Three cat limit

I can attest to the difficulty and expense of having many cats at once. My family and I ended up with, at one time, 27 cats, all related to each other. We took the best possible care of them but it was neither easy nor cheap. We did try to place them in other homes, but most people who claimed to want to come check out the kittens never showed up, and we were not able to place them with a pet store or with a shelter (most shelters in our area are always overwhelmed with large numbers of stray cats). Most of our cats lived to be at least 10 or 12 years old, with the oldest making it to 20 this past February. Over the years I spent several thousand dollars taking care of my cats, and they were all indoor-only, but I would not do this again. It's not the best possible scenario for the animals OR the people they live with.

Local legislation relating to the number of cats (and dogs) in households is not uncommon in Massachusetts. Numerous cities/towns have imposed limits on these numbers - in fact, some of these limitations are regulated through local Animal Control departments and some are regulated through local Board of Health departments (some are regulated by both uniformly). These regulations are not imposed to deprive cat lovers of having multiple feline friends to love. They are imposed in an effort to maintain home environments that are both safe and healthy...for both the pets and humans that are residing within. There are significant costs associated with maintaining the health of pets. More often than not, homes where cats are living in double digit numbers, are not receiving adequate vet care - which includes annual exams, vaccinations, tests. In addition, many cats are permitted to roam free outdoors, and since there are no laws requiring that cats be licensed, there is no way to ensure that such pets ARE vaccinated, as required by Massachusetts State Law... thus unleashing another set of concerns, with exposures to wildlife and rabies and other diseases that are zoonotic (transmissable to humans). In addition, studies have shown significant risk when owners of cats in great numbers leads to hoarding - a very serious issue with regard to public health (mental and physical), and even animal cruelty, due to the inability to provide proper care (resulting in neglect). The laws and regulations that are imposed in certain cities and towns are done so with the intent to protect both people and pets, and to provide public safety and health measures that are manageable by those local authorities.