Buying a kitten

heronfolder

georgiesmum wrote: »

An absolutely ridiculous statement.:mad: How many homes are there with somebody in all day. These are CATS for gods sake not babies. No wonder the catteries are always full. by their standereds i would never have had a cat at all and i have kept them for 50 years. Always 3 or 4. They are provided with a cat flap and dried food left down for them, but had a pouch each before i used to go to work, and when i came home.
The catteries and RSPCA are getting quite silly with their insitance on this and vaccinations and collars. And musent live near a main Rd.Never had one of mine vaccinated and don't believe in cat collars.
Because of their stupid rules lots of cats get pts when they could have had loving homes.

Calm down. The quote says KITTENS not cats!

Nile

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gettingready

jenniewb wrote: »

how many more people have been put off adopting and have gone out and paid .

boths hands up - got all my cats and a dog from gumtree

juliebunny

Hello OP, nice to see you are looking at giving a cat/kitten a home.

Not sure how this thread has turned into a moan about some of the larger cat charities, some of which DO have strict criteria, but there are also LOADS of small local charities who can offer you a very personal service and talk to you in detail about your needs and those of a kitty.
Have you considered getting 2 for company for each other?

Here's a great website to look for rescues local to you. http://www.catchat.org/adoption/index.html

If you are looking for a pedigree, sadly there are also LOADS of these in rescue. Patsy at http://www.rushdenpersianrescue.co.uk/ has lots, and re-homes all round the country (my friend just got a 7 month old Siamese from her to keep her other cat company.)

I beg you please don't get one from a pet shop. They are often farmed in awful conditions and left to rot in the pet shop if they aren't sold when tiny. Don't be tempted to think you are 'saving one' of these - you are merely encouraging them to get a new litter in.

bazster

heronfolder wrote: »

Calm down. The quote says KITTENS not cats!

Exactly. All but two of my mogs have been adults got from RSPCA Southridge, the RSPCA have no problem with this despite no-one being home during the day. Would never buy a cat when the RSPCA and the other charities have so many going begging.

(The other two were strays who wandered in to steal food and [STRIKE]got catnapped[/STRIKE] decided to stay, despite all our efforts to find their true owners; one was even microchipped, but the person to whom the chip was registered - some miles from our home - turned out to be uncontactable).

Fire_Fox

georgiesmum wrote: »

An absolutely ridiculous statement.:mad: How many homes are there with somebody in all day. These are CATS for gods sake not babies. No wonder the catteries are always full. by their standereds i would never have had a cat at all and i have kept them for 50 years. Always 3 or 4. They are provided with a cat flap and dried food left down for them, but had a pouch each before i used to go to work, and when i came home.
The catteries and RSPCA are getting quite silly with their insitance on this and vaccinations and collars. And musent live near a main Rd.Never had one of mine vaccinated and don't believe in cat collars.
Because of their stupid rules lots of cats get pts when they could have had loving homes.

Kittens ARE babies albeit baby cats not baby humans. Felines are highly intelligent creatures which benefit from plenty of stimulation. They can get much of that stimulation from the sights, sounds and smells outside the home - but not when they are babies stuck indoors. Kittens are rarely PTS because they can't find a home. Most rescues are happy to rehome single adult cats to full time workers, providing the outdoor environment is reasonably safe. And most insist on microchipping not collars.

IMO there is nothing wrong with rescues ensuring the welfare of the living creatures they rehome, it's a great pity you don't feel the same. Do you really think cats feel less pain than a human when they are hit by a car or die from peritonitis?

Fire_Fox

AMO wrote: »

Hi all,

My wife wants to buy a kitten, but she's quite particular about what kind of kitten she gets.

She likes kittens with round faces like in the Whiskers adverts (I think they are British Short Hair) and she also likes Persians.

What are the best websites to go about looking for kittens and what kind of price should I look at paying?

Also, what's the best strategies for going to places like RSPCA or Cat Protection to pick up hopefully one for free or cheap if we find one that we like? I mean, a lot of the time I think the kittens/cats only hit the website if they're not selling.

Thanks.

Rescues have standard adoption fees, you don't get discounted if they don't 'sell'. The adoption fee often covers the homecheck, microchipping, vaccinations, vet checks, flea/ worming, and even neutering if the animal is old enough.

Have you considered a breed specific rescue or the breed club for cats which were returned to their breeder? You won't get a young pedigree kitten that way, but you can definitely find a youngster. They are only true kittens for the first year anyway, then you have (hopefully) nineteen years or so of a crazy cat! Do consider the personality of the breed and whether it fits into your lifestyle, some breeds need more attention (mental stimulation or grooming) or are better with children than others.

Some examples, there are others if you Google or use CatChat pages
http://www.bestofbritishshorthairs.co.uk/adult-re-home
http://www.british-shorthairs.co.uk/list/rhm.htm
https://www.britishshorthaircatclub.co.uk/rescue%20gallery.htm
http://www.rushdenpersianrescue.co.uk/
http://www.london-persian-rescue.co.uk/
http://www.celiahammond.org/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=6&MMN_position=15:15

SmartPricePoster

Rescue centre. I know some kittens available in Northamptonshire rescue, one being the sweetest little darling ever. Kittens do need supervision until they are old enough, you may not think it but they can be little rascals! And since they are extra playful as youngsters, they can be at more risk of playing with the wrong thing...curiosity killed the cat and all. Older cats are generally fine left on their own all day since they sleep more than kittens do.

Azmataz

SmartPricePoster wrote: »

And since they are extra playful as youngsters, they can be at more risk of playing with the wrong thing...curiosity killed the cat and all.

Yes, and the policy set by some charities, of not homing kittens to people who work all day is also to pre-empt the inevitable problems associated with kittens being left alone: they get bored and then go on to wreck items around the home - curtains, cushions, ornaments... the list goes on.

Sadly, I've seen many kittens returned to rescue for that very reason: the owners haven't given them enough enrichment, so they get up to mischief. The policy is as much for the potential owner's benefit as the kitten's. I do wish people would realise that more often.

KateLiana27

AMO wrote: »

Hi all,

My wife wants to buy a kitten, but she's quite particular about what kind of kitten she gets.

She likes kittens with round faces like in the Whiskers adverts (I think they are British Short Hair) and she also likes Persians.

What are the best websites to go about looking for kittens and what kind of price should I look at paying?

Also, what's the best strategies for going to places like RSPCA or Cat Protection to pick up hopefully one for free or cheap if we find one that we like? I mean, a lot of the time I think the kittens/cats only hit the website if they're not selling.

Thanks.

Bear in the mind the purchase cost/adoption fee of the cat pales into insignificance against their "maintenance costs" - vet bills, insurance, quality food, litter, etc. So I wouldn't base your choice of cat on which one is cheapest. Go for the one you like best.

I'd encourage you to consider a shelter, but please don't try to do them out of the nominal fee they charge to cover a fraction of the costs of caring for the animals. It's usually about £50 but considering the cost of neutering, vaccinations and chipping, you're already getting a bargain!

If you really want a specific breed, then either contact a "breed rescue", or go to a registered breeder with responsible practices, but be prepared to pay up to £400 for a kitten for the latter. Don't go near the backyard breeders. If nothing else, you'll likely end up paying a fortune in vet bills to cover the health problems that tend to arise through uncontrolled inbreeding.