How Many Cats Is Too Many for One Household?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jimmy p
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experience of raising multiple cats, particularly focusing on the recent birth of kittens and the challenges and joys associated with having a large number of pets in a household. Participants share personal anecdotes, express emotions regarding pet care, and discuss the implications of having many animals.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses pride in having a total of nine cats after their cat gave birth to five kittens.
  • Another participant shares their experience of having multiple pets, including unexpected litters of various animals, suggesting a chaotic but loving household.
  • Concerns are raised about the practicalities of caring for many cats, such as cleaning litter boxes and the responsibilities involved.
  • Emotional responses are shared regarding the illness and subsequent death of one of the kittens, highlighting the attachment formed in a short time.
  • Some participants advocate for spaying and neutering pets to manage animal populations, indicating a concern for animal welfare.
  • There are discussions about the kittens' development, including their physical characteristics and behaviors as they grow.
  • Participants express a desire to see pictures of the kittens and share their own experiences with pets, contributing to a sense of community and shared interest.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a common interest in the joys and challenges of pet ownership, but there are differing views on the implications of having many pets, particularly regarding animal welfare and care responsibilities. The emotional responses to the loss of a kitten indicate a shared understanding of the bond between pets and owners, but no consensus exists on the ideal number of cats for a household.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying definitions of pet care responsibilities, differing personal experiences with animal ownership, and the emotional complexities involved in pet loss. The discussion reflects a range of perspectives on managing multiple pets without resolving the underlying questions about optimal pet ownership.

Who May Find This Useful

Pet owners, animal lovers, and those considering adopting multiple pets may find this discussion relevant, as it covers personal experiences, emotional challenges, and practical considerations of having many animals in a household.

jimmy p
Gold Member
Messages
419
Reaction score
73
woot woot!

WOOT! My cat had 5 cute little pure-bred kittens last night (balinese)! We are going to keep all of them which will bring our tally up to 9 cats! I'm so proud!
 
Physics news on Phys.org


Originally posted by jimmy p
WOOT! My cat had 5 cute little pure-bred kittens last night (balinese)! We are going to keep all of them which will bring our tally up to 9 cats! I'm so proud!
Awwww... How wonderful, Chopnik! Kittens are SO FUN! (YEEEEOOOUUUCH! Zoobie just attacked my FOOT! )

Pictures?

What are you going to name them? (Name the FEISTY one Tsunami! )
 
You are going to keep 9 cats? That would mean cleaning the litter box every morning ánd evening .. we had 6 cats but at least they were out the whole day and only came home at night to sleep..
 
Congratulations! You will have to post a picture of them. They are going to be a lot of fun in a few weeks!
 
yeah, kittens are soooo cute! Our cat went in labor in our kitchen once and we didn't even know she was pregnant! Three very cute kittens came out, of which we kept two.

At one time we also had unanticipated little bunnies, apparently the two bunnies wéren't both female.. at another time we had little ginnea pigs from a single female we had bought in the store we also had young hamsters at one time, and guppies (those tiny fish) and a few more litters of kittens.. yeah.. I live at a zoo.. did I mention we have 4 dogs?

We tried forever to get our two parrots to mate.. 6 years later or so we found out both are male so no luck there :wink:
 
lol my parents want to call them oriental names cos they are balinese, so i have suggested Tsunami to them!

They are pretty adorable, and i will get some pictures of them soon, when i install the digital camera programmes to my laptop.

3 are female and 2 are male, and i am fully aware of all the cleaning up there is to do, we used to have 6 cats, so what's 3 more huh? Ill have to keep you guys posted on yonder kittens! so watch this space!
 
well the one cat we have named, Yumi, is ill cos she is the runt of the litter. We have to hand feed her and constantly keep her warm so that she doesn't shut down... its heartbreaking cos i have got quite attached to her..she is on my knee all wrapped up and on a heat pad right now..

Best of luck to her...

Oh yeah, the others are doing fine, other than a couple minor problems which get easily sorted...they are SO stupid sometimes.


ps. Yumi = Dream (japanese)
 
Kittens are cool but then they turn into cats and they suck.

My condolensces jimmyp i know how much u loved Yumi, may she rest in peace.
 
what is it now? an hour later since my last post? I regret to say that Yumi died on my lap... now there are four kittens. Even though she was only 3 days old i was REALLY attached, i wanted her to survive so badly. And i failed. Me and my mum just burst into tears


as Andy said, R.I.P Yumi...her coffin is an empty Toblerone tube.
 
  • #10
That is so sad, I am so sorry. At least you did all you could and the baby kitten felt that love. I know how painful it is, I've been through it.
 
  • #11
I'm so sorry, sweetie. I feel so bad for you. But, like Evo said, at least she knew you loved her a lot. You showed her that just right. And please don't think that you failed at ANYthing! You know that these things just happen. :frown:
 
  • #12
hey thanks guys :smile:! I suppose i better just grit my teeth and make sure that the other 4 kitties are all right and that they make it ok!
 
  • #13
I'm a fan of spaying and neutering. There are so many animals out there who do not get good homes, and yet we keeping increasing the populations.
 
  • #14
Originally posted by jimmy p
hey thanks guys :smile:! I suppose i better just grit my teeth and make sure that the other 4 kitties are all right and that they make it ok!
Evo and I are sending good vibes to you and your kitties, Chopnik. Keep us informed, OK?
 
  • #15
if the pictures weren't so large i would send a few, will have to shrink em a bit, the kittens should be opening their eyes this weekend!
 
  • #16
They'll all have cute little blue eyes
 
  • #17
actually you probably arent that far off, balinese cats do generally have blue eyes! they are all fat and cute and sleeping at the moment.
 
  • #18
Originally posted by Andy
Kittens are cool but then they turn into cats and they suck.

I agree.
They are all great until the grow up.
Just like puppies, babies and Catholic School Girls.
 
  • #19
Originally posted by one_raven

Just like puppies, babies and Catholic School Girls.

do they turn into cats too?
 
  • #20
Originally posted by jimmy p
actually you probably arent that far off, balinese cats do generally have blue eyes! they are all fat and cute and sleeping at the moment.
Actually, as far as I know ALL kittens have blue eyes, they generally change color over time.
 
  • #21
And I thought this is the w00t w00t thread. Oh well,

w00t! w00t!
 
  • #22
Yip, they are opening their eyes which is cool. They are quite milky at the moment but i suppose that's just cos that's what cats do. Pretty funny kittens even though they do jack-all

wOOt wOOt!
 
  • #23
What does wOOt mean anyway? I'm not really good at 133t (sp?) speak.
 
  • #24
i don't know what w00t means...i just use it as an expression of joy, much like people say "argh" when they hurt themselves, i say WOOT WOOT to show happiness...

ps. the kittens are still cute little fat things that are being a little more mobile cos they can see
 
  • #25
lol! the kittens like me! they hiss at my parents but when i go in, they crowd over to me and nuzzle my hand for strokes and when i leave they try to climb out of the box after me! quite annoying when i have to leave though...
 
  • #26
Originally posted by jimmy p
lol! the kittens like me! they hiss at my parents but when i go in, they crowd over to me and nuzzle my hand for strokes and when i leave they try to climb out of the box after me! quite annoying when i have to leave though...
Awwwwww...
Probably because you were so gentle and loving with their little sister, they think you're their OTHER mother! Work on those pictures, Chopnik. I want to see your babies!
 
  • #27
Yes, you must post pictures!

That's so sweet that the kittens have grown so attahced to you. :smile:
 
  • #28
You MUST!

Evo said:
Yes, you must post pictures!
I quite agree! Kittens are the BEST! My neighbor had kittens just recently,(in case any of you have ideas, his cat did, not him personally:wink:) and they like me better than him because he's always trying to do stupid things with them like dress them in odd things and try to get them to jump through hoops and the like...:biggrin: but anyway, (in the words of Evo) "you must post pictures!"



Exact same number of !'s, I might add. :rolleyes:
 
  • #29
haha, no we haven't tried that yet, pictures are on the way, i'll just have to use the PC instead of the laptop..

Just a little update, the kittens are raising hell. Hoshi, the smallest kitten is a real fighter, and they have a 4-way scrap which is instigated by him. All the kittens are pretty mobile, if unsteady, and are now leaving the box to explore my bedroom, much to the exasperation of Kiri (the mother). Kasumi is an inquisitive explorer, Yuri is an attention seeker, and Hanna (formerly Niko) is the boring sleeper.
 
  • #30
ok, i got pissed off with trying to get a picture of the kits on to PF (all the goddamn resizing and THEN finding the file was STILL too big) so if you want to see the kittens, please PM me your email address and i will email you a photo of them.

Cheers,
James
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
11K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 135 ·
5
Replies
135
Views
13K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
5K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
3K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
5K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
5K
  • · Replies 44 ·
2
Replies
44
Views
12K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K