If we were to get a cat...

[SixImpossible]

When would be the best time?

I grew up with pets, but we were a big household and there was always someone living in the house, so we never had to use kennels/cattery etc.

Simple nuclear family now, so what would we do with a new cat or kitten, if we went away for a few days or a week? Can we plan for it in the timing or age of the cat we may or may not get?

Catteries, cat sitters, friends neighbours or families can all be brought into play for family holidays in the future and much will depend on the cat and your own circumstances. I'd only really plan not to be going away for an extended time if, say, you have a new cat or kitten - it's best to be able to have family home when they're still bonding and finding their feet in the household.

Best of luck.

But how new is new?

If, say, we were to get a kitten in September, would it be too soon to send her to a cattery over Xmas?

Well there's likely a few things to potentially throw into the equation if you were looking at practicalities. For example, if you were to get a kitten in September, he or she would likely just be coming up to or just have gone through neutering so you have to consider whether you could be away just before or after that. Or might have just reached the age for going out if you were to have an outside going cat so might be a bit unsettled. (You'll maybe think of more knowing your own circumstances.)

Have you thought about maybe getting a more mature rescue cat? There are loads around - many little more than kittens eg young adults - who are looking for homes and most of those will already be neutered, vaccinated and have had an assessment of their character made by the rescue. (So you would know whether eg they would fit in with DCs. Kittens are a bit of an unknown quantity.)

Yes, I would consider a rescue cat. I'm just not sure about our ability as a family to cope with and do the best for a traumatised animal.

TBH I don't like the idea of using a cattery, but realise that I may have no other choice for trips away longer than a weekend.

Most rescue cats aren't traumatized - they just don't have a home to go to for one reason or another.

Why not have a look at the catchat \link{http://www.catchat.org/adoption/index.html\Find a shelter} page and see the rescue near you ? Many of them have linked websites where you can see online some of the potential adoptees they have. (The catchat forums also have private requests for adoptions which you might have a look at.)

What kind of kitten did you want?

We got two young cats from a rescue. (Mum and son). Both 2ish. Young enough to be kittenish and play but old enough to know how to use a litter tray and not to shred the furniture. They were absolutely not traumatised and didn't need any really special treatment.
I wouldn't plan on getting a cat and leaving it within the month.
Oh and get two rescues! Company for each other!

Just to say our two rescues came at different times, settled in boldly and fine with small kids and no idea of background. Both found stray but no behaviour issues (except the slaughtering of rabbits by one).

They were about one or two when we got them, lovely lovely, knew how to use a tray, neutered, vaccinated, etc
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Got ours from cats protection in Dereham. We took the kids with us as DS wasn't two yet so we needed to test which cats liked children, which were scared and which were incandescent with rage at their approach!

Soon sorted who was bombproof and home they came. Could easily have left them in dec if we had got them in sept. As they are rescues I try and avoid cattery so my mum pops in once a day and feeds, fusses etc. otherwise I would pay a teenager or official pet sitter if need be. Ours have a cat flap so easy to leave them in their territory.

They were too smitten by excess dreamies to be that pissed off with us. And they do sleep for 18 hours a day so not that long til we were home! Also can leave the radio on radio 4 for human voices.