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

Original poster

Buying a kitten in Covid times

38 replies

Divebar · 27/09/2020 21:51

I appreciate that I am one of a gazillion number of people trying to find a kitten but I’m looking for some advice on what you think is acceptable at the moment. We are looking for a kitten for my 8 year old DD. She would particularly like a kitten rather than an older cat and given how rubbish lockdown has been for her on her own I would like to facilitate this if possible. I have tried all the cat rescue places near me and they either have no kittens or they need you to take 2 kittens ( or the kitten and the mother) which we would prefer not to do. I looked on Pets4Homes very cautiously but everything seems to be selling very quickly. I have enquired about 2 different sets of cats. The first sent me photos of a cat which I thought looked a bit sad ( I thought the eyes looked a bit odd ) and then kept messaging to ask when I was collecting. The other we went to see - the house was rather run down and we were kept outside and they brought the cat out to us. The lady was very nice but I couldn’t really get a sense of what was going on. They sold it to someone who viewed after us. What do you think is acceptable at the moment regarding viewing ? I don’t want to buy a cat from an unscrupulous breeder and I don’t want to buy without meeting it first but it seems that’s what happening.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 29/09/2020 19:40

@StCharlotte I think it’s more to do with the fact that one is a psycho bitch cat who likes to torment her sister. Shock

Pegase · 30/09/2020 12:50

If I wanted a moggy I would rescue as, as @OohKittens said, nobody responsible should be breeding those so not sure where you would get one from a 'nice home.' Pedigree animals can be inbred and have faults and can not- depends on how reputable the breeders/breed association are and how many breeding animals are available.

OohKittens · 30/09/2020 19:09

@Pegase absolutely they can have issues especially people claiming to sell pedigree kittens who aren't from active parents and health tested. A decent non active kitten sold as pet is around £600+ I paid almost £700 for my NFC and he is from a fantastic breeder. But he isn't of quality to progress the breed. Nobody should ever pay for a moggy kitten unless donating to a rescue. You can get cats neutered at 12wks now so no excuse.

Pegase · 30/09/2020 20:40

Yes my new Burmese kittens from a well-known GCCF breeder were not cheap and they are also to be non - active. I'm very happy to be paying for the breed to be continued as they are wonderful cats imo.

Snog · 30/09/2020 20:47

I am going to wait until next year because I want to either rescue a cat or buy from a reputable breeder and it's really hard to do either of those at the moment.

Pegase · 30/09/2020 20:58

The breeders are mostly sending cats to stud again however the waiting lists are long - depending on breed you may want to get on a list now for a cat next year! Otoh I expect plenty of kittens will turn up in rescues in the spring, sadly.

HardAsSnails · 30/09/2020 21:17

A laid back young adult rescue from a proper rescue would be the most sensible option here. They are arseholes kittens for a very short period of time.

You do know that short haired cats moult as much as, or more than, long haired cats, right?

Original poster
Divebar · 02/10/2020 16:49

Yes but I’d rather have short hairs on my sofa rather than long hairs.

My sister has a long haired cat and has a lot of problems with tangles etc - he doesn’t like to be brushed so I would rather avoid that issue. In addition I prefer the look of short haired cats.

OP posts:
littlebillie · 03/10/2020 17:20

Get a pair they will play with each other and will be great for your daughter

AnnaMagnani · 03/10/2020 17:54

2 kittens really are a lot less work than 1. They also do much less damage to your home as they play with each other and not with your curtains.

Yes they bond with each other - but around age 2-3 they mature and often end up hating each other.

And even the closest bonded kittens still have loads of time to sit on human laps, have cuddles and generally look adorably cute.

My two used to spend their time suckling each other every day which was cute and also, well, weird, until after about a year they just stopped. And then they more and more got on with their own lives but still played together. Still spent loads of time with us.

I would warn you to be prepared for the impact of unexpected cat death if you get a kitten though - I lost Tufty cat age 2 on the road and she is much missed by me and DH, if not by her idiot sister.

Toddlerteaplease · 03/10/2020 22:31

My long haired black Persians she'd less hair than my short haired exotic does. The late Maia would sit on my knee if I was wearing white trousers and it was never a problem!

LittleBearPad · 04/10/2020 09:12

I’m in a similar situation OP, though planning to get 2, and wanting to wait until November once we’re back from holiday. It’s tricky.

Pelleas · 04/10/2020 11:00

Two are more interesting because cats interact differently with each other than they do with humans.

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