Hi there,

I've just moved to a new house in a quiet area, and myself and my partner would really like to get some kittens. I've had 9(!) previous kittens when I used to live with my parents, so I'm fairly used to looking after them, although I've never had a cat since. I've bought a few books and read up on the subject, but wanted to ask any cat-lovers on here for advice.

First off, where is the best place to adopt a kitten? I initially thought about a rescue centre, and I've looked at a couple of the websites, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience of adopting from one. For instance, would we need to meet any criteria (e.g. proof of income, etc) before we can adopt? Sorry if that sounds clueless! And does anyone have any advice about what to check for if we get them from a private seller?

Also I was wondering if anyone thought getting two kittens at once would be a mistake. Financially it wouldn't be a problem, but I wasn't sure whether to get two at once or say get them a year apart? Ideally I would like them to grow up together.

Thank you for any advice you can give me! I want to make sure I'm fully prepared!

xx

hi sleepygirl welcome to the pets forum, am sorry i can not help you over getting a kitten as i dont have any, but we have a lot of people on here who do have cats who will come along and advice you where the best place is to get one from. good luck

I got my cat from rotherham cat rescue, he cost about £55 quite some years ago but had inoculations and had been castrated .... so a bargin really. He was an adult cat but i do know they often have kittens too (infact many sanctuarys do) .... Just remember the 'fee'from a charity seems high initially until you start adding up how much the spay/castration and injections come too.

We adopted 2 kittens seperatly last year, one from off the forum (who was free) and one form sheffield cat shelter (who cost £60 i think). The first thing is a free cat actually costs more This is approximatly what ours cost:

Vaccinations £60
Chip £10
Netering £45
Ear mite and flea treatments (he had both in copious amounts) £15
Worming £5

So overall around £135, he was worth every penny though.

The one from the cat shelter came to us healthy, vaccinated, fleaed, wormed and with a voucher for her to be spayed. She is also very sociable as a result of seeing a lot of different people as a young kitten.

So overall i think it is best to try the shelter, they had quite a lot of kittens last year avalible although i don't know what they are like now. They do ask you a few questions about hwere you live, if you are on a quiet road don't worry. They will also ask you to agree to have the kitten neutered and to return it to them if you can't keep it for any reason.
If you are going to be out all day at work 2 kittens is often a good idea as they will keep each other amused for hours and really we didn't find it much more trouble (although it is double the food and vets bills).

Think very carefully before getting a free kitten and even more carefully before paying for one privatelty.

Good luck :)

This is the start of traditional kitten season so wherever you decide to get your kitten from there will be more happening throughout the summer (PLEASE don't go to a pet shop- by buying from there you will be endorsing pet shops as a suitable way of arranging new homes for kittens and I don't believe that they are).

I've got a litter of 3 little ones coming up for adoption at the beginning of June, but I've already had more requests for information than I've got kittens- of course not all of them will still want the kitten by the time we get to June and some may not pass the home check. They're being fostered for South Yorkshire Animal Rescue so are subject to a home check.

Adoption fees from most charities is currently £65, which covers all of the basics and as Sal22 says, it actually works out less expensive than being given a kitten and they come with a full vet check too.

No financial information is expected by the charities- the home check and interview is all about your ability to provide the animal with the love and support that they need. The richest person in the world may not offer an animal the right sort of home (a home is much more than a house).

For what it's worth 2 kittens are a lot more fun than one and can have a lot more fun together than a single kitten, especially if you work and so they're going to be alone for even a small portion of the day.

Of course, they'll take your house to pieces twice as much, but they'll have fun doing it!

Sadly, although I've had loads of PMs about the kittens, I have yet to have a single serious query about their mum who is only 2 years old.

There are 4 gorgeous kittens been dumped at the gates of the Sheffield Council Kennels.

How can people do that!||||| please tell me

Anyway - they are looking for new homes, and I believe they are ready now

drop me a pm if you want a contact details for them, or phone the main number on tuesday.

Sadly, although I've had loads of PMs about the kittens, I have yet to have a single serious query about their mum who is only 2 years old.


thats such a shame, my cat was between 1 and 3 (so we agreed on 2) when i got him ... hes 18-ish now and has been a fabulous pet, no toliet training, no shredding the house, just the odd pressie of dead vermin on the doorstep in his younger days. Older pets make super companions (Im sure my cat realised what had happened to him and he seemed so much more grateful for a good home)

Forgot to add - I get so many calls all day long that its a standing joke in our house hold#

"Have you got any kittens?" - is the question so frequently asked

No i don't but do you realise those kittens soon go to cats - and we are trying to neuter so there aren't many unwanted kittens - so please - take that older cat.

People astound me - i wish they would just think a bit more.

Forgot to add - I get so many calls all day long that its a standing joke in our house hold#

"Have you got any kittens?" - is the question so frequently asked

No i don't but do you realise those kittens soon go to cats - and we are trying to neuter so there aren't many unwanted kittens - so please - take that older cat.

People astound me - i wish they would just think a bit more.

So it's not just the Shelter and SYAR who get the same calls, day in and day out then?

I prefer to get my furries as adults so that they have had a chance to have shown their pussynalities. I tend to go for the cheeky and naughty ones and sometimes this just isn't expressed in kittens.

It's really hard to believe that it is still the prevailing opinion that the first few months makes owning a cat for the remaining 20 years a different experience or that cats only settle if they're adopted as a tiny kitten.

I adopted Arthur when he was 10, Tetley when he was 13/14, Tizzy when she was 6/7 and Sophie when she was 5/6- they all moved in and took the place as their own from the first day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really think from reading all these posts that a shelter will be the best place to adopt kittens. Although I know I will fall in love with all the cats I see! My partner has never had kittens and has had his heart set on it for so long, and I really think we could give them a good home. I was a bit aprehensive about the home visit (I thought I might be interrogated!) but you've put my mind at ease. We live in a quiet cul-de-sac with an enclosed garden, so I can't see any problems.

I think we will get two kittens so they can have a playmate, but would they be best from the same litter? Or would that not matter?

Thanks for all your help - it's much appreciated!
xx

Most kittens will get on with most other kittens after the first couple of days of hissing and not talking to each other so don't worry about that part. The only thing that you need to worry about it getting them approximately the same age as each other because when they are young and have yet to learn control on how hard they play, a much larger kitten can quite badly hurt a smaller kitten if there's nobody about to look after the little one's wellbeing.

This is usually redundant by the time that they're 6 months old because they then start to understand to be more gentle with smaller kittens, but a 10 week old kitten can end up being quite badly hurt by a 20 week old kitten (for instance). If you're going to a charity they will be aware of any kittens that don't socialise well or are too rough with playmates though.

Your house sounds fine and you sound like a friendly and willing couple to provide a loving home for some furry bundles of claws and teeth! I hope you find the furries for you soon (and don't worry- the charities only want their beasties to go to loving homes and so as long as you are open and honest I'm sure the home check or interview will go just fine).

Hi there,

I've just moved to a new house in a quiet area, and myself and my partner would really like to get some kittens. I've had 9(!) previous kittens when I used to live with my parents, so I'm fairly used to looking after them, although I've never had a cat since. I've bought a few books and read up on the subject, but wanted to ask any cat-lovers on here for advice.

First off, where is the best place to adopt a kitten? I initially thought about a rescue centre, and I've looked at a couple of the websites, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience of adopting from one. For instance, would we need to meet any criteria (e.g. proof of income, etc) before we can adopt? Sorry if that sounds clueless! And does anyone have any advice about what to check for if we get them from a private seller?

Also I was wondering if anyone thought getting two kittens at once would be a mistake. Financially it wouldn't be a problem, but I wasn't sure whether to get two at once or say get them a year apart? Ideally I would like them to grow up together.

Thank you for any advice you can give me! I want to make sure I'm fully prepared!

xx


Two kittens together are good company for one another especially if you're out at work during the daytime. Most rescues give good value - cats or kittens tend to be ready microchipped, vaccinated and wormed /flead plus you have the assurance that they have been checked by at least one vet and if they are over 6 months of age they will already be spayed or neutered. For the £50- £65 donation that is excellent value and you wont get that if you buy a kitten privately- it costs about £55 for vaccs from a vet, another £15-20 for the microchip and between £40-£70 for netuering/spaying plus maybe another £10-15 for worming/flee treatment so the donation is a small price to pay really. Not only that, they are either well looked after in the resue premises or will have been fostered by people who really care about cats and who will be able to give you a good idea of a particular aniaml's temperament. I would not buy a kitten from someone unless they were a respected breeder as it only encourages some folk to keep allowing their unspayed queen to get pregnant and that is really not in the cat's best interest.

If you live on a busy main road, a lot of rescues will be reluctant to rehome a cat to you for obvious reasons. They may also have rules about homing kittens to people with very young children as they may not be ready to handle kittens properly, but other than that, i can't think of anything

We got ours a month apart, both at 13 weeks old, they aren't related but get on very well. Within a day or two of being introduced they were playing , eating and sleeping together. We just supervised them at first. If you only have one kitten they need playing with a lot and you will probably run out of energy first.:)

We've been to Sheffield Cat SHelter today, and they have some lovely kittens in, about 5-6 months old if I remember rightly, they are just waiting to have their second lot of injections then will be ready to rehome.

I believe they are wanting to rehome them at least two together at a time, as they have all been together for so long.

We've been to Sheffield Cat SHelter today, and they have some lovely kittens in, about 5-6 months old if I remember rightly, they are just waiting to have their second lot of injections then will be ready to rehome.

I believe they are wanting to rehome them at least two together at a time, as they have all been together for so long.

My Arnie is 7 months old and he's fab- he is so laid back and loves his older brothers and sisters. So far this year, his litter brother Solo has been back to stay with us twice and both times they have remembered each other and gone back to playing as if they were never parted - and their mum n dad remember Solo too - we've been coming home this week to find them all curled up together (aww). This is not typical of cats tho - many forget their family once theyve been seperated and fights can break out once they are reintroduced, so I've really pleased our lot get along so well. Mind you, it's probably something to do with the breed (Norwegian Forest Cats- very laid back, very sociable and more like dogs than cats)

A pairing that we have found works exceptionally well is mother and daughter, so maybe you could take one kitten and it's mother? It is lovely to see how they love each other right through the years - we have had ours for 15 years now, and when the daughter had her kittens (we were too slow at getting her neutered, so she got one litter) the grandma sat in the box with her and acted as midwife, washing them all as they came out and showing her daughter how to be a good mum :)

We kept one of the kittens so now have 3 generations - a lovely family unit :)