Cat popularity survey
13There is no objectively right or wrong answer, as this is a purely subjective question: What (in your experience) is the optimal number of cats in your household?
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3-5
E. Lots.
You may, of course, be more explicit with your answer.
In my case, it’s usually 3, and we won’t go into why I have more right now.
- 27 comments, 9 replies
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Seems to be four.
C - 2. But I only have one because he’s a very shy guy and I don’t want to make him uncomfortable. I’ve loved having 2 in the past.
I’ve never had more than one (as a kid). As an adult I don’t have any, boyfriend believes all pets should be outside pets, that’s how he grew up.
@Star2236 You need to dump that hillbilly, stat!
/giphy dramatic zoom cat
Zero, I am a bit skidish around them and my dad is highly allergic. So, dogs
@tinamarie1974
ditto for SWMBO
Currently I have two. I’ve thought about getting a kitten but I think it would stress out the 14 year old calico girl. The 8 year old ginger tabby, while he is very kitten like, he is also a mama’s boi.
@ironcheftoni We had three older cats, each about 8 years of age, when I found an 8-week-old abandoned kitten on the morning after Xmas 2011. (Nasty details omitted.) The kitten, Spot, spent the first afternoon on my S.O.'s lap, and then proceeded to go try to get the adults to Play, because obviously they had to Be Her Friends and had to want to Play. She kitten-terrorized them for ten long months, and then another 8-week-old kitten showed up on our patio, and I caught it, and Spot promptly appropriated him - to the immense visible relief of all the others.
@werehatrack yes, would have definitely get two.
0 for many years, but multitudes when we were kids.
E.
Heh.
3, or 4 if you go by body weight.
Currently, have D. Would prefer B but also would love to have E.
@riskybryzness
E can be arranged…
@werehatrack
C. I always try to have two. They keep each other company and don’t get into too much trouble (currently). It also makes me feel better about leaving them at home alone for long days when I’m at work.
I’ve thought about adding a new youngster into the household as I think my younger (8 year old extroverted weirdo) would like someone to play with (she loves when kids come over and want to play with her…until she’s missed multiple naps and is just DONE with human interaction for a while.). But I don’t think my older (9 year old introverted weirdo) would like that. She’s very set in her ways and doesn’t do well with change. We have to deal with overgrooming when ever the weather changes too drastically or it’s too hot or too cold for too longer (woo-hoo! Texas weather…poor Kota).
A - 0.
Cats suck. Kittens are great but they inevitably turn into cats.
I’ve had as few as 1 (after her buddy died) and as many as 8, I currently have 4. All have been strays. One I bottle fed from 10 days old and she died at 3 weeks shy of 20 almost a year ago.
D. Currently have one, but as soon as I unpack, my cousin the cat fosterer will fix me up. I’ve always had 2 or 3, a small clowder.
/giphy A
E. Lots. I currently have 5 of the 9 cats we own surronding my on my bed. What can you do?
I think c is the perfect number. I unfortunately have d as family and circumstances added 2 more. Everyone gets along but 2 boys are on prozac as the marking was a problem. Prozac is amazingly effective.
Currently Everyone is hiding as my neighbors are celebrating the new year with fireworks and guns. So Happy New Year Everyone…
C. They have each other if not not around.
@heartny Hmm, I guess I should proof my comments more carefully. Should have been “C. They have each other if I’m not around.”
A = 0. Tho have had as many as 3 (1 indoor, 2 outdoor). I give them credit for being excellent at discouraging / harassing all rodents in the immediate vicinity (who are always trying to take up residence in attic, shed, crawl space, etc) but otherwise prefer dogs.
Zero. We had one in the past. I mean they’re fine, I guess, but I’m a big dog person and could take or leave cats. The dogs, on the other hand, would mostly prefer to leave them or terrorize them.
1 or 2 at most is optimal. Currently c for cats and b for dogs.
/giphy 2 plus 1
Answer A. I’m a dog person. My dog number is 2 or 3.
Somewhere between Zero and Lots, depending on whether you are counting indoor or out.
I have a dog indoors and she would make life very uncomfortable for a cat in there. Outdoors, I put out food at night for the neighborhood cats (mostly feral) and I generally have between four and a dozen show up, usually average about 7 or 8.
I started putting the food out when this house had been a rental and was vacant, and I found a mouse/small rat inside (which I trapped and released). After a few days of food, I had cats but no rodents. I’ve continued this for years. It’s relatively cheap rodent control, and I’ve actually made friends with several of the regular cats
When I’m letting the dog out to the back yard (usually during daylight), I pound on the door from the inside to give the cat’s notice and a head start.
The dog finds it great sport and both get extra exercise. (To date, she has not caught a feline, though she has trapped a few. I think she would be sorry if she got closer. She has killed a couple of possums – they move too slowly I guess. I have also rarely seen a raccoon or skunk in the yard. Daytime, squirrels sometimes try to filch left-over food. (So far, they have been lucky relative to the dog.) There is one cat that has been around for a few years and doesn’t usually run from the dog, but rather stays perched up on the deck railing mostly out of reach. My dog generally ignores her while trying to chase the others. That cat usually hangs around all day and I put out extra food for her. I’m worried that it’s been a couple of days since I saw her, though she is generally a fixture of my back porch most of every day.
I’ve never been a cat person - I was allergic to them as a teen, but that (mostly) went away as I got older. We currently have 2 cats, a brother-sister pair that we got as kittens ~5 years ago. I have to say, although I still prefer dogs, I like these two cats. They are fairly well behaved, quite affectionate, don’t make messes in the house and get along with the dogs. Nature, or nurture? I don’t know, maybe a bit of each.
@macromeh
Some cats are just naturally inclined to be decent to people. Some aren’t. I have two youngsters that we caught at about 10 weeks along with their VERY feral mom, and they’re both cuddlebunnies now. Mom? Not so much. And then there’s Freya, my near-pure-white ex-stray ex-momcat, whose kittens were a bit of a trial while she’s as perfect of a lap cat as I’ve ever found.
@macromeh @werehatrack Mini-Avengers are turning out to all be incredibly affectionate.
Natasha not so much, but she’s getting better.
D. And basically if you don’t like cats I’m ignoring you forever. I don’t bother with cat haters…
B or C for me.
I’m currently at 0, but am looking to change that.
I like cats because they’re low maintenance. “I’m going to be gone for the night. There’s your food, you know where the litter box is, see you tomorrow night.”
Currently two/C. They keep each other company when I’m not around.
As an adult, it has ranged from zero (about a decade when living in an apartment where the landlord was very allergic) to two, with the exception of a few months when a cat we rescued had four kittens.