Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The litter tray

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

Original poster

Is £100 a lot for a grey kitten

91 replies

BlackHillsofDakota · 04/04/2015 16:18

Looking to get a new kitten and would love a grey one. Ive seen some advertised but they are £100 each. This seems expensive to me for a non pedigree kitten. Is it because he is grey?

OP posts:
MargotLovedTom · 04/04/2015 19:06

X post Eleanor!

tipsytrifle · 04/04/2015 19:07

Eleanor - i don't understand it either .. maybe it harks back to more superstitious times? I like the panther comparison ... I have several visitor cats (they have homes but like to hang out at mine because basically i think they are litter-mates) and one I call Shadow is sooooo smooth of move ... awesome to watch

Dumbledoresgirl · 04/04/2015 19:07

Why on earth are tabbies so low down that list? They are by far and away my favourite colour though I am pleased to say I currently own 2 black and white rescue cats and am not looking to get another. I had no idea black and white cats were not popular. How very sad. And well done to you thecatneuterer for all you do for catkind. 22 cats! Do you get charitable donations to help with feeding them all?

LaurieFairyCake · 04/04/2015 19:07

My last cat is black, he's amazeballs

I've had 4 and they've all died of old age over the last couple of years - 2 plain black, one black/white, one tabby (excessively grumpy)

The black ones have been so loving.

Some idiots on facebook say that black ones aren't favoured because they don't photograph well Hmm

Is £100 a lot for a grey kitten
gamerchick · 04/04/2015 19:10

She is its weird. Even the husband who's had a ton of cats says he's never met one like her. She proper communicates with us right down to leading us over to her brush and turning over for the other side. It's bizarre and I'm not even a cat person.

Sorry I'm derailing. . I'll shurrup Grin

thecatneuterer · 04/04/2015 19:22

dumbledoresgirl: tabbies aren't really that low down. In reality there is a huge gap between the top part of the list, including tabbies, and the lower part - anything with black in. So tabbies and torties are still very popular and in reality there are a lot more of them than gingers, whites and greys, which are all quite rare. All variations of black, black and white are unpopular.

And no I don't get help with feeding them, but I'm comfortably off so that's not really a problem, but I don't have to pay vet fees as I use the charity's vets.

Tipsy I don't think it's anything to do with superstition (unless we're dealing with black (both African and Caribbean) first generation immigrant families who do often say they won't have a black cat as they're unlucky). I really think it's just considered boring. Also of course they're hardly ever used in adverts (black cats are difficult to photograph) which tends to reinforce the view that they're not 'aspirational'.

thecatneuterer · 04/04/2015 19:23

gamerchick Almost this entire thread is a derail. I wouldn't worry:)

poisonedbypen · 04/04/2015 19:31

I'm amazed. I have never chosen a cat by its colour. In fact, they have always chosen me Smile. I love a black & white kitty.

TheHobbit · 04/04/2015 19:37

Black cats gave the best personalities

Is £100 a lot for a grey kitten
WasabiPeace · 04/04/2015 19:43

We have a black and white cat and a black and white dog. I like things to match.

Grin
BigcatLittlecat · 04/04/2015 20:24

Completely in love with my little black kitten, she's a nutter! She's a rescue kitten she was found in a taped up box with her black sisters. The vets said they had between 6 and 12 hours left to live. She was so skinny when we had her!
In answer to the OP please don't pay that kind if money when so many cats need saving.

catsrus · 04/04/2015 20:42

A ginger cat with attitude thecat ? Oh yes I could go for that Grin

RubbishMantra · 04/04/2015 23:13

I have a beautiful b&w panther.

When I asked to reserve Little Monsieur, they asked me what colour I would like. Don't care I said. Important we clicked when we met. (We did)

AndyWarholsOrange · 05/04/2015 10:08

I have had 5 black cats in my lifetime and they have all been adorable and very loving. current one is sitting on my lap gazing adoringly at me.
TCN, what credentials do you need to foster? Are you with Celia Hammond?

thecatneuterer · 05/04/2015 10:43

Orange yes I'm with CHAT.

You need to be in our catchment area: most parts of East, North, South London, Barking, Ilford, Romford or Hastings area.

You would have a home check. Basically you need a spare room to foster mother and kittens and that's about it. It can also be possible to use a queen cage in a living room for example.

Or we have a long-term foster scheme for cats that otherwise couldn't be homed mainly due to old age or medical problems. In that case the cat is yours for life, but we would treat them for free at our clinics.

MokunMokun · 05/04/2015 10:56

If you are looking for a kitten, why not wait a bit? Generally from around May/June onwards the rescue shelters are overflowing with abandoned or rescued kittens and you will have a much better choice in terms of colour. It's still a little cold for kitten season yet.

tippytap · 05/04/2015 11:02

I don't get what the problem is with b/b&w cats. Do people really choose a pet like they would a pair of curtains or a cushion?

A pet is a living being. Colour shouldn't even be a consideration.

MimsyBorogroves · 05/04/2015 11:04

Ginger cats are "in"?

When I rescued my ginge nobody wanted one. Mind you, he is gorgeous.

Would love a black panther cat though...

thecatneuterer · 05/04/2015 11:19

Mimsy. Would you like two? I can deliver Grin

thecatneuterer · 05/04/2015 11:21

tippy we've had cats brought into us for rehoming because the owners have redecorated and the cat no longer matches the decor. I kid you not.

WhoKnowsWhereTheChocolateGoes · 05/04/2015 11:33

When we got ours a black and white was top of DD (then 7)'s wishlist, so that was our only particular preference. We ended up with her tortie littermate as well (they had been put in rescue as a pair). Our neighbourhood seems to be full of black and whites.

LBOCS · 05/04/2015 11:45

I have two B&W adolescents at the moment and although they are very good at causing havoc and getting under our feet (they're not allowed out yet as they haven't been spayed) and they very nearly ended up as a matching pair of gloves and hat as they knocked over a tin of paint last week, they're also very loving and unbelievably tolerant of my toddler DD. So I'll let them off.

In my experience, gingers are unbelievably dense, tortie and tabby queens can be a touch on the switchy side, and the black cat I had was a bit of a rude boy - but we put that down to him coming from Mitcham Grin

tipsytrifle · 05/04/2015 12:53

thecat - after my initial wtf response I realise it was crazy of me not to expect such callous behaviour.

A huge ginger maine coon came to me a little while ago. He was 14y and had become a tad superfluous to his person's new life, though I was told new DSS was allergic. True enough there was plenty of fur being shed. But at 14 it seemed harsh. Especially when, 3 wks after arrival, he went into sudden rapid kidney failure and died at the vet's.

Person who had said he would pay any vet bills (as this wasn't a genuine crisis rescue) hasn't paid towards the blood tests and diagnostics that had been started. So now our tiny 2 woman show is a couple hundred quid more in debt. We're not an official charity or rolling in money, just me 'n' her and whatever money our overdrafts allow

tipsytrifle · 05/04/2015 12:54

LBOCS - haha ... your characterisations really made me chuckle!

timeforabrewnow · 05/04/2015 13:28

Interesting thread. We have a black cat and a black and white cat - both rescue cats and very affectionate and full of personality - had them from 6 weeks old as the mother was killed on a roadside.

Never had a black cat before, but I can easily distinguish ours from other neighbour hood black cats.

It's nice to hear that we're 'helping' the cat world by having them - if that makes sense!