Opinions-kittens or young cats?

[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....

[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

[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

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.

[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.

[Norse]

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

[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)

[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.

[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!