Think we are taking on a kitten!

[Danascully2]

I've been looking for the right rescue cat to adopt and although I was thinking of a young adult cat I made the mistake of visiting a litter of rescue kittens... I am waiting on a bit more information but I am pretty sure one of them is the right personality to be a good family cat for us. Rationally there is no reason why not - we can afford it (incl insurance/vets), have no other pets, I work from home, kids are old enough to be sensible, we have no holidays booked until August. I have plenty of animal experience but have never had a kitten. It's exciting but also really scary.... What if it gets stuck somewhere/falls off something/eats something it shouldn't?? What if one of us gets ill or loses our job?

Also, how am I ever going to get any work done with an adorable kitten around getting into scrapes??

Just needed to share as I haven't told the kids and husband isn't such an animal person and doesn't quite understand the nervousness...

Thank you for sharing your experience. Yes the cat would very much be a family member for us and so likewise I would explore all other options first.

I've only ever had kittens. The first two lots I had, no problem except kitten exuberance.

Haribo my current cat well. Used my lovely big jade plant to pee in, it rotted and died.

He went missing three times firstly aged 10 months old. He fell through a rotted shed roof, trapped 3 days. Fell into a enclosed alleyway at a house across the road, 2 days. Got trapped in the same alleyway, missing a few hours.

He sits on the kitchen table, walks across it when we are eating, steals food, brings rats he's caught to play with and kill into the garden, killed sparrows, chased foxes, scratched furniture despite having 2 scratching posts he uses. However as soon as he hears the front doorbell he's off to hide behind the tv.

Enjoy your kitten but if you think you can train it you can but only if it's trainable 😀.

Haha he sounds like a proper character....! Our old cat was awful at stealing food off our plates and also liked to steal pens... He did like a potter in the garden but was quite a homebody so didn't have issues with him disappearing. And we'd had him for 15 years so he was quite a sedate senior cat for quite a while before we lost him. We are going to get a shock with a young one....

Are you planning it being an indoor cat or allowed to roam? If the latter… what kind of road do you live near?

We are on a quiet dead end where the houses are quite spaced out. Our previous cat did go out though mostly not far - he did sometimes try to follow us to school etc though.... I will have a think about this one - I'll have a bit of time because I wouldn't be letting out until it's older anyway. I would keep it in at night.

I did know someone who was properly rural, with fields etc all round the house. The cats would still sit on the road at the front because it was nice and warm...

Just googling cat proof fencing,
Looks like we can almost build a giant playpen on the lawn, will have a think... Would be brilliant not to be worrying about it but not sure if it would be annoying for us in the garden.

Might start a separate thread at some point about options for cat proofing the garden as that seems like a whole topic in itself...

What about your kids when in summer?! Won’t they want free reign of the garden?

Have a think about whether your garden would suit a catio - sort of like a meshed in patio. Cats get the fresh air, you can sit in a bug free environment but out in the open. In the US they call them a Lanai, have a google of that.

I'd say wait and see what type of cat you end up with. As you say, they'll need to stay indoors at first anyway.
Our cats don't ever leave the garden. One doesn't much like the outdoors and the others loves pottering around the garden and sitting in the flowerbed but has no desire to roam.
If you live in a quiet cul de sac and have a relatively sedate and unadventurous cat, do you really need to confine the cat to a catio? If you end up with a cat with a strong desire to explore the outdoors and climb trees and hide under bushes, would it just be miserable confined to a catio?

Yes that totally makes sense to wait and see how its personality turns out. Once it's older I would prefer just to let it out during the day and shut in at night as that's what we did with our old cat. Also it would be easier in the summer in terms of keeping doors and windows shut if it is allowed out both front and back gardens rather than only going out through one door to a catio and having to keep all other windows and doors closed. I just know how upset we would all be if anything happened to it. Will focus on dealing with the kitten chaos first and then cross that bridge...

You don't have to keep windows etc closed, you get FlatCats screens. You can see out but the cat can't get out, and they let in the breeze but not insects 😀

I have heard of those screens. We do have quite a few windows and doors we'd need to cover though (not a huge house but is quite light and airy downstairs).
Thank you everyone, I am feeling more excited now, looking forward to lots of playtime and zoomies :)

Another recommendation for two kittens! One kitten is a LOT of work, they need constant stimulation and attention. Two will play together and keep each other company. Also why wouldn’t you want two adults? I always do cats in pairs, I feel much happier leaving them during the day knowing they’re not on their own.

I do really appreciate the advice about two but there will be four of us to entertain it, including me and husband who both work from home and one of the children who is at school but otherwise a home body and a massive animal lover (though obviously not relying on a child, it will be my responsibility). It will definitely get plenty of attention and will rarely be left for any length of time especially while tiny. The mainstream rescue organization is happy for us to take on a single.

How about a compromise of an older kitten, say 6-9 months old? Kittens don't stay at that stage very long at all, one a little older means you still have a lot of the fun of kittenish playing but they've had a chance to start developing their personality - you don't want to get a playful kitten who turns out to be a morose adult who doesn't like fuss and attention!

Plus they are so much harder to home once they get past 6 months, everyone wants kittens specifically forgetting that the kitten stage lasts maybe a year then you have another 15-20 years of an adult,

Ignore all the two cats zealots OP. Most cats would prefer to be the only cat if they could. One cat is normally dominant when you have a pair so even when they get along it's not ideal. Your kitten is going to be very spoiled and happy on its own without any competition for food or attention.

Hi, yes I agree, I do understand kittens might benefit from playing with each other but adult cats are usually quite happy on their own. I really don't want to be dealing with two adult cats down the line who've fallen out or only just about tolerate each other.

Anyway, thank you to everyone, it has helped to have a sounding board and I appreciate it. I think I've had my wobble and am now feeling positive about it all. Watch out for me turning up again and panicking when it's time to think about letting it out when older...

When will you be picking up the kitten?

I was originally on the "get two" bandwagon and then ended up with on hyper playful kitten and one very solitary kitten who was constantly annoyed by her brother's attempts to play with her. I ended up getting a third to keep him company so she could have space and only join in when she wanted.

They also were not destructive kittens despite 12 sets of claws being everywhere at once.

If you want a kitten that's more playful and cuddly get a boy. I've had a lot of cats over the years and all my girls have been very affectionate but entirely on their own terms and will enforce boundaries strongly. Where as the boys all wanted to cuddle and play and just sleep in our laps all the time. It depends what fits your lifestyle as to which is best.

Kitten is here and is settling in very well so far, loves playing but also likes a snuggle
So far so good, thank you everyone :)

A photo would be appreciated 😁

Don't you know the rules? There is a cat tax to be paid.