Wow, difficult questions...
When I was a kid my parents had a dog and there was a number of cats in the yard. I remember two dogs, but there was another one I was too young to remember, and the cats were literally innumerable. There were always some kind of rodents too, like mice or hamsters.
After moving out I had two dogs with my roommates (both sadly killed in car accidents).
Once I had my own place I got a cat (11 years with me and still going strong), and another cat adopted me shortly after. She ran away after two years (she had one tooth and was very skittish, so once when company came over she got too scared, managed to get out and never came back). Later I found two very young kittens who were supposed to stay with me only for a few days till somebody else took them, but one stayed. Then I met my husband and he brought his cat to the equation, and together we took in another one. Our dog found us in a coffee shop, so we took her in as well.
So right now 4 cats and a dog. We occasionally take in a stray, but only as foster parents, because our gang really drew the line ...
