Damn, 17 cats. Sounds like my late mother. She was a "Cat Lady" and had a ton of cats. She had cat boxes all over the house, and we tried to convince her that it wasn't healthy, but she wouldn't listen. When she was finally hospitalized for the last time, we had to take all of her cats to the SPCA. That was a trip in itself.
I have 3 cats myself, but they spend 90% of the time on my back porch. One of them just wandered up as a tiny kitten, we think he was dumped here. The other 2 were dumped off at the Hotel where my wife works. Behind the hotel is an office park that is abandoned at night, and people tend to dump animals there. About 8 cats showed up at the hotel , and started to get run over by the cars. We caught a brother and sister and brought them here, and them and the little one that was already here are now best friends. I let them in the house about once a day, and visit with them, and then feed them outside.
I had a cat that looked just like that. A girlfriend gave me her when she was 6 weeks old, and I had her for 13 years. I still miss her. Coolest cat I ever had.