How do I find a new kitten these days?

[StrangeAntics]

It has been 7 yrs since our last one left us. He was 18 and my entire heart.

I am finally ready to find another to give a home to, but a lot has changed.
We purchased him from a local pet shop for £20 and he was the love of my life.

Now I find it is all online, and any enquiries I make via chat are odd and seemingly a bit dodgy. The last one I enquired about, the owner just said 'hi, what's your problem?'

I don't feel too encouraged by that, and would love to know if there is a safe and legit way to find a kitten we can give a home to. We have housed many older cats in the past and would really like to have a young one now.

Many online are asking over 300 for a 'moggy', which feels a bit odd, and a moggy is what we would prefer.

Any advice?

Rescue, there are generally kittens in most and rescues are overflowing

I paid £60 for my boy as an adult and he was vet checked, chipped, neutered, flea treated etc
the vet said (he’s currently being treated for an infection) that he’s an absolute gem of a cat. He was only in rescue 2 days before I reserved him!

"hi, what's your problem?" is an insane way to answer a question about a kitten omg. Might start saying that when I pick up the phone

I would try cats protection and the rspca.

https://www.cats.org.uk/adopt-a-cat/find-a-cat

What a beautiful face!

I've been wondering about this. We have 2 nearly 9 year old working cats and at some point in the future we will need to get 2 new kittens. We aren't allowed to have a rescue cat.

Rescues.

Cat Protection
Blue Cross
RSPCA

each have centres through the UK

and most areas have smaller local rescues as well - I have Animals In Distress, Hectors House, Feline Rescue and South Devon Cats within 5 miles of me.

Ask Google and see what comes up in your area.

Rescue all the way. Otherwise I guess you sign up for the cat distribution program 😆

Also ask friends / neighbours / work colleagues.
You never know who may have had a litter !

He is basically a Labrador in a cats body. I accidentally poked him in the ear and he just blinked happily at me
the vet jabbed him with 3 meds and he rolled over for belly rubs

Ours came from Cats Protection, they were born in foster.
But they prefer to home in pairs.

Have you absolutely ruled out adult cats? They have so many young ones circa 1-3 years old. I’ve had many from rescue and only had kittens this time as we had a very young child and they considered that more appropriate so they could grow together. But otherwise I’d have had the kittens mum who was only 18 months herself.

We had to register for kittens and basically wait, but the wait wasn’t long at all.

Will take another look at these places, thank you!
Last time we tried cats protection there were next to no cats available.

Will keep focused on this.

Totally OT but what is a working cat? What does a working cat do?

Usually a farm/stable cat. Meant to catch mice
often refuses to catch anything, gets its paws under the table and becomes a house cat

Generally pest control on farms and other businesses. I think cats "work" on their own terms !

My sister had this issue with cats protection. She has no kids, BIL works from home and had no other animals. She was an experienced owner, her previous old boy had passed more than a year before. They turned her down as unsuitable, although never specified why. Then I worked with someone who had a neighbour who was a fosterer for them, she said that basically they are cat hoarders who hide behind the charity to justify it. MAny of the fosterers dont want to rehome the cats, they want to keep them.

@marmite2025 @6namechange3

Well I was thinking mouse catching, but the cats I know would just not fucking bother, which is why I was curious!

Honestly, I’d adopt from a local rescue if you can.
I adopted a 2 year-old male cat from our local rescue and he is a dream.
I paid £120 for him as he’d been neutered, vaccinated and chipped.
We then semi-rescued a kitten from a friend of a friend, we’ve only just stopped hating that kitten now she’s 2 years-old 😂 I’d never get a kitten again.

We got our two cats as kittens from a rescue. Here's the link in case you are anywhere near me:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1AzE1SSAzu/?mibextid=wwXIfr
but if not I'm sure there is something similar near you.

I fostered with CP for 10 years, I never kept a cat. I only stopped because the cat distribution system chose me.

We live next to a field so they are needed to get rid of mice. The big cat is scared of all people who don't live here but will happily start a fight with a fox and win.

Cats also worked as mousers on ships.
We had a few farm Toms when I was growing up, although sadly one of them ate my pet rabbit.

Is its name Greebo?!