5 month kitten?

[DragonsFurry]

Ever since my lovely cat died several years ago, I've been wanting another cat but the time hasn't been right. It is now.

I was planning in getting a kitten due to having a dog already and a small child and was going to start looking for one in the new year.

However I've just heard of a 5 month old kitten who needs a home. It has been with it's mum and other siblings since birth. I don't think it has had jabs or been neutered. Slightly worried it could already be pregnan.

While I would love to give this cat a home, I can't help but thing about all the missed play opportunities that we'd have with a younger kitten. Also I reckon 5 months old is maximum scratchyness and this might scare and overwhelm my DD. A younger kitten would give her more of a chance to adjust and get used to it.

I'm going to see it tomorrow so obviously need to check it out first and find out a bit more.

Oh sounds exciting, although I have found the opposite.
I've had gorgeous kittens, littermate sisters who were amazing, loving and friendly but completely mad,always getting into bother climbing the curtains etc.
They certainly gave me a few scary moments, they would hide and I couldn't find them.
In contrast all my cats from then on have been older kittens, so much easier.
They were a bit calmer, but still energetic and funny.
I just thought a contrasting experience would be helpful .
Good luck whatever you decide. May you have many happy years with your next kitty 😺

My kittens just turned 5 months - we got them at 11 weeks.

They are still very playful and love to tumble around, chase and playfight just like young kittens. Physically they look like small cats rather than kittens with oversized paws now but inside they are still babies in many ways. I don’t find them any scratchier than when they were younger (though they are unusually gentle cats I think so we may just be lucky).

The good thing is that at 5 months they are also fairly capable, can be left for longer, are less likely to get into mischief, etc.

But if this is a kitten whose current owner hasn’t bothered to vaccinate or spay and may have let her roam and get pregnant, it sounds like a rather dodgy set up. Have the owners interacted and socialised with her much? Has she been checked by a vet for health? If there is a chance she could be pregnant I would insist that is checked as well as a general check up before you do anything, or you may be dealing with 5 or 6 cats a few weeks in! Also, if she isn’t socialised, nervous cat with a young child might be quite a stressful combination. Have you met the kitten and seen how she behaves around people? I nearly adopted some very under socialised older kittens of 4.5 months and then decided not to. I’m glad I didn’t, as I think the first few months would have been hard on both the cats and the children.

It sounds like this kitten needs a good home - but so do many others out there. I would definitely meet her and ask various questions and be prepared to go no further if it doesn’t feel right to you, however cute she is. There will be another kitten who is a perfect fit.

I got my two gingers from our local rescue at 5 months and they were bundles of fun. I've had kittens at 12 weeks before and I honestly can't say I noticed any difference behaviour wise. If anything they were a bit easier in the fact that their size made them a little more robust.

5 months is a lovely age. Still very young & playful but a bit less bonkers.

The setup does sound dodgy though so I agree about the vet check-up.

Thank you for all your responses. Yes the set-up seems dodgy. Their mum was just a pet who had kittens so not a breeder. It seems very odd that they didn't try to find homes for them sooner. They also let them go to pretty much anyone (long story).

It sounds as if this is an irresponsible idiot rather than a breeder.

My 5-year-old rescue girl still loves playing, especially with wand toys & her ball track. Our latest game is me dragging a toy along under one of her blankets. She watches very closely & then does an excited bum wiggle before she pounces.

A 6 month old kitten adopted us and she was super. Still very kitten-ish and bonkers. Can’t remember her being very scratchy at that age, but may have just got lucky