Once you have one cat as a pet, it’s easy to want more and more. Who doesn’t enjoy their sweet cuddles and lovable personalities? The temptation to get more cats increases whenever you see a stray or someone giving one away.
Pretty soon, you could have three, four, or even five cats. If that sounds like a lot to you, believe it or not, some people have even more. But exactly how many cats are too many? At what point does owning many cats classify as hoarding? And are there any laws that determine how many cats you can own? In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of owning more than one cat.
Can You Have Too Many Cats?
We’ve all heard and seen pictures of the crazy cat lady stereotype, in which someone has 10 or more cats running around their living room. But the reality is that some people do have that many cats that they may or may not be able to take care of.
With that being said, it is possible to have too many cats, especially when it comes to a point that you can no longer provide them with the care that they need. No matter what a person’s reasons are for having so many cats, at some point, you must realize when you have too many. Otherwise, it could end up negatively affecting both the cats and you.
How Many Cats Is Too Many?
Non-cat lovers tend to think that one cat is too many, while other people have five or six cats that are well-cared for. Because of this, it’s hard to say exactly how many cats are too many. It just depends on the person as well as several other factors.
A general guideline, though, is that you have too many cats whenever you can no longer care for the cats that you have properly. Sometimes a person realizes on their own that they don’t need any more cats, but sometimes it takes a lack of space, supplies, or money to support the cats to realize that you have too many.
In some cases, people continue to acquire new cats even though they are struggling to take care of the ones that they own. This is the sign of a much larger problem, which we will discuss later. But, if you are worried that you might have too many cats, here are some factors to consider.
