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....

[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)

[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.....