raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jul 9, 2012 15:06:05 GMT -5
My single friends pretty much agree that you can't have cats until you're married. Unless you don't want to get married.
I love my cats, but never again. "Smartest cat in the world, and it still craps in the house." Favorite quote from That 70's Show.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Jul 9, 2012 15:11:12 GMT -5
DH wants another cat. I'm really torn on the idea. I do know that if we get one, that's IT. Two pets in a household is very much my limit. The kid(s) won't even be getting a hamster until one kitty kicks the bucket, if we have two.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jul 9, 2012 15:25:32 GMT -5
I highly recommend waiting until babybird arrives and re-evaluating at the 6 and 12 month mark. I know I'm an extreme example, but when your resources are worn down even pets can feel like more of a burden than a joy and that just sucks for everyone.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Jul 9, 2012 15:38:32 GMT -5
Don't worry, we wouldn't be getting another cat until we were in Washington I don't think. It's going to be hard enough to make that move with a toddler and a grown up cat, let alone an extra kitten.
But I don't know. Something puts me off about the idea. It's hard to imagine loving another kitty as much as I love Tessercat. She's pretty special.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jul 9, 2012 15:41:54 GMT -5
DH's aunt has about 20 cats. Definitely some mental illness with her - she was going the Duggar route (6 kids) til she ran out of eggs, and now that the kids have mostly left, she's on to collecting cats. Her house is about 3000 sf and completely trashed. I don't know how DH's uncle deals with it (although IMO he's just as bad to have stood by and let her do all the things she's been doing for the last 30 years). I'd definitely like to see a study correlating mental health and ownership of multiple cats. I think a handful of cats is fine, but once you get up into the high single or low double digits... unless you're fostering... yeah, that's a lot.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jul 9, 2012 16:01:03 GMT -5
Fostering though is where it starts! (Says the person that adopted less than 10% of her total fosters and still has a zoo...) DH and I have talked extensively about our pets and how we ended up here. It comes down to DH was depressed, and I would have done anything to try to make him happy. He got to love on the fosters, and keep quite a few too, with very, very little of the maintenance/cleaning. Of course it didn't make him happy and I locked myself into a 15-20 year commitment by being too immature not to enable him. Someone must be doing research on this--I must find it! And why is it more common to happen with cats than with dogs?
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jul 9, 2012 16:03:41 GMT -5
Might be a personality thing. "Cat people" are generally different from "dog people" - I'd say many cat owners are introverts, and many dog owners are extroverts. I don't think mental illness discriminates between the two categories, but I could see hoarding as more of an introvert behavior, whereas compulsive shopping, gambling, etc. are more "extrovert" behaviors. But I'm not a psychologist and I don't play one on TV
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jul 9, 2012 16:07:21 GMT -5
Someone must be doing research on this--I must find it! And why is it more common to happen with cats than with dogs? My very unscientific theory is that the dogs need walking and trying to walk 20 dogs at once is just impossible. So to hoard dogs you need a yard with a fence, and to avoid getting neighbor's complaints about the noise you need a place in the country, so it limits how many dogs you can hoard. Although I did see one of those hoarder shows about someone who lived in the country and had a bunch of dogs, plus donkeys, chickens, ects, so it's possible. Just harder to pull off, without a lot of yard. Plus dogs eat more than cats, unless you only hoard really small ones, so it can get more expensive. Just my totally unscientific guesses.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Jul 9, 2012 16:07:39 GMT -5
Could be that nobody has done a study on dogs yet, or because dogs are more likely to spend more time outdoors, or that parasite that you get from cats is what is causing problems.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jul 9, 2012 16:08:19 GMT -5
DH wants another cat. I'm really torn on the idea. I do know that if we get one, that's IT. Two pets in a household is very much my limit. The kid(s) won't even be getting a hamster until one kitty kicks the bucket, if we have two. My oldest won't get a pet, beyond a goldfish until he's 10. Actually, we said we'd open discussion about pets when our oldest was 10. I kept telling my oldest "We already have two pets. We are at our limit." DS would say "Momma! I'm not an animal." To which I usually replied, "Really, have you checked out your behavior lately?" Now we have three pets kids. We seriously don't have the energy to keep anything else alive.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Jul 9, 2012 16:56:26 GMT -5
I kept telling my oldest "We already have two pets. We are at our limit." DS would say "Momma! I'm not an animal." To which I usually replied, "Really, have you checked out your behavior lately?"
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 9, 2012 17:00:54 GMT -5
Shit...I've got 3 cats. Luckily, 2 of them have one paw in the grave - so maybe I'll magically become 2/3rds more sane over the course of the next few months.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Jul 9, 2012 17:34:12 GMT -5
Shit...I've got 3 cats. Luckily, 2 of them have one paw in the grave - so maybe I'll magically become 2/3rds more sane over the course of the next few months.
Aww, poor kitties. I think it's probably too late for your sanity, unfortunately...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2012 17:41:04 GMT -5
Now that would be an interesting study - the link between multiple cat ownership and mental illness. My hypothesis (based solely on personal observation of a few people and reading the Enquirer in the grocery checkout line) is that the number of cats one owns is highly correlated to the level of mental illness one has. My mom has had up to six cats at a time and she definitely suffers from mental illness.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Jul 9, 2012 19:00:31 GMT -5
Lol anne I was reading the to comments abt cats/sanity and thinking anne's Mom only has 2 cats now, so Anne can stop worrying abt her. Pfft 2,4 or 6 is a long way from 26.
Sent from my MB855 using ProBoards
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 9, 2012 20:18:56 GMT -5
Hmmm, cat bashing, eh? ;D I have two cats, a one-year-old boy (Henry Chinaski) and a 12-year-old female (Katt von Cat), whenever one dies (2-3 cats is my personal limit) I'm getting another male so I can have a Catrick Stewart; if I get another female I need to think of an awesome name. I would love to have a bazillion cats, but two work perfectly with the room and budget. I much prefer cats over dogs, for one thing I can go away for a couple of days with no more effort than leaving some extra food and water out. Can't do that with dogs. Or kids. I have anxiety, so maybe that is why I like cats? My Mom hoarded pets when we were young. Looking back, I really think she did have some sort of depression for a few years (ironic for someone who doesn't "believe" in mental illness). Mom would always say let's go "look" at the SPCA, but we'd always end up bringing something home. I think at the worst we had three dogs, something like 13 cats, and a couple of guinea pigs. It was disgusting growing up in that house.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jul 9, 2012 21:03:34 GMT -5
Meghan--does your mom keep pets now? If not what do you think changed?
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Peace Of Mind
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Post by Peace Of Mind on Jul 9, 2012 21:07:55 GMT -5
LMAO!! I have 5 cats. Used to have 7. I had only 2 when I met DH (who said "We don't need 2 cats!) and I showed him the door. DH was responsible for the number going up to 7. But I am the one that took them in and became responsible for them full time. He just played with them after making friends. I was the one that worried when storms and extreme weather came and if they had enough to eat. And ended up taking them in (I couldn't allow a fixed cat to remain out doors after surgery!). So I'm only 2.5 crazy cat lady status at this time. And wouldn't have it any other way! ETA: Back on topic - I quit working to keep my sanity! Or what was left of it.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jul 10, 2012 6:46:24 GMT -5
Meghan--does your mom keep pets now? If not what do you think changed? she has a cat she took in when one of my sister's friends moved. She filed bankruptcy and lost her house to foreclosure when i was in high school (late 90s), so we had to get rid of all the animals, save for the family dog we had since she was a puppy. I got a cat for my hs graduation (my old lady baby), and mom ended up getting another dog. That was it for years. Then the family dog died, i moved out, and she was left with the one dog. She decided to move closer to my sister and wanted to rent a farmhouse but theuu didn't allow pets. A friend of mine, who is allergic, took in the remaining dog because Mom was going to take him to the spca (certain death for a 10 year old dog). He gave him a wonderful life for his last years before they had to put him down. My mom is a terrible pet owner; she useful to give the dogs gum drops as treats! We'll see if this cat actually gets vet visits.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 10, 2012 12:25:43 GMT -5
DF and I have 4 so we are certifiable. ;D
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jul 10, 2012 12:43:18 GMT -5
I have had as many as 3 cats at one time. I am definitely a cat person. Presently I have none, but am thinking of getting a cat if I see the right cat on the Humane Society's website.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Jul 10, 2012 12:56:22 GMT -5
Pathological Collecting (or hoarding) does not have it's own DSM IV listing, but is instead listed as part of the obsessive compulsive disorder. I have heard (though not verified) that hoarding may have it's own entry in the upcoming DSM V.
To qualify as an animal hoarder you do first have to have a larger than usual number of animals, however, that in itself is not an indicator of mental illness. The main indicator is that the person is not only unable to provide adequate care, but they are also in denial about that fact. Most collectors feel that the animals are better off with them than they would be otherwise despite unsanitary conditions and the lack of proper veterinary care. They have an inability to give the animals up, even to a good home.
Hoarding cats is more common in urban areas because, as someone else pointed out, it's easier and less noticable. There are laws in my city regarding how many dogs I can have on my property, that can temporarily be exceeded if I have a litter of puppies on the premises. However, I don't know that there are any laws limiting the number of cats I can have on my property.
I grew up in a rural area. We had 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 dogs, and a horse. My best friend's family had 4 kids, 9 cats, 3 dogs, 2-4 horses, 2-5 goats, and at one time, 2 sheep. I'd call that a larger than usual number of animals, but all the animals were well cared for and the conditions were anything buy unsanitary.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Jul 10, 2012 12:59:52 GMT -5
To qualify as an animal hoarder you do first have to have a larger than usual number of animals, however, that in itself is not an indicator of mental illness. The main indicator is that the person is not only unable to provide adequate care, but they are also in denial about that fact.[/u] I'm not a huge animal lover but that's very sad for the pets.
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