Opinions-kittens or young cats?

[Velocivixen]

When I married 5 years ago my DH had 2 cats and I had 2 cats. I had to euthanize my 17 year old cat last week due to illness. Currently we have no cats (died of old age). My DH works full time and I'm a "domestic diva", however am active and busy (my own choice). We would like to adopt two kittens or young cats likely in the Autumn or Winter. I am still grieving the loss of Theodore and imagine that I will for awhile.
When I adopted my kittens years ago they were kittens - like 10 and 15 weeks old. I worked at the time so they were home alone with no issues. When my DH adopted his cats, one was a kitten from his family's home and the other was a 1 year old from the shelter. We are definitely adopting from a shelter and would like two short hair cats. The question is do we adopt kittens (cute packaging but you don't know about what their personality will be as they mature) or a "young cat" (maybe a year old or so where you know the final size, personality, etc.)?
If we adopted little kittens I'd just make sure to limit their access to various parts of the house when I'm gone. I'd make sure to be around more, at least initially, so I could supervise and play with them. We're open to either. Kittens can be more expensive with additional series of vaccinations, etc. I know from volunteering at my local animal shelter that older cats are harder to adopt out than kittens. Kittens are so cute and funny though....

So any thoughts? Opinions? Horror stories?

Thanks.

[Reesha]

I'm sorry about your Theodora!

That said, I would spring for a young cat. My kitty was a very, very cute kitten, but I think there's significant value in being familiar with their personality traits.

I adopted a 3-4 year old dog on the flipside and have zero regrets.

[Veronica]

Get whichever tugs at your heart strings when you go to the shelter.

Veronica

[Becky]

We've done one of each. The young cat was ~6 months old, and we knew exactly what we were getting with her. She really hasn't changed much, except to get bigger and older, and I like predictable. The 8-week kitten looked so calm and even-tempered in his cage, and has turned out to be hell on paws! The one advantage to the kitten is that we had the opportunity to shape his behavior and tolerance for being handled more so than we did with the young cat. She (the young cat), to this day, is aloof and all about human contact on her terms, which makes grooming and vetting interesting.

IMO, there's few pros or cons to one or the other, so do what V says....:D

[Reesha]

Ooo I would agree with what becky said. the younger you can get a kitten, the more you can train them to accept nail trimmings and extra hugs :D

[indysteel]

Ooo I would agree with what becky said. the younger you can get a kitten, the more you can train them to accept nail trimmings and extra hugs :D

I think it still depends on the cat. I've raised three cats from kittenhood and, trust me, they've all been cuddled to death and have been lavished with attention. One is a total lap cat. He hates to travel and to move into a new environment. He loves to cuddle, but hates to be picked up. If I'm on the couch, he's in my lap. Period. One was totally mellow about everything. She didn't mind car rides or moves. She loved to be brushed, petted, and held. She wasn't necessarily one to demand much attention though. She was a real sweetie. The third and youngest (she's one now) has gotten more cuddles and kisses than you can imagine from me and my husband. We ooh and ahh over year 50 times a day. She's totally playful and engaged with us....but she WILL NOT cuddle unless I take her upstairs for a nap with me. As frustrating as she is when it comes to cuddling, her personality is otherwise so cute and entertaining that I can't really quibble with it.

So, who knows. Cats are funny little creatures. In that sense, I agree with Veronica. There are so many different cat personalities. Short of an ill-tempered or really aloof cat, I think they each have their charms. You gotta go with a cat that just speaks to you in some fashion.

[Norse]

We've done both too. No regrets either way. We do, however, generally prefer getting younger cats, not kitties, that are potty-trained!

[jessmarimba]

I've adopted two semi-feral cats, and even being not-kittens (one was...3? Maybe? The other slightly younger) they have both turned into total lap cats. So you never know.

I'm all for getting whatever speaks to you at the shelter. I ended up with one of mine (and another cat that died a year ago) b/c they were both ugly and were going to be put down since no one wanted ugly cats.

[Eden]

One thing to think about is that older cats have a harder time getting adopted. It's quite rare for a kitten to languish in the shelter (or worse be euthanized in a shelter that is not no-kill). There are lots of very sweet animals in the shelter with nothing more wrong with them than they are no longer in the cute baby stage....

Though I certainly won't fault you for taking a kitten - my male was tiny, tiny when we got him - probably 7-9 weeks... but he was actually found outside as a feral and was not a shelter kitty. My female was about 6 mos - I had an elder kitty passed away and we really thought the littler one, who was about 3 by then needed companionship. We thought bringing in another adult might be difficult, but a kitten would be more acceptable. (and they are good buddies)

[Aggie_Ama]

The shelter may also allow you to foster to adopt? When we got our cat Tortilla she was a year old, I was drawn to her breed (manx) more than anything. The kittens at the shelter were adorable but Tortilla had been there a month and it was a kill shelter plus I had a manx in young childhood and he was a wonderful cat I have always been drawn to the manx cats. Tortilla was friendly but not overly so. Well now that she is home she is extremely friendly, greets you and visitors at the door, very talkative, purrs like a train, love to sit on you, sleep next to you. The only thing consistent with her temperment from the shelter is she still is not a fan of being picked up. Hmm sounds like one of Indy's cats! She is also double her size. She was under weight at the shelter but they had just spayed her. She is now needing to lose several pounds.

I had a wonderful siamese mix we raised from kitten, she was held constantly since she was my cat starting in 4th grade. She was my little Spider Monkey (her name), I tried to carry her everywhere and have her be with me 24/7. But in her 12 years she would only accept attention on her terms, she wanted a ton when she wanted it and none when she didn't request it. So I am not sure cuddling them has as much effect. Maybe some on tolerance but I think they have personalities and they still develop their own traits.

Kittens are cute but they are only cute for awhile, so if an older cat grabs your heart they are still wonderful!

[indysteel]

While I agree that older cats have a harder time being adopted, I keep an eye on the available cats at our local no kill shelter and have noticed a number of kittens languishing, too. It must be tough times for shelters at the moment. With money tight for a lot of people, pets are just not a priority.

[Biciclista]

try and find a PAIR of cats that are already bonded, 4-9 months old at least. Definitely get kitties that have been socialized with other cats (not separated from siblings at 6 weeks) best to get kittens 12-16 weeks old if you MUST have a kitten.
If you can't get a pair who are already bonded, it is believed that you will have better luck with one of each sex. good luck and post pictures.

[indysteel]

It's funny. When I find out one of my friends is having a baby, I'm happy for them, but not the least bit envious. When I find out a friend (online or otherwise) is planning to adopt a cat or kitten, I get totally jealous. I want a third cat!

[Blueberry]

We adopted kitties from a no kill rescue group that pulls from high kill shelters (that are within a couple hour drive of us). Kitties in these shelters have about a zero percent chance - and I could look at kittens without thinking that they would be put down if I didn't take them. When we did adopt, we made space for more kittens who otherwise wouldn't have a chance.

It took me 6 months to be able to look at a kitten after we lost our Garfield. We lost him Memorial day weekend last year, and it was late October before I was looking. I was browsing one day and happened upon a Maine Coon look alike. He was going to be at a meet and greet, so we stopped by. I held him, I really liked him. Then, there was an adorable orange kitty - they put him in my lap, and I cried and cried. We thought about it. We talked about it. I was afraid I wasn't ready, but we kept thinking. My other half picked out a little white Siamese look alike that he wanted, and thanks to some foster parent confusion (the orange one might not be available), we ended up with the Maine Coon and the orange kitty. They were all in the 6 month range (the Siamese might have been younger) - and we could tell a lot about their personalities already (in fact, I thought the foster was wrong about a personality and I was right - the kitty just reacted differently to me). They're all special in their own ways. I'm glad we got them.

Just another thought and another perspective:) You're looking to adopt - whatever age you get, you're doing a great thing!

[7rider]

We recently took a pair of 7 week old littermates from my SIL/BIL who had taken in a feral momma cat who had 4 kittens.

Cute, fuzzy, who love a good snooze on a warm lap, but absolute terrors on paws. They charge up and down the house like a herd of elephants. I don't know HOW a 3 and 4 pound animal can make such a racket! They have destroyed plants, the leather couch is looking increasingly more "distressed" with each passing evening - even as we blast with squirt guns, air dusters, and have sticky-tape all over the house. We can't watch them 24/7 and it's those times when we ... oh, try to sleep, go to work, that they seem to wreak the most havoc. They've gotten better about sleeping on our bed with us (something DH is trying to foster), but by 3:30 a.m., they've woken up, get their "ya-yas" on, and start with the wrestling matches. So, it's out the door they go, into the hallway, and they stay out there and cry for the rest of the evening.

Kittens are darned cute...but they're exhausting. In the future, I'd definitely adopt a more mature animal companion.....

[badger]

we've only ever had one kitten in probably 20+ cats that have come and gone in my family's lives. He was the first and we got him from someone wanting to give away kittens at the County Fair type deal. All the cats since have been rescues.

Older cats will definitely present chances for issues, but we've never really had any horrible ones we couldn't deal with. In time they always came around.

Please give older cats a chance, especially the black ones that get passed over.

[Brandi]

My last 2 cats were both about 4 months old. Perfect age I think. Not to young to worry about leaving at home and not to old to have bad habits yet. Young young kittens you have to worry about so much. not that bonding with them isn;t great. Getting 2 at the same time is a great idea too. It's fun Whenever I have had a cat pass it always seems in the spring and we wait till fall or winter too. Morning was really hard on one we lost. But we also feel our home open's up to another that really needs a home. But I do advise going with a very open heart. We had adopted our cat Bo when he was 4 months old and had a broken femur. Now why would we take an injured cat in? He was that special and the shelter paid to have his leg fixed so what they paid the vet was our donation. And he is the best cat EVER!

[Velocivixen]

I agree with what every single person has said here. So, you can see it's difficult. There is our local shelter, which is not "no-kill". The volunteer in the cat section said that kitten season is late here and the little kittens are all in foster homes and will come to the shelter when they're bigger/older. That might be a good time in the fall to get a cat that is maybe 4+ months old.
However, there is a "no-kill" shelter that does this testing on adult cats called "Meet Your Match (trade marked) Feline-ality (trade marked)" program for all cats nine months and older. Read more here: http://catadoptionteam.org/adopt/adoption-process/

So DH and I answered the questionaire and we could do best with either a "Sidekick" or "Personal Assistant" based on our answers.
The only challenge that could pose itself at this no kill shelter is that some of the adult cats that have been there awhile have been "returns" due to "issues", which they will openly tell you about. As much as I like cats, I really don't want to adopt one with a lot of behavioral "issues". So if we adopt a 9+ month old or so cat from there it can't have been living there for years. I know that sounds mean, but there are just some people who are better at that sort of thing, and I am probably not one of them.

So...this isn't something that we'll do soon. I'm mostly just wondering out loud.
Thanks for all your responses.

[zoom-zoom]

Please give older cats a chance, especially the black ones that get passed over.

Our nearby no-kill shelter has SO many black cats...I was surprised when they told me that black cats are the hardest to find homes for. I love black cats...they are so sleek and sophisticated-looking. We vowed that our next cat would be a black cat from the shelter.

[Velocivixen]

Yes, it's true. I volunteered at our local animal shelter for 14 months in the, what was then called "Cat-Nip" program, helping potential adopters find their forever friend. Black cats and even dogs do not get adopted as much. At Halloween time the shelter intentionally will NOT adopt out a black cat, for fear of someone adopting one and intentionally harming it for superstitious & Halloween related stuff. It's sad but true.
We will likely adopt two at the same time. If they're related that would be great, but not absolutely necessary. If possible I think one should be black.

[Biciclista]

I agree with what every single person has said here. So, you can see it's difficult. There is our local shelter, which is not "no-kill". The volunteer in the cat section said that kitten season is late here and the little kittens are all in foster homes and will come to the shelter when they're bigger/older. That might be a good time in the fall to get a cat that is maybe 4+ months old.
However, there is a "no-kill" shelter that does this testing on adult cats called "Meet Your Match (trade marked) Feline-ality (trade marked)" program for all cats nine months and older. Read more here: http://catadoptionteam.org/adopt/adoption-process/

So DH and I answered the questionnaire and we could do best with either a "Sidekick" or "Personal Assistant" based on our answers.
The only challenge that could pose itself at this no kill shelter is that some of the adult cats that have been there awhile have been "returns" due to "issues", which they will openly tell you about. As much as I like cats, I really don't want to adopt one with a lot of behavioral "issues". So if we adopt a 9+ month old or so cat from there it can't have been living there for years. I know that sounds mean, but there are just some people who are better at that sort of thing, and I am probably not one of them.

So...this isn't something that we'll do soon. I'm mostly just wondering out loud.
Thanks for all your responses.
how can you tell if you pass the test? :p

[Velocivixen]

@Mimi, haha....you're so funny. ;) No, did you click the link and look at the "questionnaire"? I think it's a really good little quiz to take and would potentially help match the right person/family with the right kitty.

I guess I'm just fortunate that my little kitties got along so well and didn't do anything like tear up my tiny apartment that I had at the time.

[Koronin]

I volunteer with a cat only rescue and yes black cats have the hardest time getting adopted followed by tortishells. Actually around Halloween not only will they not adopt out black cats, they also will not adopt out orange cats for the same reasons.
Personally I'd go for an adult cat, but that's just me. Hubby would rather get a kitten. (someday when we get a new cat, not sure which way we'll go, but it won't be while we have our current three).

[KMEichhorn]

It's funny. When I find out one of my friends is having a baby, I'm happy for them, but not the least bit envious. When I find out a friend (online or otherwise) is planning to adopt a cat or kitten, I get totally jealous. I want a third cat!

Yes! Me too.

[badger]

maybe when the time is right, what you should do is see if any of them will choose you. It's one thing to choose them, but they need to accept/adopt you, too! :)

[Kathi]

After my 20+ kitty passed away I looked at shelters several times but no kitty spoke to me. One day I was at the other end of town shopping and I decided I neeeded to look for a kitty, then, now. I drove to the shelter, filled out the papers and went with the lady helping me to see the available kitty's. We were talking about the cats but when one kitty heard my voice she started talking. The woman helping me was shocked as this cat was very shy and had not responded to anyone. She said they were going to put her on the "no adoption" list (still not sure what that means) because she was not responding to anyone. She was 6 yrs. old, Himayalan, Rag Doll mix. She was friendly, curious, active so I decided to give her a try. When I brought her home she hid under the bed only coming out to play, eat and sleep with me. I finally stuffed anything I could find under the beds and furniture to keep her from hiding. She got the message, she has become my best friend, sweet, loving, sometimes to dependent but laid back enough to tolerate our life style, boarding while we're out of town and frequent car trips to our condo.

Three years later she's still not friendly to visitors, probably never will be, but loves our little ski condo, still has a lot of curiousity, loves to play and has become a wonderful, forever fur baby.

BTW, I almost didn't adopt her because she was so pretty. I named her Megane (Celtic, meaning soft and gentle) because it describes her perfectly.

[Becky]

The only challenge that could pose itself at this no kill shelter is that some of the adult cats that have been there awhile have been "returns" due to "issues", which they will openly tell you about.

I have previously volunteered at a shelter, and some of the reasons that people give for returning a pet are unbelievable.... :( That's not to say that there aren't legitimate reasons, but sometimes it's worth digging a little deeper to get the whole story.

I'm a big fan of asking the shelter staff/volunteers which particular animals they like most and why, and who they would recommend for our home. They get to know the animals so well, especially those who have spent some time there, and can offer some really good insight.

[zoom-zoom]

maybe when the time is right, what you should do is see if any of them will choose you. It's one thing to choose them, but they need to accept/adopt you, too! :)

Strays have often adopted us over the years...it's funny. But when DS and I have gone to the no-kill shelter to donate supplies they always encourage us to go visit the kitties in each of the 4 rooms. In these rooms most of the cats wander freely. And it's amazing how desperate so many are...you can barely walk without tripping over over-auditioning cats. Makes me want to take them ALL home!

[redrhodie]

I vote for one of each.

[Blueberry]

Gotta have photos in this thread:)

Here are my 3 "recent" additions:

[goldfinch]

We have a neighbor stray, a Tom. He is the sweetest guy. I am horribly allergic to cats or I would take him in. I did take him to the vet. Got him neutered, dewormed, and got him his shots.

I hope he makes it. I wish I could find someone to adopt him.

[Velocivixen]

@Badger, yeah, it would be great to be in a room and just see what cats/kittens come up to us. I want them to like us too.

@Becky, for sure regarding why folks return cats. Sometimes it's something like the child has allergies or they're moving and cannot have pets, etc. The folks at the no kill shelter are not shy about sharing why cats have been returned, etc. I feel that they legitimately want to find forever homes for these cats and will work with you.

I think we're leaning toward the range of 6-14 month age range, and littermates if possible. We are open though, and I would like at least one of them to be black. :)

[Chile Pepper]

Oooh, I could not resist a kitten! I have two cats and four dogs, so no kittens in my near future--and that makes me sad. Those itsy bitsy balls of fur are just so cute! I would not want to miss that if I had the option.

[Koronin]

The reasons for abandoning or returning dogs or cats can be just crazy. I will never understand the dumping an animal because you're moving. We moved across state with our three cats and my parents ended up taking in the stray we had been helping. Long story short we took all 4 to my parents for about 2 months while I sold our old house and we moved to the townhouse we rented. Our three would not accept the stray, but my mom's cat had no problem accepting him, so he stayed with my parents who are very happy to have him there. The place we rented the company we rented through has a two pet limit, but with approval you can have more pets in one of their rentals. They called and talked to the owner who said we could have our three cats in her place. She didn't mind at all.

[Kathi]

Meggie in her kitty tree.

[smilingcat]

I'm still in touch with the rescue group in California. In fact, I had a long pleasant conversation with one of the directors.

Times are still tough! Families are still downsizing and moving into apartment which do not allow pets. :mad: @ apartment owners. Traumatic for both the cats/dogs and the kids.

Adoption for kittens and cats are very slow. It hasn't returned to a level we used have 5 years ago.

If you are planning to adopt two cats, Bicilista's comment about getting two cats who have bonded is a great idea. Cats have feelings and being separated from one they have bonded is just too cruel. It would be nice if you could find a pair you like.

If you are worried about their personality, adopt a pair of cats who have been fostered and not just locked up in a cage at a shelter. The fosters are generally very upfront and honest with their assessment of cats personality. I didn't want my fosters returned so I pointed out all the faults with my foster kittens.

The group I worked with, they have about half a dozen kittens from last year, now a year old. Pretty sad.:( And I have 7 failed fosters who call my home their forever home. :D Other three were never up for adoption.

Older cats are just as fun as the kittens. Kittens only stay kittens for about 9 month to a year.

Enjoy your new kittens or cats when you find them.

[SheFly]

Last year, we adopted 9 week old siblings from a foster/no-kill shelter. As Mimi said, they had already bonded, and we were luck in that they actually DID choose us when we went to see them! They are brother/sister, and have NEVER been apart (well, except when we had to temporarily separate them because Ellie went into heat early).

My DH stayed home a bit more when we first got them, but they have settled in with both of us working. We just bought a brand new leather couch, and they haven't destroyed that or any other furniture (though they do like to chew on the cherry knobs of the bedroom furniture!).

After having lost a 17 year old cat (whom I adopted at 10 weeks), these two have literally rescued us vs. the other way around.

So, I agree with the bonding piece - and if you can, siblings are terrific!

Good luck!

SheFly

[Aggie_Ama]

Muirenn- My hairdresser acquired a dog as part of her house too! The owners were moving due to a layoff and the Great Pyrennes mix couldn't go to the one bedroom apartment with a 30lb limit. It was only 6 months old and they were devastated. They asked her if they could leave the dog with the property so it wouldn't languish in the shelter, no friends could take it. She felt pressured but said yes, she LOVES him. She has a profoundly autistic daughter but the dog takes great care of her. He doesn't mind her lhasa mix either and she said a great guard dog for the 5 acre spread. So it ended up being a happy ending. :D

[Biciclista]

wow, I can't imagine unexpectedly inheriting such a huge dog. Glad it worked out ok.

[Koronin]

Those two dogs got lucky that not only did the new owners accept them, but they also are good owners.

I guess I actually can understand the layoff loosing a job and having to move thing a bit more than most other reasons.

[tbl35]

We had to put my 20 year old kitty sleep in January, knew we'd want more but unsure how long it would take. I had gotten my other kitties (had one die at 17 a few years ago) a year apart and they never did like each other. Nothing violent but they pretty much ignored each other, so I really wanted to raise two together in the hope that they'd at least like each other!

I started looking in March though not seriously. Mentioned to a friend that I was sorta looking and wanted 2 sisters. Lo and behold, there were 2 littermates living at her vets office that they badly wanted to adopt out. :) The staff had been handling them every day, so they were very socialized. They were about 5 months, this was about 2 1/2 months ago. Glad I did it, they can be nuts (early morning stampede/wrestling sessions) but they're also sweet and make me smile. That's them in my avatar.

Sounds terrible but I had forgotten what it was like to have a healthy cat! Loved my old baby, but we had been giving her thyroid meds for years and her last few months were awful. :( I wouldn't have minded slightly older cats (2 or 3 years) but for me, I couldn't face having an older cat again so soon. It's tough.

[smilingcat]

We have a neighbor stray, a Tom. He is the sweetest guy. I am horribly allergic to cats or I would take him in. I did take him to the vet. Got him neutered, dewormed, and got him his shots.

I hope he makes it. I wish I could find someone to adopt him.

There are ways of coping with cat allergy. It has to do with cat dander. I have a friend whose SO is allergic to cats. My suggestion was to brush the cat regularly, a regular bath :eek:, after a while the cat will get "used" to the regular bath. The bath and grooming helps to control the cat dander. Another thing I suggested was to get a room air filter with HEPA filters to catch the cat dander. We use a vacume cleaner with HEPA filter. It's amazing how much fine dust it collects.

Depending on how severely allergic, and how much are you willing to do, you might be able to live in harmony with the cat. Maybe not...

Just a suggestion.

Sincerely,

smilingcat

[Koronin]

Cat dander is the typical reason for cat allergies, although some people are allergic to their saliva and a very few are actually allergic to their fur. My husband is one of those very few that is allergic to the fur. (He had one of those allergy tests and basically it told him he's allergic to everything, except food). He's also lucky from the stand point that once his system gets used to whatever it is causing the allergic reaction he builds up an immunity to it. It's more allergic to long furred animals (both cats and dogs) than to short furred ones, so we make sure we will only have short furred ones.
Oh and with brushing the furminator is a wonderful item. It not only helps get rid of loose fur, but also helps to keep the dander down as well. One of our is much more prone to a high amount of dander than the other two are.

[jessmarimba]

I'll have to check that out Koronin. I have one black cat with the worst dandruff I've ever seen and it's been that way for 8 years. I've tried everything (else) but I guess that's just how she is. Good suggestion.

[smilingcat]

furminator IS EXPENSIVE but it really does the job that regular comb/brush can't do or wont do.

We have long hair cats, short hair cats, cats whose fur mats really easily. The furminator seems to cut out the mats if it isn't too bad. And strangely, the cats love being brushed with them.

Furminator will remove "dead" undercoat as well as their "dead" top coat. Have a reasonable size trash bag next to you when you are using the furminator on the cat the first time and plan on brushing for 20-30 minutes. I also use a mister to keep the fine hair from flying around. Static electricity ya'know.

We also have one for the dogs, a very furry golden and a lab.

[goldfinch]

There are ways of coping with cat allergy. It has to do with cat dander. I have a friend whose SO is allergic to cats. My suggestion was to brush the cat regularly, a regular bath :eek:, after a while the cat will get "used" to the regular bath. The bath and grooming helps to control the cat dander. Another thing I suggested was to get a room air filter with HEPA filters to catch the cat dander. We use a vacume cleaner with HEPA filter. It's amazing how much fine dust it collects.

Depending on how severely allergic, and how much are you willing to do, you might be able to live in harmony with the cat. Maybe not...

Just a suggestion.

Sincerely,

smilingcat

I have a friend that does all this with her cats as her spouse is allergic. I think it helps a little bit. But if I visit them for more than two days the asthma comes out with a vengeance. So in my case I think that it won't work. Plus, I have an elderly dog who does not tolerate cats. I think the cat would tolerate her though. :)

Still trying to find the tom a home before we hit the road again in a week. If I have no luck a neighbor will feed him provided that I spring for the food. She will continue the efforts to get him a home. I won't be back in this area again for months.