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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Six cats - am I going to regret this?

59 replies

RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 20:30

Am I missing some reason why having six cats would be a really silly idea?

We have the space, vets bills/food costs would be manageable. I have two cats already, but I have my eye on four kittens, and can't stop thinking about them.

Would I be the mad cat lady?

OP posts:
Original poster
RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 21:04

Love hearing about the big cat families out there!!!

OP posts:
candyflosssky · 08/02/2015 21:05

Rainbow, I have one older cat and two younger ones, a brother and sister, from the same litter.

The younger boy LOVES the older cat. He snuggles up to him, purrs loudly whenever he walks in the room and headbutts him loads! The older cat gets annoyed sometimes but it doesn't deter young boy cat!

Young girl cat is a feminist. Independent and into exploring. On Mumsnet, she would so be the girl climbing trees and playing with dinosaurs. My little boy cat would be in a Frozen dress Grin

Sparklingbrook · 08/02/2015 21:05

Mmmm.

What happens when you go on holiday?
6 lots of flea and worm treatments/boosters.
6 lots of poo in litter trays

I love cats but I would struggle with 6. But if you really think you can afford it and have the room......

OhMittens · 08/02/2015 21:05

I don't think there's anything wrong with six cats as such, as long as you have a reasonable sized house with a garden ie enough space (as opposed to a flat, or a tiny terrace on a main road for example) and that you can properly afford both time and money to care for them properly - booster jabs and all - and you will go through mountains of cat food, have you worked out the cost and where will you store that?

Cats can also get health problems through stress, like cystitis and skin conditions, can you afford £80 a pop average for a vet's consultation and treatment?

Won't you be filling the bins with a lot of extra bagged up litter? if you can't close your bin lid, in summer with the extra rubbish you will get flies and maggots very easily with litter bags and the flies are attracted to the smell not the raw rubbish and will happily lay their maggoty eggs on the outside of the bin bags. So do you live close to a tip if you need to take the extra rubbish there?

What will you do when you go on holiday, or away for a day? Do you use catteries at all, because those costs will shoot up too.

Can you really love six cats as much as you think??

I would get one more at a time personally, adding gradually means you are less likely to bite off more than you can chew.

Original poster
RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 21:06

candy - love that!!!!

OP posts:
LadyPenny · 08/02/2015 21:11

I used to have 6 cats.
Daisy
Henry
Thomas
Molly
James
Poppy
They all used to come and snuggle on the sofa with me each night. All had their own space and never deviated.

5 have died now, I only have Daisy and she will be 19 in March.

I would have more in an instant if I thought Daisy could cope with crazy kittens. We were turned down by our local animal shelter when we tried to adopt two older cats. We apparently have too many dc.

wonders about swopping the dc for cats

Do it.

Original poster
RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 21:13

I am going to go back to the breeder and say two. The biggest issue being the worry about creating any sort of stress for any of the cats - that I do not want to do, and my idea of not wanting to reject a cat by not taking it from the litter is perhaps rather selfish, and not what could be best for the cats.

So, I am going to commit to two from the litter. And watch this space as maybe in future there will be more.

Thanks all - I couldn't discuss it with DH as he just isn't that interested to talk about it. The kids would happily tell me to get 100 cats, so I know that I shouldn't listen to them.

Thank you - my first post in AIBU - not as frightening as I thought!

OP posts:
Original poster
RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 21:15

Oh LadyPenny - that's sad. What a great old lady you have though!!!

OP posts:
Caronaim · 08/02/2015 21:16

But what if they don't get on? We have two, and have recently taken in a stray. foster cat is waiting for the CPL to find her a permanent home. We love her dearly, but the smell, the destruction and the disruption is more than we could live with long term.

Original poster
RainbowLoom · 08/02/2015 21:18

And this is why I would make a terrible breeder, as I wouldn't actually find homes for any of the cats!

OP posts:
LokiBear · 08/02/2015 21:25

I recently got another cat. For the first time ever, I struggled to get on top of fleas. My first cat never seemed to have any and just had her monthly top up. Introducing the second one meant that suddenly I was having to do the whole house with sprays and powders on a monthly basis. Don't do it. 6 would be chaotic!

gamerchick · 08/02/2015 21:25

You're brave man. One is hard work for me.. whoever said they were easy were full of it.

But I'm not a cat person which helps when the husband says get another one so they'll have each other and not need us so much Hmm

Catsrus · 08/02/2015 21:28

I've had up to 6 and never less than 4 for the last 30yrs, always got them in pairs though. I would never go up to 6 again. If one of the existing cats gets stressed by the newcomer you are likely to get spraying and /or pee and poo in places like your bed Sad. My older two are sisters - both very sweet until the new kittens arrived and one of them just hates them and was a totally mean girl. 4 years later and she still hasn't mellowed, swipes them when she can! Her sister gets on ok with them - and has been seen to lick them on occasion - but it really can upset the whole household dynamic.

Hoppinggreen · 08/02/2015 21:32

I had 3 and then took in 1 more and going from 3 to 4 was too much to be honest - everywhere you looked there was a cat!!!
I went down to 1 ( natural deaths and no4 went to live with my mil) and then got 2 kittens so back up to 3. Now at 2 and we are stopping there.
Might get a dog next!!

Bluepants · 08/02/2015 21:38

It's the poo issue - either you have lots of litter trays and lots of poo in your house or your cats poo in neighbours gardens and they resent it.

badoomtish · 08/02/2015 21:49

Cats are territorial animals. Like humans, some individuals get along well and bond closely, and others will go to war. Some become so stressed with sharing their territory with others that they start peeing all over the house, or become aggressive.

As a vet, 90% of the lower urinary tract problems, over grooming and skin flare ups I deal with are down to stress, usually because of other cats, either in the home or invading the garden of the sufferer.

Please think long and hard about taking on other cats. You will need seven litter trays for a start!

www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/keeping-your-cat-happy/multi-cat-households-and-how-survive-them

borisgudanov · 08/02/2015 21:50

YABU to think you have any say in the matter. These are cats; they appear to have purchased you in a slave auction; you are theirs.

skittycat · 08/02/2015 21:55

I currently have 6. I'm not going to lie - it's not always a bed of roses (and it certainly doesn't always smell like one either) Feeding my lot costs approx £5-10 per week, with litter costs approx the same.

I'm in a three bed semi, and the cats also have access to the garage (with cat trees, climbers etc) plus large outdoor run. Not had any real issues with fighting/territory nor do any show any signs of stress/spraying etc. I quite often find four out of the 6 cuddled up together on the sofa or the bed, with the fifth occasionally joining them. Sixth one only joined us a couple of days ago so hasn't settled in properly yet.

I do agree that unleashing four kittens on two resident cats at once could be a bit much... But only you know the personalities of your resident cats.... One of mine would probably just love chasing after four new playthings but another would get seriously annoyed facing so many new things at once.

Regarding pecking order, kittens being youngest doesn't mean that they're low on the pecking order ... Out of mine, the second youngest (one year old) is the dominant cat. So kittens can totally come in a ruffle feathers and order of the pre existing group!

In my honest opinion tho, getting four at once could be too challenging.. Ensuring they all settle in to the home etc whilst ensuring resident cats are happy etc.... I think getting two as you've said will be the better choice all round.

Costacoffeeplease · 08/02/2015 21:58

We have 12 too, have had 14, so if I only had 6 it would feel like we didn't have any! I had 3 kittens at once and although they weren't related they cuddled each other and slept together. We have a few spats now and again, but they all learn to live with each other eventually Smile

whothehellknows · 08/02/2015 22:00

Yep to what PP said about litter trays. To avoid stress & accidents, you need 1 for each cat + 1. So if you get two kittens, you'll be servicing 5 litter trays each day. That's a lot.

You'll also need to take feeding locations into account, as mealtimes can be another source of stress. Often you get particularly dominant cats nicking all the food or intimidating weaker characters on their way to the food. It's tough for a group of cats to live in close quarters.

OhMittens · 08/02/2015 22:03

Yes badtoom one of my cats gets a urinary tract infection every time she is stressed, it is distressing for her and expensive for us. She is also a nervous creature who is prone to other health problems and has trouble keeping her bottom end clean. She poos and wees in annoying places (fortunately not in the house unless she is unwell), but places like right outside the back door, or in the middle of the garden so we can't let the children play in the garden without picking up cat poo first. We love her but she's not been a particularly easy cat.

Imagine that x 6, OP :)

Sparklingbrook · 08/02/2015 22:06

Insurance x6 would be a fortune.

Sparkling Cat has an annual dental not covered by the insurance that costs £150 a time.

I can't imagine what so many cats would be like.

hiddenhome · 08/02/2015 22:15

Another four kittens will cause stress to your existing cats. I've taken on one kitten and one of my existing cats is showing some signs of stress. Cats need their space and generally only tolerate other cats.

cozietoesie · 08/02/2015 22:20

Amateur. Smile

thecatneuterer on the Litter Tray had 22 cats the last time she gave us a figure - although, to be fair, she volunteers for a rescue so tends to end up with some that no-one else will have.

dejarderoncar · 08/02/2015 22:28

I have four cats and acres of car free outdoor space. They have lived with me since kittenhood, and are all from the same litter, i,e, brothers and sisters. All are spayed/neutered. As kittens they all curled up lovingingly together to sleep, played happily etc. Now they are adults one has virtually moved out, and pops back about once every ten days, has a feed, purrs at me a lot, says hello to the dog who she adores, spits at the other cats and then buggers off again. She is fit and healthy and I take her to vet when needed etc. I think she has chosen this life because she finds it too stressful living with the other cats as an adult even though they are all family.

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