Visiting kittens

[HomelyK]

Hey everyone

So I put a deposit down to a reputable British long haired breeder (please no comments on please adopt don't show I have 3 rescue cats already). He is my dream kitten colouring wise.

However when I went to visit them he was very timid. Didn't come up to me or like to be held at all. Would tolerate me coming up to stroke him sometimes but didn't purr. All his litter were the same. Now the kittens have a lovely set up in her home, I saw the mum and dad, gccf registered and the lady who owns them seemed lovely and knowledgeable. Just unsure if this means he's always going to be timid or if this is typical as all my other cats were 6+ month rescues. The lady said he is very gentle and chilled which she thinks would work in our busy household with two kids. He's 12 weeks... Would you expect them to be confident and affectionate on meeting someone at this age?

Any advice?

He just needs time to get used to you. A few days at home and he’ll quickly start to come round. Being 12 weeks it actually makes things a bit more difficult as kittens do tend to get slightly more cautious + timid the older they get. My boy was (and still is) really shy to strangers - despite this he has honestly turned out to be the loveliest, most friendly, cuddly cat I’ve ever had. You + kitten just need to get to know each other.

That sounds to me as if the kittens may not have been socialised properly. Our last four cats (rescue - but that's not the point) were all friendly and inquisitive at the rescue and very confident when we got them home. I have a friend with 'posh' kittens that came from a family setting and they are the same.
My previous cats were a litter of three farm cats, inevitably less well socialised. Two were very friendly and confident when I met them, one however took a year to gain sufficient confidence to allow herself to be stroked without running away.
Your kitten might of course be fine, but if the whole litter behave in the same way I would be a bit concerned about the way the breeder has raised them.

In my personal experience, what you see on day one is what you get lifelong. We had a pair of kittens, one was full of the joys of spring from the moment it came home, the other wanted to hide under the dresser. Whilst they both settled, their personalities never changed.

I would be concerned about a timid kitten in a busy household with two children, to be honest.

Does the breeder have children? What kind of socialisation has she done with the kittens to get them used to household noises and social interactions?