Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have three adult fixed cats, 1 male and 2 females, at home. Home is a 1300 square foot, 2 BR town house. They are indoors only all the time. They get along fine (2 are buddies, the third tolerates and is tolerated, supplemented by lots of love from me).

I have been thinking of adopting another adult cat. But I have been told that three is the magic number for an indoors only environment (unless you have a 15 room mansion), and adding a fourth cat could create all sorts of problems, even with the standard desentization introduction process (which I have done successfully twice already). Problems such as too crowded bringing out territoriality big time, litterbox problems, odor, etc.

Any advice? Also, does sex matter (assume it will be a fixed adult)?

Actually the decision to add a cat is more dependant on the personalities of all the cats involved rather than space or sex. Some cats would have trouble accepting another cat in a huge mansion and some cats would be perfectly content with a close-knit clowder in an efficiency apartment.

Some of our members have multiple cat households and I hope they will weigh in on the subject here.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Hi! Well, first let me say that the widely accepted parameters, are no more than 1 cat per room of your dwelling. Going by that theory you could probably have 5-6 cats. Now let me say, though MA is right that alot depends on the personalities of the cats involved. If the personalities are right together, you can double, even triple those recommendations, sometimes. I will also say though that I really don't recommend that either. I am a cat breeder and have had up to 15 adult cats and kittens in my home, which is about the size of yours, and most of those cats have been unfixed breeder cats, toms and queens, both. BUT... I have yet to have that number really work out like I would hope. When I get past 12, I keep noticing trouble spots and having to sell some, and cut back, certain personality types in the 'pride'. But, being that breeding is my objective, I have to carefully weigh how attatched I am to any given animal and then make sacrifices. Right now, I have 4 fixed males, of which 3 are alley cat rescues and 1 is a neutered Bengal. Then I also have 2 unfixed Himalayan toms, and 3 unfixed Himalayan queens. Right now, other than playtime, which, by the way can be OVERWELMING with a number of playful cats, by and large there is peace. Very little fighting and no litterbox issues. That is the one thing I won't tolorate for a second! My toms don't even spray. I will soon be adding 3-4 more female Himis and another tom though, and I bet I will end up reselling a couple because of disputes. My point is, - I do believe I started this with one lol- I really think if the new cat is introduced well, and likes other cats, you'll be fine. Just remember to always have at least 1 litterbox per cat. That is really important. Even if they all choose to share. Other than that, feed high quality food and scoop litter daily to eliminate odor, and be prepared for play time lol. Good luck!-- Jennifer
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Jennifer

My alley cats: Othello, Vladimir, and Maxwell.

My Bengal: Razzle Tazzle.

My Himalayans: Krueger, Jinx, Dumplin', Dervish, and Precious. Thank you, Jennifer, Sandy, and Rita for trusting me with your babies!!!

I personally am very happy with two. They are buddies and no conflicts. More isn't alway better. I know someone that tried a fourth and ran into alot of trouble which ending up in having to find the fourth a new home. Fights, litter box issues, and cats that just out right were hiding majority of the time. All of her first three changed in one way or another. When she eventually decided to find a new home of which that home was a current two cat home everything went very well there, the orginal three at her first home all went back to being a very happy household. So in her personal experience three was max.

Its a touch call when ever you decide to introduce a new cat becuase you will can never tell how things will go.

Alot of mutli cat homes here with alot of experience.
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Cheri,Shelby,Lily & Lucy

It does depend on the cats, as MA said, but also on your feelings about giving them all the attention they deserve/desire. It seemes a long time ago that we had 2 cats (Voodoo and Gracie). Puss and Boots came to our house as fosters, but we had trouble finding a home for them together, so we decided to keep them. They were very close friends, so I felt they didn't need us as much as the other cats, which had come in as lonely singles. So 4 was great for us 2 humans. It meant there was always someone to sit on my lap. Then we got Willow - again a foster that we kept. I honestly think 5 is too many for us, but no way could I give any of them up because I love every single one of them. It is just that love and attention becomes a bit more stressful because I am always concerned I am neglecting someone. I liked being able to give each one of them individual attention. On the other hand, I know there are people on these boards with 10 cats and they will tell you the cats find a way to get the attention they need. So I think it depends on the person (or people) in the house: their schedules, their lifestyles and how they feel about the time they spend with their cats. We have 4 litterboxes - I would love to have just 2, but that's life...

If your cats sleep with you -- you might consider a bigger bed. I would have bought a king-size bed if I had known we were going to have 5 cats!

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ellen
gracie, voodoo, Puss 'n Boots.... & Willow!

I should also say that each time we added a cat, it has taken 6 months to a year for things to get back to "normal". For example, since we got Willow about a year ago, Gracie rarely comes downstairs, although she and Willow often sleep on the bed with us. Just in the last 2 weeks, she has started coming downstairs again, but as soon as I go upstairs, she races up with me. So they are very sensitive to territorial issues.
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ellen
gracie, voodoo, Puss 'n Boots.... & Willow!

Thank you for your insights. LOVED your photo---glad to see everybody knows their place!

it does depend on the individual cats. we have 5 cats in our 1500 sq ft household. and all is well. they each have their own feeding spot that they go to when its time to eat. they each come at different times for attention. we have 3 litter boxes in one room and another box in another room. a couple different 'watering holes' if you will so their is always some where for them to drink if another cat is there.

i had another cat that i recently had put to sleep about 5 months ago. its been very hard to say the least on me and also on my other cats. they know the routine has changed drastically and they have to adjust just like i do. i would like to get another cat someday but for now its not possible. jazzy would freak out to say the least and we definately could not get an adult. it would have to be a kitten. for some reason ours take to kittens better.

so you have to weigh the good with the bad and see if it would work for you guys.