Six cats - am I going to regret this?

[RainbowLoom]

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?

Yep it would be the insurance that would be the killer... Our cats are £32 a month for two, so you're looking at about £100 a month. And they're not older cats...obviously the premiums will only go up...

yep my 4 cost me £80 a month in insurance and vet plans

that's before food and litter - and it does smell - can't be avoided

I have an old girl, a younger but wobbly (brain tumour) boy and got 2 kittens in October - they are CRAZY

I have 3 kids and they wake us all up every night running up and down stairs

Big cats aren't to bothered - give them a smack now and then but tend to ignore them

but Kittens are mental - my curtains are shredded and my walls gouged (one likes to try and climb walls) and the kids new bunk beds scratched to hell!

then there's the fur!

I had 6 cats - 2 pairs of siblings (2 different breeds), a younger sibling of one pair, and another. The first two got on brilliantly and I just went ahead adding to my cat family, thinking all would be well (big house, plenty of room etc).
Sadly, a year or two later, they were at war, and treating the house like a gigantic cat loo. It was beastly and stressful for us and them. Can I recommend you read some cat psychology books before you add to your family? I really wish I had done.

Ultimately I had to re-home one sibling pair to two different new homes (one of them was being horribly bullied by the other) and the 'odd one out' died of natural causes. I'm left with the three siblings, who occasionally fight, but usually get on pretty well.

I'd love to have more cats, but I will never, ever fall into the trap of thinking 'the more the merrier' again.

If you are prepared to neuter, vaccinate, flea, worm and insure all of them, plus do your reading on multi-cat households (you'll need one litter tray per cat at least!) then YANBU.

You also have to be prepared to re-home to a decent home that agree to the above things, should things go wrong, which is unfortunately quite likely!

It can work, but you need to be prepared that 6 cats is a LOT of work and expense if you are to keep them all happy and healthy.

I'm a vet nurse, and I can sadly say I've seen things go very, very wrong when people don't heed the above!!

You lightweight! I've got 22. It's fine. I do have to do a lot of cleaning admittedly, but my house doesn't smell and I haven't pissed off any neighbours. Six would be an absolute doddle!

We had five once and two dogs and a pony
Cats
Bert
Fig
Duff
Rover
Jazz
It didn't seem a lot. There were 5 teenagers in the house and a 90 year old living in the garage (converted to a granny flat). Oh yes and dh and me too.
Get the kittens :)

Yes, massively. Cats are tw*ts. I have 2 and I'm convinced they are trying to kill me. Lying on the stairs when carrying laundry, running under my feet, jumping on my lap when I have a brew!!

Can I come round to yours to play? Pleeease. I will bring ham and chicken and salmon for the cats. Pleeeease.

Six cats would seriously wreck relations with your neighbours. Cats around here never shit in their own gardens and my garden is a magnet for them. I see them in the morning looking in my window at me while they shit then make a halfhearted attempt to cover it up. They just don't care!

And with all those cats your house is definitely going to smell. You just won't notice it because you're there all the time.

And I'm worried on your behalf for the vet bills.