. The thing I struggle with the most is letting gp of rescues. Ive only rehomed one and I found it very traumatic. Im having the same feelings for the current two little ones. I have so many fears about who will adopt them when tjey get to the shelter, will they stay together because they’re so attached, will they go to the right people, will they commit to them forever and keep them safe and healthy? I get attached very quickly and it feels as though im surrendering my own pet. I love them as if they were my own. My son is angry that its happening again! How do you let go of something you love so much?
Thank you for taking care of them as best you can!
Thank you for your post, it was very informative and relatable. And I agree with you. I bought a house and moved in with my large dog, installed a dog for to a fenced yard. My adopted my dog and she was already a senior when we met and I didn’t know much ssbout her. Within our first year together I noticed that she had made friends with a stray cat. I never played to much attention to the cat because I have always been a dog person , but then she had kittens under my house and I started paying attention. My local animal and control helped me to trap and spay and neuter the cats. Unfortunately it took two litters until we c would trap the mother cat. All together there are 9 cats. 7 where fixed and I released them in my house. They learned to use the dog door and I only have one litter box in my house to r emergencies. The 7 th at cvome and go are semi feral and cannot be re-homed. I can touch them, and 3 can be picked up and enjoy to be close to me. As soon as someone visits my house, the run out of the dog door and so jot return unyyil I am the only one home. Unfortunately, when the mother cat and one male were fixed and returned to my house I was not home, and animal welfare released them in my front yard, and biith remained completely feral. But I built a cat house outside that is heated, and both do not steeay far from my house. It has been 7 years, and I have lost my dog due to age, but the 7 in-out cats are fine, healthy and well fed (lol). They all have their quirks, their goiid and not so great habits and I do not want to miss them. There are mine and I am responsible for them, and I don’t consider myself a horder, but rather a circumstantial cat owner. I also claim the 2 outside cats, and ever now and then I am trying to trap them, because I have not given up on them to come into my house. Some people that visit me don’t even know that I have cats, because they don’t see them. My bes t friend called them my imagine cat friends and makes me laugh. But I think that if I ever would have adopted a cat, 2 would be my limit. But I have 9 all together and life is good.
I need some good advice. I am disabled, have diabetes, end-stage renal failure, below the knee amputee, and high blood pressure. So obviously, I can’t keep up with all these cats.
We have 13 cats and it started from male and female siblings. The kittens are then, all in-bred. They seem fine and healthy, we feed them and take very good care of them, but our house is destroyed and has a strong odor of feces and urine. We can’t have any furniture, garbage is everywhere and I usually don’t let my family and friends come to my “house”.
I tried finding homes for them, but my girlfriend puts a stop to it everytime. She starts crying and argues everytime I try to bring it up. Making me out to be the bad guy. I am at my last straw with this. I just don’t want to throw away a 15 year relationship over this. Of
Oh man, I’m so so sorry. It sounds like the cats would really benefit from being in another household. Even though it’s hard with your girlfriend, I think it would be healthier for you and her to surrender them to a local feline rescue group. That way they can be spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and cared for appropriately. It’s ok to ask for help from your local animal rescue too.
Best,
Dr. Lee
Only 6 cats?! That’s just a starter kit!! Lol. I have 18 all neutered, happy, healthy, INDOOR cats, where they’re safe! My home is neat, clean and organized. And it rarely stinks. Especially with my extra sensitivity to smells. Their boxes get cleaned out every 3 days! Thats all I do, is clean and sweep trails of litter throughout my apartment 10 times a day. I’ve been told I’m not a hoarder, (cause I’m not) but a collector! 🙂
We only have so much time, 9-10 hrs work day, 8 hrs sleep, 3-4 hrs of sundry and you are left with about 3 hrs or less daily to spend time with your cat. You can’t possibily devote enough time to your fur buddies if you have too many of them. 2 to 3 cats is a gd number but above 5, you are either at home 24hrs daily, or you are not admitting that your cats are being neglected. This is not being judgment, this is pure math.
Wow! It’s official, I’m a cat hoarder…
I was doing great. Was done to 3 cats then 2 years ago my husband found a kitten on deaths door and brought her home. Then a week later I had to save a black kitten that was almost died cause she’d mustered the last of her energy crawling to the middle of the road after I passed her by; praying she’d run as I approached her. After a year thing calmed down and I was really happy with my 3 black cats, one white and calico then some horrible man dropped a ready to give birth calico in my mom’s yard… No way was I going to put that sweet mama in anymore stress so I allowed her to stay and she added 4 more babies… I have to have 5 cats on the screened in back porch cause they pee or poop anyway. I have 5 inside and my first and most beloved kitty India is getting pushed away from me cause the gray kitten is beyond needy; and my India always slept in my arms ever night but not in serval months.
I need help. I’m so stressed out that my depression is back and extremely bad. I can’t keep up with the boxes everyday like needed cause I have a bad back and work grave shift so my mind is so scattered and this is not helping me.
I beg for help or advice on this truly troubling issue.
And I have to sad admit that they are not getting the loving they so much deserve.
I’m so sorry to hear that. It is really important to keep the litter boxes cleaned every day because it can result in a lot of medical problems. If it’s severe, I would recommend investing in automatic litter box like Litter Robot. It’s expensive but then you don’t have to scoop anymore. It automatically scoop the litter box several minutes after your cat leaves the litter box.
https://www.litter-robot.com/?mbsy_source=7cd229fa-03e1-4ebc-9b6c-f8923cfda768&campaignid=30036&mbsy=spNBC&discount_value=Ambassador%231
You’re such a good person 🙂 I hope you’re able to get an automatic litter box! I wish I could buy it for you.
My comment was rejected (???) so I’ll try again….
The beginning of your cat story reminds me of mine. I once had a pair of day old kittens that I kept going with many many feedings and baths, they are now 5 years old and sleep on my pillow!
You sound like such a wonderful person to help all these cats, and when you’re feeling depressed you should remember that, and how you changed and saved their lives. I hope you’re able to get an automatic litter box, I know people that LOVED theirs, and it made things a lot easier for them.
I’m not sure what to do about my current situation. I live with my parents and brother and we have 30+ cats, with maybe half being neutered. We seem to neuter a couple cats but then another cat has kittens and the cycle repeats itself. Not sure what to do at this point, as this has been going on for a good portion of my life.
I don’t think my mom and dad have put in enough effort to try and fix the situation, despite me bringing it up somewhat regularly. With that said, all the cats are fed but there are some that are definitely anti-social. The house doesn’t smell horrendous but it doesn’t smell good either. Overall I wouldn’t say the quality of life isn’t terrible for the cats but it could definitely be better.
The house is probably cleaner than you think it would be for having over 30 cats, but it’s still a mess. I was always the kid growing up who went to the house of friends because I was too embarrassed to have them over to my house. I’ve wanted to mention this to my parents but I don’t think it would do any good at this point and just crush their spirits (my mom’s spirit at least).
I’ve brought up the idea of having some rescue come in and pick up 20+ of the cats but my mom is afraid of the spectacle it would create. I can understand this to a degree but I don’t know how else the problem is going to get fixed. I’m also unsure if the cats would actually have a better life at a rescue until they get rescued – if they get rescued. I don’t know how often non-kittens are adopted from rescues. I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving them up to only have them put down.
I’m afraid that this cat issue is going to last 10+ more years and the situation outlives my parents. I really don’t want to inherit this problem down the road.
Unfortunately, if all the cats aren’t neutered at the same time, there will continue to be siblings/littermates breeding. I would contact a rescue to see if they can help you get everyone neutered and spayed at the same time. I’m so sorry you have to be subjected to this, but hope that a rescue can help you.
I Have 6 cats that I need to find home for I can’t keep up with them who should I contact For this issue
I would contact your local rescue groups in your area!
So my mother law who is 75 yrs old has like 8 grown cats 7 bby cats roaming around here house she feels sorry for them so she feeds them when she can ..all of them came from next door they are mostly all girl cats but they dnt want them cuz like they have dogs ..I come hear to ask for any body help or someone who can direct me to some body who can help her.there all stray cats only ONE is hers however she be moving out pretty soon and they will be so many cats are gona be left with no food or water or any one to care for them is there any suggestions..need help plz ty kindly
We have 8 cats in our household but it wasn’t our intention. I owned 5 cats, my mother owned 3. I ended up having to move back in due to extraneous circumstances. Would definitely agree though that anything more than 5-6 cats is unmanageable. Even if you happen to have enough space for them all you’re not going to be able to give each of them the attention they need.
I don’t know what to do. My sister has 9 cats and 2 dogs in their 2 bedroom apartment. My brother in law is fighting cancer (they’ve had to remove an eye and part of his face from it). On top of his health, neither drive so I take them to appointments, etc, but they reek so badly from the animals, I have to scrub my car down and air it out each time they’re in it. I’d like to visit with them but I can’t stomach the smell in such a small place. I’m sure they know the smell is bad, but my sister has the opinion of “don’t come over then”. The animals come before anyone including their health.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. It sounds like they aren’t cleaning the litter boxes as often as they should be – for that number of cats, they need n+ 1 litter boxes, so 10 boxes that are scoped everyday, as the cats are likely defecating and urinating outside of the box. It’s worth calling an aninal rescue for help if needed.
I am from India. Sadly cats are left to die here as it is their fate. I have 20 rescued cats with me. I have been trying to get them adopted but with no luck. There are also psychos out their who adopt and kill them for our. Just by narrow luck I escaped 2 such psychos. I am emotionally financially drained. But it is sad to see them die in such horrific manner
I don’t think 6 is “the number” I think the number is how many you are able to look after. I am BLESSED with MANY, MANY cats, however we usually only see 5 or 6 at once. I live in the middle of nowhere and I have an open cat door policy, a never ending food dish (Water too) and NO LITTER BOXES after kittenhood. They all get fixed. If they get sick they go to the vet, (1500$ and 2 stays at the vet to save my brown princess)… worms? I treat’em, fleas, too. If they can’t be healed/cured, and are suffering ,they are euthanized, and THAT’S the ONLY reason. I have cats that have personality issues that would have been deemed unadoptable, but are eatin’ ,drinkin,’ and playin’ (and fixed), instead of being put down. And sleeping on our king sized bed ( I like a nice layer of cats on my bed) or in my daughters bed, or on the couch in front of the warm fire. NO STRAYS in this town- they are ALL mine :)!!!
And if it means keeping a cat from being euthanized for anything OTHER then serious health issues, I’ll take them too. I WILL save every cat that crosses my path that needs me, no matter what people call me. You call me a hoarder? They call me ‘mom’.
.According to the HARC (The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium – a group of mental health, social service, veterinary, and animal welfare experts), a hoarder is defined as someone who:
• Accumulates large numbers of animals• Fails to provide the minimum in terms of husbandry (nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care)• Fails to act on or remedy the deteriorating conditions of the animals or the environment, even if the animals are starving, ill, or dying• Fails to act on or remedy the negative effects that the hoarding is having on their own health and well-being, or that of other members of the household
There isn’t a number.
Why are all of my comments being rejected/deleted??
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Hello. My mother owns 8 cats, 7 birds, and 7 dogs.
I need help figuring out what the hell to do about this situation.
It’s getting out of hand. Her house is a 2 bedroom home, very small, big backyard but the inside house is not big.
This is getting ridiculous. I need advice or a way to get through to her that this situation is out of hand and not normal… not only does she have all these animals, her house is filled with online shopping boxes and trash.
Not only a pet hoarder but an actual hoarder.
Any advice?!? Thank you
Oh man, so sorry to hear that. First place I would start is with animal control, and then with a licensed social worker to help. AC would be the best place to start fo resources.
CommentAfter reading some of these comments, I feel so much better, and that I am not alone. We moved into our house 7 months ago with 3 cats and 2 dogs. Only my first cat was planned. I adopted her after falling in love with her while volunteering at a shelter 10 years ago. The other two were black feral kittens I took in from the street 4 years ago. We lived on a busy road at the time. It was also nearing Halloween, and I feared what would happen to them.
This arrangement was going just fine… And then we moved into our house, and within 2 weeks, a gorgeous and sweet cat kept visiting our door daily. We asked around the neighborhood, and took her to a vet. She didn’t belong to anyone. Then a tremendous snow came, and the temperature dropped to -8, so we gave her shelter.. She was also getting along well with our cats. We have a big place, so another cat wouldn’t hurt…
But before we were able to get her an appointment to be spayed, she started to show… Soon enough, she gave birth to 5 kittens. We couldn’t make a decision to get rid of any of them. Who would have to go? We couldn’t agree. They are each unique and different, and we have grown so attached to the little ones as we have raised them since birth. We didn’t feel right about handing them off to someone else, where we wouldn’t know what might happen.
I know people are judging us, whether they say it or not. I feel it. I don’t care though. I judge people for having more than 3 kids. It’s irresponsible. Quit overpopulating the planet. We didn’t ask for this situation. Someone else is responsible for the cat that wasn’t fixed that caused this in the first place. We love these cats, and are giving them a good life. We are building a cat wall in our living room for them to have entertainment and enrichment, and plan to build an outdoor enclosure so they can go outside safely. We keep our place clean and don’t have issues with litterbox use. We have also fixed or have appointments to fix all of them, and have spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on vet visits and vaccinations.
Having a lot of animals doesn’t automatically equate to being irresponsible, or living in squalor. Sometimes it’s because an animal was in need, and came to a person who had the means and resources to help and take care of them, and took on that responsibility rather than taking the chance that they would make it on their own, or that they wouldn’t end up in bad hands, used as a bait animal, or in a kill shelter.
The fun of being a once-single animal lover is that once you are no longer single, you often have found yourself with a partner who also has their own animals! My partner and I just moved in together with each of us having 2 cats and 1 dog, for a total of 4 cats and 2 dogs. Some days I feel like a crazy person with so many animals in our 1300sqft home! But here are the big recommendations I have from our early experiences: do slow “site swap” intros and through-the-door feeding intros (recommended by many cat behaviorists), provide lots of vertical pathways through the space for your kitties (cat trees, shelving up high but not dangerously high, multiple pathways), and make sure you have one more litterbox than you do cats (so 5 for us) and in low-conflict areas. And keep a scale on hand plus a rotation with urine-checking litter so you can do a weekly or monthly check of each cat’s weight and urine health! I have to give each of the four kitties love and play each day, as does my partner, plus each of the two dogs, or else none of them are fully at peace. I can’t imagine having more than 6 animals in a home!
Well said – love all the ideas! Thank you!!!
I think one of the most important things regarding behavioral issues is spay and neuter. That should solve quite a few behavioral problems. I think most hoarders don’t bother with this, and couldn’t afford if they wanted to. The only issues between my cats are that 2 of the girls hiss and growl if they get too close to each other, and then there is a young rambunctious male that likes to pounce on my 13 year old cat and she doesn’t like it, so she hisses. I try to keep those two in separate rooms when I’m not there to monitor them. My cats are all fixed. I think if someone had enough room in there home, they can have more cats. I dream someday of having a huge home with a big kitty gymnasium with lots of toys and room to run around for maybe 20 cats. I think the problem with hoarders is they just have too many cats in a small space, and that they are aren’t fixed. If people were clustered that close together, they would have behavioral issues, too.
This is so sad. Your article was beautifully written but the people in the comments are in such deep denial. “I have 11 cats.” “I have 10 cats.” “I can’t turn them away.” This is what every hoarder says. This is how every hoarder started. No one woke up with 100 cats. They started with 1 cat. Then they couldn’t stop, they had no choice, things just kept happening to them. 10 cats in one normal size house is a hair, dander, odor nightmare. If you read this article and didn’t see the light nothing I’m going to say is going to help so I wish everyone mental and emotional wellness.
When in this stinkin world will people STOP judging and comparing!!! Not everyone is same. I have a wonderful family of furbabies and they all get along, they are loved, fed, clean, have lots of water and I’m working on pet insurance. I have all these cats
because people dump their animals in boxes on sides of road or abuse their animals, leave them outside to freeze to death and Some people come along and provide well for these abused animals. I lost my job to Covid and one of my cats needed emergency surgery. They would not take payments and took my car. I’m horrified, devastated and my heart is shattered. I learned a hard lesson. Did not but will now get pet insurance. People put their animals down when they can’t afford to treat them. They have the legal right because it’s their pet. I was forced to sign over my pet because they would not accept $1000. Up front and payments of $500./ Month til it was paid. They would not give back my baby to get another opinion and I did it to save my baby and they wanted to send animal control to take my other cats…a place where they are taken very good care of. I take good care of them and my home smells nice. STOP JUDGING and realize some of us love our animals and would do anything for them, like we do for our family. Who knows the fate of my baby. They will adopt her out and she had a twin who is devasted . I just got back to work and I say if I had the money I would get a lawyer and get back my baby that they stole from me only for the sake of money. It’s wrong, so very Wrong and so are all of you who label everyone the same. Shame on you. God Bless all of you who love and care for your babies🐾🐱💕
I need help… I have 6 cats, a kitten,, and a chihuahua. Girl chihuahua,, 3 girl cats and 4 boys. They are all loved, fed wet food in the morning and the cats have dry food out. We are moving to a 3500 square foot house which is bigger than what we have now. At the moment we only have 2 litter boxes, due to our basement collapsing but when we move we are getting more (back up to 7). One of our girls has a peeing issue though and we don’t know how to fix it, my mom keeps threatening to get rid of her because of it. She pees all over beds, clothes, and basically anything even after the boxes are freshly cleaned. We know she pees because of stress, as the boys will chase her and nobody else. I’m not sure what to do, I don’t want to give her up and all the other animals get along most of the time except for with her. I feel like she would would be miserable if she got a new home, as her and her mother have a good relationship and it’s just her disagreeing with her brothers. Please help 🙁
I have a couple who lives in a 24 foot trailer on my property. They have over 30 cats. I know of 2 mama cats dying from giving birth too much. The mama cats were giving birth so frequently where they squeezed out their internals. They deaths were slow. The couple in the trailer even asked to borrow one of my guns to euthanize one of the mama cats. I refused. Aside from being irresponsible, is there a legal repercussion in what the couple is doing. Animal shelter has been out here before and neutered the cats they had at the time. I think they brough in more stray cats, which resulted in the pregnancies.
Hi, another animal lover here. I currently work in a shelter. We have staff working throughout the day and some days the place still stinks. Poop happens. We do our best, but, that’s the reality.
The number one reason people don’t spay or neuter their pets is the expense, which is going up every year.
Please don’t say that people “who can’t afford pets” should not have them. Animals need us as much as we need them. And that isn’t something that is dependent on how much money you can access. It’s about how much love there is in your heart. Cats don’t care about your socioeconomic standing in the world. What matters to them is the love and understanding and good care you can give them and what they can give back. They want a genuinely mutual relationship (but sometimes you have to work harder at it with some than with others, especially if they’ve grown up without much love). We’d have a lot less unhomed pets if spay and neuter were just free. It is in some communities (yay!) but in many others, nope!
As far as cat numbers go (which again, relates to the above) — it depends on common sense recognition of how much actual space is available and whether or not the owner can provide good care . Obviously, there are people who can acquire a cattery on their property, and who can supply every cat on it with a good diet and vet care; and others for whom one is the appropriate number for their space and access to funds for food and vet care. Nevertheless, when you care, sometimes you are willing to forgo some other personal expense to save one more feline who has a piece of your heart.
The underlying cause of too many unhomed cats is: spay and neuter should be free, nationally. The way money is allocated at times for sort-of absurd reasons tells me this could be easily done and would have broad support among true animal lovers, so it’s not about Congress not having access to the dough – especially when they own the bakery and make a fresh batch every day.
If our representatives (sorry, kinda choking on that word) prioritized animals, we’d all be able to have the most sensible number of pets in our houses.
My in laws, who live a 5 hour flight away, have at least a dozen cats living indoors and several colonies living outside as well. I suppose they take decent care of them but what kills me is that they have chosen the cats over their son (my husband) and their two young grandchildren, whom they haven’t seen since before the pandemic. They refuse to travel to see us because the cats would be too “anxious” if they left them with a caretaker. Us visiting them is difficult because we can’t stay with them due to the cats. They sound very similar to many of the comments in here, always reassuring us that this is what keeps them happy and young. Good for them I suppose but they have alienated actual human relations and there is added pressure on my parents to be the “only” grandparents as the others have opted out in favor of the cats.
I wish this topic was discussed more–when people’s animal hoarding tendencies closes them off from the outside world. I am a longtime pet owner and love my dog dearly but he is a dog and my children are humans. It’s hard not to regard their situation with resentment and sadness but seems like it’s at an impasse, they chose the cats and not their own relatives. How loving.
I love how you mention “until the other 9 write an opinionated blog post about it”.. People are too easily offended. And a blog post is just that- an opinion. While some are ridiculous and some just make total sense.
Yours makes a lot of great points. For someone who doesn’t really love and respect cats and treat them properly, 1 is probably too many. I’m reading posts like this because I currently have 3 cats and my sister needs to find a home for her two. I’m not worried about the money, feeding them, the litter trays. I just don’t want to disturb the peace. Either I got really lucky or the slow introduction we did with ours really paid off.
We had one base set up for the new cat, and fed them on opposite sides of the same door. Then we moved the door and had a baby gate with a sheet up, which we raised every time until eventually they were all eating on opposite sides of the one gate and apart form a couple of hisses they all get along amazingly. They all play together, they share litter trays happily and nobody has felt the need to scent mark anywhere or “go” outside of the litter tray.
They have 5 litter trays all in different areas with different litter for what they prefer, heaps and heaps of “scent soakers” which we moved between the cats areas before introducing them, they have tunnels and toys everywhere. They have a bed on every bed, side table, couch and surface in every room of the house, they have a place to sit in every window and spend the day following the sun as it moves over the house. They have little boxes all around that they can go in. They have a cat carrier one sleeps in, they have a box of toys we use to play with them and some toys strewn about that they can play with alone. They are all vaccinated, chipped, wormed and registered with the appropriate council permit for keeping of excess animals. They feed on a schedule to stop one cat from eating too much as she was getting a bit porky.
The cats are strictly indoor as per local laws cat curfew but they have a catio which is our front verandah with cat netting up all over it. Cat towers, pots of mint, herbs, cat safe flowers, cat grass, beds, boxes and hammocks all throughout. Decorated with fairy lights and complete with arm chair for a human to enjoy a morning cuppa. There’s a box out there with treats, catnip spray and leaves and a brush for some bonding time and healthy coat (and to stop them moulting so much in the house).. Scratching posts and pads everywhere. Water bowls and dispensers and I have a fountain on the wish list. They have a cat door going from this catio into my house and they have constant access.
I really want to take in my sisters cats and help her out. I think I could do it. I just wish I knew that they would all be happy. Since mine have accepted the new comer fine, and my sister used to foster cats which all hers were fine with, I think they would be ok.
My other sister jokes about having human things for my 4 children in the “cats house” but I love my house and anyone who loves cats loves it too. Anyone who doesn’t love cats can go visit someone else 😂