Adopting a kitten..advice needed

[awaywego1]

I've decided after much deliberation to get a kitten..ideally I would like to get one from a rescue but it's proving difficult as the local rescues are not responding to emails or phone calls.
I've looked at gumtree and preloved and there are kittens being sold which fit the bill (tabby or grey moggie) but I'm not sure if this is a good way to acquire a cat or what I should be asking.
I grew up with cats and have just handed back a kitten I was looking after for a month so have some idea of what to expect but have never been a cat 'owner' before. I'd get pet insurance, neuter asap, worm, deflea and vaccinate. I have a house with a garden but no catflap.
Any advice gratefully recieved.

Please, please don't buy a kitten from anywhere. If you pay money to someone you are encouraging them to keep on breeding. There are far too many cats for the number of homes available, and every kitten born basically means that another cat in a rescue won't get a home, and either will get put down, or will take up a place that another cat in desperate need could have had.

Rescues are desperately busy but I'm sure they will get back to you fairly soon. Issey, who posts on here, works for Yorkshire Cat Rescue I believe, and I see you're in Yorkshire, so she may post.

Also look on www.catchat.org for details of the rescues in your area and some of the cats and kittens they have available. It is still kitten season so all the rescues are full to bursting with kittens, and also have them in foster homes, so please bear with it.

Small kittens are always happier in pairs and get very distressed when they're left on their own. So unless you are going to be able to be with the kitten for 24 hours a day then you would really be better off getting a pair. Either that or adopt a slightly older one, say five months or so.

We've had a few threads covering the things first-time cat owners need to consider. I'll post a few links in a minute.

Once the cat is old enough to go out having a cat flap makes life much easier. You can put cat flaps in double glazed doors, in walls, in windows...

Also are you absolutely sure that the colour of the cat/kitten is that important to you? I only ask because black and black and white cats and kittens have a terrible time trying to get homed as they are not 'fashionable'. We get people coming to our rescue who want kittens, and we have an awful lot of kittens, but they refuse to even look at the black and black and white ones. We've got some darling black kittens that absolutely no one seems to want. It's so sad.

Here's some reading for you:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2188311-Is-there-any-kind-of-rescue-cat-thread-for-novices

Our old girl is 18. Waiting a few days to get an answer from a busy rescue won't hurt.
Does it have to be a kitten? Why do you care about the colour?

My advice is don't do it! We have a 6 month old kitten and out house is wrecked and she has Dh wrapped around her paws! Only joking I love the bones of her!
Do try and get a rescue as so many around at moment and as previous poster said black or black/white get over looked. w
Where are you maybe I could help you look! I love looking st pictures of kittens!

I'd get two!
I'd love another black cat!!

I really would prefer to get one from a rescue so ill hold on for a few days. and no colour doesn't really matter..it definitely won't matter when I meet the cat and fall in love with its personality I'm sure!
I do want a young cat but it doesn't need to be a tiny kitten atall and I would take advice from the rescue as to whether the cat wou and be happy to be housed alone as dp will only agree to one cat sadly.

I will look at the other threads too ..thanks!

hi sorry been busy this week as you are in yorkshire please look up either yorkshire cat rescue who are near keighley, or paw prints who are based in bradford as ours and them are both up to ouur necks in kittens i have three tabbies im fostering at the moment, YCR is open 1-4 every day except wednesday when they are closed and there will be someone (volunteer) to answer the phone,

and YCR neuter, microchip and vaccinate, deflea and worm before the kittens get adopted
if they are too far from you go onto catchat.org and this will give you nearest rescue to you

Thanks Issey there are some gorgeous cats on there. It's quite far from me as I'm in south yorkshire- I don't mind travelling but would rather not have a frightened cat stuck in a car for any longer than necessary. Also do you do home home checks and if so would someone travel that far to do a check?
I'm going to visit thornberry animal sanctuary on Saturday so I'll see how that goes.

My mum has just adopted a cat from the Sheffield RSPCA branch. She says they were great. That should be closer to you. I'm sure they have kittens.

theres also a cat rescue near sheffield called Howarth cat rescue

Thanks..there's a lovely 9 month old cat at rain rescue who I'd love to meet so I've emailed them about her today. I've been out and got a carrier some bowls and a litter tray and started crocheting a cat blanket which it will no doubt shun

have PM ed you with more details

thanks Issey

Thanks for all the help-specially issey.
After being disappointed after keeping missing out on lovely looking rescue cats it turns out that a friend of a friends cat had kittens unexpectedly-shes getting spade now thank goodness but the upshot is i've adopted a 9 week old kitten. Am totally in love and looking forward to us growing old together..although shes got my wrapped round her paw already
I'll be needing lots of advice from this board i suspect!

awww shes georgous lots of advice available on this site :)

The poor love has fleas :( so had to put up with me flea combing her last night..got an appt at the vets later so hopefully they can sort her out.