Loving the Crowd

Asking how much time a cat needs is like asking how much space a cat needs. As always, it depends on the cat.

So how many cats are too many?

It’s all in what we have time for, and what the cats need.

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After all, we can have three cats who require a lot of cuddling, or we can have three cats who show up for attention at long intervals. We can have a cat who soaks up their love needs by snoozing on our lap during a movie, or a cat who needs us to provide some lively exercise and entertainment every day.

Or any combination.

Cats can have their social needs met by other animals, too, especially other cats. So if we have cats who enjoy each other’s company, we don’t necessarily have to supply all the affection in the house.

Some cats need special attention from their special people, or they will not be happy. Some cats seem to take us or leave us, relying mostly on other cats, but are coming to understand how to be friendly with us.

We shouldn’t skimp on anybody.

That is the commitment we need to consider: the needs of our own particular cats. If we rescue a litter of ferals, we might need to spend as much time socializing them as we would taking in a couple of cuddlecats who want a lot of our attention. Or we can look to adopt older cats who are happy just snoozing near us most of the time.

So there’s really no one answer to the question: How much time do my cats need from me? Because it is also dependent on us. We should consider whether it is a chore or a delight to interact with our cats.

It’s always easier to make time for that which we very much enjoy.

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There’s more ways to get our cat to be affectionate in The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my CAT AFFECTION posts.