Cats?

[steuard]

Kim and I have planned for years to get a cat, so now that we have our own house it seems to be time. Shortly after moving in, we visited the neighbors and saw their two cats playing together. This inspired Kim to upgrade our plans to two cats instead of one, and I had to agree with her: that way, the cats can keep each other company when we're both out of the house (or when we're out of town). Things seemed settled.

Today, we visited a fellow faculty member who has a local cat rescue operation. She has a bunch of kittens (and a few older cats) available, all of which are adorable. Among them is a set of three sister kittens who love each other ever so much. So now Kim is suggesting that three isn't that much larger a number than two (and I certainly share the temptation).

I'm a little nervous about where this is heading. :) But in all seriousness, for you cat people out there, how do you think three compares to two?

Comments

[zellandyne.livejournal.com]

We have three cats. So far, it's fine. They've only all been living together since March. We vacuum at least once a week, since two of the cats are long hairs. And we change the cat litter frequently.

I wouldn't want more than three cats, particularly in the space we have currently. But three is doable.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Two's company, three's a crazy cat lady. :-)

Getting siblings is usually nice as they tend to get along really well. In all seriousness, there's nothing wrong with having three cats instead of two, though Captain Obvious says maintenance costs go up by 50%.

You do know of course that having cats is like having kids... it's a long term commitment, both financially and in terms of caretaking and attention. But you did just buy a house so perhaps you're ready for that. :-)

[pmb.livejournal.com]

Depends on whether you feel that you will be outnumbered or not.

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Well, at some point we plan to work on that, too.

[beth_leonard]

iRobot Roomba.

--Beth

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

We have three cats at the moment, because our older cat was lonely and we fell for a pair of sister kittens. In our situation, three cats sometimes mean an interesting 2 against 1 dynamic, but please keep in mind that two cats sometimes meant an interesting player vs. player dynamic. Three cats from the same litter who get along and everything strikes me as a fairly good way to get three cats if that's the number you're going to have.

Definitely keep up with the litter boxes (have at least two, scoop every day or two, change litter weekly), as otherwise they smell awful, and three does add up very much faster than two than you might expect.

And plan to spend your free time for a week or so sitting around squeeing at the cute.

eh -

[dmyersta.livejournal.com]

I didn't find three to be significantly more than 2 and I found 2 to be *much* more desirable than one.

Reading comments I realize that we changed the litter box once in the morning about and 1/2 hour to an hour after we fed them in the morning and again in the evening after feeding them their dinner. I have no idea what it would look like if the litter box wasn't changed that frequently.

I say - get the three cats! They sound adorable and you wouldn't want to leave one behind, would you?!?

[feuervogel]

Three is one step away from five, and five is just dangerous.

[stereotype441.livejournal.com]

I like the idea that one should only have a fibonacci number of cats :)

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Cats! For some reason I was going to share some cat-related link with you the other day, and then I thought, aw, they're not cat people. But I was wrong, yay!

Anyway, I have only ever had 1 or 2 cats, usually 1, so I cannot comment. I agree that 2 is good for keeping each other company, especially if you're getting kittens. (Right now we just have one, but we got her as an adult and when we had a small apartment, and she doesn't much care for other cats.)

As long as they get along, which these do, I think mostly you'll find yourself changing cat little multiple times a week. (And it will be *you*, once you two actively start trying for kids, as handling cat litter is contraindicated for pregnant women. And, as chalgaryn is smart, she'll probably try to keep it your job for as long as possible, once you're in the habit. ;)

Contra the above, I don't think crazy cat lady happens until 4 or 5. You're only a crazy cat lady with 3 if you talk about them all the time.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Also: at *least* 50% more adorable photos you could post to LJ!

[steuard.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm pretty convinced that cat cuteness potential is a nonlinear function of cat density. Significantly above 50%, I'd guess.

(Now, whether we want to turn our blogs into a subsidiary branch of the cheezburger network is a different question. I'll try to keep that under control.)

This sounds sinister, but in this context is not

[pmb.livejournal.com]

(I'll try to keep that under control.)

Well I hope you FAIL.

[kirin]

Given our five, three sounds like a pleasant walk in the park. ;)

As people have mentioned, you'll probably want at least two litter-boxes scooped daily, but that goes pretty quickly.

I bet three litter-mates will be even *more* adorable than usual. Do note, however, that as kittens they will be congenitally insane and have a tendency to destroy anything left out within reach for some time. If you're lucky, they'll eventually grow out of it, mostly.

[feuervogel]

Kittens are evil incarnate, hidden inside a protective façade of fluffy cuteness.

The optimal number of litter boxes is n+1. But we have 2 boxes for 5 cats, and they don't seem to mind. (There's a third in a bathroom that's closed off right now, because I've got lavender drying in there.)

[lordhylas.livejournal.com]

I have three kitties. They're manageable. You just have to make sure you discipline them so they have a good sense of right and wrong.
If you get any of the sisters, I would definitely recommend *not* breaking them up.

[chalgaryn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we'll either take all three sisters or choose two other cats from the many lovely options. Whee! Kitties!