Are 3 cats too many?

Question

I had 1 cat, and this year I found 6 kittens with problems in the streets. I raised them and managed to rehome 4 of them. The 2 are still here, and I can't find a home, plus now i love them too much. I live in a not too large appartment with my husband. We often go away for work, and we used to take the cat with us, but he was one cat and he didn't mind travelling. Do you think 3 cats is too much? If you hear that someone has 3 cats in an apt. what do you thiink (that they are crazy cat people whose house will probably be covered in hairs and stink? or that it's cool? Be honest)

1. I am the apt. owner
2. Don't suggest to put ads or the humane society, I exhausted all these for teh first 4, and there is no humane society here (the other choice is to go in a garden, if they stay there and they are not thrown away by the other cats). At least one of them, the other we dhave decided to keep

Answer 1

We have 3, as well, it's good. Just get lots of scratching posts so they can climb- in cities one must build upwards instead of across the apartment.

You're sweet, that happened to one of my relatives- just couldn't give the little lost girl up, so she has 3 cats, too.

Oh, and I am not dirty, by the way- scoop and clean up, cats are not too hard to clean up after, anyway. I imagine children or dogs are much worse.

Answer 2

I don't think 3 cats are too many, but a lot of people would. Does it matter what other people think? If you don't want to part with them, and you think you can manage having all 3 of them, then go ahead and keep them.
The good thing about having 3, is that they won't be lonely when you go to work. They 'll always have each other for company. Cats are awesome. I used to have 2 , and they brought so much joy to my life. Having 2 is so much better than having one. You still have to do the work with one cat, you just add a little more effort for 2 or 3.
My brother and his wife have 3 cats and 2 dogs. Of course they have a house, but still that's a lot fo animals under one roof. They rescued almost all of them and then had no one to give them to, so they kept them. They 're all great independant animals, and they love their owners. They also have a baby now too, and no problems with that either.
I think you've made up your mind anyway. You're already attached to the little darlings. You just need a litlle reassurance. So here goes: Go ahead and keep them. I don't think you'll regret it!!

PS. Stray animals somehow turn out to be the best pets, and they love their owners more than anything. It's like somehow they know you rescued them...

Good luck :)

Answer 3

Hello dear!
Well, for some people even one is too many, while for others 10 is OK!
Now, let me ask: if you did not have any kittens/ cats, would your life be easier or worse? Why am I asking? Well, I travel a lot. Within a week I will be in Saudi Arabia and China, .. I left for some work to Crete for 5 hours and end up staying for 22 days. Definitely, if I had to take care of pets, I would be able to take such decisions, which satisfy me!
So, what do you sacrifice to raise these cats?
All the best, to you two, all people and all animals of the world (free and captured)!

Answer 4

You're suppose to have one box for each cat you have but we have 4 boxes for 6 cats. We clean them once a day. You might want to start doing that especially with the new one coming along soon. When you get the kitten, gently put it in the litter box every half hour or so for a few hours. That's so it can get used to where it is and what it's like. Help it scratch at the litter. I've fostered many kittens from birth. This always seems to work for me.

Answer 5

I have 2 cats of my own, and temporarily took care of a friend's cat for about a month while her family moved and got settled into their new home. I lived in a 10 ft. by 40 ft. trailer - not very big. I had lots of toys, boxes, scratching posts, etc. for the cats to play with, and they all seemed pretty happy (except that the friend's cat got a bit depressed, missing his family) with each other. So it doesn't sound crazy to me that 3 cats could be happy and healthy in a small appartment.

Unless there are laws in your area that say how many pets you are allowed to have, or there is a home owners' association where you live that has rules about it, what matters is, how many cats do you have enough money to buy food for and take to the vet, how many do you have enough energy to clean up after, groom, and give attention to. Small space or big space does not matter quite as much as some people think - because you can enrich the cats' environment with carefully chosen toys and scratching posts and furniture, if you are dedicated to making your cats' home a happy place for them.

Bless you for opening your home to the strays, and for working so hard to find homes for them. May you have many years of joy with the cats you have now.

Answer 6

OMG I hope three cats is not too much. I have 3. Our older cat is an indoor cat. She has been with us for 8 years now. And then two years ago, some wonderful person locked 2 four week old kittens in one of our sheds. Had I not heard the cries they would have died. BUT, I rescued them, hand fed them for 2 weeks. Well of course I became attached. They now live here, but they are indoor outdoor kitties. I don't believe that 3 cats are too many. If they all get along, and the boxes are kept clean, why would it be stinky? Actually, I really don't know why you would care who thinks what. They are your cats and you love them. So???
Keep the cats. You'll never get mice. lol

Answer 7

I guess it all depends from your own personal situation.For some people have 1 cat is too much,for others having 5/6 is nothing!You have to decide it,cause we can only answer from our point of view,what can be enough for me,could not be for you.Therefore,make some thoughts on whether you have enough space,enough money to feed them and enough time to keep the house in a good state,then make your decision.I also asked this question sometime ago,i have 2 kitties and i wanted another one,but eventhough most people suggested me that it wouldn´t be a big deal, i had still doubts...So i decided to make my 2 cats live in the best way possible,rather than having 3 that and perhaps having to offer them less...

Answer 8

No, if you can handle 5 at the same time.
There was this stray cat that came to us as a young one and soon she gave birth to 4 of which 2 were the survivors. Little rascals had the best education by their mother. Natural hunters.
Soon, the tom-cats of the neighborhood appeared and now we have something over 5 of them, and at times we get up to 7 so far, running around the house.
It is a secluded house, with far away neighbors and a lot of open ground around, on which the mother proved her natural instincts of hunting.
This year we had no snake visits. Two of them,vipers, she brought them to our doorstep to say " Look you took me in, I'm doing something for you"
They are the joy of the passing fish vendors because at least once a week they sell some extra sardines.

Answer 9

I have 6 cats and they are all indoor cats. All are fixed and declawed. I would say the size of our house equaled two appartments. As long as they get along with each other and there are enough litter boxes to go around, then I would say it is what you can handle. I hated the litter box odor though so we had a covered kennel put up along side of the window and made a cat walk across and a kitty door put into the window, so now I change the litter outdoors and they get some fresh air to boot, so it works fine with us.

Answer 10

Much depends on the temperaments of the individual cats themselves. Our local Humane Society recommends not having more than one female in a home--but they will admit they don't always take their own advice. I have three cats. The two females generally dislike each other and avoid each other, but sometimes hiss or chase. It may not be ideal, but it is tolerable and better than the alternative. Cats in shelters do not always find new homes, and they are well cared for here. You will experience cat hair--learn to accept it with humor or you will make yourself crazy. Enjoy your little family--but don't be quick to add to it, either.