How Many Pets is too Many Pets?
29 11 2006
I’ve been noticing alot lately about people who have a TON of pets. . . .perhaps I am more sensitive to it as I have recently added to my own moggie crew. I now have three cats.
I work with a lady who now has 3 dogs, 1 cat and a parrot. Is that too many? She can sustain her household adequetly, and wouldn’t deny any of them medical treatment.
What about ‘S’ from a previous (rant) entry? She now has 2 dogs and 2 cats, and barely enough money to support her household, and if you read the rant (here: http://joeymoggie.wordpress.com/2006/11/26/how-much-moola-would-you-spend-on-your-moggies/) you know that she has, and might deny vet services.
So the question is, how many pets is too many pets?
I personally believe that it is a case-by-case situation, obviously things like
- Kids
- Type of House
- Amount of Time Home
- Total Household Income
- Experience etc etc etc. . . . . should all be taken into consideration. . . . .
A local woman recently got busted for having 150 cats in her house. I believe that should be considered excessive.
Meanwhile, I technically have only two cats, but one of them (otto, whose picture I have for an avatar) has enough weight for two ordinary sized adult cats. We don’t feed him any more than his brother, but he’s nearly 1.5 times Sigmund’s weight.
When I’m trying to sleep and Otto is taking up room and his oppressive weight and body heat keep me up, I think it’s quite possible that I might have too many pets.
When people get an overly excessive amount of animals its actually atributed to some sort of mental or social disorder. I don’t know what the medical term is but the un-pc term is ‘hoarder’ . . . . .
I can’t imagine having that many pets. . . how do you get to know your pets? I know very specific things about each of my moggies, personality traits, ticks, how they like their food, where they like their ears scratched. . . .How would you possibly know that for each of those cats, let alone remember all their names (provided they even have names)
My Minou is heavier than my boys. . . she weights 12lb, Marty 9 and Manny is a MASSIVE 3lb. I have Minou on a diet right now, the vet says her optimum weight is 10lb. All three of my cats sleep between my legs at the end of the bed every night. . . .
with Otto and Sigmund, do you ‘free feed’ them? By simply giving them scheduled feedings you will notice a difference right away. My vet says that if I continue with the light/indoor formula with Minou, make sure she is getting alot of exercise (Manny is her personal trainer) and continued scheduled feedings Minou should be able to lose the 2lbs by summer.
I agree, definately a case by case situation.
We have 4 cats, 1 bloodhound, and an african grey. We have a large house, and we are financially stable. We are in our thirties, and have no desire for kids.
We are comfortable where we are with the number of pets we have, and have plenty of time & love to spend on them. We are also confident that if a medical issue were to occur, we could handle it financially without stress to our budget.
Our situation would be vastly different if we lived in an apartment, or had a lower income, or even if we had kids.
A huge pet peeve of mine (and it sounds like one of yours as well!) is when I see people acquiring pets who can not adequately care for them or pets that are not really appropriate to their living circumstances. What’s even more irritating to me, is the people who really can’t afford to get a pet, get one anyway, and then can’t afford to get it vaccinated, or neutered/spayed.
BTW, I like your blog! Gotcha bookmarked!
~TC
We both “free” feed and schedule feed. At all times there are several trays of dry cat food available for them to nibble on. Twice a day (at oh-dark-thirty in the morning and when we get home in the evening) they get wet food — 1/2 a can in the morning, the last 1/2 in the evening. Over the course of the last four or five years, their weight has been consistent: Otto at 15 to 16 pounds, Sigmund at 11 or 12. I don’t know the metric weights (I’m American, bear with me).
I used to feed EXACTLY how you do. . . . .
As mentioned, my Minou is overweight.
She is 12lb, and her optiumn weight is 10lb (she has a very small, broad frame)
A couple things we’ve found (using the internet, books and advice from vets, groomers and pet store owners) This has come about since we’ve been activly trying to help Minou slim down.
1. Free feeding means feeding the cat that doesn’t need it all the time. . . .
2. You should try to feed your cats in different areas so they learn know that they have their ‘own’ bowls, and not to eat out of each others.
3. Ingredients matter, the first 5 ingredients should be MEAT. Brewers rice is very starchy and filling and will put on weight quickly. You will have to feed alot of more of a brewers rice based food than a meat based food to get the same nutriants.
4. When the cats show you they are done eating, take the bowl away.
5. Leave extra bowls of water out (I have 5 bowls of water around the house)
6. No “grocery store” food is high quality. And just because you can buy it at a vet, doesn’t make it the best for your cat.
We have 3 cats and one large doofus dog. My parents think the house is overrun with animals. We think it’s just right.
sounds just right to me too!
thanks for stopping by
Right now, I have one kitty. She lives in my lap. (She doesn’t know that cats are independant. Shhh) I had two, but lost my 15 year old Maine Coon to renal failure in June.
The most pets I’ve had at one time were four cats, 2 guinea pigs and 2 hamsters. At that time, I was also a foster mom for kittens that lost their mommy. (I’ve hand fed kittens that were under 1 lb.)
I think ‘too many’ is when you don’t have enough time or income to properly provide for them all.
When I had my “zoo” (as my friends called it) they all had daily play time with me, lots of lap time, good food (not cheap kibble) and regular vet care.
One of my cats used to stand “really high” and let the hamsters roll under them in their hamster ball. lol. Then the cat would run in front of the ball and do it again.
I figure one thing kids and pets have in common is that if we can’t care for them properly, we shouldn’t have them. For some people, one is too many. I doubt I could handle more than 4, though. My cats are always very attached to me.
I totally agree that in some cases, 1 is too many.
Perhaps in my mind I was thinking of a scale or system of points. By which people are rated by income, time, environment, ethics. . . and you are given a rating. This rating will signify how many pets is you top cap.
I think this would be good for kids too.
I actually blogged a while back about thinking people should have licences to bear children. . . you can read it here:
http://joeymoggie.wordpress.com/2006/12/02/licence-to-live/
Thanks again for stopping by, visit again soon. . . . .
i think your cat is ssssssssssssoooooooooo cute i wish i had a cat like it and i think that if you have to many cats you cant possibly be looking after them properly
I wish that was my cat, unfortuntatly its just another stolen internet image. . . . . .
If you like pets, you should get them on the internet!
100 pets would seem a tad excessive… But if you owned that many, it might take a tad longer to get them all online.
(edited by website owner : The author of this post has a website you can visit by clicking their name)
the only Pet related forum this blog indorses is http://www.iheartpaws.com
Thank you.
I THIBK 2 CATS ARE TOO MANY! THEY ARE SO VIOLENT!!!AHHHH1
There’s a guy across the street. His name is Ruben… He has 34 cats, all of them in which he has named. He also has two dogs that live on his upstairs porch… And doves… And ferrets. A friend’s older brother claims he also has demons in his house… Lol.
Well, when the wind is blowing South, we can smell the mass amounts of kitty litter in his back yard and all the urine. The cats also roam freely thoughout the neighborhood.
I, personally, have one cat, Artemis aka Artie. I live with my grandmother, she has one very old cat, Wendy, and a dog just over a year old, Hebo. We also have two cats that live in our sunroom. They don’t come into the house, they just eat here and can come in that room whenever they want. I, personally, do not think we have too many pets (though I hate Hebo).
When I move out again, I will get a hedgehog most likely. Then, later on, I would like another cat. Oh, and I love goldfish, so I’ll probably get some (no, not in a bowl!). But I do not believe that goldfish count when it comes to counting your pets. I mean, I love them, but there is not the same amount of issues.
I hate people like Ruben that hoard all the animals. He’s so pathetic that when treating them all for worms, he had to snip off the tips of their tail after each shot to keep track…
i agree it is a waste of time to do it,i have 10 hamster,1 dog and 3 cat.
a waste of time to do what?
thanks for stopping by.
So actually I don’t know any of you , but stumbled across this site when i was reasearching having multiple cats. I am 21 years old and I live in a two bedroom apartement with my boyfriend . I grew up with animals , my father worked for the humane society and I always felt the need to help as many as I could .
I am not excessive and would never live uncomfortably , but I volunteer at our local shelter and they have given my name to a desperate shelter near by who have contacted me to adopt a really sweet siamese 6 month old female , they did this because i am so familiar with the breed, having had them my whole life.
So here is my dilemma , I already have three cats, they are all great , sweet and loving. We have 2 boys (tucker and bear) and one female (ellie) my boyfriend although not AS driven about adopting needing animals is really supportive and said he was okay with it and would be honest if when she came and it proved to be too much . I am torn
Would four cats in a two bedroom apartment be too much ? Financially we are definitely able to handle it, and time wise I give TONS of time to my cats because i do LOVE them so much , but am I CRAZY hahah, i need some outside opinions…
thanks
Lindsay
Actually I don’t know any of you , but stumbled across this site when i was reasearching having multiple cats. I am 21 years old and I live in a two bedroom apartement with my boyfriend . I grew up with animals , my father worked for the humane society and I always felt the need to help as many as I could .
I am not excessive and would never live uncomfortably , but I volunteer at our local shelter and they have given my name to a desperate shelter near by who have contacted me to adopt a really sweet siamese 6 month old female , they did this because i am so familiar with the breed, having had them my whole life.
So here is my dilemma , I already have three cats, they are all great , sweet and loving. We have 2 boys (tucker and bear) and one female (ellie) my boyfriend although not AS driven about adopting needing animals is really supportive and said he was okay with it and would be honest if when she came and it proved to be too much . I am torn
Would four cats in a two bedroom apartment be too much ? Financially we are definitely able to handle it, and time wise I give TONS of time to my cats because i do LOVE them so much , but am I CRAZY hahah, i need some outside opinions…
thanks
Lindsay
Ps: randomly posted twice .. sorry
When we lived in the apartment we had two cats. . . similar we had a two bed apartment.
If they receive the love and care they require then I personally have no issue. . . .
The only thing I’d be worried about is having another litter box. . . with 4 cats you should have 4-5 litter boxes. (I’ve read that it is suggested to have 3 litter boxes for every 2 cats, actually)
Small apartment+people close by+4 cats=stinky.
Something to also think of is that Siamese are easily homed because they are a desirable breed, perhaps you can find a good home for the Siamese before he gets bonded to you. You know how Siamese are once they get bonded.
Good luck!
No worries Lindsay. . . .
Thanks well i am not so sure about three litter boxes per two cats i think that that is a little extreme… but i do have two HUGE litter boxes adn obssesed with my house not smelling i would never let it get bad and if it did i would not kid myself hahah
thanks
I currently have three cats and three boxes, that I clean every day or every other day. . . .
sometimes I think I should get that one extra box. . . . . .
I have a room downstairs in my basement that is the “cat bathroom” - so it doesn’t effect much of the rest of the house (which is good)
I love kittens but i dont hav one.But my friend has a cat its soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute(which i like)
My kitties are so cute too! thanks for stopping by Claudia.
Hi there! Just found this website and thought I’d add my story to it..
I have 4 cats (2 of which aren’t mine personally, but I am fostering for relatives) and 2 dogs. I had another cat, but we lost him Thursday to kidney failure. He was 16 years old, but I rescued him 5 years ago from The Humane Society. We had him on Sub-Q fluids (weekly) for a little over a year. This actually prolonged his life by an entire year! I miss him dearly..
My husband and I live on 1/3 Acre ALL GARDEN. Our street is very quiet and we bought this house FOR our cats and dogs. We had 2 cats indoors for 8 years. I love them so much and thought they would enjoy life a bit more if they could be indoor/outdoor. So far, so good. All of my pets are well cared for. They are flea treated, up-to-date on vacs, eat high quality food, groomed, even get their teeth cleaned!
I haven’t any children, nor do we intend to. I am home all day due to Anxiety Disorders also. I am thinking of adding another small dog to my brew, but not sure yet.
I thought that maybe my need to “rescue” might be due to some mental disorder? Or am I just a lover of animals? Where do you draw the line?
Its all about the resources you have to care for the pets.
If you have the time, money, space and love - I don’t see the issue.
Its when people don’t have those things.
Its not fair to have pets that you can’t take care off.
I wish you guys luck!
Hi, My name is Sarah! I currently have 2 miniature schnazuers, 2 cats, and 14 fish!! haha. Also, I have 2 horses that are boarded about 10 miles from me!! My neighbor offered to give us their Doberman Pinscher! He’s 3, completely house broke, but also an outside dog. My husband and I have no children, although, i keep my 3 year old twin nieces everyday! Cain.. is utd on shots, and neutered. All my animals are! We went to get him today, and brought him to our house to see how he would react to the other animals. Well, he’s scared to death of the cats(lol.. he’s a big wimp) and he loved the other dogs! We live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath 800+ square foot rent house, but we have a nice size fenced in yard. Do you think this is an excessive amount of animals?? We are financially stable to take care of them each properly! Thanks, Sarah
I sometimes think that my 1500 square foot house is too small for my three cats. . .
But in the end, its about being able to care and manage your animals.
If you can do that, give them love, and never sacrifice when they are in need you are a better pet owner than alot of people!!
Good luck to you guys!
omg gosh those cats are so cute i have for cats and love everyone of them and i know how hard it is to take care of them
thanks for stopping by Jess. . .
first let me say i like ur web , and i have 1 cat “meme” i love him he is not only my cat but my friend too