How to Know when You Have Too Many Pets

Consider time spent caring for your pets. Cleaning, feeding, grooming, exercising, and ensuring a supply of fresh water is available for your animals takes time. See how long it takes you each day to properly care for all the animals you own. Compare this with the amount of free time you have available after other obligations are met, such as work, school, family time, etc. Make sure you won’t be neglecting another area of your life to care for all your animals.

• Always remember to take care of your pets. If you don't have time to take care of them all or don't remember which ones you have taken care of that day, you may have to get rid of some of them.
• Some animal types will require different maintenance. A long-haired dog, for example, probably needs to be brushed daily, while a cat can groom himself. Bird and hamster cages need to be cleaned out and disinfected often, with soiled bedding removed regularly. Be sure to consider the total amount of time you spend on all caretaking tasks for each animal you own each day, week, and month.
• The amount of free time you have available and are willing to spend caring for pets will determine how much time you spend with them. However, if it takes over two to three hours to take care of all your animals every day, then you may already have too many pets.

Calculate space requirements for your pets. Consider what your living arrangements are —how large is the living area and yard space you have for your animals? If you live in a small upstairs apartment without a yard, then take that into account when thinking about how many animals you can house. If you live out in the country on several acres, then you can probably keep more animals. Remember that each animal needs to have enough room to walk around and not be in a cramped space.

• While space definitely needs to be considered so that everyone can live together comfortably, time is the more important factor here. If you have the time to walk your dogs, then providing a large area to run in is not as important as making sure you can take them for walks every day to meet their exercise needs.

Make sure you have the ability to care for your pets. Your health status is an important factor to consider when getting more pets. Be aware of what you can and cannot handle without assistance. If you have difficulty getting around on your own, another pet may not be the best idea.

• Also, consider your mental health status. Depression can make it very difficult to care for yourself as well as pets. Your animals rely on you, so not taking on more than you can handle is very important for everyone’s wellbeing.
• Animals can cause stress and contribute to mental health problems, such as anxiety. You are responsible for your pets. The more animals you have, the more their needs, health issues and behavior can weigh on you.

Count the number of pets you already have. Though the number of pets you have can give you an idea of whether you already have a lot, the resources that you have available are more important than the actual number of animals you own.^[1] You need to be able to care for and provide an enriching environment for all your animals so that they can be happy and bring you joy as companions instead of more life stress. Consider what species of animals you have as well as individual temperaments and group sexual dynamics before getting another pet.

• Overcrowding may have a negative effect on the pets you already have. For example, it's recognized that in household with five cats or more there is a high likelihood of inappropriate spraying in order to mark territory. This is because the cats view the presence of other cats as a threat. The more cats, the bigger the perceived threat. So consider whether or not it's fair to take on another pet if it adds to the stress of your existing pets.
• If you can't count all your pets, or lose count, you have too many pets and shouldn’t get any more.
• While some people may look down on a person with 10 cats, as long as the owner can provide a sanitary place to live, afford medical care and emergency services for each cat as well as meet their own needs and pay bills, then there isn’t a problem.
• The pack mentality can increase as you get more dogs, and this can cause more behavioral problems because the social dynamics become more complex and your ability to give attention to each animal is lessened.^[2]
• Mixing male and female animals can increase competition. Hormones, territorial tendencies, and breeding behavior all contribute to problems you will have to deal with. Keep this in mind before adding new pets to the ones you already have.