1. You have a cat.
2. Cat needs a friend.
3. You have a lot of cats.
4. Crazy cat lady confirmed.

I’m at 2 and really need to aim higher.

The threshold that someone considers “too many animals” is always the number they have plus one.

Depending on the pets, sometimes two can be less work than one. They entertain each other and play together, resulting in less destruction and less demand for attention from their owner. That probably all goes out the window with more than two though!

For guinea pigs 2 is the minimum. They get depressed if lonely. They are not that demanding though and more piggies is barely more work

You serve them obediently.

Well yes, but cats.