A few? How many will it take for you to say you have many ?

[14+kitties]

A few? How many will it take for you to say you have many ?

[Frenchy]

When there's no more space on all the couches for you to sit ?

[wdawson]

or no room in the bed

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by wdawson

or no room in the bed

I don't know what you're talking about

[14+kitties]

Ummmmm, I goofed. I was trying to answer Sarah's question without taking over Badger's thread and I guess I must have hit submit before I was done. DUH!! But hey, it looks like it might generate some good answers so let's keep it going.

[Frenchy]

[14+kitties]

whatcha sorry for Frenchy? It was me that goofed.

[Pat in NH]

I saw this message on a cat release form at the Humane society, and didn't know what it meant........now, I have 6 cats and I know exactly. Everything in your life needs to revolve around the cats. If you set that there, someone might pee on it. If there's not a chair here, someone can't jump up to their favorite spot. If I spend just 10 minutes in the morning with each cat, that's an hour of nothing but cats, so I get up at 4 am instead of 5.
No one cat gets all the attention they deserve. They don't get all the medical attention they deserve, because unless you're rich you just can't do it all. (dental cleaning, $350.00) Some cat is always getting short changed. One cat in a group is always picked on. One cat can't be kept on a special diet, unless all are on that same diet. No vacations, because boarding is too expensive, and too many to leave home alone. People don't visit because of allergy issues, or because your home smells like Too Much Cats! I love and live for my cats, but that's a 20 year commitment. And for them it's very stressful to have to live around some cats they don't like, and not have full attention. I wish someone had explained these things to me 12 years ago, but I'm in it for the long haul now, and sometimes that's just what it feels like!

[krdahmer]

Originally Posted by Pat in NH

Everything in your life needs to revolve around the cats. If you set that there, someone might pee on it. If there's not a chair here, someone can't jump up to their favorite spot.

and....so what? Are you saying that's a bad thing?

Originally Posted by Pat in NH

People don't visit because of allergy issues, or because your home smells like Too Much Cats!

I get more compliments on how people are amazed that they never 'smell' cats here. (the key is good litter!) And allergies schmallergies.... my number one allergy is CATS! and I live with 6!!! Plus I don't need visits from those people anyhow!

[14+kitties]

Wow! This is an old thread!

I too have 6 in the house. My place is small so the litter is in the kitchen. No place else for it. Of course mine are still young so there are no health problems yet. Knock on wood.

I have covered the arms of my couch. The kitties like to play and run on it. Not a big deal. I put my precious items up higher for right now. They will learn what is touchable and what is not. I haven't noticed any one in particular being picked on. Not even the ones in the catuary. I don't go on vacations either. That's ok. My cats are more important. When I need to get away I go on mini vacas for a day. Not far but I do something I love doing. Lately it's been visiting people on this very forum with my friend kr. I'm not rich either. But you make sacrificies. You do what you can do.

20 year commitment. I sure hope so!!

[luckypenny]

Vacations are over-rated anyways. I can't possibly have a good time unless I have my furkids with me .

[Dracko]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

Vacations are over-rated anyways. I can't possibly have a good time unless I have my furkids with me .

EXACTLY! And that is why I am single. My ex pressured me to take holidays away from the furkids. Not willing to take the chance of meeting someone else who does the same.

[ancientgirl]

Heck, I only had one and I found it hard to leave the house for more than a few hours, now I have 5! I wanted to buy a king sized bed specifically to have enough room for all of them on the bed.

I spend my weekends in my apartment mainly because I just want to be with them.

Yes, it's a change of lifestyle to a degree. I decorate my walls because I can't put much on spots they jump on. They eat before I do in the morning and in the evening, I clean their litter every day, I play with each one for a little while daily, give them each some attention and they all have a certain spot on the bed that's theirs.

I would love one more, but my apartment and my pocketbook can't take one more. If at some point that changes, I get a bigger place, have extra money to spend, then I can save another little life.

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by luckypenny

Vacations are over-rated anyways. I can't possibly have a good time unless I have my furkids with me .

Hear, hear, LP! When I need a vacation I take a book out to the swing and read a chapter to the dogs.

I think by the couch and bed criteria at the top of the thread, we already have too many dogs ...but I think 8 is enough...just perfectly enough.

[Dracko]

Originally Posted by ancientgirl

Heck, I only had one and I found it hard to leave the house for more than a few hours, now I have 5! I wanted to buy a king sized bed specifically to have enough room for all of them on the bed.

I spend my weekends in my apartment mainly because I just want to be with them.

Yes, it's a change of lifestyle to a degree. I decorate my walls because I can't put much on spots they jump on. They eat before I do in the morning and in the evening, I clean their litter every day, I play with each one for a little while daily, give them each some attention and they all have a certain spot on the bed that's theirs.

I would love one more, but my apartment and my pocketbook can't take one more. If at some point that changes, I get a bigger place, have extra money to spend, then I can save another little life.

AC, it's been fun seeing your passion for the cats develop and to go from having no cats not all that long ago to 5.

[luckypenny]

Originally Posted by Dracko

EXACTLY! And that is why I am single.

But that can be the secret to a successful marriage though . Dh takes his vacations without me but he does have to take at least one of the kids

[ancientgirl]

Originally Posted by Dracko

AC, it's been fun seeing your passion for the cats develop and to go from having no cats not all that long ago to 5.

Dracko, sometimes I sit and think, "Holy cow, I've got 5 cats!" It was a year this past April that I went from a person who started out so allergic to her kitty, she had to take several medications, to a person with 5 cats, living pretty much in harmony, and only has to take nasal medication every few days.

A friend in Maryland sent me a plaque, that says "Cats are like potato chips, you can't have just one." LOL, I think that about sums it up.

[krdahmer]

Originally Posted by ancientgirl

I would love one more, but my apartment and my pocketbook can't take one more. If at some point that changes, I get a bigger place, have extra money to spend, then I can save another little life.

I'm always daydreaming about all the little critters I could give a good home to should I win the lottery and buy my farm!!!

[Gail P]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

When there's no more space on all the couches for you to sit ?

Oh YAY! I don't have too many yet! (Dogs that is, not cats)

I can't remember if it was on here I read this, or somewhere else but here's poem that sums it all up:

My Dogs Live Here

My dogs live here, they're here to stay
You don't like pets, be on your way
They share my home, my food, my space
This is their home, this is their place

You will find dog hair on the floor
They will alert you're at the door
They may request a little pat
A simple "no" will settle that

It gripes me when I hear you say
"Just how is it you live this way?
They smell, they shed, they're in the way"
WHO ASKED YOU? is all I can say

They love me more than anyone
My voice is like the rising sun
They merely have to hear me say
"C'mon, time to go and play"

Then tails wag and faces grin
They bounce and hop and make a din
They never say "no time for you"
They're always there to GO and DO

And if I'm sad? They're by my side
And if I'm mad? They circle wide
And if I laugh, they laugh with me
They understand, they always see

So once again, I say to you
Come visit me, but know this too

My dogs live here, they're here to stay
You don't like pets, be on your way
They share my home, my food, my space
This is their home, this is their place.

[14+kitties]

Very neat poem Gail P and oh so true!!
That poem could so easily be changed to cats in so many ways... I just don't see kitties playing on command though. They kind of decide when they want to play, not when you want to.

[Dracko]

AG, I have a plaque in my office that says that about the potato chips, too. Also have one that says, "This house is maintained entirely for the comfort and convenience of the cats."

There is a fellow who is single and extremely nice that I work around. Actually I am a sales rep and he works for a competing company. A lot of us reps get together often for fondues, lunches, etc. This guy and I get along super well. We have a LOT in common. BUT, he isn't all that fond of animals. We were recently over at another rep's house who has 2 dogs. You could tell when the dogs came up to this guy he's just as soon if they left him alone. I get people teasing me often (accounts and other reps) about hooking up with him. NOPE. Never happen. If we are on the road and in the same city we'll work out together, have a meal...just in general hang out as friends and I am careful not to send the wrong signals cuz I have ZERO intention of getting together with someone who isn't as passionate about animals as I am. My pets feed my soul and I will never again be in a position where I feel like I have to apologize to someone for the pet hair, the fact I don't want to travel as it would mean I'll be away from them, etc.

[ancientgirl]

Krdahmer, I have that lottery fantasy all the time. Especially when I walk into my vets office and see kittens in a cage looking for a home.

Dracko, yep I hear ya. This guy I met online, he's really passionate about animals. Helped raise two wolves and he sometimes helps with wildlife rescue. Physically, I'm not all that attracted to him, but from what I've been able to put together, he has a compassionate soul towards animals and right now that's one of the most important things for me when I meet a guy. With so many pets, finding someone to isn't going to roll their eyes when you talk about one of them, or someone who actively just asks you about them is hard sometimes.

I CANNOT be with someone who isn't an animal person, no ifs ands or butts. Some people don't get that, but they don't have pets.