offer of 8 week old kitten! but.....

[justabowlofsteamformeplease]

We've never had cats before, but have been offered an 8 week old kitten, and am very tempted not least because the others in the litter have been sorted for new homes, but this little lady still needs. My question is, because we work through the week, a couple of the days we will both be out from first thing and home 6pm, would it be very unfair to offer a home to a kitten under these circumstances? As she would need feeding little and often, would it be possible to leave food out on those days?

Yes, you can leave food out & something soft for her to snuggle up to, plus fresh water & a couple of trays. Maybe a series of steps up to a window so she can look out.

If you buy dry food check if it needs softening, I gave ours dry but forgot to wet it & he couldn't eat it poor thing.

Thanks so much for replying. And good idea re the dry food to check if needs wetting. I've just been googling too and can see there are automatic cat feeders too, might be an idea. My main concern with taking a new kitten in, is if it would be cruel leaving her alone in the day, with just food out, but weekends we are always around, Mondays I'm off work, tuesdays and wednesdays are long work days, say 8am-6pm, but the rest of the week my husbands home around 2 for cat cuddling/feeding duties. Ill buy lots of toys and let arrange steps so she csn watch the world go by! The children will be delighted, as will I! The man who's cat has had the kittens has said Rspca next step if they cant find a home as his wife is due to give birth any time so theyre desperate to sort and I just thought surely she'd be better off with me!

You are kind! You won't regret it, a cat will give you years of love and companionship. Those automatic cat feeders work really well and would also break up the long day for her. A little kitten might feel a bit lonely being left by herself for the duration of your long working day - do you have a nice neighbour who might pop in for a kitty snuggle?
And are you on facebook? You might well find that you have a local catlovers' group to join which will be a great source of cat-related advice and maybe some new crazy cat lady friends.
Good luck!

I'm not on facebook but thought I may try and rope my Mum in to just check in at lunchtime on those days and make sure she is ok. Mums not a cat person, but I reckon a kitten could turn her and my husbands off work at the mo with a bad back so gives me a little comfort knowing he'll be around to settle her in next week at least. Excited!

An eight week kitten could melt most hearts, I reckon. The rule is that you have to post some pics as soon as you can!

You've got a deal!

We got our kitten at 8 weeks and were working full time at the time, though my OH had a split during the day so could pop in to check on her. She was absolutely fine.
I would recommend keeping her in one room while you're out for the first few weeks and just make sure it's safe (no wires for her to chew etc), leave a litter tray in one end of the room and her food and water in the other, plenty of toys and somewhere warm for her to sleep. A pouch of wet food and a bowl of dry food should be enough while you're at work, they don't eat an awful lot to begin with.
Cats are quite independent and not really bothered about being alone for a while, so it's not the same as leaving a puppy, for example. Ours tended to sleep while we out and go crazy when we got home :) she adjusted really quickly to being away from her mum aswell, didn't seem to be bothered at all even on the first night. By 8 weeks they are weaned and already more independent from mum, ours seemed to transfer the bond immediately to us.
Good luck, they're a little mental for the first year or so but they are lovely :)

Fab user name That! Great advice too, I hadn't thought of keeping her to one room, or about wires, so will definately take your advice on those points, I'm a real cat novice, but animal lover so she'll definately be loved. I can't wait now!

Not all cats wolf food down. I always got adult cats, but the breeder that gave us our cat (25y of experiance) told us that kittens should always have food available. You will see when it grows up if you can lef food out or if you have to limit the amount it eats.
Two tips I learned recently:
Cats like to have water at least a few meters away from their food.
Don't give a full bowl of food if it is way too much and left too log it looses it's smell and cats arn't as interested.

Don't forget decent insurance, microchip etc.

Leave her some good quality dry to free feed on while you're out. Then 3 wet meals, 4 if possible. One in the morning, one when you get home, then supper. (They have teeny tiny tummies at that age, can't take much food all at once.) IME young kittens eat a lot, much more than adult cats. Lots of growing and running about to do.

Is your friend planning on getting her cat spayed?

Thanks! Haha, it's my dad's nickname he had for our old cat!
I've had loads of rescue cats but not a kitten since I was a child, so I had the same worries as you. They're normally not daft enough to chew through wires but it's best to err on the side of caution! Kittens love to explore!
Agree with qwebec, we just always make sure there is food in the bowl, rather than monitoring how much and how often, as long as kitty is eating and drinking and growing. They tend to pick at food continually through the day so an automatic feeder like you say may be a good idea.
Get her to the vets as soon as you can for a health check over, and they'll talk you through microchipping, spaying etc.
I think you will love it, they are great pets. Reading your post has made me want another, but I'm not sure ours would be down with that! :)

Kitten will cope, be prepared that you won't be able to leave kitten.
That and keep the loo seat down.
Freak accident with a happy ending a long time ago but please do...

I'll second the loo seat advice... Moonkitten jumped up at the seat when we'd had him a week or two. Unfortunately for him, DH had just, er, finished... there was a splash and we had to fish out a rather shocked kitten and shove him straight in the shower. Whilst trying not to laugh, as you do.

He took extreme dislike to the shower water though we did manage to soak him enough to clean him, escaped my grip and shot out of the bath straight through my legs, lacerating them as he went. I was expecting to get infected cuts.

We now check loo seats when we go out...