Q   My daughter and I have been having an argument about how many cats is too many to have in one household? She keeps bringing stray cats home. I’m not sure how many she has now, but you definitely can smell them when you walk into the house. She’s not a hoarder like I’ve seen on TV, but I’m afraid she is heading that direction. What’s your opinion on how many are too many?

A   The question really isn’t how many are too many, but how many a person can take care of properly. What does it mean to provide proper care for animals?

All animals, especially in a multiple animal house, should be spayed and neutered. This is usually where problems begin, because a few animals turn into more animals, and then more, and the number becomes unmanageable. In addition to spaying and neutering, the number of animals should be able to be vetted properly. When people begin to get multiple animals, the vet care becomes more difficult to afford and often animals don’t get the proper professional care needed to stay healthy. Bringing in strays means you could be bringing in diseases that spread through the household.

Knowledge of proper introductions and isolation of new animals being added is crucial to keep everyone healthy and happy.

Cleaning rituals are very important. When the number of animals increases, so does the number of hours spent scooping boxes, scrubbing floors and walls and vacuuming fur. Cat boxes should be scooped every day if not a couple of times a day. Even a one cat household can smell from the litter box if it is not cleaned frequently enough. I’ve been in different houses with multiple cats. One house had 35 cats and you would never know there was even one cat. The house was immaculate. Cats were draped in various places in the house, happy, healthy, and very clean. I was in another house with 15 cats, and I could barely breathe when I walked in. The urine smell was so strong it brought tears to my eyes. Your ability physically and financially care for animals determines how many you should have.

Quality-of-life is the most important thing to consider when deciding how many animals is too many. Life is not better than death if there is no quality. It is truly noble to pick up strays and provide them shelter, but there is so much more to quality-of-life than shelter. Clean fresh water, healthy food, clean litter boxes are crucial. Places to climb and explore, toys to keep the mind challenged and individual attention are also important. Behavior problems often occur when you have less time for each animal.

A household with multiple animals often leads to animals marking their territory with urine. Some will fight for dominance or certain highly regarded spaces in the house. Whenever there are multiple animals, there is a need for a lot more training and management. Many people think they can handle having lots of animals, but before they know it, things get out of control. Once someone gets to that point, it’s hard to get out of it. They are either ashamed and don’t want to ask for help or are worried about the future of their beloved animals.

You are courageous as a family member to confront your daughter about this potential problem before it gets worse. Talking to your daughter about her goals and the reasons for having so many animals is important. Many people have multiple animals because they need to feel better about themselves. She may need some counseling to get to deeper-seated problems. I’m not saying that people who want to save animals have psychological problems. We all would like to see a better life for the homeless animals around us. However, no one person can do it alone, and taking in more animals than you can care for is not going to solve the animal overpopulation problem. Take an honest look at your abilities to care for animals properly BEFORE getting over your head and find a way to take action in your community to help the animals, without taking them all in to your own home. The Fluvanna SPCA, Caring For Creatures, and Animal Connections all need volunteers.