How many indoor cats do you have

2cats4me

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We have 2 Cats  ( strictly indoor )  as well as 3 Dogs ...
 
 
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caltritwiamb4

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 Hi blueeyedgirl,  Are your cats outdoors but come in occasionally or stay outdoors? How many outdoor cats do you have? My post is not meant to judge indoor verses outdoor cats. Im just curious how many cat people have. I guess  to help reassure me that my recent adopted cat who will be joining my family of 3 cats and 1 small dog this Friday is doable.
 
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Draco

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2 beautiful indoor cats. 

I'd like to know the secret to keeping the count down too! I have an itch to get a 3rd.
 

Winchester

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Six. One male and his harem of 5 ladies. They are all indoor. Mollipop goes outside in my arms only during the summer. Muffin and I go outside and sit in the swing at night during the summer. Other than that, they don't go out. I don't believe in letting my cats outside.
 
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caltritwiamb4

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We have 2 Cats  ( strictly indoor )  as well as 3 Dogs ...
 
Hi 2Cats4me, You have a houseful as well. Is it manageable for you or does it become overwhelming? I  have 3 cats and one small dog. Fri I will be adding another cat to our family. Cat ownership is new for me I began adopting my rescue cats in 7/13. 20 years a go I had 2 cats but sadly I was allergic ending up in the hosp. 2 time with allergy induced asthma. Now 20 years later my cat allergies are gone! I always wanted to have cats again. I have had dogs since I was 2. As an adult on my own I always have had 2 dogs and couple times 3 dogs. 
 
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caltritwiamb4

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Six. One male and his harem of 5 ladies. They are all indoor. Mollipop goes outside in my arms only during the summer. Muffin and I go outside and sit in the swing at night during the summer. Other than that, they don't go out. I don't believe in letting my cats outside.
Hi Winchester, Just the response I was looking for. Do you find having 6 cats overwhelming financially and or caring for their daily needs overwhelming? Are you reluctant to tell non cat people how many cats you have? 
 

2cats4me

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Hi 2Cats4me, You have a houseful as well. Is it manageable for you or does it become overwhelming? I  have 3 cats and one small dog. Fri I will be adding another cat to our family. Cat ownership is new for me I began adopting my rescue cats in 7/13. 20 years a go I had 2 cats but sadly I was allergic ending up in the hosp. 2 time with allergy induced asthma. Now 20 years later my cat allergies are gone! I always wanted to have cats again. I have had dogs since I was 2. As an adult on my own I always have had 2 dogs and couple times 3 dogs. 
@CalTriTwiAmb4   ,  Yes we have a houseful . It is not overwhelming for us  . It can get hectic at times though . We have a fenced in yard for the dogs so we can just let them out to run around .. My husband and I  both have  always had cats and dogs ..  I guess it also helps that I am a housewife so there is always someone home with the animals .. 
 

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2, totally indoor.  Both used to be outdoors at times; Casper was indoor/outdoor with his prior owner (out in a fairly county setting) and Cocoa, was a rescue from the street but we really don't know how long she was outdoors.

Oh and put me on the list for itching for a 3rd cat also.  Just isn't going to happen anytime soon.
 

sivyaleah

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2 beautiful indoor cats. 

I'd like to know the secret to keeping the count down too! I have an itch to get a 3rd.
Itching too.  For us we just keep remembering that currently we're able to provide extremely good care for the two but most likely, not for three.  Also, not having time to do proper introductions is an issue as we're both out of the house now for nearly 12 hours a day at times (sometimes, he gets home earlier but, not by much).  

EDIT: Not having room for one more litter box is another but lower on the list!
 
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Winchester

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Hi Winchester, Just the response I was looking for. Do you find having 6 cats overwhelming financially and or caring for their daily needs overwhelming? Are you reluctant to tell non cat people how many cats you have? 
We feel OK (financially and emotionally) with six cats. We've had six (not the same six, but close to it) for well over 20 years and we're pretty much used to that number. We manage the vet bills OK and their kitty supplies OK as well. We've had some cats with high vet bills and, so far, we do OK with them. 

A couple years ago, we went up to seven cats and then eight. For me, that was overwhelming. It wasn't a good situation and I felt that it was out of control with eight cats in the house. Last year, we lost both of our Old Ladies, Whisper in the spring and then Bootser between Christmas and New Year. Although we still miss those girls terribly, they were both old (Whisper was 20 and Bootser made it to 21) and we knew they had had a good life with us. 

That took us back down to six again. Six really is a good number for us. That doesn't mean that when we lose cats, we'll get other ones, although if there's a kitty outside who wants to come in, well, we're not going to tell him or her no. (That's how we got Tabby, in fact. She was a wee kitten without a home who showed up at a neighbor and so we took her in.) BooBoo and his sister, Ms. Pepe, will be 19 years old this coming February; they're actually two of Whisper's litter kids. We know their time with us is limited at this point and we try to spoil them a little more than the others.Those two were actually born in a clothesbasket in our bedroom; they've known only our house....it's all they know. 

BooBoo now has a lot of allergy problems and he gets two shots every 3-4 months to keep his breathing clear. He is now deaf, but he and I manage well together. He also has a bit of arthritis and is on Dasaquin for that. Pepe is still fine, playing with the laser light and Da Bird and she has a great appetite; if anything she could probably stand to lose a pound. I'm not going to worry; she's almost 19 years old and if she wants to eat, I'm not going to stop her. They both still have great appetites.

The other kids have vet visits every six months, but Boo and Pepe are elderly, so they see the vet every 3-4 months; usually when Boo goes for his shots, Pepe goes with him for a general check-up. It adds up after a while. The clan goes through 28 cans of cat food a week; we feed Friskies Buffet, mostly pate, but some bits, too, largely for Tabby, Boo, and Pepe. We have three kinds of dry kibble on hand because they all eat something a little different. We give them Sip at night, plus some hairball treats before bedtime. We don't scrimp on them; we made a commitment when they were little that they're here and they're our responsibility. We take it seriously. They really are our kids.

The only one (of the present six) who came here as an adult was Muffin. Many of you know that she was my mother's cat and, when Mom had to go into a nursing home, Muffin became ours. She was two years old, I think. The original plan was to keep her with us until I could find a good home for her. And I did. Ours. 


Am I reluctant to tell people we have six cats? Not at all. Frankly, I don't care what anybody else thinks....what we think is more important. We didn't plan on six, but well, things happen. They are a handful sometimes and there are times when I get very exasperated with the bunch of them. But overall we manage with them and I think we do well with them. 

I don't know if that's what you wanted to hear, but that's pretty much the way it is with us.
 

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Hi LaRussa, What is your secret to keeping it at just 1 cat? 
 
One cat is all I can afford right now.  She gets everything she needs and wants, I don't know if I could do that with another kitty.  I also had a bad experience with more than one cat in the past a couple of times.  I will just stay with one happy kitty and I'm happy too.  No secret here, just facts
 

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We just brought our 10th inside and we are in the process of introducing her to our clowder. We have six feral cats outside. We just moved, and we relocated the cats in the (TNRd) feral colony that were dependent on us. They are crated and protected from the weather. It has been about six weeks, and we will soon be releasing them, now that meal time and the routine has been well-established.

We began caring for ferals 12 years ago. But so often TNRing winds up meaning rescue: we socialized (fostered) and adopted out the kittens, and we kept those with medical or special needs. Our career (husband and I) enables us to work primarily from home, so caring for cats is just a commitment we made and a major part of life.

We cannot always afford all of their needs as they age, but we manage, because the vet lets us run up a tab which we pay down when and as we can. If we did not have this option, we would not have as many cats as we do. I never need to deny my cats care because I do not have the money for it, and that matters. :rub:

But yes, our lives revolve around the cats for the most part. We're comfortable with that and derive much enjoyment from it (most of the time. ;) ).

I do not find caring for them a burden or overwhelming. In fact, now that my husband is medically handicapped, and our lives are very home-bound, I am very grateful for the cats. I love playing with them, giving them the attention they need, and feeding them. I feed the inside cats homemade raw food, and hopefully they are reaping the benefits that will in the future result in reduced vet bills. Sadly, I discovered the proper way to feed a cat rather late in some of our kitties' lives, and I have one cat that had large cell lymphoma that is in remission, and one with small cell that is in treatment. But we also give the feral cats in the colony care as needed. The main difference is that the ferals do not get annual vet visits, and only one has had a dental, though we will probably take two of them for a dental within the next few months.
 

GemsGem

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I have 11 ( yes eleven ! ) indoor only cats. ;)

Big cats too :lol3: 8 Maine Coon's, 2 domestics and 1 Sphynx

They do have a large outdoor enclosed catio, which they have 24 hour access to via cat flaps.
 

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One indoor kitty with access to a secured balcony. He doesn't like other cats, leading to his losing his first home and causing trouble at the shelter he was surrendered to, so he'll remain a "singleton".
 

betsygee

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We have three indoor/outdoor cats, and then took in four indoor only cats.  They have a catio so they can still go outside.  Two of those four have sadly passed away this year (they were older and ill when we took them in) so now it's three indoor/outdoor, and two indoor only.
 
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