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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Advice on where to buy kittens

53 replies

Whatevertheweather · 30/12/2013 21:11

Hi, we are looking to get my daughter 2 kittens for her 7th birthday at beginning of March. She has been desperate for a cat since she could talk and for various reasons now is the right time so we are going to coincide getting them with her birthday. We do also have an 18 month old DD.

I have tried our local RSPCA and cats protection league and neither have any suitable. Pets 4 Homes local site only seem to have the £300+ pedigree cats, gorgeous but out of our budget! There are some on free ads/gumtree but am wary to get them from there.

Presume we need to start looking now to collect end of Feb/beginning of March?

We live in a semi detached house on a quiet residential street with a large enclosed back garden and will get a catflap fitted. I work from home most days so they will have plenty of company Smile There's a vet around the corner and we will arrange insurance and micro chipping.

Any advice gratefully received - we had kittens/cats when I was growing up but that was a fair while ago now!

TIA

OP posts:
issey6cats · 31/12/2013 00:29

what a shame you are not near me in yorkshire as the two foster girls i have are 4 months old at the moment so by march would still be only 7 months old and are both child friendly, and very sweet loving lap girls and a private foster

Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 31/12/2013 08:51

Ah issey a shame indeed!

OP posts:
Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 31/12/2013 08:54

That's interesting whoknows we're fairly near a main road - if they left our residential street they would come out on a main road one end but a little wooded area the other end so hopefully they'd head that way!!

Will check out Haslemere CPL that's not too far from us Smile

OP posts:
WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes · 31/12/2013 09:10

We're the third house into a quiet cul-de-sac, the road at the end is busy. The CPL home visit person suggested that we only ever let them out of the back door (have to climb three lots of 6' fence/hedge to reach main road). Whereas once you are out the front door there are no obstacles on the way to the main road. They have managed to nip out the front a couple of times but we've always got them straight back in again.

sashh · 31/12/2013 10:28

Kittens to be ready early March aren't born yet, surely?

They won't have been conceived yet.

VivaLeBeaver · 31/12/2013 10:31

I see ads for free kittens on local Facebook groups quite a bit. They're normally people who have had an accidental litter.

devilinside · 31/12/2013 10:35

You can register with the cat's protection league and just keep checking their website for new additions. although I would say a kitten is unlikely until spring. We just got our gorgeous boy this way, he's 3 months now. I would definitely go for a kitten if you have young children

TheOneWithTheNicestSmile · 31/12/2013 22:02

Sashh, kitten gestation is c 9 weeks, plus a min 9 weeks before they're old enough to leave litter, takes us to late April/early May!

spanky2 · 31/12/2013 22:56

I thought cats protection or rspca .Smile

BabyMummy29 · 31/12/2013 22:59

Have you considered getting an adult cat(s)? I originally wanted a kitten but due to demand, couldn't get from SSPCA or Cats Protection. However they had lots of adult cats and I took a lovely 3 year old ginger and white boy who has now been with me for 3 years and is adorable.

I didn't have any of the mess or destruction that goes along with kittens and would actually never consider getting kittens again in the ruture

thecatneuterer · 01/01/2014 02:15

I would agree that an adult cat is a much better bet with young children. For a start the children will be much less able to harm it. A rescue will be able to point you towards a cat that is very child tolerant, bold and calm, which is exactly what you need.

Kittens are a huge handful to deal with and are, unfortunately, at risk from young children.

Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 01/01/2014 08:35

Have had messages back from a local rescue and our local CPL so we are going to go and register with them at the weekend. Will definitely consider older cats if that is recommended with the toddler, there seems to be 2 schools of thought though. I am confident we would be able to keep kittens safe and she wouldn't be able to hurt them. She's actually a fairly calm toddler as toddlers go and does follow instructions to be gentle quite well (my dad has an elderly westie that is none to keen on noisy children and she is good with him)

OP posts:
sashh · 01/01/2014 09:59

TheOneWithTheNicestSmile

I thought 60 days gestation, but I had completely forgotten about time with mummy cat.

OP

You now we need pics ASAP

WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes · 01/01/2014 10:17

I'd agree about older cats being better, especially if you haven't had cats before. Ours were 13 months old when we adopted them into a house with a 9 and a 7 year old DC and it has all been very straightforward, they are very placid, but our 7yo DD has been over confident with them at times, and I think it would have been a lot harder for us all to get used to being cat owners with kittens. My friend, who is an experienced cat owner, adopted two kittens around the same time and has been driven to distraction by them, it has been much, much harder by the sounds of it.

OhIDoLikeToBeBeside · 02/01/2014 00:59

I also recommend older cats. We specifically didn't want kittens and weren't fussy about colour or sex as long as they were going to be good with DS. Rescue couldn't believe it - most people want cute kittens (not realising what hard work they are) or have fixed ideas about the look of a cat. We ended up being matched with a 7yr old girl who has been absolutely perfect.

Bit of an essay, but basically recommending not having any fixed ideas (other than number) and let the rescue match you Smile

moonbells · 02/01/2014 09:59

We rescued a mum (about 18mths-2yr) and one of her six kittens. Totally different characters, and both perfectly happy with DS who is 6. He gets the occasional hand scratch from Moonkitten when playing with toys but accepts it's because the kitten pounces faster than he can get out of the way or he was doing something daft!

Mooncat was a bit miffed she still had a kitten to deal with for a few months, there was a lot of hissing and growling when he tried to play and she didn't want (good reason for getting two kittens) but that seems to be settling down now. Still skittish (ex-stray so was wary of humans) but she seems to be trusting us a lot more too.

frillyflower · 03/01/2014 09:38

Do consider black cats. We have 2 gorgeous mini panthers. The littlest one is super affectionate and kind. We just handled her gently and a lot as a kitten.

ComposHat · 03/01/2014 12:46

I would say an adult cat from a rescue centre with a known easy going temperament is the best bet for younger children.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm sure any cat you have will be well loved and looked after, but I've bever been comfortable with the idea as presenting pets as birthday/Christmas gifts, it enforces the idea in the children's mind that a pet is an object rather than a new family member.Also the excitement of birthday parties and multiple visitors could be distressing to a cat that is getting used to its new surroundings.

I'd maybe think about getting a cat sooner during the quiet period between now and her birthday.

Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 03/01/2014 20:55

I will post pics sassh when we find them Smile

Had a call from local RSPCA rescue today, they have some kittens Smile We are going down to register tomorrow and see them. Will definitely take on board if they recommend adult cats over kittens, though from speaking with this particular rescue they wouldn't allow any of the older cats they have at the moment to come to a house with a toddler.

I do understand what you mean about presenting pets as presents composhat I wouldn't ordinarily feel comfortable with it either but DD is possibly the most animal obsessed young child you could meet, she walks our neighbours dogs with them, goes to the local stables at weekends and school holidays to muck out and groom the horses, her best christmas present was sponsoring a guide dog, she will happy sit completely still for as long as my brothers cat will curl up on her lap for, these cats or kittens will never be just an object to her she will take lovely care of them whether she has them as a birthday gift or any other time of the year. We may well get them a little before her birthday if timings work out that way

Will let you know how we get on tomorrow

OP posts:
Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 04/01/2014 22:45

Went it the rescue today and the litter they had in yesterday were all reserved this morning! They did have to 6yo cats, one Ginger one black and white that I fell a little bit in love with that are best friends and need rehoming together as their owner died. They were the only 2 that could be homed with children under 8.

Interestingly the lady at the rescue advised kittens for us as they can grow with our toddler and will likely be more tolerant and adaptable and we have the time to give them when they come home.

OP posts:
issey6cats · 04/01/2014 23:00

now you have been down to the center they will know who you are and im sure there will be plenty of kittens between now and march also contact other local cat rescues including independant ones and local breed rescues as the more lists you are on as a potential adopter the better chance of getting kittens that will suit your household

ComposHat · 04/01/2014 23:03

I now desperately want the black and ginger six year olds! They'd look so cute next to our 9 year old tortie!

Original poster
Whatevertheweather · 04/01/2014 23:20

We have a 3 month pass now so we can pop in as often as we like as they get new cats in daily. We have also consented to them sharing our details with other local rescues. We've decided that as soon as we find them/they are ready to come home we will take them rather than waiting until march for dd's birthday.

They were gorgeous compos really pretty and so friendly. They've been there since August too Hmm I would quite happily have taken them but DP is more set on the idea of kittens

OP posts:
ComposHat · 05/01/2014 00:10

Aw I hope they get a nice home soon! See if you can work on DP!

Fluffycloudland77 · 05/01/2014 12:39

Until the kittens destroy everything in their paths.

You can go off kittens, trust me.