Let R be the number of rabbits and C the number of cats. Since the pet store has 17 rabbits, then:
[tex]R=17[/tex]Then, the store have 5 fewer cats than rabbits. We can write this as:
[tex]C=R-5[/tex]Since R=17, we have:
[tex]\begin{gathered} R=17 \\ C=R-5 \\ \Rightarrow C=17-5=12 \\ C=12 \end{gathered}[/tex]Then there are 12 cats in the store. Finally, in total we have:
[tex]R+C=17+12=29[/tex]Therefore, there are 12 cats and 17 rabbits, making 29 altogether