We have some crazy clients, so, poll time. How many is TOO many?

[Scarlett_O']

Hmmm....as the Mommi to, now, 5 dogs, 2 cats and a horse(who doesnt live with us!LOL) I dont see it as a number....my 6(soon to be 7) pets are happier, healthier and will live longer then some of my family member's 1 or 2 dog(s)!!
They all get TONS of attention from us(soon hopefully they will have a stay at home Mommi again!),
NONE of them have ever even once needed to go to the vet, although I have a few good options available!
They get fed THE BEST!!
They have MANY AMAZING baby sitters set up if needed(Thanks Liz and Jess!) but NEVER want to be very far away from Daddy and Mommi!
And are the happiest dogs and cats Ive ever met(aside from the ones we had growing up!)

Compare that to a certain set of family members who I know of who have one small dog, she has already been to the vet for MANY SERIOUS issues, and JUST turned one(all of those that I know of was from the time she was 5 weeks old to when she was 9 months old) She is fed CRAP, runs away MANY times a week, isnt trained, NEVER listens and is just an over all terror!! :-(

So ya, its not a number at all, IMO...it is all about the care given to said dog/cat/horse/other animal!!

[xchairity_casex]

i agree with most here it depends on the person for my sister ONE would be too many for her as she pretty much refuses to care for anything not even basics of feeding or watering

as for me i can have quite a few and im fine right now i could honestly be fine with a few more pets i have 1 dog(but care for my sisters go figure) 3 cats (also care for my sisters cat :/)
3 rats, a russian tortiose, 4 fish tanks one is an 80 gallon goldfish tank that gets cleaned every week i mean CLEANED, and 21 (yes 21) button quail all of which are indoors in my bedroom/basement.
every morning i wake up i scrub all food and water dishes of everyone(and not just that bs swishing hot water around the dishes i SCRUB) clean litter boxes,clean rats cage, feed and water everyone,take the dogs out for a 2-4 hour walk do some training with the dogs,put dogs on the treadmill for an hour,grab somthing to eat and a shower then sit down and give whoever cuddles the rest of the night.
fish tanks get water changes once per week so i haul about 80 gallons of water in a 2 gallon bucket every week takes me about 5 hours to do all the fish tanks. takes about 6 hours to clean all the birds cages every week also becuase the birds live in glass aquairums so they poo on the glass so it gets scrubbed with hot soapy water all 11 cages.

im also pretty savy about saving money on care i make my own fish food which is WAY healthier for them and WAY cheaper and easy,rats cage i use newspapers for bedding that we save since they are not as good at absorbing they get changed every single day plus i keep a rock in the cage for them they pee on it and it keeps the paper cleaner and smell free jsut wash the rock in boiling soapy water every day.
for my tortiose and my button quail i use alfalfa (aka rabbit pellets) as bedding it smells great,keeps there feet/shells clean, its edible so if they acedentally eat it its fine and i can get a 50 pound bag for only 15 bucks
for 3 cats i have 3 litter boxes when scooped everyday i only need to change the litter about once per week in each box and even then it usualy still smells fresh.
for filter media for my tanks i use floss since you dont NEED charcoal in your filters just let the good bacteria grow on it untill its so sludgy the water is not flowing well ONLY then do you rinse it a bit put it right back.

but yeh right now my heart yerns for a lop eared bunny but i think im goin to wait untill Cesar is 100 percent trained with his manners before i bring in a bunny or anything else for that matter!

[catahoulamom]

I am at my limit with 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 3 ferrets. We had some fish but recently the power went out during a storm when we weren't home and we lost the cichlids. ;( The fish will NOT be replaced however, I am at my limit since acquiring the ferrets!

I've had four dogs at once, and it was perfect. Plus the three cats, but they are very low maintenance compared to the dogs. I will say that I do a lot more cleaning that the average person. My day pretty much revolves around my animals... wake up, feed the dogs, cats, ferrets, clean up the ferret cage, let the dogs out, take them for a walk, scoop the cat box, let the ferrets out for a couple hours... and that's all before 10am :D Wash, rinse, repeat. Three times a day.

I will say that in an ideal world, I would have 3-4 dogs and a couple ferrets. I love my cats to death, but once they are gone, I do not plan on getting another one (ever). I'm sure I'll end up adopting one that "finds" me, but ideally we will be living somewhere where it is safe for the cats to go outside and enjoy the REAL world, not just be cooped up in the house all the time...

So to answer the question, I think it all depends on the person and their lifestyle (as others have stated). If you have the resources, time, and money to have 20 animals, more power to you. But I'd imagine you'd have to stay home all day to give the adequate attention and care.