Woman with 13 CATS in a two-bed bungalow divides opinion as she appears on This Morning

A woman with 13 cats in a two-bed bungalow has divided opinion online after appearing on This Morning today.

Carol Walker, from Preston, joined ITV hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes to discuss how many cats is too many for one owner.

She lives in a two-bed bungalow, with two reception rooms and houses 13 cats – claiming she has the time and financial setup to care for them all. 

However, This Morning’s vet Dr Scott Miller said 13 was too many felines under one roof – suggesting the felines were solitary creatures and wouldn’t appreciate living with that many other pets. 

Viewers were divided over the segment, with some saying Carol’s cats all seemed to be cared for and happy, while others insisted she wouldn’t have enough time to give them the individual attention they’d need.

 

Carol Walker (pictured left), from Preston, joined ITV hosts Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes to discuss how many cats is too many for one owner

She lives in a two-bed bungalow, with two reception rooms and houses 13 cats (pictured are some of her pets) - claiming she has the time and financial setup to care for them all

She lives in a two-bed bungalow, with two reception rooms and houses 13 cats (pictured are some of her pets) – claiming she has the time and financial setup to care for them all

However, This Morning's vet Dr Scott Miller (pictured) said 13 was too many felines under one roof - suggesting the felines were solitary creatures and wouldn't appreciate living with that many other pets

However, This Morning’s vet Dr Scott Miller (pictured) said 13 was too many felines under one roof – suggesting the felines were solitary creatures and wouldn’t appreciate living with that many other pets

Speaking on the programme, Carol said: ‘I’ve got a reasonable size two-bedroom, two-reception room bungalow, I’ve got an outside… area where they’ve got numerous climbers, they’ve got free access to that in the day.

‘There’s at least two or three beds throughout the house per cat, I’ve got the time and the finances to look after them.’

Explaining how she ended up with 13 cats, she added: ‘I think it stems back from years back doing a little bit of rescue and some come in and you end up adopting them. 

‘One leads to another sometimes. Everybody has a limit. I think the question of how many is too many is very individual.

‘At my age now, I wouldn’t get anymore, I’ve got to look at the youngest who’s two, and expected lifespan, I mean I think I’ve failed If I don’t get them to at least 16.’

When asked if the cats all get along with one another, she replied: ‘There’s occasionally the odd spat but you can get that with two cats, it’s usually only very minor.’

 

Reaction: Viewers were divided over the segment, with some saying Carol's cats all seemed to be cared for and happy, while others insisted she wouldn't have enough time to give them the individual attention they'd need

Reaction: Viewers were divided over the segment, with some saying Carol’s cats all seemed to be cared for and happy, while others insisted she wouldn’t have enough time to give them the individual attention they’d need

She was then asked if they help with her mental health, to which she said: ‘Certainly, especially in the first part of lockdown… they were a lifesaver.’

However, Dr Scott said Carol has too many cats for one person to look after.

He said: Being able to focus on one individual and their needs, means that 13 going up to 18 cars, that is a huge amount of time that you need to focus on individual attention.

‘Also taking into account that cats by nature are solitary animals and actually don’t really enjoy social contact that much, so to have 13 or 18 cats crammed into a two-bed house, for me personally and professionally is way too many.’

Viewers were divided over the issue, with one person writing: ‘Dr Scott talking sense. He’s a vet, he knows what he’s talking about. 13 in a two bedroom house, wrong.’

Another said: ‘You can’t possibly look after 13 of anything properly. You can’t keep a proper check on them or make sure they’re all getting the amount of attention they need and deserve.’

Viewers were divided over the issue. One person said: 'Anybody who knows cats can see these are in very good condition - none of this guy's business unless the cats are neglected'

Viewers were divided over the issue. One person said: ‘Anybody who knows cats can see these are in very good condition – none of this guy’s business unless the cats are neglected’

However, a third added: ‘Anybody who knows cats can see these are in very good condition – none of this guy’s business unless the cats are neglected.’

Carol was on the show following news that a chief executive of the UK’s largest cat charity has stepped down after it emerged its chairman was allegedly keeping 18 cats in her three-bedroom house. 

The number of cats Linda Upson was looking after had reportedly left other staff despairing, fearful about how the charity might be viewed and ‘nervous about using her as a spokesperson’.

Interim chief executive Charles Darley, who has left just three months into a 12-month contract, claimed Miss Upson had said she ‘didn’t think it was a problem’ when confronted with the concerns, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The charity – Cats Protection – had itself done research into multi-cat households contained in too-little space in the past, finding the confinement could cause the animals considerable stress. 

Carol (pictured top right) was on the show following news that a chief executive of the UK’s largest cat charity has stepped down after it emerged its chairman was allegedly keeping 18 cats in her three-bedroom house

Carol (pictured top right) was on the show following news that a chief executive of the UK’s largest cat charity has stepped down after it emerged its chairman was allegedly keeping 18 cats in her three-bedroom house

Mr Darley said he decided to step down after an internal investigation concluded Miss Upson should keep her position – only asking her to assure them she would not house any more of the pets. 

Cats Protection – which has its national adoption centre in Haywards Heath, West Sussex – reportedly consulted five other animal welfare charities and a cats home charity to ascertain whether she was in breach of official guidance from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

These guidelines advise that cats must have ‘enough space so that they can get away from one another if they want to’.

All those consulted said they would be unable to defend keeping such a large number of cats in a three-bedroom house but the investigation’s decision to let Miss Upson retain her role was made before the responses were received, according to Mr Darley.

‘I’ve been in and out of more than a dozen charities, and I’ve never encountered a position like this before,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

‘Many of the [trustees] are passionate cat lovers, so they may see this behaviour through a different lens from people who love cats but don’t love them in quite the same way.’

A spokesman for Cats Protection said the chairman of trustees was a volunteer fosterer for the charity and had undergone ‘regular training’.

They said all six foster cats in her care were kept in a clean and separate area from her pets and there were ‘no welfare issues of concern’.

‘All were happy, healthy and had sufficient resources for them to express their natural behaviour,’ they added.

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