# too many cats?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [October 10, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881 "2006-10-10T02:19:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881/21 "2006-10-11T01:15:02Z")

</div>

As far as I can tell, cats aren’t pack animals - when you get more than the space comfortably allows, you start getting illnesses and behavioral problems (like inappropriate elimination… _why_ does his house smell?)

I haven’t heard of many people having problems with 3 or 4 cats, but more than that sends off warning bells for me.

(We have two)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881/22 "2006-10-11T02:08:05Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=Fetchund]  
As far as I can tell, cats aren’t pack animals  
[/quote]

Not pack animals, no. But while they’re territorial, they can also be facultatively social. For example feral cats will aggregate in sociable groups at times, especially near feeding stations. And what’s a house but a big feeding station for cats ;)?

> [@](#):
>
> when you get more than the space comfortably allows, you start getting illnesses and behavioral problems (like inappropriate elimination… _why_ does his house smell?)

But sure, there is always a limit.

> [@](#):
>
> I haven’t heard of many people having problems with 3 or 4 cats, but more than that sends off warning bells for me.

Same here, though obviously certain large scale accomodations/larger households can change the equation and I wouldn’t necessarily leap to the conclusion someone is nuts if they had more. Me, I’d be inclined to say two is ideal for a single person ( better than one, really ), three reasonable. Larger numbers depending on situation ( more rooms, people ), I suppose. But 19? In the same house? I have hard time seeing that under any circumstances.

- Tamerlane

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![overeasy4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b9bd4f/32.png) [@overeasy4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overeasy4)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881/23 "2006-10-11T03:23:48Z")

</div>

Well, the mantle had a ton of stuff, mostly papers, on it plus medicine bottles. The women were talking on the way home about getting together to clean the place.  
I didn’t see the upstairs. He had the fan on, which had cat hair in it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881/24 "2006-10-11T04:42:06Z")

</div>

[How many cats is the tipping point from cat lover to crazy cat collector?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305724)

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/too-many-cats/375881.md?page=1)