Rescue cat or kitten.

[cosmicglittergirl]

I've got two DC aged 2.5 and 10 months and would like to get a cat. There's space in our house for the cat to be away from the children and we have a garden, but I'm unsure whether it's better to adopt an older cat or get a young cat to grow up with the children. I initially wanted a rescue cat, but I'd appreciate any thoughts on the subject. The two year old is gentle and loves cats.
Thanks.

[SunsetDream]

Older definitely based on my very new opinion and experience of one!

We've adopted a hearing old cat. Still young and playful, but old enough to know what we might be getting - not unpredictable and over the 'have to watch over them at every stage' stage.

Like I said, I relatively new to cat ownership, but looked at cats and kittens. I'm really glad we went for a cat and not kitten!

[SunsetDream]

Year old cat, not hearing old cat!

[Thurlow]

Older? We're just about to adopt an older cat and it felt right. You can see their personality, which is reassuring. So you can see how the cat and the kids take to each other, whether they look scared etc, and also you can ask the rescue centre about certain behaviours such as scratching, jumping too much when playing and all that.

[cosmicglittergirl]

Thanks all, I would prefer an older cat, I've only ever had rescue cats so a kitten is an unknown entity to me. I just wondered if it was better to have the kitten grow up with the children. I will investigate the local rehoming places.

[cozietoesie]

If you're UK based, you might find the 'Find a Shelter' page on this site useful, cosmic, because it will list many of the smaller rescues in your general area. (Many of them will also have their own websites to have a look at although definitely not all of the cats in care will be up on them - going to see them is an essential.)

Good luck.

[timtam23]

I wouldn't actively choose to have a kitten with very young children - I had to take in an 8 week old stray, who would otherwise have died, when my children were preschool age. The younger child in particular didn't like the kitten at all as it was so unpredictable, it had very sharp little teeth & claws and at around 12 weeks we had several weeks of very full-on kitten behaviour with lots of zooming around, jumping at people, claws out etc (before he was neutered). The kitten is now a 2 yr old adult cat but he's still wary of my youngest child, i think the feeling between them was mutual, so kitten growing up with kids is not always a guarantee that things will be perfect between them all. My 2 old cats were not at all keen on my children (had had the cats long before the children came along & cats never quite got used to them) but they would sit still for a stroke etc. Also young children can unintentionally hurt kittens as they are so small & fragile. I would say an adult rescue cat who is used to children would be your best bet.

[SummerSazz]

We got a 3 year old rescue cat with a 4 and 2 year old so will still 'grow up together' but no manic kitten!

[cosmicglittergirl]

Thanks again all, an older cat it is!