Bloody hard trying to get a cat!

[maggiethecat]

First time trying to get a cat and don't know if its bcos of lockdown demand but cannot seem to get one. Have contacted a number of Gumtree sellers (within our price limit) but they don't respond either to availability enquiry or request for viewing information. Even if I respond to ad within hours of first posting. One person did get back to say she had had too many enquiries and that she would update me on availability but has not got back.
I will try a rescue centre although I do prefer a kitten rather than an adult cat which a rescue is likely to be.
How did you get your cat and was it quite a faff?

Ours came from a farm litter. Try asking local vets.

Our two were rescues, mother and kitten pair. We got them just before lockdown, good as gold and have really come out of their shells over the last 6 months. We were looking for ages as we were quite specific in wanting an indoor pair which seem to be adopted fairly quickly!

Don’t go down the Gumtree route. Try googling cat sanctuaries local to you. They should have healthy cats up for adoption.

Got our then kitten from the rspca

I used a website called Pets4Homes when I got my kittens last year.

All of my cats/kittens have been from the RSPCA. We wanted a new one over lock down and I couldn't find any in the many local cat rescue centres / friends.

I hated it but ended up having to go on line for one.

Please don’t use gumtree etc, those cats are bred repeatedly for money with no pre-natal care. I doubt they vaccinate or work them either.

You can go to a rescue or a breed rescue.

Worm not work. They are certainly worked.

Try breeder rescue sites.

Not sure what your budget is but my adult DD has just got a 2 year old retired queen pedigree (first litter was a c-section so no good as a queen) fully vaccinated for a year, spayed etc £200 that as a kitten would cost £800.

Lots of hobby and professional breeders have to retire Queens and studs otherwise they just run out of room!

You also get welfare and rescue cases via the cat clubs too.

There are often kittens at shelters, usually dumped from a litter. Our Gertie is one such gorgeous cat and personally I would always go to a shelter rather than a breeder.

Got my cat from a rescue charity. They do sometimes have kittens. I wanted an indoor cat so had to look around for the right cat for me. I ended up with the perfect cat.

Rescues have thousands of kittens. What makes you think they don't? You can find all the rescues in your area on this site: www.catchat.org

The prices are astronomical too! It does feel like it's all about the money.

Actually it is not that easy getting a rescue kitten.
If you go in cat chat there are often areas that don’t have kittens for adoption or there is a long waiting list for rescue kittens

Go in Facebook and ask to join some of the private neutered breed specific re home groups.
You will often get a beautiful young cat who has been spayed/ neutered is vaccinated and wormed etc for a modest rehoming fee. As a kitten the same cat would be hundreds of pounds more.

Please do go to a rescue. We have recently adopted (adult cat) but there were plenty of kittens looking for homes.

I foster for a small rescue, we have 3 litters of kittens of various ages and one very pregnant cat. People throw pregnant cats out here it seems. Rescues often don’t advertise kittens because of the deluge of enquiries they generate (sadly quite often time wasters who haven’t thought things through), but they may well have them. A kitten from a rescue will come wormed, vaccinated and possibly with funding for neutering included, they will have been seen by a vet and there will be support available after you adopt. Please don’t get a kitten on gumtree, whatever you do.

Adult cats are way easier though so don’t rule them out.

Yes I would agree, adult cat is where it's at. Kittens are hard work!

Also rescues don't generally advertise kittens, but they all have them. Some will only home in pairs, as small kittens become very distressed when separated from mum and siblings. Some will home singly. An adult cat is much easier though and the rescue will know the personalities of all the cats and be able to guide you to the one that's best for you.

Don't use Gumtree 😩😩

Another vote for getting an adult cat here...such a bonus that you know their personality and don't have to do litter training! Ours was only about 2 when we got her from the blue Cross and we've had her 8 years now

Yes, get an adult rescue cat. Of course kittens are adorable, but they are kittens for such a short time, and half of that time you spend pulling them off your ceiling or coaxing them out from behind your fridge, so it really isn't worth going out of your way to source a kitten when there are so many wonderful adult cats needing a home.

I bought a ragdoll from a registered breeder and all of the breeders said that demand had skyrocketed during lockdown. I know my local rescue is not rehoming at all right now because they can't do home checks.

Please avoid Gumtree if you can and be very wary of scams, loads of people asking for deposits for kittens that don't exist.

I’m afraid I had a bad experience with an adult rescue cat, only one admittedly so can’t be extrapolated to all, however I learned that actually you often don’t know the character of an adult rescue cat as they don’t always behave normally when stressed at shelters or during the settling in period in the new home.
We were back living with my mum when she got a rescue cat. All was fine for the first few weeks. She was affectionate and sweet. Then my 11 year old daughter said she had bitten her hard without warning. I’m afraid I privately thought she must have annoyed her, but no, for the next 10 years this cat would go from purring or just sitting nearby to a deep bite with no scratching, tail-twitching or other warning. It really, really hurt and it was hard to predict triggers. I wouldn’t sit on a chair or sofa with her sat on the backrest and I’m afraid DD and I stopped going near her. We moved out shortly after and bless mum, she gave her a good home for the rest of her life but always bore the scars.
Mum and I were experienced cat owners. It was investigated by the vet but there was no physical cause, but it was him that told us that they may not exhibit their natural temperament in shelters or in the first few weeks until they settle.
A previous rescue kitten also occasionally bit in the middle of a lovely cuddle, but you would see her eyes change and her tail flick a certain way and so you could avoid it. She didn’t tend to bite deeply either.

It was a reputable established rescue too. I believe that they had no idea. They knew she was coming to a house with children and there were no known issues.

Drizzle, that sounds pretty awful but good that you could stick with her. I expect that there will the less than positive experiences but hopefully these are rare.