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Original poster

How many cats is too many?

28 replies

Kayleighann · 03/10/2015 15:25

Hi, we have 2 cats a male 6 and female 4. Both moggys both neutered. Both indoor cats. I have seen some persian kittens and am thinking of buying one.
Is 3 to many cats?
Will my 2 be ok I don't want anyone to start marking there territory!
My current 2 cats are not friends, they tolerate each other they don't fight but they sleep separate never get to close to each other but do eat nxt to each other.
Will bringing in another disturb the peace?
If I do is it better to get male or female or wud it not matter ?
Xx

OP posts:
LemonPied · 03/10/2015 15:27

There's no such thing as too many cats.
But adding another cat to an already not best friends cat dynamic might upset the balance.
We've used felliway with decent results in the past.
Why are they indoor cats?

MyBlackCat · 03/10/2015 15:33

I think the formula to follow is your current number of cats + 2

Therefore you can always get one more Wink

bigbadbarry · 03/10/2015 15:36

I got a third cat this year (adopted it for a friend who had to rehome him) and I have to say it's not been great. The original two were good friends; one gets in with the new cat and the other completely hates him. It is definitely improving gradually with time but with hindsight I probably wouldn't do that again.

eddiemairswife · 03/10/2015 15:36

I ended up with 5 at one time. Not by choice..... they sort of arrived in dribs and drabs via student son, FIL's neighbour, rescue centre....At present I have two - 1 from Cats' Protection, the other has decided here is better than his other home. All have been outdoor cats.

Original poster
Kayleighann · 03/10/2015 17:52

They are indoor cats as we live near a main road. My first cat got run over and broke his leg and tail and vet said we should keep him as a indoor cat.
He is a grumpy cat and has been since a kitten. He wasn't socialised so just hid all the time wen he was little. He's loads better now but not a cuddly cat. My other cat is very cuddly and dog like, follows us everywhere. She tries to snuggle in with the other cat but she gets a paw round the head if she gets to close.
I think she would like a friend who wants to cuddle her lol altho no guarantees they would get on, but Persians are said to be very accepting of other cats so hopefully they would xx

OP posts:
Madbengalmum · 03/10/2015 17:55

Believe me three cats is soooo much more work than two, inconcievably so.
Stay as you are, i did it and they all fell out and it has not been until i lost one through old age that things have settled down.

Mamamoose1 · 11/11/2015 13:13

I've had four before, all cats got on great. Two were street cats from Romania. I rehomed the senior cat with my sister, the other cat i adopted, had epilepsy, I wouldn't have been able to rehome him, due to his condition, sadly he died after spending nearly a year with us, just after getting his epilepsy under control, which was extremely sad, so now we are left with our two cats. I think because I've fostered cats in the past, had cats in and out of our house, they've adapted to accept other cats.

whatsinthename · 11/11/2015 13:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

juneybean · 11/11/2015 13:22

Persians are daft as a brush but are high maintenance in terms of grooming and insurance.

stopfaffing · 11/11/2015 13:26

I have two brothers. They get on in antagonistic harmony, from sleeping together to stalking and pouncing on each other. I would not upset the balance by getting another cat, although I would love to.

Costacoffeeplease · 11/11/2015 14:13

I have 15 - 'nuff said

whatsinthename · 11/11/2015 16:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Costacoffeeplease · 11/11/2015 18:21

I'm not in the U.K. so probably won't have the same food here, sorry

lizziejayne66 · 22/11/2016 20:41

i also have 15 cats

Mumofazoo · 22/11/2016 20:42

I have 3 and there hasn't been any problems.

Toddlerteaplease · 27/11/2016 12:39

I've got two Persians. I have fostered a few times and there has been no problems with my two and the others. One of the foster cats wouldbtvstay in the spare room. I was expecting trouble but there was no problem. The rescue I got my girls from has two exotics I desperately want to have but I think my house is too small for 4 cats.

Badcat666 · 27/11/2016 12:45

God, I've had as many as 9.

Always had a drip feed of unwanted kitties and basically everyone got on o.k after the initial week of sulking around. We always introduced them slowly and made sure the newbie had a safe place (normally one of the bedrooms) for the 1st couple of weeks. Nothing like a pile of cats all asleep on each other or trying to go for a walk with about 5 cats following you! Grin

graveyardkate · 27/11/2016 12:54

My aunt had 19 at one point; all indoor cats and all rehomes. That was too many; even she knew it!
I would think very carefully about introducing a new pet into an already existing household. I don't think it's fair on the cats, especially as they can't go outside and get away from it all if they don't like it. Maybe different if you found yourself having to give a home to a cat that would be on the street otherwise, but to add a new kitten to what you admit is already not the happiest of feline homes I think is just selfish. It might work out, but there is no guarantee and you might find yourself dealing with all sorts of nasties including inappropriate tilleing which believe me is no fun at all. Sorry, you did ask :-(

graveyardkate · 27/11/2016 12:55

toileting^^

Hoppinggreen · 03/12/2016 21:32

For us it was 4
I had 2 and then took in a stray. Then another stray decided to adopt us and I didn't think it would make much difference but suddenly it felt like there were cats everywhere!!!
Now we have a dog as well I think I won't go above 2 cats again.

CatBallou2 · 03/01/2017 00:54

I have 3 cats, all rescues. The most recent rescue is an alpha female and I have to keep her separate from my other 2, as she attacks them. I would love for the 3 of them to be friends, but I can't get them to that point. Generally, cats don't seek the company of other cats, I think you're just lucky if your cats happen to like each other and become friends.

UnbornMortificado · 03/01/2017 01:14

Costa I was just coming on to say a poster had 15 Grin

I think thecatneuterer might have more.

VimFuego101 · 03/01/2017 01:24

3 was fine but 4 tipped me over the edge. The 4th (a boy) upset the dynamic and bullies the others, and now none of them really get on with each other or want to sit on laps.

TrustySnail · 03/01/2017 01:24

It all depends on the cats and your circumstances. Three is not at all an unusual number, though.

If they're indoor cats, the usual litter tray allowance is 1 per cat plus 1, so that might be a be a consideration if space is an issue - have you room for 4 trays?

KittyConCarne · 03/01/2017 02:21

We have 4 moggies- MumCat 11, DadCat 11, 2x CatKids 10.
Although I love them dearly, I think 4 is a lot of hard work- grooming the 2 mid-hairs, daily cleaning the night-time litter tray (outdoor cats but kept in overnight), the fluff in the rugs, the tumbleweeds on the wood flooring. The vet bills for normal boosters, let alone emergencies have been eye-watering, and although we only holiday/ stay elsewhere for 1 week per year, it is a lot to ask of a family member to feed/ keep an eye on 4 ninja escape artists (kept in while we're on holiday as they would merely laugh in the face of anyone else calling them in for the night).

However, we are lucky in that ours mainly get along (MumCat was not impressed for about 6months when she realised CatKids were not flying the nest), and a purring mass of bodies snuggled together (where you can't tell who's head or body belongs to who) is a cute sight, and there's always a cat ready for a cuddle when us or a DC is in need of a de-stress.

It sounds as though 1 of your cats would appreciate a closer companion, although obviously it is a risk they might not get along. Your more grumpy cat might also surprise you by tolerating a kitten, but again possibly not. I think I would be more wary of upsetting the peace if your 2 cats were quite close, but as you appear to have quite a split dynamic anyway I don't think it could upset the balance too much, and early neutering should hopefully prevent or at least deter too much territory marking.

Friends who have introduced a kitten to older cats in the household have remarked that it seems to have given their older cats a new lease of life with the younger cat encouraging them to play more?

Felliway has always worked for us in potentially stressful times (building work/ new babies/ holidays), and ensuring your original 2 cats have some safe places to retire to if they tire of the kitten's antics would be a good idea.
Possibly using a cat carrier to introduce the kitten for the first few weeks- allowing kitten run of a shut off room for the day, then swapping rooms so original cats can smell new scent, then having all cats in open area but with kitten in carrier for short time- slowly, slowly for introducing should be the best way to go. I'd also try to feed the kitten in a separate area for first few weeks, so as not to have original cats annoyed at kitten stealing their food (or sitting in their bowls Grin).