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I think the answer kind of depends on if the cats are indoor or outdoor cats, and how you obtain them and keep them (specifically, if you just feed strays and they consider your house homebase, but you never actually license them.)
If you don't ever let the cats in your house, and you keep getting more and more cats because you feed all of the strays that shows up on your doorstep, I think you can have a higher number of cats and not be considered a crazy cat lady. "They're not my cats...I just feed them."
And it's okay to take stray cats to the vet to have them spayed or neutered (thank you to those who do!) or maybe taking them in for a sickness or an accident. That just shows a kind heart, and doesn't make you crazy.
If all your outdoor cats are unlicensed, anybody could just take one home and call it their own. You may want to license your favorites. If you actually license the strays, making them your own outdoor cats, I think you're crazy with more than 10.
If the cats are indoor cats, I think 5 is the limit. 6 is crazy.
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Depending on your city / state, they may also impose a statutory limit to the number. Some particularly litigious jurisdictions may also pass ordinances limiting the number of pets you may have and hit you with a nice daily fine for non-compliance.
Growing up where I did, we did have the crazy dog lady - she was caught twice with 19 dogs in a residence. Dog feces was reported to be 3 inches deep in the basement of the house, and you could smell the house a block away.
She finally bought a farm downstate and moved 17 dogs there but was still under the watchful eye of the police for years after that.
Source(s):
The crazy dog lady lived 4 blocks east of where I grew up.
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If you have indoor cats then I would say two maybe three cats would be okay before you would be considered a crazy cat lady.
Indoor cats have less room to roam and are more prone to fighting as even spayed/nurtured cats can be territorial. Plus each indoor cat needs their own litter box. Who has room for more than three litter boxes? The litter boxes should be scooped of poop/pee daily and emptied and changed every week to maintain cleanliness. More than three litter boxes would make this task more of a chore that likely wouldn't always get done.
Outdoor cats are a different subject. One could have as many as there are room for (taking into consideration city/country living). I would say in an urban area maybe five or six cats. It would be much easier to have a bunch of outdoor cats and NOT be considered a crazy cat lady because you could always pretend that the cats just "adopted you" and your only feeding them because you are a good person. :)
Source(s):
Myself, owner of two indoor crazy cats... Lucy & Tootie
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I used to have a neighbor who took in every stray cat she could find. At one point she had 20 cats in a one bedroom apartment. The humane society was called on her after the smell of cat urine leaked out of her apartment.
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If the house smells of cat regularly, if you can't easily leave the house in an outfit not covered in cat fur, you're the cat lady (or gentleman)
if the house is impractical to host people, or it is difficult to cook in a sanitary environment, you're crazy cat lady
basically, if the cats control the house more than you do, you're crazy cat person
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I'll keep butterscotch candies and handkerchiefs in my purse, where crocheted shawls, and shake my fist whenever a stray baseball rolls into my yard.
Now, back to the cats - in order to qualify to be an honest-to-goodness true CCL (Crazy Cat Lady), all the cats must reside mostly indoors, so as to drape themselves all over the furniture, carpets, people, and clothing. A hardcore CCL will have 7-10 cats (but not more than 12 - that's just cruel, no one can care for that many cats on their own). And the NUMBER ONE code of ethics in the CCL Handbook - the cats must always be more important than people, and be left in your Will so that when you die, they inherit your TV Guide collection, Twizzlers, and chest of shawls.
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/store/assets/images/product/cracat/cracat_lg.jpg
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http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress.com/files/2008/06/funny-pictures-crazy-cat-lady-starter-kit.jpg
I lived next door to a man that worked for a cat rescue service in Denver. He had a very small 2 bedroom house and had 9 cats on his property. He built a large litter box on the back yard (looked more like a dog house) and had the backyard enclosed with extra materials so the cats could go into the yard without running away. His house was beautiful and immaculate and never smelled like a cat. I was amazed. These cats would have been euthanized if it weren't for him. If I were to die and come back as a cat, I'd like to go to his house.
So it depends on how you keep the X number of cats you have, before you become a "crazy cat lady".
On the other hand, if you want to win the all time world record, you have to be that lady in Russia who had 130 in her tiny flat.
(the video is quite interesting!)
http://englishrussia.com/?p=1199
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Answered Question
Best Answer Chosen by Asker
| May 22, 2009 05:59 AM |
If you don't ever let the cats in your house, and you keep getting more and more cats because you feed all of the strays that shows up on your doorstep, I think you can have a higher number of cats and not be considered a crazy cat lady. "They're not my cats...I just feed them."
And it's okay to take stray cats to the vet to have them spayed or neutered (thank you to those who do!) or maybe taking them in for a sickness or an accident. That just shows a kind heart, and doesn't make you crazy.
If all your outdoor cats are unlicensed, anybody could just take one home and call it their own. You may want to license your favorites. If you actually license the strays, making them your own outdoor cats, I think you're crazy with more than 10.
If the cats are indoor cats, I think 5 is the limit. 6 is crazy.
| Asker's Rating: |
• good answer, I'll let the misses know
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Other Answers (10)
May 22, 2009 05:13 AM
My mom would not like this, but even 1 is too many if you can't properly care for it (vet, shots, spay / neuter) and the condition (state of repair & cleanliness) of your home suffers. Depending on your city / state, they may also impose a statutory limit to the number. Some particularly litigious jurisdictions may also pass ordinances limiting the number of pets you may have and hit you with a nice daily fine for non-compliance.
Growing up where I did, we did have the crazy dog lady - she was caught twice with 19 dogs in a residence. Dog feces was reported to be 3 inches deep in the basement of the house, and you could smell the house a block away.
She finally bought a farm downstate and moved 17 dogs there but was still under the watchful eye of the police for years after that.
Source(s):
The crazy dog lady lived 4 blocks east of where I grew up.
Permalink | Report
Reply
May 22, 2009 09:22 AM
The answer truly lies in ones ability to care for their cats. If you have indoor cats then I would say two maybe three cats would be okay before you would be considered a crazy cat lady.
Indoor cats have less room to roam and are more prone to fighting as even spayed/nurtured cats can be territorial. Plus each indoor cat needs their own litter box. Who has room for more than three litter boxes? The litter boxes should be scooped of poop/pee daily and emptied and changed every week to maintain cleanliness. More than three litter boxes would make this task more of a chore that likely wouldn't always get done.
Outdoor cats are a different subject. One could have as many as there are room for (taking into consideration city/country living). I would say in an urban area maybe five or six cats. It would be much easier to have a bunch of outdoor cats and NOT be considered a crazy cat lady because you could always pretend that the cats just "adopted you" and your only feeding them because you are a good person. :)
Source(s):
Myself, owner of two indoor crazy cats... Lucy & Tootie
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May 22, 2009 11:01 AM
I have two that are driving me crazy I can't imagine having more than that. I used to have a neighbor who took in every stray cat she could find. At one point she had 20 cats in a one bedroom apartment. The humane society was called on her after the smell of cat urine leaked out of her apartment.
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May 22, 2009 11:58 AM
I think its a function of the cat-to-space ratio of the residence and the practicality of the cat owner's residence. If the house smells of cat regularly, if you can't easily leave the house in an outfit not covered in cat fur, you're the cat lady (or gentleman)
if the house is impractical to host people, or it is difficult to cook in a sanitary environment, you're crazy cat lady
basically, if the cats control the house more than you do, you're crazy cat person
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May 22, 2009 09:45 PM
I was considering the cat-to-space ratio as well, but I decided against it. If someone is living by themselves in a mansion with 20 cats who can all comfortable roam, I still lean towards crazy.
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May 22, 2009 12:40 PM
5 cats. 5 cats makes a woman a crazy cat lady. I'm up to 3, so I'm just a hare's breath away from achieving my dream of someday (I'm in my late 20s) becoming a crazy cat lady that all the kids in the neighborhood are afraid of. I'll keep butterscotch candies and handkerchiefs in my purse, where crocheted shawls, and shake my fist whenever a stray baseball rolls into my yard.
Now, back to the cats - in order to qualify to be an honest-to-goodness true CCL (Crazy Cat Lady), all the cats must reside mostly indoors, so as to drape themselves all over the furniture, carpets, people, and clothing. A hardcore CCL will have 7-10 cats (but not more than 12 - that's just cruel, no one can care for that many cats on their own). And the NUMBER ONE code of ethics in the CCL Handbook - the cats must always be more important than people, and be left in your Will so that when you die, they inherit your TV Guide collection, Twizzlers, and chest of shawls.
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May 22, 2009 03:16 PM
Ha! That's what my husband says. We have more animals than humans and he seems to think there is a potential mob gang problem brewing. Wonder if he's right...
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May 22, 2009 01:51 PM
Well... to get started, you would need a minimum of three cats. I lived next door to a man that worked for a cat rescue service in Denver. He had a very small 2 bedroom house and had 9 cats on his property. He built a large litter box on the back yard (looked more like a dog house) and had the backyard enclosed with extra materials so the cats could go into the yard without running away. His house was beautiful and immaculate and never smelled like a cat. I was amazed. These cats would have been euthanized if it weren't for him. If I were to die and come back as a cat, I'd like to go to his house.
So it depends on how you keep the X number of cats you have, before you become a "crazy cat lady".
On the other hand, if you want to win the all time world record, you have to be that lady in Russia who had 130 in her tiny flat.
(the video is quite interesting!)
http://englishrussia.com/?p=1199
Permalink | Report
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0 cats = lonely (or hater)
1 cat = an experiment
2 cats = normal
3 cats = time to get a hobby
4 cats = pushing it
5 cats = batty
6+ cats = crazy