Which cat to choose?

[sunflowerparty]

My partner and I finally feel ready to adopt our first cat together! But we are having trouble deciding between two options and it would be helpful to have others' thoughts. Both options are the same beautiful breed of cat which I have always loved and wanted.

The first option is a male kitten which will be available from a breeder in the next couple of weeks. We have only seen him over a video call but he is happy, healthy, confident, super cute, and comes from a reputable breeder. I love the idea of having a cat from young to old, and the opportunity to bond from a young age. If we go with this option, we need to decide this weekend.

The other option is a female rescue cat, 5 years old, which has recently been rescued from what sounds like a breeding mill. The rescue centre said she had a sweet personality but that it's quite hard to tell what she's like until her kittens are weaned (the kittens are unavailable). I would be able to meet her only in about a month's time, so not before we have to decide on the kitten. As she is an adult cat, I like the idea of seeing her personality before we adopt her, that she would be more 'calm' than a kitten, and I like the idea of giving a rescue cat a nicer life. However I do feel sad that her time with us would be shorter than if we were adopting a kitten, and I'm not sure what impact her background would be likely to have on her.

I keep flip flopping between these two options and it would be great to have others' views! If anyone has experiences of adopting a cat from the above background as well that would be helpful.

Both! Mama cat would like having a kitten around for company that she actually gets to keep.

Rescue, I've had 2 from the cat protection league
Kittens are cute but little thugs,with sharp claws, and destructive
We do however, need pictures probably you won't know exactly what the kitten will look like,you won't know his personality either.

Both, obviously!

Both - they can keep each other company!

If the breeder is reputable, they will want you to go in person to see both the kitten and its parents in their breeding setting. I wouldn’t get a kitten from a set-up I’d not seen for myself.

How are you defining reputable? As it’s a specific breed, is the breeder registered? Is the kitten registered? Do you get his pedigree? Are both parents genetically health checked? If the answer is ‘oh I’m just a hobby breeder, I don’t bother with papers’, you need to be happy that you’re potentially paying for a pretty moggy.

I would get both

What breed is the kitten ? and how are you defining reputable breeder ?

Rescue every time. I don’t trust any breeder I’m afraid, certainly not one that will only do a video call.

Adopt don’t shop wherever possible. It sounds like you have a great rescue option, and kittens are hard work!

I should have clarified - I do very much wish wish I could get both! We are hoping to move to a bigger place in the next year and would want a second cat then, but sadly we don't currently feel we have space for both.

The breeder has shown me pictures of past kittens similar to the one I'm looking at, and how they have looked as adults, and I actually think the kitten will look quite similar to the rescue cat when he's older! They are both a similar colour with white under their chins, and may even end up a similar size. So there's not a huge difference in appearance!

On the question about the breeder - yes we would see the breeder's set-up in person when we collect the kitten and we also saw it on the video call (including the mother cat). The breeder is registered with TICA and GCCF. The kitten would be registered, vet-checked, vaccinated etc; I've seen the pedigree papers of the parents too and have read a lot of reviews from others that have adopted in this breeder so, while I'm aware there are a lot of dodgy people out here, I do feel confident about this breeder.

breeders are a no no to me should not buy from them. I would say though the cat sounds lovely you do not sound sure about her. I would suggest going to more rescues having a good look around. A pair of cats who are bonded are brilliant, if you really need a kitten they will have some no doubt but there are many many older cats which are desperate for a home. if you look on the charities board there is a lady there who is promoting two gorgeous cats who are desperate for a new home do have a look

Thank you I will have a look! Unfortunately though I don't think we have the space that two cats deserve - we have a 1 bedroom garden flat and feel we would need an extra bedroom before we got another cat!

I think you're right that it's the uncertainty of the rescue cat that's throwing me off - I had rescue cats when I was growing up but none of them had been through anything near as traumatic as this cat, and the rescue centre has been very vague about its personality. I would get to meet the rescue cat before deciding to adopt, but obviously this would mean giving up the chance of the kitten. I suppose there are always more kittens out there though...

(Also to clarify in response to other questions above - the breeder did also offer an in-person visit this week before collection, but unfortunately we are away this week.)

I voted Rescue because I just can’t get behind people breeding cats when the country is absolutely overrun with beautiful cats sitting unloved in rescue centres. We’ve had our rescue for 13 years and she wasnt a kitten either. We didn’t know her personality but I knelt down to say hello to her at the rescue place and she ran over and jumped into my lap. Love at first sight! But it actually sounds like you’ve already decided on the kitten from your last post.

Get both of them! Company for each other.

I'm definitely nowhere near a decision yet! My perspective keeps changing. I am starting to think that maybe it's worth us going for the rescue cat option and then if for whatever reason that doesn't work out (e.g. if the rescue centre decided to give her to someone else or if it didn't seem like a good match) then perhaps we could look at other options after that

There apparently are no breeds of cats, it’s just like a honing thing - honing traits. Rife for complications

get the rescue!

Also thought BOTH

Kittens are quite stressful and destructive as someone else has already mentioned....One of my 6 month old kittens came in absolutely covered in mud today, last night they broke a dish by knocking it off the surface. If I could go back in time, I'd probably get an older rescue cat.

Two cats don’t need any more space than one cat!
Just more food etc.!
You’ve got a garden so that’s great :)

This made me laugh! They are indeed little thugs!

Ime 1 dkitten will cause havoc.. Soft furnishings and skin. Without a playmate you will be the 'victim' in it's playtime. Why not rescue now and when you move add on a dkitten?
When we had 2 and 1 died we got a dkitten. Saved our poor dcat from his lonely life... The dkitten can have both worlds then.. A human boss and a dcat for company and play..
And no 5 year old dcat is sat wasting away from lack of love...

Neither. Kitten is hard work and needs a lot of attention and the rescue will be frightened and in her shell for ages. You're not an experienced cat person by the sound of it so I would get a neutred adoption boy of 1 to 3 years old from a home background. Older cats and from difficult backgrounds take a lot of patience and staying at home with them to warm up to you.

I'd get the rescue cat. We adopted one of ours at 4 years old, after she got over the first few days of hiding away she was the sweetest most loving cat ever and bonding was no problem. We had her until she died at 18 so a good few years. My cat that I got as a kitten is like the tasmanian devil and hates everyone, I'd definitely go for an adult rescue in future so you can get an idea of their personality.

It could take 6 months for a rescue older cat to warm up to you and that includes someone at home and spending a lot of time with her gaining her trust. Female cats are not as affectionate as boy cats as well.

I've voted rescue. Our local independent rescue is already knee deep in kittens and cats looking for homes.

We've also had kittens whose personalities have changed significantly as they have grown up. With a slightly older cat you can be more sure of what you're getting. Especially if the rescue uses home fosterers.