How many pets it too many?

[ks_piper]

Random question - truly, I'd love some input!

We're a family of four - DH, myself, DD (5) and DS (3 1/2). We have two kitties - Florence and Skittles both female around 2 years old. We also have the much beloved Betta - Fishy (1).

We just moved into a nice large home (2800 sq ft) with a fenced - though not huge - yard.

Both DH and I work full time. I work retail - so some days during the week I'm home and some nights I'm working. DH also takes two classes per fall and spring semester (only one more year!).

I'd begun seriously thinking about getting a dog. A smaller dog - under 40 lbs - preferably a breed that require a tons of exercising (labs are out). (S)he would be indoor most of the time with us and have access outside for potty purposes and play (doggy door).

The dog would have to already be housebroken and good with kids and ok with cats.

Are we crazy? Would it be mean to get a dog when we're not home during the day?

Then we went to Petsmart today. I'm such a sucker for shelter kitties. That's where we've gotten all our kitties via shelters or other rescues. There was this adorable spunky 3 month old male kitten - a manx with the greatest markings. He just oozed personality.

Our cat Florence would probably love to have a spunky buddy to play with - Skittles spends most of her time under our bed until the kids go to bed at night. Skittles - I don't know, she's a pretty skiddish girl as is - like I said, she hides when the kids are awake 90% of the time.

Would it be mean to get another kitten? Is three kitties too much? We've got a huge cat tree, and tons of space. Not to mention tons of love. We love our girls. Would they adjust to another kitty?

Ack, I'm so torn. If we get a kitten, we'd have to wait a long while to get a dog, maybe that's a good thing with our busy schedules? I'll admit, I've had dogs all my life. DH has never had a dog. He's pretty sure he's on border with a dog, but they are much more needy in many ways than cats.

Thoughts? Ideas? Comments?

[Asha]

i think puppies are a ton of work and require someone to be home a lot. with you working odd hours and dh in school and working, a puppy seems to be too much to take on at this point, imo. you want a dog that requires a ton of exercise? don't most dogs require a good amount of exercise, but some just require more than others? i know i've seen on cesear milan's show that they say you should walk/run your dog for 45 mins a day. do you have that time?

i don't know much about dogs, but i don't think size is the main factor that contributes to ease of care. there are a lot of little dogs that are quite a handful and a lot of bigger dogs that are easy going. its more about a breeds temperament rather than size.

not only time factor, but i think you are right that you need to consider your other furry children. it doesn't sound like skittles would adjust well to a dog. also, some dogs like to chase after cats. i'd imagine that would be a very stressful env't for a cat. i think it would be easier to add a cat after a dog vs adding a dog after a cat. though, i am speaking from being a cat mommy to a very timid (around strangers) little kitty. in addition, since you just moved that must have been quite stressful for your cats to adjust to their new territory. it might be too soon to add another stressful change to their env't.

good luck with your choice!

[jennylou]

We have three cats and a dog. The dog is better than two of the three cats (who have litterbox issues). I'd consider another dog, but not another cat. DH has faMILY that is allergic to cats and it's hard to host events because of that. OTOH, cats are easier to travel with. You just need someone to stop by - no walks, etc.

[ivansbabe]

I've heard that using the bedroom rule is a good thing to stick to. If you live in a three bedroom house you shouldn't have more than three pets, etc. We have three animals and that is plenty right now for where we live.

[kam]

We have 5 pets but we also don't have any kids. I also stay telecommute so they have the attention they need.

It sounds like you want an adoption dog and it could definitely work out (especially if you have a flexible schedule). That said, dogs are definitely more work than cats. We have 3 cats and 2 dogs - I would say that the dogs have added about triple the amount of work (and that's even with their favorite activity being sleeping!) only because they require so much more of their humans than cats. If you are up for the challenge, it is very rewarding but just know that it takes work.

One thing to think about dogs is family vacations. You are limited if you take the dog with you and it costs extra money to board or have a dogsitter. As a result, there are no last-minute mini breaks unless you have a family member who can help you out in a pinch.

If you're not sure, a kitten is some work but not nearly as much as a dog. Kittens are generally accepted better than full-grown cats into the fold, but you may hear some hissing and growling from the other two (our middle cat was the culprit in our case, but after a week it stopped).

[GeekGirl]

We have a three bedroom home and have three cats and one dog. I think that going from two cats to three is definitely a big change, but definitely do-able. When we grew to three cats we had to start thinking about litter box space, food bowl space, kitty toy space, etc etc. But our three kitties are so happy together, I can't imagine not having a single one of them. So to answer your question, no, I don't think that three cats is too much.

For all that, I don't think a dog and two cats is too much, either. However, a dog does "ground" you in a way that cats usually don't. You have to be sure to come home every 5-8 hrs to let them out, they need more attention, you have to be sure to exercise them. And then (as mentioned by a PP) you can't take unexpected minivacations the way you might with cats. Dogs are very rewarding, and I can't imagine life without my Murphy, but he brings a very different set of responsibilities.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

I have 4 cats and a dog. I agree with GeekGirl--cats are "easier" in the sense you don't have to let them out or make your schedule coinside with their needs. My issue is that we've been able to pick up and leave the cats for a couple days/weekend without much thought, but the dog we have to make arrangements for him (which we've yet to do in the 4 years he's been mine, and I am having problems finding hotels that would let me bring my 135lb dog even though he isn't a barker just naps 95% of the day away).

The technical "too many cats" according to a rescue group I adopted from is beyond 7. It had to do with diseases/sickness--one goes down, it spreads, get some healthy, the rest catch it, get those healthy the others are coming down with it again... So they like to keep it to 6 when placing for fostering.

I took in a 3 year old cat 2 years ago, who has had a hard time adjusting from singlecathood to having 3 older brothers who like to nap together/play from time to time. I've never had an entended problem bring in a kitten--2 months tops, and everything is okay. The dog, when he came into the house, disrupted the cats, but 4 years in the dog and cats could care less about one another most of the time (exceptions being when the dog is running around like a mad man and the cats are trying to make sure they're not stepped on, and when the dog cannot stand the cat getting any attention when he's not).

We don't have set schedules here, kind of like your situation. My mom has a pretty set schedule, but my father and I don't. Classes, overtime, odd work schedules, random golf outings... When I applied to adopt the dog, I told them I was usually home for the majority of the day (I was at the time, no more than a couple hours a day at class). But now, I could be gone for the whole day and then some. We were very lucky to choose a low-maintence breed and an adult who can hold his bladder. One day I had outpatient surgery, and Bern was fine from 5:30am-6:30pm with no accidents, no destruction. He's low energy, likes a decent walk once a day, and will go to the park/shopping a couple times a month. His goal in life is just to follow your around and be with us, not a whole lot more. I couldn't deal with having to train a puppy or a high-emotional needs dog. The St Bernard is our first family dog, and the perfect breed for our lifestyle.

Good luck in whatever decision you make!

[imagirliegirl]

We have 3 cats and I think that's a good number for us. I wouldn't get another cat because I don't think there's enough of me to go around for another one. I wouldn't get a dog because I just don't have the patience or energy to devote to one. I don't think I would make a good dog owner so I steer clear. Plus, it would really piss my cats off. :cool:

I think "too many" pets is sort of relative. I mean, some people can have 5 or 6 pets and give them proper care while other people can have 1 and be terrible owners. It just really depends on the people.

Oh and we have a 3 bedroom home but we keep 2 of the bedroom doors shut. Our cats have plenty of space and toys to keep themselves occupied. They rarely leave the couch or bed anyway. We don't have any kind of schedule with them. I always have someone check on them or stay with them when we go out of town and they are fine.

[jennylou]

I think too many pets is relative to the owners, sort of like too many kids. Some people can have 6 or so kids and do fine, where others have two and can't keep up with them, kwim?

[rileyandfredsmom]

Well, we have 4 cats and 2 dogs and some days it can be a challenge.

Like you, we have one kitty that is very skittish, she was the 3rd addition to the cat clan and then about one year after adopting her, we adopted a kitten. From the skittish cat's standpoint, it was the worst thing we ever did. And we agree, although we love Simon to death, he understands she (Cleo) is skittish so he takes every opportunity to chase her because he thinks it's fun. :rolleyes: It would have been better for Cleo if we hadn't gotten him but they get along for the most part and we just redirect him when he wants to chase her and it seems to work itself out. If you have a skittish kitty, bringing in a kitten might not be the best thing, IMO.

About a dog...they are ALOT of work. I love my two pups to death but when they are gone, there will be no more dogs. They just require so much more than cats plus I don't like the poop in the yard, it makes gardening very difficult....have to leave green space for them to do their business, have to scoop every day or the yard smells like poo, have to treat the yard so their urine doesn't leave yellow spots on the lawn...you get the idea.

Personally, I would adopt an older cat, one about the age of Florence if you absolutely want to do it. But get ready because there will be an adjustment period and they may never all snuggle and love on each other.

[ks_piper]

Thank you for all the replies. :)

We opted not to get a dog. It wouldn't be fair to get a dog and not be home enough to give him/her the attention they crave. And we couldn't do an outdoor dog - it would be out of my realm of comfort.

We went to the Humane Society and opted to look at kittens. We wanted to get our spunky cat a playmate and figure that kittens are open to new cats and that would probably be an easier adjustment for our girls.

The humane society was having a BOGO deal with kittens - they have soooo many kittens. So it was adopt a kitty and get a buddy free. Top that off with the lonely hearts club members (kitties there for longer periods of time) and there was no way we were leaving with one kitten.

So we brought home two boys (fixed of course). They are so sweet and given the size of our house I think everyone will be fine. Our spunkier cat is already doing pretty well with the little guys.

We've also decided that we're at max pet capacity. A kitty for each lap and a betta. 2800 sq ft, 3 bedrooms (big bedrooms) and a basement to share. We're a pretty happy household!

http://pics.livejournal.com/mama_piper/pic/00027y3a/s640x480
This is Marr. He's right around 3 months old.

http://pics.livejournal.com/mama_piper/pic/00028cp5/s640x480
This is Buckley. He's just about 2 weeks older than Marr.

Love them!

[rileyandfredsmom]

what adorable babies! Congratulations.

[imagirliegirl]

Cute babies! Congratulations! :D

[Asha]

they are really cute. was buckley the one that had a hard time being adopted? it looks like he had a rough beginning to his life bc he is so skinny. poor thing.

[ks_piper]

Thanks everyone. They are such sweet little boys. We're so pleased that they get along with one another as well as they do - they could be siblings if you saw them playing together.

Our girls are slowly warming up. Florence (our more gregarious girl) is out and about with the boys. She gives the occasional hiss or growl, but hasn't tried to hurt the boys at all. Skittles (our skiddish girl) is less willing to interact with the boys, but we figured that would be case. She spends most of the day under our bed or our daughter's bed anyway. Still no physical aggression from her either.

Asha, both boys were in the "lonely hearts" club. Makes me so sad. They are both so skinny! I'm sure we'll fatten them up in no time! :)

They are both super affectionate too. They were fostered and you can definitely tell they've had lots of positive human interaction. Florence was fostered as well, and there's a huge difference between how she and Skittles react to things. We think Skittles had a rough start - she's got one nibbled ear - so she's pretty wary of people. Florence (like the boys) just wants love - any pets she can get she happily takes!

:)

[jesvet]

They are beautiful- congratulations and hooray for successful adoptions! :D :D