Page 2 | 7 weeks too young?

newkittenmama · 2021-04-01T06:38:58+00:00

We went to choose our kitten yesterday (2 weeks old) and had previously been told the date they could come home at 8 weeks but whilst we were there they said that if they are weaned and litter trained they could come home at 7 weeks. This is their 3rd littler and they seemed comfortable with this but everything I have read says 8 weeks. What are the potential issues if we did bring the kitten home at 7 weeks?

fucknuckle · 01/04/2021 09:25

i took my tortie girl home at just over 5 weeks. when i went to see the litter the owner told me they were going on holiday the next day and all the kittens had to go.i had no choice but to take her - i certainly wasn’t leaving her there as the runt of the litter facing life in a shelter.

she is now the toughest, bravest cat you could imagine. the first few weeks at home with her were hard work and i wouldn’t recommend it, she was definitely too young to leave mum but i felt my hands were tied.

viques · 01/04/2021 09:27

@dementedpixie

OP already said the kitten is currently 2 weeks old

Missed that! Sorry. But my other comment about spaying still stands.

AesSedaiGreenAjar · 01/04/2021 09:37

OP these breeders shouldn’t even let you be selecting from a litter at two weeks let alone taking a kitten home before the 8 week mark. This is clearly very dodgy and these kittens are not being reared correctly. Please adopt from Cats Protection, call them and get on the list for a kitten as they won’t be showing yet on the website. There will be plenty available in the next few weeks and they will be vet checked, chipped and be vaccinated. Do not buy from these back street breeders!

Vinorosso74 · 01/04/2021 11:57

I also say bollocks about 3rd accidental litter. Vets have been doing spaying and neutering so even if theirs weren't they could have tried others.
Clearly trying to make a fast buck off the poor mum cat. By letting the kittens go earlier means they can get her pregnant sooner again and get more money.
Kitten is gorgeous but don't fuel this trade.

thecatneuterer · 01/04/2021 12:22

@Chemenger

Nobody has three accidental litters unless they’re very stupid or neglectful. Poor mother cat.

Indeed.

Fluffycloudland77 · 01/04/2021 14:12

It’ll be £50+ to spay her, then £30+ vaccinations plus the £30 that’s more than a rescue kitten & your not supporting a kitten farm then either.

Chemenger · 01/04/2021 16:01

And rescue kittens probably come with a month’s free insurance, they are a bargain.

stuckinarutatwork · 01/04/2021 19:39

@Chemenger

And rescue kittens probably come with a month’s free insurance, they are a bargain.

Agree. Our local rescue asks for £60 donation for a kitten but it includes worm / flea treatments, spay / neuter, microchipping and vaccinations.

Original poster

newkittenmama · 01/04/2021 19:55

Thanks everyone I guess it appears I have been a little naive. I originally looked to adopt a kitten but couldn't find one and then came across these ones. It's not about the price as I was prepared to pay more and I was very surprised these are only £30.
I know there are signs suggesting kitten farm but I would have thought it would hardly be worth the effort for the £180 she will get from this litter when you take into consideration vet fees, flea and worm treatment and food plus all the time to clean up after them, never mind the time taken finding and speaking and then showing the kittens to potential buyers.

I will make sure I don't take him any younger than 8 weeks but given the situation the kitten does still need a home but what are the pitfalls i could encounter if we did still take him. Is the concern with kitten farms that they will have health problems... should I suggest taking him to the vets before committing?

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 01/04/2021 19:59

@newkittenmama

Thanks everyone I guess it appears I have been a little naive. I originally looked to adopt a kitten but couldn't find one and then came across these ones. It's not about the price as I was prepared to pay more and I was very surprised these are only £30. I know there are signs suggesting kitten farm but I would have thought it would hardly be worth the effort for the £180 she will get from this litter when you take into consideration vet fees, flea and worm treatment and food plus all the time to clean up after them, never mind the time taken finding and speaking and then showing the kittens to potential buyers.

I will make sure I don't take him any younger than 8 weeks but given the situation the kitten does still need a home but what are the pitfalls i could encounter if we did still take him. Is the concern with kitten farms that they will have health problems... should I suggest taking him to the vets before committing?

You will probably find they haven't had worm or flea treatment or seen a vet yet

EasterIsComing · 01/04/2021 20:14

I have two litter mates who left their mum at 6 weeks. They were kept with the rest of the litter till 12 weeks at a rescue though. The reason they left mum was because the owner was letting her out so the rescue prioritised getting her spayed. Mine are lovely, were fully trained and affectionate. The only thing I have noticed compared to previous kittens is they don’t know how to hunt presumably because mum didn’t get the chance to teach them. It’s quite funny watching them follow birds around not knowing how to catch them.
I do think it has helped their development to have each other though.

Wolfiefan · 01/04/2021 20:15

The concern is that you won’t have a health checked kitten.
It could well be from an overbred female. May even be the product of incest. (Cats aren’t fussy!)
But the biggest one for me is giving money to a person who couldn’t give a shiny shit about the welfare of their cats.
It’s not quite kitten season yet OP. Rescues will soon be awash.

ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn · 01/04/2021 20:16

The issue is that every time someone feels sorry for one of these kittens being sold after an 'accidental mating' it creates demand for more. If nobody bought them then nobody would keep allowing their cat to have these 'accidental' litters and there'd be more incentive to spay.

It won't be long before rescues are heaving with kittens, can't you just wait for a bit?

Fluffycloudland77 · 01/04/2021 20:30

I think some mother cats have had more accidental first litters than I’ve had hot dinners. Their like us, they need space in between pregnancies.

I’d imagine you’ve already fallen in love and bought half of zooplus though.

bluebluezoo · 01/04/2021 20:46

*I know there are signs suggesting kitten farm but I would have thought it would hardly be worth the effort for the £180 she will get from this litter when you take into consideration vet fees, flea and worm treatment and food plus all the time to clean up after them, never mind the time taken finding and speaking and then showing the kittens to potential buyers.

I will make sure I don't take him any younger than 8 weeks but given the situation the kitten does still need a home but what are the pitfalls i could encounter if we did still take him. Is the concern with kitten farms that they will have health problems... should I suggest taking him to the vets before committing?*

Willing to bet they’ve never seen a vet, been wormed or flead, or fed anything but cheap cat food.

As for pitfalls, you could end up with a sick kitten. Worms, fleas, diarrhoea, cat flu, genetic issues. Anything from minor to life threatening. There’s a thread running at the minute where someone is looking at 3-5k vets fees for a puppy she’s had less than 7 days. Other pitfalls will be lack of socialisation, litter training etc

Proper vet care for an expectant queen, kittens, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment will be way more than £30. I doubt this person is making such a big loss on “accidental” litters.

Chemenger · 02/04/2021 08:14

Rescues don’t always advertise kittens. You need to contact them. We usually have a waiting list for kittens so we don’t put them on our webpage. That way we don’t have to wade through reams of emails!

GigantosaurusRex · 02/04/2021 08:37

We've just adopted a 12 week old kitten from a rescue. There are waiting lists for kittens but yes, kittens aren't being advertised, the volunteers are just so busy. I was put in touch with the lady through someone I met at work but did go through the proper procedures. Previously I had looked at Gumtree etc as I was desperate for a kitten (we had adopted from rescue in Jan but he developed FIP and we had to put him to sleep - it's rare and just bad luck so don't let that put you off rescue) and people really are cashing in. I messaged a couple asking if the queen's were vaccinated and the answer was always no. One did say yes but then backtracked when I asked to see a vaccination certificate. People are asking £500 for kittens whose mother isn't vaccinated and probably wormed/flea treated with Bob Martins if at all. There was a thread a few weeks ago about a lady who'd bought a kitten that immediately got sick. It makes me so mad.

MidnightMeltdown · 02/04/2021 16:21

I think that this is particularly likely to be a problem if you are just adopting one kitten as they are still learning social skills from their litter mates at that age. I adopted a kitten at 8 weeks and felt that it was a mistake after I got her home. No behavioural issues, but she was very frightened and wandered around calling for her mum for the first 24 hours which was really sad. Fortunately, I already had an older male kitten so after she cried constantly for the first 24 hours, I introduced her to him and she was perfectly happy after that.