Remudamom Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 What qualifies us for being crazy cat ladies? We've got ten, one that's a new kitten and not outside unless supervised, two young females that must be in at night, one allowed in whenever, one allowed in for a while, three that I try to keep out all the time and one semi wild barn cat. A really wild tom that I see from time to time. Six of these have just shown up. Two we rescued. One we brought home on purpose and one was born here. All females are fixed and most of the males. I worry all the time about smells, try hard to keep the box clean, yada, yada. Then I watch Animal Hoarders and panic. I try to justify the numbers by keeping them outside and living on a farm. So where is the line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Well your post excited me! I thought I was a crazy cat lady for having 5. My first thought was I could easily get 5 more now-lol! I'm a sucker for a stray or abandoned cat. Our newest member is a little black kitten who was part of a feral family in our neighbors yard. The feral family left him behind and he is living with us and his 4 new cat buddies and a dog. He is a sweetie! I'm seriously planning on ordering litter and food online because going to Petco and seeing the kitties up for adoption is killing me. I want to take them all home. As for maintenance, I think the pooper-scoop is an extension of my arm now. I have some very finicky ones who require pristine boxes. They are all indoor and also spend time on our screened patio. They are super spoiled. All are fixed or spayed. All but one are rescues. I watch animal hoarders too and feel bad for many of those folks-they just get in over their heads and even with the good intentions, end up making things worse for the animals. As for your question about where to draw the line-I think the time to draw the line is when you can't guarantee food, shelter, vet care, emergency care or whatever else they need to be safe and happy. There are also local zoning laws to consider as some do have caps on how many pets are allowed. I think that is something that the folks on Hoarders don't really think about though. They have so many other complicating emotional issues that contribute to the hoarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) My sister has 10 cats. A stray had 9 kittens and she already had a couple. She can't find homes for them and lives in the middle of nowhere Texas, where the shelters are all high-kill. They are all neutered and up to date on shots, too. I guess the economy is so bad where she lives that people don't want to take on the expense of a pet. I knew a lady who had 10 cats in a 2 bedroom condo. Her place was spotless and smelled great. There was no way anyone could tell she had that many cats, or any cats at all -- unless they saw them, of course. Her place also had no clutter. I aspire to be her, without the cats, and with a much better personality. I think it's great that you have your cats spayed and neutered. The crazy cat lady problem would occur if they were all busy procreating instead of recreating, or if there were so many of them that you could not keep up with their care -- cleaning up, feeding, veterinary care, and so forth. Edited August 6, 2012 by RoughCollie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I've only got two males, but I'd have more if it weren't for needing to drag them between here and Chicago and then back again every summer. It gets expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I always heard Number of Bedrooms in Your House + 1 as the acceptable limit (set by what shadowy authority, I don't know), but I think that applies to largely indoor cats. We need a new metric to account for outdoor/barn cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I don't know about crazy cat lady but I am thinking we might be called the crazy zoo. My dd came in a couple of hrs ago and asked if we would be able to get 2 kitties, one for her and one for her brother.:tongue_smilie: I told here we needed to convince her daddy that one is a good idea yet.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I don't know. We have 5 (indoor) cats. Unfortunately, most of them are getting older & now four of the five are medically needy. (Two of the elderly ones are in different stages of renal decline/failure, plus one of those two has cancer also. Two others have diabetes.) Between the daily shots, pills, medical creams, & saline IVs I give, I feel as if I run a feline hospice. (It's time-consuming, expensive, & heart-wrenching at times.) I think that definitely qualifies me as either the Feline Florence Nightengale or The Crazy Cat Lady, I'm not sure which. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Between the daily shots, pills, medical creams, & saline IVs I give, I feel as if I run a feline hospice. (It's time-consuming, expensive, & heart-wrenching at times.) I think that definitely qualifies me as either the Feline Florence Nightengale or The Crazy Cat Lady, I'm not sure which. :tongue_smilie: This made me laugh! It's really not funny at all, I know, but I loved your spin on it- the Feline Florence Nightingale. :lol: (I have a cat with severe allergies and skin problems, and had another cat who had to be put to sleep because he was suffering so badly with an incurable skin disease, and have spent so much time trying to restrain cats so I could put drops in their ears, stuff pills down them, and lots of other interesting things. It definitely is expensive and time consuming.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 I don't know. We have 5 (indoor) cats. Unfortunately, most of them are getting older & now four of the five are medically needy. (Two of the elderly ones are in different stages of renal decline/failure, plus one of those two has cancer also. Two others have diabetes.) Between the daily shots, pills, medical creams, & saline IVs I give, I feel as if I run a feline hospice. (It's time-consuming, expensive, & heart-wrenching at times.) I think that definitely qualifies me as either the Feline Florence Nightengale or The Crazy Cat Lady, I'm not sure which. :tongue_smilie: That must be hard. I'm impressed if you can pill a cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 This made me laugh! It's really not funny at all, I know, but I loved your spin on it- the Feline Florence Nightingale. :lol: (I have a cat with severe allergies and skin problems, and had another cat who had to be put to sleep because he was suffering so badly with an incurable skin disease, and have spent so much time trying to restrain cats so I could put drops in their ears, stuff pills down them, and lots of other interesting things. It definitely is expensive and time consuming.) That must be hard. I'm impressed if you can pill a cat. Thanks. I try to keep an upbeat & or humorous attitude for all of it, as it certainly helps. There are days it feels overwhelming (& sad), though. The kitties are my furry babies & I'm just trying to help them stay comfy through their golden years. :001_smile: Giving pills to cats is still not fun or easy. (Liquid meds are worse though. You can have your entire kitchen sprayed w/ pink antibiotics & yourself too! :tongue_smilie::lol: Ick.) I much prefer to give them shots. IVs aren't fun to give either -- those are some massively big needles & cats don't really like to sit around for IVs. (Around here, IVs are a 2- or even 3-person job.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 What qualifies us for being crazy cat ladies? We've got ten, one that's a new kitten and not outside unless supervised, two young females that must be in at night, one allowed in whenever, one allowed in for a while, three that I try to keep out all the time and one semi wild barn cat. A really wild tom that I see from time to time. Six of these have just shown up. Two we rescued. One we brought home on purpose and one was born here. All females are fixed and most of the males. I worry all the time about smells, try hard to keep the box clean, yada, yada. Then I watch Animal Hoarders and panic. I try to justify the numbers by keeping them outside and living on a farm. So where is the line? Sorry, you are a crazy cat lady. I am, too. I have 4 and want another.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I'm teetering on the brink of Crazy Cat Ladyhood. :lol: If it wasn't for the fact that the sweet girl who runs the feral cat rescue program for my county has 30 cats, I'd say I'm there with 8 (mostly inside) and 4-6 outside (exclusively). However, her 30 cats trump my dozen, so I'm insisting I am not flat out crazy....just a little quirky. Yep, I'm the Quirky Cat Lady. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 That must be hard. I'm impressed if you can pill a cat. I give my cat an inhaler. Do I get to impress you, too? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I give my cat an inhaler. Do I get to impress you, too? :lol: :blink: (How do you do that? Is it like a human inhaler?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 :blink: (How do you do that? Is it like a human inhaler?) Yep, we use Flovent. I get it from the Walgeens pharmacy. I don't want to talk about how much I pay for it. :tongue_smilie: I use this aerosol chamber that's specially designed for cats. It took me awhile to train her, but she's pretty good about it now. She'll even let other people give it to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 That must be hard. I'm impressed if you can pill a cat. Of all the things you won't put up with, you can be beaten by a cat needing a pill?? :lol: Don't ever say you have a cat that "won't take medication" around me, unless you want me to do it for you right then and there to show it can be done! I have to express my cat's bladder because she's paralyzed (and I have the posts here from when it happened three years ago to prove it :glare:). Do I win? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Of all the things you won't put up with, you can be beaten by a cat needing a pill?? :lol: Don't ever say you have a cat that "won't take medication" around me, unless you want me to do it for you right then and there to show it can be done! I have to express my cat's bladder because she's paralyzed (and I have the posts here from when it happened three years ago to prove it :glare:). Do I win? :tongue_smilie: That beats my inhaler any day. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) I have to express my cat's bladder because she's paralyzed (and I have the posts here from when it happened three years ago to prove it :glare:). Do I win? :tongue_smilie: Hey, I've done that too. I had a cat that had thrombosis & lived to tell about it. For the first few months after it happened, he was effectively paralyzed in his lower half & I had to express his kidneys. However, w/ daily injections of Heparin, the blood clot eventually broke up & he slowly regained use of his back half. He was totally back to normal & had another healthy, happy 2 years after that. :001_smile: Sorry about your cat's paralysis. That's gotta be hard, esp. taking care of her for over 3 years. :grouphug: I still can't imagine doing the inhaler thing, though! :lol::tongue_smilie: (This has really been informative for me because I'm not sure that I knew cats could have asthma. And, the link Annie put says that one in a hundred cats has it w/ Siamese & Himalayans being more prone to getting it.) I think we could all qualify for vet tech status at a minimum.... Edited August 9, 2012 by Stacia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 ROFL! Love this! :D We only have 2 cats and can only have up to 4 in our city. I'd LOVE a kitten right now, but I cannot convince my DH. Our 2 cats are almost 10 and have had zero health problems so far, so they could live another 10 years. I am just a crazy cat lady wanna-be. We just got back from 10 days of vacation and I'm horrified that the neighbors that did cat care for us this time didn't even see one of our cats for 10 days! Not to mention, after the first visit, they let their 9 year old do it on her own (including watering garden, feeding, litter boxes, and I hoped some cat visiting but that was too much to ask, and locking up our quirky old door). And I had explicitly said that it would require adult supervision. The plant on our front steps was not watered and is now dead, not to mention there was litter and food everywhere. I suspect she hadn't done the litter more than once or twice. Ummm ... yeah, never again. I've been giving our shy kitty extra hugs the past 2 days! Poor kitty! Our last 2 cats had lots of health problems in their later years that require pills, hand feeding, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Ummm ... yeah, never again. I've been giving our shy kitty extra hugs the past 2 days! Poor kitty! Awwwwwww. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 It looks like it's between Remudamom and Dianne for TWM Crazy Cat Lady of 2012 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 can I get the bronze medal? I have 8. Ds is asking for a new kitten But I told him 8 is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 OK, I feel a little better that I fall somewhere in the middle with my 8 cats! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hey, I've done that too. I had a cat that had thrombosis & lived to tell about it. For the first few months after it happened, he was effectively paralyzed in his lower half & I had to express his kidneys. However, w/ daily injections of Heparin, the blood clot eventually broke up & he slowly regained use of his back half. He was totally back to normal & had another healthy, happy 2 years after that. :001_smile: Were you doing joint and muscle flexes during that time? I was advised by a random vet that she could have a fracture that didn't show up on the x-ray, and I was scared out of doing the physical therapy I knew she needed (I figured this out on my own, my own vet didn't even mention it). She now has muscle contractures, and I will always wonder if she would have been able to walk again. :( Sorry about your cat's paralysis. That's gotta be hard, esp. taking care of her for over 3 years. :grouphug: What was hard was thinking she might be so bad off that I would have to put her down (the vet was shocked that I considered anything else). After going through that, I am grateful for every single year I have her, and defiantly hope for 13 more (she is seven). I think we could all qualify for vet tech status at a minimum.... HA! I know I sure know more than a lot of vets, with all the research I've had to do. Stupid "experts." :glare: With our combined knowledge, we could easily charge people to see their cats! :lol: How wonderful to find kindred spirits. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oh, only four cats here, shockingly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Of all the things you won't put up with, you can be beaten by a cat needing a pill?? :lol: Don't ever say you have a cat that "won't take medication" around me, unless you want me to do it for you right then and there to show it can be done! I have to express my cat's bladder because she's paralyzed (and I have the posts here from when it happened three years ago to prove it :glare:). Do I win? :tongue_smilie: Our old kitty Felix, who died this year could beat three of us when it came to pill taking. The vet couldn't even pill him easily. You win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Our old kitty Felix, who died this year could beat three of us when it came to pill taking. The vet couldn't even pill him easily. Amateurs, all of you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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