How many cats is too many for a normal household?

[Rainyrunway]

Could have put this in the cats topic but wanted to get the views of less "catty" people.
We were devastated that our cat died over the weekend after getting hit by a car. And our other cat seems distressed, keeps raoming around the house yowling. I can only assume she's calling him. She also is much clingier than normal which probably means she's lonely I guess.
So we'd like to get a kitten at the end of the summer to keep her company and to fill the hole that our other cat has sadly left.
The problem is that while our resident cat would probably love the company, I think a kitten constantly jumping on her to play might be a bit annoying for her (she's 3 and a half) So we were thinking of maybe getting 2 so they could run around and jump on each other but resident cat will still have company while we're at work etc.
Is 3 weird? Will our house be gross? We could obviously just adopt an adult cat instead otherwise but I worry that resident cat will not accept an adult in the way she would a kitten (or 2!) Thoughts please. Thank you

true that young cats can be a wildlife risk, but my two ancient mogs got nothing more than a foolish mouse that tried out the kitchen for the last 15 years of their life each. RSPB sells cat collars that beep on launch.

2 if indoor cats, particularly if long-haired...

We had 5 (now 4, due to the road, unfortunately), but they are barn cats and only venture indoors as far as the farmhouse kitchen.

I have 2 and that is more than enough. Although mine aren't allowed outside per se (they have access to outside area but not free range roaming due to foxes / busy road) so we have litter trays that are kept in area of house away from main rooms etc.

We had a 2yo boy and then was asked if we'd re-home an unwanted kitten last year, also a boy. They are now almost 3 and almost 1 and get along so well. I am glad they have one another.

main advice is: DO NOT GET A WHITE CAT (both mine are white - unrelated / different ages etc) main problem we have is the fact we are all always covered in fucking white cat furr. My 10yo takes a lint brush to school with him!

Always found this useful:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/stop-cats-catching-and-killing-birds/

No more than 2, one is enough IMO. I've two and I seem to be constantly badgered for food.

As for the wildlife comments many cats don't catch birds. My hunter catches mice regularly and very rarely catches birds. He once caught a magpie but I really don't think one dead magpie is going to have a deleterious effect on the local wildlife.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqsQ8rWIOG6/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Comedy link for anyone who thinks cats are always kill wildlife

Disclaimer - that's not my cat...

8 was too many for us one memorable summer, but for a long time we had 6 and are now down to 3 after a couple of deaths of old dogs this year, and the house feels a bit empty now, but 3 is a good number, I think. Some cats, especially girls in my experience, are fantastic hunters, but many are surprisingly incompetent although they enjoy having a go at it.

We got a kitten to keep our grieving cat company and they love each other. He perked up straight away. We then added a 3rd older cat 9 months later and big cat tolerates him - kitten absolutely hates him.

They say one per lap.

But then, I live alone and have three.

They are all similar in age and get on reasonably well. I suspect I will be shelling out a fortune on chronic illness meds before too long as they are all similar in age and getting older.
In the past I've had up to five, but I would say two is the ideal.

I've usually adopted you g adults of 12 to 18 months- well out of kitten hood so no crazy behaviour- unless I have just been incredibly fortunate!

Ignore the comments about wildlife. What effects bird populations the most is loss of habitat. Cats tend to take sickly/weak birds that probably would have died soon anyway.

I think 4 cats would be my limit but I've only ever had one at a time. Maybe next time I would get a pair. Hopefully that'll be a long way off though (dcat is only 3).

Yes this!! A few comments about long haired cats on here. My long haired cat is no problem, just need to keep on top of the brushing.

But my white haired cat is a pain in the arse!! She is the worst shedder out if the 3 of them. Madam refuses to sleep on one of the cat beds so I have to use the roller on the sofa every morning. She’s very friendly and especially loves to rub her white fur all over the ankles of our black-trouser wearing guests!

I'm a crazy cat person and would fill the house with them if I could. But we have an older cat who lost his sibling last year, and just recently got a kitten. I think in hindsight we should have got 2 kittens.. (though I think I would have then lost a husband, as that would be a step too far for him!). The kitten does want to play with the older cat a lot, and is clearly annoying him, and I think if he'd had a playmate the same age he might do that less...
But we focus on giving the kitten lots of play, making sure the older cat has space and time alone/away from the kitten and its working ok.
And in reality, I think 2 kittens would have been exhausting - one is hard enough when he's constantly trying to sneak outside, climb the curtains, climb our legs with his sharp needle claws, trying to get on the table while we're eating, playing with all the cables everywhere... I also think potentially the older cat would have also found 2 cats doubly annoying and he'd be packing his bags and following my husband out the door....

So in short, I have no answer!

Cats used to shit on our lawn and not bother to bury it. I watched them do it.

Do cats get lonely?

Honestly I feel it just depends on the size of the house, how often you clean, and as long as you can afford to insure them and not feed them crap food.

I have two. We have over the last year trapped two strays - one had to go to the rescue to be homed as he fought with my cat, the other was chipped and went home.

It has made me definite we will get a 3rd - my daughter wants a pair of kittens but in my mind 4 is just too many.

If you asked me, then the answer would be that the one we already have is too many. However my partner would answer with "about 20" so I don't think I'm getting my wish any time soon.

She had 9 when I met her, 5 of whom were kittens. It was chaos.

We currently have three cats. Our two older ones are getting on a bit and we felt a need to add a littler one to the mix. In hindsight the kitten does try and play with the big ones and annoys one of the DCats a bit. We've wondered whether we should have had two rather than one, but were a bit worried that the grumpier existing DCat may have moved out if overrun with kittens!

As long as you keep everything clean I don't think you reach too many cats-ness until a bit later on..

Be wary of where you get a kitten from if you go down the kitten route. All those below saying go for a rescue are all well and good, but do your research. After getting our first two DCats (as kittens) from a rescue, we pursued a rescue for our new addition. Sadly they were fans of early neutering (at about 2/3 months), and our kitten died in our care after a botched procedure -just after the other DCats had gotten used to them. We sought out another kitten privately as we needed to fill the hole left fast (family mental health issue!), and the local rescue who doesn't do early neutering had no suitable cats.

Oh and on the cat poo on lawn comments - they definitely do! One of mine likes to leave theirs there when they've decided we've not mowed it to their satisfaction! I have no idea why as they're happy to bury it the rest of the time.. obviously an indication of dissatisfaction to their human slaves..

I have 2 cats; they are great company for each other (I do however find it a box expensive). BUT they have both just had a litter of kittens so currently I have 10 cats. 10 cats is too many!! 😂😂

If you've lost a cat to a car then I'm sorry but your home is not cat safe and bringing more cats to it is asking for trouble. Your remaining cat is looking for him now but she will grieve and move on. She doesn't need a kitten or kittens to make her feel better. We recently tried introducing a kitten to our older cat. It was a disaster and very distressing. Solo cats are happy cats.

And @Beachbreak2411 that's grossly irresponsible. I assume you won't be letting them out again until you've had them spayed.

We have 4 indoor cats (we have a cat proofed garden) and live in a 3 bed terrace, for us this is our limit and when the next one goes I think we will stick to 3 (although I thought that last time and the rescue lady saw an opportunity and contacted me!)

I have two and that's enough for me. If you have a large house and garden, then I would say that 3 is ok, but any more is too many imo!

One cat per bed space (i.e. single bed is one space, double bed is two spaces)

Same. I have a normal size house and a large garden. Two cats are enough.
I do often wonder what I'd do if one cat passed away. I would worry about the resident cat not getting on with the new cat or kitten. Cats are weird like that and it's not something you can plan for.