Where should we buy our kitten from?

[Nadoligcynhir]

We've have wanted a cat for years but wanted to move to the country before getting one. We moved early this year and wanted to fully settle before taking the plunge. Now we are starting to look around and not sure where to buy one from and we really want a kitten. We are in South Wales can anyone advise where we should get one from? Are local ads online etc ok to buy from?

If you can, why not try to rehome a cat needing rescuing? Be really careful of online ads and pet shops, animals sold this way are generally from breeding factories, and are horribly treated and more than not full of health problems

Good luck finding the perfect pet!

Don't buy one from anywhere!! There are too many cats in the country and not enough homes. If you buy you are encouraging people to continue allowing their cat to reproduce, thus adding to the problem. Thousands and thousands of cats are put down every year just because there are not enough homes to go round. Go to a rescue centre and be part of the solution, not the problem. You can find your nearest centre here: www.catchat.org

Be aware though that we are now coming out of kitten season (cats have two litters a year - in Spring and late Summer), so there may not be that many kittens around now. You could consider an older kitten (5 or 6 months, which should have the advantage of already being neutered when it comes from a rescue). Or you may need to wait until Spring. Also be aware that kittens often don't get advertised by the rescues on catchat, but they still have them - you just need to contact them to find out.

Also we (a London rescue) don't recommend homing small kittens singly as it is very upsetting for them to be taken away from their mother and their siblings, and young kittens miss having playmates. So again, if you want just one, I would suggest an older kitten/cat.

You can get kittens at a rescue centre too, you know.

about 7 years ago RSPCA charged £60 for fully vaccinated & neutered kittens
www.rspca.org.uk/findapet

Depends where you are in S Wales Nadolig, if you can get to Bridgend Bryncethin is a good rescue.

That link that TCN posted is a good one - and an older kitten would be great for you, I think. (I acquired Seniorboy at around 14 so I'm sold on older cats but having had both, kittens are a bit of a PITA at times and with an older kitten or young cat, you know better what you'll be getting - kitten personalities can be a bit pot-lucky.)

A rescue will almost certainly ask you for a 'donation to funds' but the charge won't be commercial and will generally be a lot less than you would be paying in any case for eg vaccination, neutering, chipping - whatever they provide with a slightly older cat.

Have you decided whether you want a girl or a boy? (Or does it not matter.)

The rescue centres charge is a bargain really.

Compared to;

£50+ neutering
£10-20 microchipping
£50 course of vaccinations.

Always microchip cats

Depending on where you are in S Wales, I can recommend the following rescues which may be nearby...

Cats Protection in Bridgend www.bridgend.cats.org.uk/
Sunnyvale in Wevoe www.facebook.com/pages/Sunnyvale-Cat-Rescue/331241283648264
RSPCA in Newport www.rspca.org.uk/local/-/rspca/newport-animal-centre

We've adopted pets from all of the above and can vouch for their kind and knowledgeable staff. As pp have said, it's not really the right time of year for a little kitten and if you do go down this route then two litter mates would be best. After all cats are like chocolates; where's the fun in only having one!? A young cat of around 6 months would probably be a better choice if you do only want one cat, as they'd be neutered and would've grown into themselves a little more so their adult personality would be easier to assess.

Either way, have fun!

Thank you for all this info. Through looking at all the links I have found a sanctuary about 5 miles from us, which I would never have found otherwise. I think female would be best for us as they fight less with others and tend to roam less...am I right by saying this? We will have her neutered as soon as she old enough though.

I toonwould encourage you to look at a rescue centre- as others have said you can find kittens there too.

If you don't have any success there I would maybe ask the local vet. Ours often advertises kittens needing homes. I haven't got a cat yet but those are the roads I'm looking down.

Yay! That's lovely. Generally speaking when cats are neutered there isn't a great difference in behaviour between males and females, particularly if the males are neutered young. They should be done at between four and five months incidentally.

TCN will book her/him in with our vets as soon as I can then and it's nice to know that it doesn't really matter what sex we have.

red If I don't have any success with our local sanctuary I will take a look at our Vets too. Thanks all.

Just remember that if you get a kitten before neutering, you will have to keep it indoors until it has been snipped or you will add to the kitten population. We adopted two older cats 5 years ago when they were 5 and 7. They are a mother and daughter. Last year we adopted a kitten that was around 6 months old and still in foster but was old enough to have had her snip. This suited us as it would have been tricky to allow our 2 oldies in and out of the cat flap whilst the baby was confined to quarters and the litter tray. We got all of our cats through Cats Protection. You will get good advice and aftercare from a rescue.

I think most rescues will make sure that any kitten old enough to be neutered is neutered before they are rehomed. But anyway the rescue will give you all the advice you need. And any cat must be kept in for at least three weeks to start with so that they regard their new house as home.

And do consider adopting a black one/s. They struggle to find homes as no one wants them. I have been fostering five black kittens for CHAT since they were eight weeks old. They are now nearly six months old and we have only managed to find homes for two of the five. So many people who come to us for kittens say they will not even consider black ones or, more often, something like 'we don't really mind what colour it is - but we like ginger, or tortie, or tabby ....', which is just another way of saying they don't want black ones.

CP would have let us have a kitten before neutering but they do seek a pledge that you will ensure it is done. And yes our babe is black. Black cats rock so definitely give them a second look They are the ones who are so often passed by at the rehoming events.

Please don't discount older kittens or cats...I just adopted the loveliest cat and he's 7. At that age you know what their personalities are, whereas a kitten you can't quite be sure.

Also, male cats are just as nice as female cats. He is the soppiest, floppiest thing and happy to lay in our laps and snuggle under the duvet with me. He's great!

Speaking from experience, I've always found male cats to be the more affectionate and loving. Females like cuddles, but strictly on their own terms.

Completely agree with the older cats advice as we've got young and old. You are probably getting overwhelmed with info now but I would just also like to add that it can sometimes be a little bit difficult to judge personalities when cats are in their rescue quarters. They will often seem shy and hide away. They may need drawing out and it isn't a reflection of what they will be like once they are used to you and at home. An experienced rescue will be able to help you with this and will have a view on the cats in their care. When we viewed our older mother and daughter duo, the mum was vary wary at first and kept herself tucked away. The daughter was much more forthright, but in no time at all, mum was out and about and is such an affectionate softy. She didn't sell herself very well at interview so to speak.

We got two male rescue kittens [brothers] from a rescue charity in London [Celia Hammond]. They were 4-5 months when we got them so past the bundle of fluff stage, but still at the funny scampering, climbing the curtains stage. They were also fully litter trained, neutered and had all their vacs. Fantastic stuff as we both work FT so dealing with soiled carpets and vet visits I'd like to keep to a minimum. There is someone in the house all day but not to look after the cats !

I grew up with female [spayed] cats and I can honestly say that these two are the gentlest cats I've ever lived with. They are so good with the kids even when being totally manhandled by a 2yo - she has started grabbing them by the tail and hauling them about and god knows why they haven't given her a good swat but they haven't.

We only have one problem with them - they are both jet black so it's really difficult to know which is which unless they are both there in front of you. I love black cats though - such beautiful shiny coats. When one went through a greedy fat kitten stage, it was really tricky to figure out who had eaten and who hadn't.

aww they sound georgous but i hope you have stopped yoyur two year old dragging them round by their tails as this can seriously injure a cat can pull their backs out and paralise them

Er yes - I think she is pretty sure that it's considered unacceptable behaviour.