Should we have a rescue cat or a kitten?
I have just lost my beloved cat of nearly 18 years. My two children aged 7 and were brilliant with my old cat and miss her terribly. We want to get a new cat or maybe 2 cats. I am trying to decide whether to get a pair of rescue cats from a charity or two kittens. I have a friend whose cat is due to litter in the next few weeks. She has promised three already to family members. Do I wait and have a look at her kittens (or someone elses kittens) and hope I like them or adopt some rescue cats? My 7 year old said she would like to give an older cat a home but I also know she would adore a kitten.
We will wait to the Summer school holiday to have kittens so we can be at home to care for them. I know of two rescue cats, used to children one of whom adores them, that need a home together. (I haven't seen the cats yet) Can you still bond with a rescue cat in the same way as one you have from a kitten and would the children be happy to have either as a pet? What should we do?
Public Comments
1. I would go with the kittens. I understand why you would want an older cat to be rescued but a lot of the time older cats have trouble adjusting to children.2. I would go for the rescue cats used to kids. It would probably be easier for the other kittens to find a home.
3. cat
4. Go with new cats; they will be nicer when they get older because they will have always benn around children plus they lie live for a long time.
5. Yes, you can still bond with them... I have a rescue cat that I love and I just lost my rescue dog. Both were very dear to me and they loved our family. Just be aware that sometimes rescue pet come with emotional baggage if they were abused or mistreated.
6. i think you should rescue a cat your daughter said that would be cool and its not always hard to get to know them some of them are wonderful get to know then in the shelter a little be someones hero get a cat that needs you to want them good luck either way though and so sorry for your loss.
7. Either would be fine. Older cats may take a little longer to bond but not always. Older cats are generally more calm and make better lap cats. Kittens like to play, and climb, and claw. The kids will probably have more scratches from the kittens than they would with older cats. As long as you love them and take care of them they will love you back.
8. I am terribly sorry to hear about your loss. I was devastated when my cat died recently. I have since adopted a younger cat (not kitten) who had been sitting at my local shelter for four months. She has adjusted into our family and with our other cat quite well.
Anyway...enough about me...If you opt to adopt, you can go to 1800saveapet.com. There, you can search within 500 miles of your area and they specify whether or not the adoptable cats do well with children. You can narrow your search down and give a cat without a home a new lease on his or her nine lives.
Your daughter is very smart to consider adopting an older cat. You can visit shelters and see that some older cats will sit quietly, waiting for someone to pick them out, while others go out of their way to get your attention.
Whichever you choose, good luck!
9. I'm very sorry about the loss of your fur-pal. My personal preference would be to go check out older cats at a shelter, their personality is already established & you can see how they behave with your children, as well as knowing you are rescuing a cat that may eventually be euthanized. A kitten would be nice, but you sometimes can't tell yet how they will behave towards children. We have two rescued 3 year old cats & we knew right off they would fit in based on the way they behaved when we spent some time with them. My husband has a 15 yr old Maine Coon who is so lovable, even though he got him as a runaway kitten, the Maine Coon breed is known for being lovable lap-cats. Sometimes you can find Maine Coon mixed breeds at shelters. Good luck with your decision.
10. I think you should get a cat...I myself know of a stray cat around my house that is way nicer than my cat at home...cats deserve to be given a chance @ a loving home, too.
11. First of all, my sincere condolences...how wonderful, though, to have had your precious cat for 18 years!
And bless your 7 year old! MY VOTE? RESCUE! I have two rescue adopted cats, 1 cat that I am fostering for an incarcerated friend, and 2 rescue dogs.
My cats were a little over and under a year old (one each) when adopted. One of them was even a former feral cat that when the rescue mommy trapped for spay and release, was such a sweetheart that she spent almost 6 months caring for him in her home to accustom him to people. Both of my guys are the sweetest, most lovey babies I know. The former feral cat is the one that sleeps with me every night, and the other is literally the best cat in the world and the one who has helped knit all my animals together into a loving family, who all get together and greet me every morning in the bedroom...I get to smile first thing every day!
Kittens have their appeal, but if your 7 year old is compassionate enough to be open to an older cat, please help foster that quality in him/her...it is beautiful to see a child more concerned with loving and caring for an abandoned animal than they are with the excitement and novelty of kittens.
P.S. My dogs were 7 yrs and 5 yrs old when adopted, and the 5 year old MinPin is blind...I'd live to see more people give homes to older (and I mean older and senior) or special needs pets...but that's only for those of us who know we can handle loving and losing our animals sooner than if we'd had them since they were young...for me, I know that I can (once I survived the loss of my first family of 3 cats) and it means I have the opportunity to love the next one(s) that I take in.
Good luck to you whatever you decide! And hug those kids for me...they're obviously special.
12. I say, go with the Rescued Cats. New kittens always have a better chance of finding a home. If this older cats like children, why not give them a home. You can still get a kitten to if you want. The older cats will nurture it and show him/her how to be a cat! I brought two kittens home to my older cat (who is a fixed male) and he took them in and immediately almost began to groom and nurture them. Now they are almost his size, and everyone gets along great!!! Good Luck. Give the Rescued Cats a chance, please....
13. Kittens always have easier times finding homes. Your daughter is right in wanting to adopt/ rescue a cat from a shelter. These kitties deserve a chance, too. Sometimes they've had a rough life, and just need a little TLC, which I'm sure you all can give a new kitty or kitties, whichever the case may be.
I lost my kitty Gunsmoke after his battle with CRF (Chronic Renal Failure). He was 18 when he passed, also. I waited a bit, it was hard coming home to an empty house, but I knew he would want me to try to help more kitties, which I did.
Here's what I did:
I would've gone straight to my shelter where it only costs $60 to adopt a kitty, plus they offer FREE spay/ nuetering, but I'm not supposed to have kities in my apt unless I pay a deposit...so, (they always make sure homes are appropriate, which is wonderful, but I can't afford to pay a $250 deposit, plus $25 extra rent per month, so... to make a long story short:
I looked in my local newspaper. Got one kitty from there, (a kitten..boy is he trouble but darling.)
The next one I took for a relative, he was a few months old, since they couldn't have them in thier apt, either, but hers is a bit strickter than mine.
And the last boy we got was already 2 when we got him. I built a feral (wild cat) shelter and dedicated it to my boy Gunsmoke who had passed away. Well, I looked onlinr to see if any one knew of a feral cat colony where I could place it with out any one messing it up. A lady said she feeds a cat colony in DC, and could place it there. Well when we went to put it there, this dirty, dingy "feral" cat came up to us and wanted us to pet it! We tried to catch him, to TNR (Trap/nueter/return) but he'd have none of that.
Well, a few days later, the lady told me she had been able to trap him. Turns out after a visit to the vet, he had been someones pet and they just dropped him off with these other wild cats. He had been declawed : ( , but nuetered : ), also. She said we could come pick him up whenever we could. Hes thesweetest thing!. If I hadn't made the shelter in honor of my kitty who passed, I'd have never met this boy. Big green eyes, white face and black spots. He cleaned himself up nicely, too!
He's got such a personality... I can't image why anyone would give him up.
I hope I didn't write too long of a book.
My condolenses with your loss, and I would suggest finding one who really needs a home. Kittens always do, the older and just as cute ones don't.
14. Doesn't matter.
15. we rescued a 3 year old cat and shes great! she was about to be put down. i would get an adult for a lot of reasons. 1: because they are a lot calmer. 2: they tend to scratch less. 3: older cats really need rescuing because everyone wants kittens. they are all going to die.
