How to choose kittens

[Roseau18]

My cat (who I'd had from a kitten died at the end of last year). For months I have been looking for two kittens to replace her but it wasn't kitten season.
Two small rescue places have just contacted me. One with photos of a litter who are a month old and one with a photo of a mother who will probably give birth next week.
The pregnant mother looks a bit like my previous cat but obviously I have no idea what her kittens will look like.
The month old kittens are not exactly what I had imagined as colouring but are cute the way all kittens are.
Should I reserve these because I can have them in six weeks or should I wait and see if the other cats kittens are prettier?
The kittens are with a family (the pregnant mother was abandoned in their garden). The pregnant cat is in the shelter because someone found her in the street and brought her in.

I suppose it depends how important looks are to you. You’ve no idea what the personalities will be like either option.

Flip a coin, they both sound nice!

I'd go with kittens from a foster family environment over kittens from shelter, given the choice. It's also a very positive sign that they'll be with their mum until 12 weeks (if I'm reading right).

Meet the kittens that have been born, it's not just looks IMHO you get a feeling. I looked at four litters before I got my cat, he was the ugliest in a litter of very pretty kittens but we both hit it off. He is nearly 16 and has been a total cat cf but he has been a perfect match for me.

Yes, meet them and see which kittens you feel drawn towards.

You know the rules, OP.

1. We need to see any pics you have!
2. We will tell you to adopt them ALL. You MuST obey this order.

Seriously, I'd ask about the temperments of the mama cats.

I loved my previous cat. She was very pretty but also very sociable. I didn't even choose her. She was the last one in a friend of a friend's litter. So the one that no one had picked. Part of me thinks I should go for the kittens that look nothing like her so that I don't feel tempted to compare.
The mother of the kittens is sociable (apparently). I don't live in the UK so unfortunately you can't visit kittens in foster families. It really is just on photos and written description.

When we got kittens I paid a deposit on two lovely grey ones, so so cute. Then someone got in touch and said she had two 4 week old kittens abandoned on her doorstep and couldn't keep them. One was black and one was a tabby. I wouldn't necessarily have picked them out but of course we took these two tiny tiny (and quite poorly) kittens and they are by far the best cats I've ever had, so affectionate and just lovely. Don't dismiss a kitten because of its looks

Is the pregnant cat friendly and domesticated, or feral?

It makes quite a lot of difference to the way the unborn kittens will be able to be socialised.
(speaking from experience of having had a kitten from a feral mother).

I have had seven cats over thirty years. By far the three favourites were the least attractive black/black and white ones that no one picks first. Their personalities and love for me were amazing. The least affectionate and moody ones were the very pretty tabbies and tortoiseshell.

Go for the cat and not the colour.

Our most recent kittens were 'allocated' to us by Battersea. Both black, both with minor heart murmurs (that no longer seem to exist).
Not particularly what we were looking for since we already had a black cat, but let's face it - a kitten's a kitten so we weren't going to turn them down (I think Battersea saw us coming .)

I'd suggest going to meet the kittens first. My practice when meeting babies is always to make friends with the mum, so she knows I'm an okay person, and then to pet the kittens.

I get really annoyed when people choose their cats based on "pretty colours" Probably because I see the black & white and black cats languish in shelters for months when the tabbies, greys and torties get chosen immediately...

Two of mine are black and they are bloody gorgeous. As is my black & white boy. Fourth one is a tortie but I didn't choose her based on colour (she's also semi feral and has three legs).

In terms of personality, it's not always obvious while they're small anyway, and much depends on how you bring them up in the first few months after you adopt them anyway.

A word of warning; at our rescue saying a kitten is the wrong colour puts you at the end of the kitten adoption list for ever. Unless you have a good reason eg not wanting the same colour as a much loved previous cat. We have had the “doesn’t match my sofa” story, from someone giving up a cat they had had for years. You don’t want to hear what was said about her; she certainly never got another cat from us.

I chose my cats for being friendly even though they are boring black; they have been fantastic pets.

I always get adult cats from the rescue centre. Their personality is well established and their health record ditto. I’ve always had black British shorthairs, as they’re very long lived (20 years or so) and they’re generally very laid back and affectionate.
I did have two feral kittens in my old student slum tenement - they shredded every piece of wallpaper and soft furnishing they could lay paws on, ran ten feet up the curtains and swung off the curtain poles, stole food and hid it behind the cooker- they were a nightmare! Never again...

I’ve always had a hankering after a big ginger boy cat, when our beloved tabby boy died aged 17 we eautied until we were ready and contacted a cat rescue. They had a cat with 4 kittens one ginger boy and 3 tortie, mum had also fostered a wee black girl. I decided on the ginger boy and a wee black girl as she had had a bad start in life. When I went to see them one wee tortie girl just sat and stared at me saying I’m yours. It’s happened before where cats just choose you.

Apparently black cats are really hard to regime as they don’t look good on social media photos

When our beautiful cat had kittens, anybody that messaged me asking to reserve one of our kittens based on their colour got a very firm no from me!!
Picking a kitten based on colour is a horrible attitude!! you should want to spend time with all the kittens and see which one likes you! At 12 weeks kittens maybe little, but they will still all have their own different little personalities!!

I have the impression you all think I'm awful for chosing on colour but that is what the rescue associations are asking me to do. In fact the initial question they both asked was "what colour are you looking for?" I initially said I didn't mind but am now having an existential crisis about whether I want one that looks like my last cat.
It would be nice to go and see them as you are all suggesting but I am not in the UK and have been told I can't and that I have to choose from the photos. The association that has these kittens specifically told me that if I didn't like these ones they would no doubt have more in the coming months.

“What colour are you looking for” is a trick question. The only correct answer is “it doesn’t matter”

@Roseau18 I’m not a cat person, but you want something familiar, that’s ok. Which ever kitten/s you adopt will be happy. That’s good with me

I'd always choose a cat with a dark nose, eyelids and ears if I were planning on letting it outside. The incidence of sun-related skin cancers in pink-faced cats is high.

I wouldn't worry too much about them looking too much like your last cat. Ours was black and white and the one we adopted afterwards (chosen for us by the rescue) was also black and white. They are soooo different though (in looks and personality) and our newer cat doesn't seem at all like old cat no. 2.

I had a ginger and was looking for another ginger. I have got a white cat, which actually is great because he is so different to previous cat I can’t compare them, which is right.

When I was asked if I had any colour preference, I told them not really but whichever is most difficult to re-home would do me fine.

I suppose in the OPs case though the rescue are expecting a flood of kittens over the next couple of months so if she did have a preference there would probably be a kitten to fit it?

I wouldn't worry about if the mother is feral at all. From my experience (cat rescue and TNR/management of feral colonies for the past 6 years), they can become perfectly domesticated. My five pet cats were all feral kittens, and perfect pets.