Dogs and Cats Living Together

We have two dogs and three cats. When Jason was born five years ago-ish we had four dogs and two cats. I used to call us the Sad Couple Who Replaced Children With Animals to the people who asked why we had so many pets.  It generally stymied any further conversation which was the idea.
And then God laughed and got us knocked up. The dogs assumed the naked, squalling thing was just another addition and with a little finessing he was assimilated into the pack with no trouble.

Sammy Dog passed on and then Lucy Dog but we gained CiCi the Fat Cat from my mom after she was bittten once too often. I originally found her in a dumpster when we lived downtown and mom fell in love-temporarily. CiCi sleeps with us, Zeke the ancient dog, sleeps with us, and more often than not Jason comes in during the night so we're a big puppy, kitty, people pile until morning. I'm allowed about ten inches on the edge of the bed so I've become really good at sleeping on my side. Ethan the dog comes in and finds space on the floor, Rio the cat wanders in and out and Fearless the last cat will snuggle with Zeke as long as we pretend we don't see her. Kenny is occasionally banished to another room if his snoring becomes unbearable so there is more room for the rest of us from time to time.

Some people might think this a bit much, some may say it's ridiculous but my life is generally ruled by the ridiculous so I stopped fighting long ago. We've never gotten a dog or cat from an animal shelter. They've always just wandered up, found a good fit, and stayed on for the continental breakfast and belly rubs.  As the pet population at our house wanes I don't think we'll replace as many but it's not always up to us. We swore Ethan was only a temporary dog until we could find a home for him but he's not the most attractive dog and no one wanted him. Oh, and my friend who said Ethan was too ugly for him to adopt-ever wonder why I don't call you anymore? So Ethan stayed and we love him. You can't always pick who you love, right? Which explains that asshole in 1990.