I once had a rented flat and the landlady bred Persian cats. When I left, there were 33 of them living in the flats and wandering around everywhere. The smell was, to say the least, eye watering !!
As long as they have all been neutered so you don't end up with 50 and as long as you can afford to care for them properly, it's a lot but should be fine. But don't get any more.
Cloverjo right, cats prefer to be alone. An ex neighbour of mine had 12 cats in a maisonette. They were always trying to move in with her neighbours, presumably for a peaceful life. One of them preferred to live with my GSD rathher than cats.
You want to try and 10 dogs.... At least you can let most cats out and they will do their own thing all day (sometimes). Let a dog out in an unsecure compound and unless he/she is really well trained then you don't know where they are going to end up!
To PiperH: The question is to ascertain people's responses. This was original raised when an debate ensued about 7 cats being too many based on the consensus that the majority of people would deem 7 cats as too many.
1 cat is generally regarded as fine, and I suppose 2 as well but when the number is 7 then ......
What I am trying to convey here is that it is in my opinion that the majority of people would not have 7 cats because 7 is a large number when referenced to cats in a household.
It started as a simple comment then it escalated. I suppose a sample of 1000 households would reveal the average number of cats in each household so its no longer based on what people think but what people do.