First of all, it’s spelled Tompkins and that’s my grandfather. UFO expert, Coast to Coast AM guest, author of multiple books and undiagnosed schizophrenic. I am one of the few people who can go to YouTube and find countless hours of my grandfather being delusional.

We’re not genetically related. But also, it’s complicated.

When I lived in an apartment I had a three cat rule. I completely agree that this is the rational limit to the number of cats a person should have custody of.

But then I got a farm. In addition to my 1 acre homestead, there are 34 acres of farmland bordering mine. We needed a lot more cats to take care of the rodent issue.

I specialize in taming feral cats for the local shelter and rescue. But sometimes a cat just can’t be tamed. And there’s literally nowhere else for them to go. But we always need barn cats. So they live in the house. Until they find the cat door to the outside. Then they are free to come and go as they wish.

While there are 12 cats[0][1] they aren’t all “ours”. Some are in our custody but actually are covered by a rescue if they have any vet needs like vax boosters, flea meds, or food.

[0] 1 full time indoor, the rest come and go, except one that hasn’t yet figured out how to escape. That one’s only had 4 days to figure it out so far. There are typically never more than 4 in the house at any one time. Unless it’s raining. Or feeding time in the morning. But only my wife sees that.

[1] 12 not including any fosters. Right now that is one 8 week old kitten who will find their way in the next kitten railroad departure and one cat recovering from a C-section / spay after 36 hours of contractions with no results. She will be rereleased in her home area after recovery.