I’ve had a number of cats stay with me in the home I’m presently residing in. At one level, there have been seven cats below this roof, and that was for few months.
However they weren’t all mine, they usually didn’t all work together on a regular basis. I’d have a pair sectioned off from the others, and gave shifts to which cats have been set free at what time of day.
These cats weren’t all meant to remain in my dwelling for very lengthy both.
See, once we first began taking within the stray Persian kitties in our neighbourhood, we deliberate to do it steadily, over time.
We began with Bjorn, simply after one of many Persians, who we used to name “The Three Musketeer Cats + d’Artagnan” (d’Artagnan being Bjorn), was – devastatingly – run over by a drunk driver on both Christmas or New Yr’s Eve.
My coronary heart broke that day, and I nonetheless take into consideration that poor cat to today. Generally I consider how good it will have been to have managed to avoid wasting him, too.
After that occurred, we determined we couldn’t naked it if Bjorn had the identical destiny, and since we realized he didn’t have an proprietor, and was possible the offspring of one of many different Persian cats (I imply have a look at him, pictured beneath; he’s positively half tabby cat), we took Bjorn in rapidly.
We have been going to take our time with the others, particularly since we suspected they might have house owners.
However the vets instructed us that they have been more likely to be deserted pets, and the furries received actually, actually unhealthy matts sitting out within the rain.
Have a look at poor Athos –
I couldn’t watch this for lengthy.
One of many cats – Aramis – had allergic reactions so unhealthy she scratched herself to the bone fairly ceaselessly and fairly deeply as effectively. It wasn’t a reasonably sight and I needed to assist.
After all, issues by no means go the best way you anticipate, and naturally Aramis received pregnant.
So we did our greatest to maintain her and her infants effectively taken care of.
Just one kitten made it ultimately. Cleo, we named her, as a result of she’s a reasonably spunky monkey, with a survivor’s spirit.
So I received ’em all into my home as fast as I might, to maintain them secure, and segmented them off in the home in order that they wouldn’t battle.
All this was tremendous as a result of it was by no means presupposed to be long run. It was a handful and a half, however I might do it for fairly a while.
My brother was planning on transferring close by, and he was blissful to take a cat or perhaps two into his personal family. He already had a pair cats of his personal, and wanted a spot to remain whereas he was home searching, so he stayed with us within the basement.
This put the entire variety of furbabies below this right here roof to seven.
Too many cats, particularly since they needed to be sectioned off for their very own safety from one another.
Avery, the cat we’ve had for ages, was simply getting used to Bjorn and was not too careworn with him again once we began taking within the others.
So we tried to have the cats work together with one another as a lot as potential (monitored by us after all), however that didn’t occur fairly often as a result of stress ranges received excessive fairly fast for Avery.
Now, my brother has 3 cats, and I’ve three cats. I believe it’s quantity.
Sure you probably did do the maths proper, that makes six cats, not seven.
Heartbreakingly, one in every of my brother’s cats handed away shortly after he moved right here – his cat had a coronary heart downside that might trigger him to go at any time, and sadly that point got here whereas he was residing with us, simply earlier than my brother moved out.
For essentially the most half, getting cats to get alongside is a one after the other course of. And so having greater than three cats – fairly exhausting mentally to think about if I needed to steadily make them get alongside.
To get one cat to be pleasant with one different cat, takes time, however it’s not too unhealthy. Completely doable, even when it takes 6 months to a 12 months to essentially get them pleasant. To get a cat to be pleasant to 2 different cats, that feels prefer it squares the quantity of labor you’ve received. It’s an enormous headache as a result of one cat might not like one other, even when that cat likes her or him again, and to solidify that relationship is a large ordeal, not to mention to do it with two cats.
Having cats that get alongside by nature with different cats means there’s far much less work, however even at 3 cats, I really feel as if I’m spending far much less time with every cat than I’d personally like.
It’s simple to have two cats cuddled up in my lap all winter, for instance. With three, it’s inconceivable. Somebody needs to be subsequent to me… or off within the distance begging to be pet longingly whereas there’s simply no extra room…
On the whole, in relation to doing issues for the cats, it’s not an excessive amount of additional work. Chores-wise and by way of feeding and cleansing after that’s.
I’d say I might most likely have 4-5 cats for the quantity of labor I’d think about I’d must do for only one or two canine.
But when there’s somebody with an upset tummy, after which one other with an upset tummy, or two cats have points within the #2 division and one’s received a hairball to cough up, this may really feel overwhelming.
I can’t think about having 4-5 cats with all of them having points like this on the common. Or needing to be groomed on a regular basis like our 2 Persians that want shaving very often.
I couldn’t think about additionally having Aramis for instance, as that looks like a lot more work even when it’s just one additional cat…
But it surely additionally doesn’t really feel good imagining having 4-5 cats and solely having very restricted period of time to spend with every.
I spend a number of time in my home to start with since I make money working from home, and am an introvert who likes to cozy up with the cats on the sofa, and even have them on my lap whereas I play video video games.
However nonetheless, it’s not fairly the identical having even 3 because it was after I had two.
They simply… don’t fairly all match…
…okay perhaps simply barely, however my legs go numb much more usually today.
I believe the difficulty with having two in my thoughts has all the time been that if I’ve three and one dies, I nonetheless have two left to consolation me and to maintain one another firm.
If I’ve two and one dies, mentally, this feels too tough to think about emotionally recovering from.
Possibly that is loopy discuss, however that’s the way it feels.
I completely most well-liked having two cats over having one.
Having one was nice, and I actually did desire having a single cat to having no cats in any respect (my earlier pet was a ball python – sure, a snake! – and it wasn’t in any respect the identical).
However I really feel now that I might by no means be and not using a cat once more.
And getting Bjorn was a breath of contemporary air.
Having two by no means made me really feel I used to be sacrificing time with one, giving the second any much less consideration. It felt like I might stability two fairly simply and everybody was blissful.
With three, it feels much more tough to strike stability. To make all people blissful. Although it’s not unhealthy in any respect and I do really feel the cats are much less lonely when left alone within the dwelling.
Possibly, perhaps, I’ll return to having two once more sometime, as a result of that was a candy spot I actually favored.
However most probably, three is the right quantity for me. And never any extra.