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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

19 cats. Anyone else got this many?

182 replies

Justanamechange · 12/03/2018 03:30

I'm just seeing if anyone else has a large number of pet cats? We have 19, plus 3 dogs, a bearded dragon, about 50 hens, a couple of peacocks and some ducks. I thought a tips and idea sharing for multi pet households thread might be nice!

My tips - all hardwood floors. Robot hoovers and mops on each floor of the house to keep the house clean easily.

Buy flushable cat litter, it's a godsend!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
27
LizzieLestrange · 12/03/2018 09:35

justanamechange I think it sounds wonderful to have so many animals. We only have a fish and a rabbit. I always dreamed of living in a farmhouse with lots of animals Smile

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 12/03/2018 09:38

That's a fab set up thecatneuterer! I suppose how to make layout, furnishing, decor etc suitable comes with experience.

Please don't delete the thread justa your house sounds great.

You're all making me miss having cats. We always had two then out of nowhere dc4 was born & by 13 months it became apparent was quite badly allergic to them, hospital admissions were becoming more regular. He was on the highest dose of antihistamine & his inhaler by the end Sad. My local rescue centre were brilliant in helping us find a home for my two girls though, they stayed with us while it was happening so they only had 1 upheaval, & over a year on I still get a monthly update.

We just have the two dogs now, dc4 seems to cope ok with them possibly because it's much easier to stop them going upstairs.

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 09:39

OP - ah yes, food is always available in my house as well. I wish I could say that none of mine are overweight, but sadly I can't, but it's very difficult to restrict food to some and not others.

Costacoffeeplease · 12/03/2018 09:43

Yes mine all have free access to dry food, and get wet food twice a day. They’re pretty good at self-regulating their intake

SleepFreeZone · 12/03/2018 09:43

I think people were primarily concerned that you had so many animals because you were irresponsible. More detail on your opening post would have helped 💐

lougle · 12/03/2018 09:45

Hats off to you Smile I have 2 cats, a dog and 3 chickens.

I've had one of the cats for 2 years, and added the other cat in November (both rehomed). They have had a very slow acceptance of each other, but are getting there, and last night spent the evening chasing each other up and down the stairs Hmm I couldn't work out if they were having fun or trying to beat each other up Confused so I chose to view it as a game of tag...

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 09:54

I can't imagine the state of a house with 19 cats living in it.

SuperBeagle Houses with lots of animals don't have to be disgusting hovels. Mine isn't a 'state' in any way at all Many houses are disgusting with no animals in them. Don't jump to conclusions.

RickOShay · 12/03/2018 09:54

Just it sounds like animal heavenGrin

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 09:56

lougle It's much harder to introduce a new cat when you only have one or two to start with. Then there are a lot of territorial issues they have to work through.

According to cat psychology stuff I've read once you get past a certain number of cats per square metre they just give up on having their own territory and so accept newcomers very easily. I've certainly found this to be the case.

Original poster
Justanamechange · 12/03/2018 09:58

Catneuteter- Yes, we've found our cats just roll their eyes at newcomers and ignore any drama from the new cat. The new cat gets bored with being ignored and settles really fast.

OP posts:
catlady45 · 12/03/2018 09:59

Id love 19 cats . I have 3 and thats where we eill be stopping. Its like a warzone lol

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 10:00

OP - yes that's exactly what happens. I always let newcomers acclimatise in a dog crate in the kitchen for a week or so to start with.

juneybean · 12/03/2018 10:03

My cats groomer has about 18 persians I don't know how she does it. Her house is so clean and the cats all perfectly groomed. Her husband is a patient man haha

Dumbledoresgirl · 12/03/2018 10:04

Apologies if this has already been said:

PickAChew

People end up in the litter tray because this conversation appears in active conversations, like most on mumsnet. It's hardly a hidden, private board

Are you not aware that you can customise Mumsnet Talk so that only topics that interest you appear in Active conversations? I have about half the board hidden because those topics do not interest me/wind me up. It makes for a much more enjoyable Mumsnet experience.

Re the OP, it sounds idyllic. I have 3 cats but would happily take more. Maybe only 1 or 2 more, but I see nothing wrong with caring for 19 cats. I would like to ask you how you manage to go away for holidays, but perhaps on a farm, that is always a problem anyway? I sometimes wish I had hens, but it is the problem of who would care for them when I go on holiday that stops me from looking into it further.

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 10:14

Dumbledore - yes holidays are a real problem. I have some amazing neighbours who do look after them for me, but still I don't feel I can ask them to do it for more than say 3 days.

I'm sure it's possible though to employ cat sitters and it's something I will look into if I'm ever desperate for a longer break.

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2018 10:15

Also I was in hospital for two weeks a few years ago and my amazing neighbours (four different ones) managed to organise the care of the cats between themselves. I will forever be grateful.

Original poster
Justanamechange · 12/03/2018 10:19

Holidays? What are these holidays you speak of?! 😁😁😁

OP posts:
Costacoffeeplease · 12/03/2018 10:25

This is where I ‘fess up that I live in the algarve, so no need to go on holiday really Smile

chemenger · 12/03/2018 10:26

I would love to have 19 cats in a suitable environment. I once bought a flat from someone who had 17 in a two bedroom flat, all indoor only. That was rank, the floor and half of the walls in one large walk-in cupboard had to be replaced and under the floorboards in most of the rooms there was crystallised cat pee. The smell was unbelievable. The neighbours were very glad to find that we only had two cats when we moved in. The last line in the survey was "I can't believe anyone in their right mind would buy this flat". Once we had seriously cleaned it it was a fantastic flat and a huge bargain because of the cats.

Soubriquet · 12/03/2018 10:37

The most I've heard of is 9 with a friend.

She was adamant she wasn't going to have double digits. She has 11 at the moment Grin

I've got only got the one. My Dh is severely allergic so she's actually an outdoor cat which suits her fine as she's half feral. I've also got a dog and a snake

Parsleyisntfood · 12/03/2018 10:42

This thread is very irresponsible. I’m brouwising the local rescue places now! I have 3 cats and a dog and now that seems perfectly reasonable. They are rescues that have only ever know living in colony’s so seek each other out. DH always joked about coming home and finding a new cat lying on the sofa but it was him in fact that came home with our last girl. I can easily see myself slipping into a large cat household. But more pics please. I especially liked the one with lots of cats at food bowls (I assume) so if you’re taking requests as many cats as possible in 1 pic please!

Costacoffeeplease · 12/03/2018 10:50

Just a small selection

19 cats. Anyone else got this many?
Costacoffeeplease · 12/03/2018 10:52

The latest two additions

19 cats. Anyone else got this many?
Original poster
Justanamechange · 12/03/2018 10:52

Gorgeous cats!

OP posts:
RickOShay · 12/03/2018 10:52

Costa they are lovely Smile