Ever had kittens?

[somethingelsethere]

In response to another thread, I just want to ask if you've ever owned a cat that has had a litter of kittens?
Interested to see how many people have..
Posting here for traffic and range of audience!

my very young boycat mounted his own mother

Cats have no concept of incest. To a tom cat, any intact female in heat is a sexual magnet, regardless of whether she's his mum, sister, granny etc.

Rescues have been pushing the neutering message for decades but we're clearly pissing in the wind.

Of course, if everyone neutered their animals, domestic cats would be pretty much extinct in 20 years, but we're so far off that, it's not really a likely outcome.

I am genuinely curious how do you get a kitten responsibly? (Not planning on doing so)
Rescues have massive waiting lists (and will reject many applicants), “breeders” are apparently dodgy if selling for £500+. Is is genuinely not possible to pay to get a moggie from a reputable breeder? Or is this for posh breeds only? Or perhaps they are just given away to friends when mum cat accidentally has a litter?

@zigzog44
Well, my cats are not going to shelters and families that take them would not consider a rescue cat, there are a lot of issues with those and not everyone is prepared to undertake such a project. One of them did apply, but were considered unsuitable because they had small children. Because at no point in the whole history of humanity did small children and kittens mix together. So no, my cat having kittens is not contributing to healthy young cats being murdered, but I appreciated the dramatic effect.

So ok, a controlled breeding programme. Who do you think will run such a programme? For profit or not? How potential new owners would qualify to own a kitten from this programme? How would cats be selected for the breeding programme?

Out of interest, are you against people reproducing as long as there are children in orphanages? It is a stretch, of course, but the logic is the same.

Only yes in about 1980 my cousin (living with us) had a young cat who had kittens. I remember nothing about the kittens which seems odd (I was 12ish so would have been keen to interact). IIRC, was a small litter.

Our cat had a couple litters when my children were young, it was a very beneficial and inspiring experience for one of my daughters in particular who went on to study animal care. Mum cat was an amazing mum who seemed to love raising her kittens. She got spayed after and is still our family pet now and will be 10 this year. We made sure the kittens were wormed, deflead and fully weaned before they went to their new homes and we had no problem finding homes. I didn’t make money from them, just recouped what I’d spent. If I get another cat in future it will be spayed but I don’t regret giving either the children or the cat the opportunity.

I am genuinely curious how do you get a kitten responsibly? (Not planning on doing so)
In my case I was almost on my way to the vets to spay my female kitten, when my goddaughter' mum begged me to let her have one litter so that they could have a kitten. Then another family joined with request, then another. I thought and decided it is not a bad idea - my only condition was that I won't go pure-breed way, as I was very concerned about potential genetic health problems - in my cat's breed, all animals seem to be second cousins or closer. They were very happy with mudbloods, who all turned out to be exceptionally cute too.

@Frazzled2207

I am genuinely curious how do you get a kitten responsibly? (Not planning on doing so) Rescues have massive waiting lists (and will reject many applicants), “breeders” are apparently dodgy if selling for £500+. Is is genuinely not possible to pay to get a moggie from a reputable breeder? Or is this for posh breeds only? Or perhaps they are just given away to friends when mum cat accidentally has a litter?

Rescues probably have long waiting lists at the moment because people have been wanting lockdown pets.

In normal times, it's not hard to get a kitten from a rescue. Or you could consider an adult cat. Bear in mind that the cute kitten stage is a fraction of a cat's normal lifespan - many cats nowadays live more than 15 years - I lost one a couple of years ago at the grand age of 19. They are more or less fully grown within about 10 months.

With an adult cat you have a better idea of temperament and if you get a rescue adult it will come spayed/neutered and vaccinated.

Even if breeding were completely banned, there are more than enough strays and ferals to stop the population from going extinct.

I don't think it's unreasonable to regulate and require a license in people who allow their animals to breed.

If you visit places without strong neutering campaigns, (areas in Spain, for example) they can be overrun with feral cats who aren't treated much differently than rats. There are UK based charities who go over to trap and neuter mass colonies of cats to reduce the population and avoid disease.

A family member took in a stray young female just before Christmas, not knowing she was already pregnant.

Kittens are 6 weeks old now, and all six, plus mum are fit and well. New homes lined up from family and friends. I am taking two. We have DCat who is age 18 and not likely to have many more years, so I am keen to ensure we have another 18 years of cat companionship.

I must admit, it has been amazing seeing the pictures and videos of the kittens as they grow, and has given us something to look forward to during this lockdown. We'll be taking them in 4 weeks and my dd is super excited.

Saying that, I have always had our family pets fixed and would not leave them at risk of unwanted litters. I think we are taking two boys, but intend to get them neutered just in case our neighbouring lady cats have not been spayed.

I don't think it's unreasonable to regulate and require a license in people who allow their animals to breed.
I fully agree it is not unreasonable, possibly only not very enforceable.

Yes but I'm talking 40 years ago. I was a child, and my mum and I watched them arrive - it was amazing thing to witness. She had a litter of three - we kept one and rehomed the other two with friends.
Then she caught us out by getting pregnant again probably the first and only time she'd been out since the birth - lesson learned! - four more kittens (kept two, rehomed two with friends). Then she got spayed pretty damn quickly!

@ZoobyZoobyDoo

Yes. It is actually necessary for at least some cats to reproduce in order for the species to survive.

That is some bollocks right there.

Nope, I've had mostly male cats but once had male/ female siblings. He was nurtured early to protect her until she could be done

@LST you think it’s bollocks that cats need to reproduce to have kittens? Wow. Go back to school

@Frazzled2207

I am genuinely curious how do you get a kitten responsibly? (Not planning on doing so) Rescues have massive waiting lists (and will reject many applicants), “breeders” are apparently dodgy if selling for £500+. Is is genuinely not possible to pay to get a moggie from a reputable breeder? Or is this for posh breeds only? Or perhaps they are just given away to friends when mum cat accidentally has a litter?

THIS!! I wanted to get a kitten around 6 months ago as my kids were at a good age to help and be careful. Cant home a kitten for love nor money. Phoned a dozen rescues. No kittens and no open waiting lists or very very long waiting lists. Many adult cats not suitable as I have multiple children of different ages. Plus I really wanted a kitten to be able to make sure there was no past trauma and to be safe around the kids. Don’t know anyone who’s cat is having kittens and according to MN they shouldn’t be letting their cat have kittens anyway. They are online sites but that’s irresponsible too?? So how the flip can I home a kitten??!

[quote Quit4me]@LST you think it’s bollocks that cats need to reproduce to have kittens? Wow. Go back to school[/quote]
Well../they make sort of sense.

Scooby said that some cats need to reproduce to keep the species going.

Well yes, but there are millions of cat. There are enough unspayed strays in the world that even if every person speyed their pet cat, there would still be kittens born.

So therefore, as it stands, no one needs to breed their cat unless it’s a pedigree breed that has a waiting list for kittens.

No one needs to breed their pet cat because “kittens are so cute! All my friends and family want one and it’s only fair to let her have one litter”

[quote Quit4me]@LST you think it’s bollocks that cats need to reproduce to have kittens? Wow. Go back to school[/quote]
There is no need for more bloody kittens. Especially by irresponsible arseholes who don't neuter their cats. So no duck. I dont need to go back to school.

No. We've had male and females over the years and they've all been neutered as appropriate and not allowed out until they are.

It shocks me that breeding moggies is seen as fine on here, but if you posted on the doghouse saying you were breeding your non-pedigree dog, you'd get torn to shreds.

No one needs to breed their pet cat because “kittens are so cute! All my friends and family want one and it’s only fair to let her have one litter”
For me, it is a much healthier reason to breed a cat compared to planning a purebred litter who could have only four great-grandparents, and a quarter of the kittens will have to be euthanized soon after birth due to defects not compatible with life. Or a domestic queen will be bred by a large wild feline such as a serval to get fashionable hybrids, and the only way to actually get the kittens out then is a c-section.

[quote Quit4me]@LST you think it’s bollocks that cats need to reproduce to have kittens? Wow. Go back to school[/quote]
I have to assume you’re missing the point on purpose because no one could be that thick

Thank you. I thought that I was pretty clear in what I said too. But hey ho!

I got a kitten when I was in my early 20s and living in a house share. Back then it was advised that they were spayed at 6 months, but she went into heat at 5 months. I put signs up all over the house saying not to let her out but one of my housemates let her out.

She had a litter of 5 kittens, I had a box ready for her to have them in, but in the end she came and sat on my lap while she gave birth. The kittens were so much fun. It was a great experience. We found homes for them really easily, we just asked around and then gave them away to friends of friends. We had her spayed straight away afterwards.

I have two cats at the moment that I got from a rescue. It was really difficult to get them, I was on a waiting list for ages. I can't believe how difficult it has become to get a kitten now that everyone spays their cats. I got them spayed at 5 months.

I would love my kids to experience a litter of kittens around the house, so I'm thinking of fostering a pregnant cat some time.

@LST

Thank you. I thought that I was pretty clear in what I said too. But hey ho!

No not really- unless you think cats have immaculate conception as an option? There are almost no kittens to adopt from resides and not many from other online sites either without 100 people competing with you!!?? Don’t believe me, then you obviously haven’t tried to joke a kitten in the last year!!!!!

Rescues not resides