Is a kitten really hard work, and are kitten farms a thing?

[MotherForkinShirtBalls]

Family discussion tonight about possible pet and majority was in favour of a cat. I don't know much about them. Are they farmed in the way puppies are? I ask because although I would prefer a rescue, I've an allergy to dander so we would have to go for a specific breed and hope it's low allergen (we'll still talk to some rescues for advice and to see if they have one to recommend. ) And if we're going for a kitten, are they a pain in the hole like newborns in the way pups are? (Can you guess we had dogs when I was a kid? 🤣)

Yes kitten farms are a thing. I have an ex breeding queen, got her at 18m - she’d had at least 2 litters before being dumped with a rescue at just over a year old. Their ligaments go after litters close together and they end up dumped, at a rescue if they’re lucky.

Physically she’s very underdeveloped, no hind muscles, she’d never jumped or ran. Mentally she was wrecked, no human interaction, no socialisation. She loses weight to dangerous levels at any stress. The rescue had to make the decision to neuter her at an unsafe weight and hope she survived, because she was constantly in season and not eating.

I would agree with an older cat. My first cat I got at 10m and you could see his personality- clingy, cuddly, very dependent. My brother and i both got kittens of the same breed- but although very cuddly as kittens they grew up very independent. Rarely sit on knees, always out and busy.

If you need a certain breed try a breed rescue. Also check facebook, there are a lot of breed specific rehoming groups for people who for what ever reason can’t keep theirs.

I agree with pp’s. Get a pair or three. They will look after each other and it’s company for them

I disagree. It depends on the breed to an extent, whether they are littermates, their personalities, and your home set up. Cats need territory, they are independent animals and while they may appear to get on, if they don’t have enough space to get away from each other they will start marking and other stress related behaviour.

I had 3 cats and while they were company etc, they ruined the electrics, blew up 3 toasters and nearly started a fire with all the spraying. Countless vet visits- stress from 3 cats living in one house, and lots of other cats locally so they had to fight for territory outside too.

Ended up separating them- relatives took one each, probleM solved and cats so much happier.

I am also on a breed rehoming site, and the predominant reason for rehoming is multiple cats and territorial behaviour. A lot of them bounce back several times as people adopt them as company for existing cats, until they find a single cat home...

Got two kittens 12 years ago. Never had any trouble with them at all. So easy to look after.

Two kittens are way easier than one, they can play together and you don't have to feel bad about leaving them for a few hours.

In my experience - I actually have had more stress with a rescued adult cat. But I wouldn't let that put you off, mine had been mistreated and took a while to come round. She became a really lovely companion in time, but the first couple of years were brutal. She wrecked stuff, she bit people.
Kittens are lively and inquisitive, so you do have to be mindful of hazards in the home.
We've mostly had kittens in pairs, or kittens from different litters but similar ages. If they get on, they will play which is great and soaks up their energy (less destructive when happy and occupied).
I've had rescues and pedigrees. Pedigree kittens tend to be older, a good breeder does not release the kittens until they've had their first round of vaccinations. Ours have been around 12/13 weeks old.
In my limited experience, I have picked breeders that also show cats. They seem more invested in the welfare of their kittens and are often part time or hobby breeders. The kittens are sometimes surplus to them breeding for a show cat.
I have visited kittens and declined them as I thought they were being farmed. The ones we have bought have all been great, easy kittens, healthy and litter trained, well socialised with humans and other cats.
Despite having had quite a few cats (over many years!) I'm not a fan of having too many at once and I think you have much happier cats if they can go outside.

A kitten is easier than a puppy but I wouldn't say it's easy! I got my kitten a couple of years ago after I moved out of my parents and missed our family cat so much. Our family cat was a dream as a kitten and I just assumed they would all be like that... silly me! My kitten was mental from day 1, she was constantly on the go, getting into things she shouldn't, climbing up my legs, trying to steal my food etc. She kept me up all night because even if I shut her out of my bedroom she would scratch and bang on the door (she still does this if I lock her out of my bedroom).

It took me a good few weeks to properly bond with her because she stressed me out so much at first! I love her to bits now and she has calmed down a bit but she is still mental, and I don't really get peace from her. She even cries if I go to the toilet because she likes to come in and drink the water out of the tap I think she just has a bit of a crazy personality. So that's the thing with kittens, you can't really know how they will turn out whereas with an adult cat you can be matched with one with a personality to suit you.

Having said all that, she is great company and I wouldn't change her. She makes me laugh every day because she's always up to something. She meets me at the door every day and is very affectionate. Mad but lovely.

I wouldn't get a cat if I knew I had an allergy to them. It's unfair on the animal having to be uprooted from a home they have gone to after leaving a rescue.

We've got two kittens, got them at 10 weeks old and they're now 16 weeks. So far so good, they were fully litter trained when we got them and have only had one accident. They do charge around and play a lot but they entertain each other. We haven't slept with them in the bedrooms and have had a couple of scratches but so far they seem resigned to sleeping elsewhere. We do have a very scruffy living room with a carpet and sofa that are overdue replacement so have not been too worried about scratching. Our kitchen extension is new but they don't seem keen to scratch in there luckily.

I have a 15 week old and he’s CRAZY. I’ve had cats and kittens all my life but never one quite like this. He arrived age 8 weeks and was tearing around the place straight away, no hiding or missing his mama for this little monster! And he’s only got more insane since. Any drawer I open, he jumps in. The washing machine, the drier, kitchen cupboards... even the bath, if I’m in it he tries to walk round the sides slipping and sliding. He’s escaped outside twice, just into the small front garden, because he’s like absolute grease lightning. My hands, arms and feet are covered in scratches, the sofa is ruined and the carpet on the stairs is a mess.

And then, at bedtime, he trots up behind me, settles himself on ‘his’ pillow besides mine, and is good as gold until it’s time to get up. And I wake up to his beautiful little whiskery cheeky face...

I couldn’t love the cheeky monkey more :)

I had forgotten about the scratches. Kittens aren't good at retracting claws.
Mine are 9 months old now and don't scratch at all. One frequently jumps onto my shoulders without using claws.

Haribo has never scratched in play, we call him soft paws. His toy ratty gets it though.

He does now attack my legs if he is turfed out of the bathroom, where I have my plants or if my "no" is met with is displeasure and it flipping hurts. He's 11 months old.

My Nessa is 12 weeks old this Saturday. She's mental and really funny when she gets the zoomies. Her and my 2 year old cat have bonded beautifully. He's shut downstairs at night time whilst she has the run of upstairs. She was "sleeping" in my room.

I have an 9 week old kitten, she has been an absolute dream so far, had her a week & she settled straight in. No accidents, eating great & no disturbances through the night 😁
My sister got her kitten at 6 weeks as the mother started to reject the litter & there was an obvious difference in neediness, just not ready & hadn't been taught by the mum to use the litter tray etc.

We are awaiting two kittens from separate breeders. At night, do most people give cats the run of the house or are they limited to one room? We have a very large kitchen/living space and I was hoping to leave them there at night, but don’t fancy them scratching down the door...

You can leave them in one room with all facilities but check for blind cords like you would for a child. Tied up is safest.

My cats are only allowed in the dining room kitchen over night. If they get out they try to dig under the bedroom door.

We had two elderly cats then two kittens. The kittens were a shock! They ran around like lunatics, climbed up the curtains tried to get into every tiny hole we didn't even knew existed. Two years later they've calmed down. One of them even responds to his name. They've got very different personalities, one is nervous the other has no fear or respect, which would never have guessed when they were kittens.

I love kittens but there is no way I'd get them if I was looking for an easy pet.

Ours has the run of downstairs overnight - but we do have two older cats so shutting three of them in one small room would be unfair I think, and when we tried separating the kitten from the older two, he just cried all night

We've don't had any issues and don't hear them through the night, though our fat one will thump on the door if he gets hungry in the morning!

Kittens need a little bit of care as they are babies. However, our two litter mates have turned into two big lumps of fur who sleep most of the day at 3 years of age. They are like chalk and cheese. The girl sleeps outside, where she is also alert to anything going down in her patch. The boy stays indoors until dusk and then goes out. They both catch insects in flight. You hear the crunch and then they swallow.

The only time I didn't have a cat, there was a mouse in my house. It was a nightmare with droppings being left. I value my two cats as resident rodent deterrents.

I think you need to keep them somewhere safe overnight, so personally I wouldn't give a kitten the run of the house in case they get hurt.
We kept our kittens in one room overnight until quite recently, they're nearly 10 months old. It also meant our older cat had the run of the house without the kittens boggling at her and eating her food.