Four years ago we had one cat, a male. We added a kitten and they did great. Next year add 1 stray who hates all cats, next year add two more strays who want to be boss. This year we have another stray who brought her 4 kittens. We think people are dropping them since I work at a university in vet dept. We have kept the mom and kittens separated for months thinking we could find homes but no homes found. Now we have a total of 10 cats and the 5 we had first are very nervous , don't get along well anyway and we don't know what to do about the other 5. We are doing rotational shifts of feeding, letting out, petting etc. etc. We are exhausted! We have a 3 BR house with partially finished basement and an attached garage, so we have cats in all areas. Help! How can we all get along, reduce the stress for them and us. We are in our 60's and we both work full time. There is a possibility of a home for two kittens, but that still leaves 8 cats...we are going crazy. We love animals and want to have good homes for them but the economy is not helping us find good homes as everyone is dumping their animals
RESPONSE
Your title says it all, you have too many cats in too small an area and the effort of trying to care for them all is too much. You and the cats are suffering. If you want to keep them all, you need to be willing to modify your house into a cat friendly house with lots of "up places", cubbies, climbing trees, etc. Add access to a sheltered outdoor area with a cat-safe fence. As the cats get older, there will only be more difficulty and challenges regarding space, time and money. If you are not willing to "give it all up" to support all of the cats, you may want to look into no-kill shelters and sanctuaries. You may have to drive a long way to find the right place but it will be worth it in the long run. I know this may sound harsh but right now, neither you nor the cats are living the happy life that you all deserve. We have devoted our lives to helping cats but we have the property and financial resources, not to mention the energy, to be able to do this. Not everybody does. Carefully look at all of your options and then decide on a course of action. Either go all in and make it work for you or accept your limitations and find a happy place for the cats. Either decision will, in the long run, make both you and the cats happier!
