Question please - need opinions/options!

[Catlady711]

Honestly I only thought the three 2-week old kittens would be here a few weeks and was more than willing to adopt them out. However at the same time they were reaching an age to be adoptable, there has been a kitten explosion in our area. Our bulletin board at work is full of posters with 'free kittens', our local pet stores are the same, and alot of our clients are looking for homes for kittens as well.

I did make up a couple posters advertising the kittens but so far have only gotten 2 people who've responded wanting female kittens, and both have backed out on it.

The longer they've been here the more attatched I've gotten to them (and hubby also although he won't readily admit it), I mean they were bottle fed babies. I honestly would like to keep 1 or 2 of the kittens for my own. Hubby is constantly asking when I'm going to find homes for them, (it's not like I haven't tried at all). And now since I've gotten attatched to them, I'm getting fussy-er about what kinda homes I'd let them go to. I'd want someone who'd take as good of care of them as I can, indoor only homes, and send me pix every so often with a small note as to how they're doing.

Problem is this...

Is 7 or 8 cats too many? We rent a 3 bedroom, 2 level home. I work at a vet hospital and as long as I work there I get drastic discounts on my pet's care. I get a slight discount on food. As long as those continue I believe we can afford them as long as they don't all get horribly sick or need major surgeries at the same time, although I'll admit that if I didn't work where I do it would be very difficult to maintain them in the same manner as I do now. Most of my own 5 cats seem to like the kittens ok, some more than others. Hubby does have a big say in this and I only think I could actually con...er...talk him into maybe one at best.

My hubby, mom and one of my co-workers tell me I have too many cats if I kept any of the kittens.

I know some of you have a similar number of cats, and a few of you almost twice as many. I guess what I'm asking is how should I deal with this? And if I have to find homes for some or all of them, how do I go about finding GOOD permenant, indoor homes where people will occasionally let me know how they're doing????

HELP PLEASE!! SUGGESTIONS??

[rg_girlca]

I know where you're coming from.

I have Sweetpea & PeaPod posted on three different rescue websites within my area. They are willing to put up their pictures and a brief history of them, since I am willing to keep them here as fosters and taking them to the vet for their de-worming, de-fleaing, vaccinations and spaying/neutering.
The adoption fee is $100.00 on one site and $125.00 on the other two, which includes everything.

Have you tried something like this for yourself?

Who's to say if 7 or 8 cats are too many and most of all, who cares what others think. My whole family think I'm nuts for having 6 cats and a dog. Do I care.......NO........I am happy with my babies and they are well cared for.
If you are able to have 1 or 2 added to your crew and both you and your hubby agree with it, then go for it.
If you can't keep them, you will know when the right home comes along.

[Laura's Babies]

I have 4 and would have more if I could. I have no husband so I could have as many as I want.... except that I have to depend on others the 28 days I am at work on the boat, to take care of the ones I have. I know how hard it is to find homes for the ones that need homes and that is sad because they all deserve to have good homes. I don't think 7 is to many for a 3 bedroom home.

Who cares what anyone else thinks? You can't base your life on other peoples likes and dislikes..... if you do you will always be in trouble. There are those that think I am crazy for having 4, I think those that don't have ANY are crazy... so what?

[catnapper]

7 or 8 sound perfectly sane to me! I have 5 and would have at least one more if I could financially handle it. Its only too much if YOU think its too much to handle emotionally, physically, or financially. If you think you'll be able ot handle it, then 7 or 8 cats sounds good to me.

[moosmom]

As long as you can care for 8 cats, then no, it's not too many. It's when people have 8 cats and can't afford to care for them and provide for them that it's too many.

Go for it. You've done a great job raising them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't think that 8 cats is too many as long as you feel you can care for them properly. My family already thinks that I'm crazy for having 6 cats and I live in a two bedroom/2 bathroom condo. I actually hid the fact that I had adopted Ziggy until I mailed out my Christmas cards. I support whatever your decide to do. Good luck.

[fragrancehound]

I pretty much agree with what has already been said. If you are able to care for them emotionally, financially, and time wise I say go for it.

[jazzcat]

I can relate to your situation completely. We found four kittens in our backyard two months ago and I was only able to find a home for two of them so now I have two kittens to go along with my 5 other cats. I had absolutely no intentions of adding to my crew and had even said I wouldn't get another when my oldest passes on because I felt four was enough for this house. Now here I sit with 7. The surprising part of all this is that my husband has been totally supportive of it and he told me after the other two kittens left for their new home that he couldn't believe I let them go.

There have been several times I've thought it's crazy to have this many in my small house but I eventually get over it. I've taken on the attitude that these two were meant to be mine and I'm leaving it at that. Now if someone would just explain that to my 5 adult cats.

[jenluckenbach]

Of course I do not think 8 cats is crazy (now 17, that is probably right on the edge of insanity )

But let's ask this.....since you rent, how does the landlord feel about that number? What would happen if you needed to move? (this was always my biggest fear when we rented)

As far as the size of your home, sounds fine to me. I had 6 cats in a 1 bedroom appartment, so 8 cats in a 3 bedroom sounds luxurious.

So go with your heart. Some people are going to think TWO is too many, so don't even consider what they think.

[orangemm]

So go with your heart. Some people are going to think TWO is too many, so don't even consider what they think.

What Jen said.

We have had as many as 7 cats in our household; it was a lot of work, but they all got along and our house was clean and orderly, plus it was a lot of fun!

My husband built a kitty condo and huge scratching post for them, so they were always entertained; they had plenty of company when we were at work and spats were at a minimum.

I'm sure it's heart-wrenching to adopt them out, particularly when you've raised them this far.

So "go with your heart".

[Catlady711]

Thank you all for your support, comments and compliments!!!

The surprising part of all this is that my husband has been totally supportive of it and he told me after the other two kittens left for their new home that he couldn't believe I let them go.

You are a very lucky wife! My hubby thinks 4 cats is too many, but then again it was HIM that found Cami (#5) and called to me in the house and said 'honey, there's a cat out here and she looks hungry, bring out some food.' He also named her....Cami-flage because of her coloring. ROFL But basically he doesn't do well when the cats act like...well....cats! They sometimes irritate him when they're underfoot, and when they do things that they're not supposed to do but do anyways.

But let's ask this.....since you rent, how does the landlord feel about that number? What would happen if you needed to move? (this was always my biggest fear when we rented)

Well that actually is a concern here. Back when we thought we'd have to move (ended up not needing to) we only had 4 cats then and a horrible time finding a place big enough, that would even accept pets (let alone 4), that we could afford. As far as the landlord goes.....well.... When we moved in we only had Dusty and he didn't have any problems with that. We never actually asked him before adding any of the others. However he's been here when we've had just the 4 and never said a word, and the cats don't damage the house in any way. However hubby did bring up the point that our landlord doesn't know how many we do have.

Another concern is if I didn't work where I do (not that it looks like I'd lose my job anytime soon, but no guarantees in life). I do get ALOT of discounts on medical stuff and that does play a major factor in being able to keep all the cats current on their vaccinations (Distemper, Leukemia, Rabies, FIP) plus the spays/neuters. I get discounts on the food also as I feed them all Science Diet, not some off brand stuff, prior to this we were feeding Iams without having a discount.

We have had as many as 7 cats in our household; it was a lot of work, but they all got along and our house was clean and orderly, plus it was a lot of fun!

Yes taking care of the 8, particularly when the kittens needed 4 hour round the clock feedings, IS alot of work, however it doesn't seem all that bad to me most of the time, and rather rewarding at times.

My house isn't always 'neat and orderly' regardless of the number of cats, I'm not exactly Martha Stewart and both of us are pack rats to boot. It's cluttered at times, and sometimes I don't always get the pet hair vacuumed up as often as I should, the 6 sandboxes are kept reasonably clean (I could always do better in that dept. though) but my house doesn't stink even to non cat owners that visit, my light colored carpets are shampoo'd twice a year, and if someone vomits I have a spray to keep the stains out until the next shampooing. I try to spend time with each cat every day playing/petting etc, some days one more than the others, but I rotate who gets the most attention based on who's wanting/needing it.

I'm sure it's heart-wrenching to adopt them out, particularly when you've raised them this far.

YES! Between the three though my favs are (in order) Josh, Sassy, Sabrina. Mostly because Josh had so many problems with his 'wee wee' in the begining and was the smallest at the time, and Sassy got so thin when bucking the weaning from the bottle. I worried more over those two, so I guess I got more attatched to them, but I'd feel bad separating the sisters as they spend alot of time together.

I want to do the right thing for the cats and not just myself. I don't want to get myself into a position where I can't take care of the cats in the manner I think they should be taken care of.

Thank you again for your thoughts and comments. It will give me something to think about, and pray about.

[catmandu]

For sme Cta People 1 is too many, for some 7 0r 8 is fine.
You sound like a Good Guardian who knows what the costs of taking in New Faces would be, There are 12 Found Cats, and when the Vet came there were 3 who got away, that I simply cannot catch.
I had John in a carrier but he went ballistic and I had to let him out before he hurt himself.
He and Rocca have not had shots in two years.
Right now 12 is the limit due to age budget and infirmity.
We hope that you can help as many as possible without taking in too many.

[Freedom]

I think it is good that you are recognizing that you are or may be at your limit.

I had 4 cats in a 2 bedroom apartment, without the landlord's OK. It wasn't "crowded" until my Dad moved in, ha ha ha! The landlord was a big company, and that was always a worry for me. So in terms of size, I think your home is big enough for 7 or 8.

Sounds as though you have looked at all aspects - emotional support for all of them, time, finances, living situation. You are not just working on impulse, and that is important to keep in mind. You ARE thinking this through. Good for you.