Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone

Now we're down to 3 cats, there has been a noticeable change in the household dynamics. Rather than being yelled at constantly, and doubly at scheduled meal times for food, we actually have to remember to put the cats some food down, as they aren't being very demanding. And when bagging up the cans for recycling this week, it was noticeable how much fewer (closer to half than 3/4) there were.

LATER: doing the next black-bin rubbish collection, it was also apparent quite how much less cat litter had been consumed, by cats who would prefer to go out (and who were not so copious in their effusions when indoors).