how many cats is too many cats in the house?

[thornaby]

When we moved over here full time 2013 my worry's were that my wife would have every sad, stray dog.
Not the case, its been cats!
From a person who vowed he would never have a cat in the house this is remarkable.
We now now have nine outside cats and three inside.
I say to my gourgeous wife, no more cats.
She laughs and says quite rightely, I won't walk past a suffering animal.
Thank goodness there's no camels on the Ireland
Love cyprus.

[topten]

One

[brian24001]

Thank goodness there's no camels on the Ireland

There are camels in Ireland, but I think they are all in the zoo, not seen a wild one.

[frontalman]

It's the way I tell'em

Anyway, don't know about inside the house, but there has been an explosion of cats in Karsiyaka recently, screaming all night they are to be sure, to be sure. What with them and me doggies howling we can't get a moment's sleep. Me neighbour Murphy suggested ear plugs but we find them really hard to swallow.

[journey1]

One & neutered

[thornaby]

Brian200401, auto correction on tablet can be a pain

[thornaby]

Frontal man, dogs are a pain.
Locals seem to love barking dogs housed outside and do nothing to shut the dam things up.
Been told they don't like them inside, unclean??
But show some consideration for others please

[Owl Lady]

Correction the dogs aren't a pain, it's the dog owners who allow them to bark uncontrolled!!

[frontalman]

Excuse me, my post was meant to be a joke. We have our dogs inside at night, never let them bark for more than about ten seconds without shutting them up. At least we are helping the stray dog problem here by homing three of them. I'd much rather not have them and be able to do exactly what we please, but unfortunately I am soft-hearted and can't turn a blind eye to suffering. Those of you upset by dogs barking, get some of your own and you won't notice so much, there are plenty of them needing kindness and a bit of compassion, ready and waiting to be collected.

[owl]

Have we gone from packs of dogs to Pussy Galore?

What next,.. roaming hyena's?

I hope those ostriches don't get out from the Alagadi horse stables,.. they can't half run!!!

p.s. I think they should start to cull those 'supermarket ex-pats', cluttering up the aisles with moans about not finding 'Aunt Bessies Yorkshire Puddings' or tubes of 'Spangles',..... bl**dy nuisance they are!

[brian24001]

Brian200401, auto correction on tablet can be a pain

Tell me about it, you should see the number of emails I get addressed to 'Brain'

[Groucho]

Brian200401, auto correction on tablet can be a pain

Take less tablets then!

http://www.cyprushighlights.com/en/wp-c ... s18781.jpg

Camels were once the most commonly used beast of burden in Cyprus.

[dippersgirl]

By the way, I have six inside and six outside cats!!!

[dippersgirl]

I actually wrote two replies, the first one, (a silly joke) disappeared and repeating it is just not right

I like camels, lets have more of them!!

[suehowlittle]

I am in Karsiyaka, you are right about the dogs barking all night and also right about the explosion of cats - I am currently feeding 11 outside cats which takes 4 kilos of dried catfood a week. My own fault, they cry at me for food and I just feed them as they need it despite my hubby telling me that once a day is sufficient. Not for the 5 kittens it isn't as they are too young to catch anything for themselves. My problem is that the adult cats hear them crying and all bolt for the door for an extra feed. Impossible situation.

[frontalman]

Good to see I'm not the only 'softie' Sue. We are lucky not to have too much of a problem with dogs barking in the night (where we are, anyway) apparently it's murder in Gonyeli, I was told by a TC friend.

[Ragged Robin]

This thread is going round in vicious circles and will end up biting its own tail! The more outside cats people in residential areas feed , the more they invade other people's gardens and (as well as making a mess and uprooting plants) set dogs off barking.

I totally agree with frontalman (message 9). I too keep my dogs (and contribute by reducing the stray problem by having paid to have them them all neutered) indoors at night and when I am out despite having paid a lot to fence my garden so I thought I could leave them safely outside,, only to have it wasted and my social life seriously disturbed because of feral cats which hold nightly mating and fighting sessions and sit on the wall and tease the dogs during the day.

There has been a lot of fuss about stray dogs recently, and a lot of unnecessary agro and expense for responsible owners - no one seems to realise that we are soon going to have a wild cat problem .

Maybe we could set the leprechauns on them (yes, fm, I got the joke, but didnt say anything for fear of comments about spelling police!)

So the answer to the original question is "as many as you can cope with " provided you are a responsible owner and neuter and domesticate them.

[ozonkoyboy]

You can never own a cat they just use you for food & shelter, but to those who are cat lovers, enjoy!!!!

[Ragged Robin]

Idon't actually like the idea of "owning" any animal - although I suspect the dogs I look after and finance think it is the other way round and they own me!

And of course most cats less dependent on human company than most dogs - viz the story of "the cat that walked alone"! I suspect for that very reason cats which arent domesticated and treated as "pets" go feral quicker than most breeds of dogs - certainly some of the cat fights I have seen in my garden were pretty vicious with some very large and ferocious felines and if I were able to keep a cat as a pet I would fear for its safety.

But surely if you feed and encourage any wild or feral animal into an area, particularly unneutered ones in large numbers, you have accepted some moral responsibility for the impact of its behaviour the environment and on those nearby?

There needs to be a sense of proportion and people should be able to enjoy their gardens, and dogs (and its really unfair to blame them for barking when cats are yowling all night), and small wild birds too .

[frontalman]

Well said Robin, problem is people (including me) tend to humanize our pets when really they are all about cunning, craft and survival of the fittest.

[Ragged Robin]

True, fm, but there is a difference between wild or feral animals and those kept as pets and to some extent at least domesticated, and I think sometimes the pets "humanise" their owners!

I read a book which said that in the days when dogs emerged from wolves and humans from apes, they made a pact to help each other with hunting, and human would give the dog shelter and warmth and tend its hurts and in return the dog would provide protection and company and comfort.

Seems to much me the same applies today, although most Supermarkets dont let the dog help with the hunting!

On the other hand my dogs have just had their biannual bath and are complaining that removing their natural aroma was NOT part of the deal!

I dont think cats have quite the same affinity to humans, though I have known people who get the same comfort (and amusement) from cats as I do from my dogs, but those were very much cats treated and cared for as pets,not feral ones.

[Ragged Robin]

Cat lovers should watch "The Lion in your lap" on BBC!

Apparently animal protein is vital to cats (include humans and dogs) therefore cats that are perfectly well fed by their owners never lose their hunting instinct and will kill even when they dont need to eat.

Fine if you want to keep down mice and rats (in fact it showed this done in one UK farm - perhaps local farmers should be persuaded to use cats rather than poison to kill vermin).

Not so great if you appreciate the small birds, lizards and butterflies in your garden and it is constantly being invaded by large numbers of cats - we really do need to think about the balance of nature.