Alright, so here's the deal. I recently moved in with my partner, who has two cats and one dog. I also have two cats. Neither of us is giving up any of our animals.
All the animals are fed, kept clean, litter boxes are changed out regularly, dog walked, water bowls full and fresh, etc., so they're all taken care of. Aside from that, my girlfriend's mom is not well, and needs regular care throughout the day also. So even though everyone is taken care of, it's taking way the fuck too much time out of our lives, and we are miserable.
I know that the true answer here is just "have less animals", but since no one is willing to budge on that, I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for how to make this easier. I am at the end of my rope here, covered in shed animal fur, and feeling desperate.
Been here for almost a year, did our best with introducing them gently, smells first etc. I'm just thankful that the two adult females aren't trying to kill each other, even though one is bullying the other. The two adult males cannot be in the same room, though. One of them wants to be friends, the other one does not, and the former is not getting the hint. Doesn't even respond to hissing or anything, doesn't get aggressive back, he just slowly approaches until he scares the other one and they start fighting, so we're keeping them completely apart.
Mostly I just need ideas for how to deal with making things easier, like fur being everywhere, feeding, litter, dog walking, etc.