Getting a cat or kitten

pinkpanther66

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Not sure what to post this under for most replys but here is the scoop.
My wife and I want to get a cat or kitten. We only want one and no more. We want to know what the best age would be to get one that will adapt to our lifestyles.And would it be best to get one of the poor kitties at the shelters in our area. My wife works 5 days per week and is gone about 10 hrs a day. I work 2 rotating days per week but I am gone fore 24 hrs on those 2 days. We had a young cat who my mom raised but I took her back because she missed her brother cat so bad that she would not sleep at night and kept everyone up with her loud crying. Even though she was adjusting to her new home well and would play and eat well, the constant crying at night told us she was miserable alone. I just thought that since she was only 6 months old the separation wouldnt have been this big of a deal or i would have took her sooner.But thats live and learn, she is happy back with her brother.
 

stephanietx

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There are lots of cats available through rescue groups that need to be in an only cat house. I would suggest explaining your situation to the person at the shelter/rescue group and asking them to match you up with an older cat that is happy living in a one-cat house. If you're in the US, have you checked out petfinder www.petfinder.com ? Often there is a good description of the cat and its needs so you can start seeing what's available in your area.

Stephanie
 
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pinkpanther66

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Thanks, yes i did look a little but we also decided we are gonna wait a little while until a construction project we are going to soon begin in our home is completedso there wont be alot of noise present. When you say older do you mean 1 or 2 years?
 

momofmany

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I suggest that you go to a shelter and adopt an adult cat from them. There are so many homeless pets and most people want kittens. Adult cats are overlooked and if the shelter is a kill shelter, many (or most) of them are euthanized. Adopting an adult gives that cat a chance for a good life.

Most cats are listed as an adult once they hit about a year old, but that varies from shelter to shelter.

Based on your lifestyles, a young kitten could have a tough time adjusting to being home alone for long periods of time. There are adults who want to be single cats and adult cats can adjust to being alone easier than kittens.

And I'll drop this as a thought. If you really want a lone cat, perhaps find one with FeLV or FIV that cannot be adopted to a household with other cats. While you might need to deal with more medical issues than other cats, these are clearly the ones that have little chance at adoption.

I hope this helps. Get your construction done and go visit a reputable shelter in the spring!!
 
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pinkpanther66

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I appreciate all of the post so far but to the last post I will only adopt a healthy cat ,one that has no illness. Its hard enough to lose a pet to old age but last summer I had to put Bandit my 4 year old tux cat to sleep that had cancer.This is why I will only adopt one that as far as everyone knows is healthy. And after having to return this last one back to my mom I dont need anymore disappointments....sorry but this is how i feel.
 

gizmocat

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I would contact a foster program, not a shelter. Foster cats will be less likely to have infections or other diseases incident to crowding in a shelter.

I work similar hours to you and got a four year old female, Gizmo, last year. She's been absolutely great--other than a little jumping problem at the beginning of her stay, she has been a reliable and trustworthy housemate. I much prefer an adult cat to a kitten. Kittens are babies--you need a lot of time.

Any cat up until age 7 is still a young animal; you might look at the ones aged 2-4 years. Some marvellous cats are abandoned by their people when they move to a new home!
The foster will know something about the cat's background and will have given it the attention it needs to keep it social.

I'm sponsoring a couple of fosters; you might want to look and see what groups are in your area, meet and sponsor a cat with a foster til your house is finished, and then adopt the cat.
Happy turkey!
 

larke

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Plus kittens need more attention and activity than you have available. An adult (foster or otherwise) will be more able to tolerate being alone all day with no company. In all honesty, I would advise you not to do it at all... for the cat's sake, but I guess a 'rescue' is better than the alternative.
 

stephanietx

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By older, I was thinking a cat that's 3-5 years of age. Also, a more senior cat might be just right for you. They're harder to adopt because of their age, but many have lots of years left. A senior cat is 8+ years.

Stephanie
 
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pinkpanther66

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Larke;1444902 said:
Plus kittens need more attention and activity than you have available. An adult (foster or otherwise) will be more able to tolerate being alone all day with no company. In all honesty, I would advise you not to do it at all... for the cat's sake, but I guess a 'rescue' is better than the alternative.

So what you are saying is people that both have to work for a living should not have a cat as a pet? The cat in which I would adopt is better in a shelter? For your information the shelters in the three county surounding area that I live in are full of cats and kittens, many will be put to death when they are not adopted. In the commercials for the shelters they say save a life adopt a pet, but then you advise me not to. I know alot of people who both husband and wife work and the pets have very good lives.Some have better lives than some kids do in other familys,when I do adopt I can asure you this cat would have it all, all of my cats in the past have been treated this way, Maybe it was a bad idea seeking adivse here like most forums you always get answers to questions you dont ask and poeple seem to get away from the point.. Oh well thanks anyways.
 

kiki_585

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I would advise on an older cat as well. I have Stanley and Sadie living under my roof. I work during the day and my roommate works during the night. Both cats seem as happy as can be. We both spoil them like crazy.

I am sorry that some of the answers have discouraged you from posting on this site. People are trying to help you by giving their opinion and that's what you had asked for in the first place.

From what I have experienced by posting here (or just reading the threads) is that all of the people here are willing to help you with any advice they can give. They are the most accepting and welcoming people I have met. You may not always agree with their advice or opinion, but that is what posting is all about!! To get varied opinions and advice.

Like I said before I am sorry you feel discouraged by the advice and opnions you have received. They are just trying to help you to do what is in the best interest of the kitty you could adopt in the future.

In my opinion, you and your wife would be better adopting an older cat. They (like the others have said) are often overlooked. I have two older cats and they are as playful as a kitten, but also love to just snuggle in your lap. Sounds to me like that is something you and your wife want (forgive me if I am wrong). Waiting until the construction is over is a good idea as I think that would stress the poor kitty out too much. Good luck!!
 

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I think an adult cat would be very lucky to be adopted into your home. Kittens are just like babies, and you can't leave babies alone by themselves for very long. I got my cat Lily last Christmas and she was two years old. She's a great cat, still young enough to be fun and energetic, but NOT contantly learning about (and getting into) everything like a kitten!

I agree to tell the shelter what you said here and they can recommend good "only" cats.

I hope you stick around, and tell us about your new kitty.

Cheers, from
SwampWitch
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by pinkpanther66

I appreciate all of the post so far but to the last post I will only adopt a healthy cat ,one that has no illness. Its hard enough to lose a pet to old age but last summer I had to put Bandit my 4 year old tux cat to sleep that had cancer.This is why I will only adopt one that as far as everyone knows is healthy. And after having to return this last one back to my mom I dont need anymore disappointments....sorry but this is how i feel.
I can respect your feelings and please no need to appologize! I suggested it only because these are the cats that are the most overlooked.
 

wookie130

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Oh, please don't be discouraged from coming to TCS...I love this place, and find it warm and helpful! I appreciate that you're considering a shelter or foster kitty. Personally, there may be more urgency for a kitty in a shelter, than a kitty living in a foster situation...I would go with a shelter, and make arrangements the day after the adoption to take he/she to the vet for clean bill of health. And a single older cat would probably suit your lifestyle/work arrangements the best...possible a kitty between 3-6 years of age...

I would only recommend a kitten to you (under a year of age), if you were open to getting two at once...they tend to keep each other out of mischief, and keep each other entertained, and it helps with the lonely factor. However, kittens need a lot of human supervision for safety, socialization, behavior monitoring, etc., so again, an adult will be your best bet! Shelter adults RULE!
 

larke

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You misread (or I wasn't clear about) my post - I meant that rescuing a shelter cat is better for it even if its new life is kind of boring, not that it should stay in the shelter!
 

shanynne

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Here are my thoughts. Know, I now that most of you will totally disagree with me, but I would never ever adopt an adult cat from the shelter. Why? First of all, because you can never know (untill you bring them home) what they have been through and what kind of behavioral problems they might have.

One 5 mos old cat that we adopted from the shelter turned out to be a lot older maybe 2 years old. We found that out when we brought him to the vet. Also he had been an outdoor cat prior to being in the shelter (which they either did not know, or did not tell us). How did we find out? Bye the constant crying day and night to get outside.

My other 2 cats are strictly indoor cats so I did not want to let one out because then the other 2 would want to do the same.

But the crying became so intolerable that finally, we relented and let him go outside on our balcony. Well that helped, the crying diminished, but it wasn't enough, he wanted more. And then it was starting to cause trouble for my other 2 kitties, who now too were going "why can't we go out ?" Then the fighting began between the two older cats and it was ugly.

Finally (and also because we are moving and more than likely to another apt. complex where we would not have been able to let the older cat go out like he wanted, and that is just cruel, imo, because once they are used to being outdoors, they DO NOT WANT to be indoors) we brought the older cat back to the shelter, where we explained the situation so that he can be adopted by someone with whom it is possbile for him to go outside.

By the way, the shelter we brought him to, is a NO KILL shelter. They have a huge room with plenty of trees for the cats to climb and some of them even go outside, so it was for the best.

I say get a kitten, no get two kittens, that way they will play with each other etc. and more importantly, you can raise them how you want them to be.

This has been my experience. But all cats are different. Just make sure to learn as much as possible about the cat(s) you might be interested in. One way or another, your heart will tell you when IT IS RIGHT.

Good luck!
Shanynne
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pinkpanther66

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Well I plan on adopting something young but if you had read my initial post you would read I stated one cat and that two is not an option so there is no reason to discuss adopting two any further. I know a few people that have adopted young cats from a shelter and all have been sucessful , what you mention in your post may be true in an older cat but once you found out the cat was alot older than you were told you should have contacted the shelter and made them aware of this , from what I am seeing just in the past few days the shelters in my area are not out to fool anyone but want to see the right pet for the right person.
 

gizmocat

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Gizmo was abandoned by her family. I consider her a sort of foster cat.
A foster will not be ill (the foster mom or dad will have taken care of it) and will know a lot about its background.

As I mentioned before, you can get acquainted with a foster cat before you actually adopt; sponsor it while your house is being repaired.

There is no need for two cats and with your work schedule you certainly don't want a kitten. Gizmo is now five, and she is playful and affectionate without needing to be babied all the time. She is also not destructive and is well trained.
A foster cat, particularly from someone who had to 'give them up' for whatever reason, is, in my opinion, better than a shelter cat.

Please take the advice on the forum as well-intentioned, though not always applicable to your particular situation. I find that Gizmo is perfectly happy being the only cat. Other cats in foster are described as being 'only cats'--the foster I sponsor specifies whether the animal would be good alone or needs company.

Good luck with the house renovations and the new cat.
 

chausiefan

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Hello


id say get an adult cat kittens are a pain and they can get sooo annoying when they get bored! scraching attacking you and will break things while ur gone for long periods of time. Aslo they will attack you in your sleeep and keep you up ALLLLLL NIGHT! Chew your electric cords and shred ur couch. Try to get a cat over a year that has a calm dispostion and doesnt seem to care for other cats. Some cats really are meant to be alone while others need company it just depends. Id suggest going with long hair or semi long haired cats seem to be the most mellow or maybe thats just my experience? Just make sure u dont get a siamese !! LOL


Kittens are cute and all but the last few cats i got were adults from the shelter I just dont wanna deal with the stress of a kitten with my busy life
 
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pinkpanther66

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Originally Posted by chausiefan

Hello


id say get an adult cat kittens are a pain and they can get sooo annoying when they get bored! scraching attacking you and will break things while ur gone for long periods of time. Aslo they will attack you in your sleeep and keep you up ALLLLLL NIGHT! Chew your electric cords and shred ur couch. Try to get a cat over a year that has a calm dispostion and doesnt seem to care for other cats. Some cats really are meant to be alone while others need company it just depends. Id suggest going with long hair or semi long haired cats seem to be the most mellow or maybe thats just my experience? Just make sure u dont get a siamese !! LOL


Kittens are cute and all but the last few cats i got were adults from the shelter I just dont wanna deal with the stress of a kitten with my busy life
I dont mean to be harsh ,but can we please stick to the subject in this post?Hair length has nothing to do with how the cat will behave,I have had both,some of the nicest were short haired and that is what I am getting, I have had many cats and how the behave come from how they are trained, I have also had strays ,one was near ferrel when we caught him, he would come out only at the end of the day to look for food we were setting out, we set a trap caught him and tamed him, he turned out to be one of the most loving cats I ever had the 6 years I had him until he died of lymphoma ,another male shorthair my mom still has was a stray 1 year old when he first showed up was trained to live in the garage , alone where he love it, he also has his own pen on wheels that is rolled outdoors when he wants to get frest air ,the one that died last summer was Bandit he went from being wild near ferrel to a tame house cat in a matter of a few weeks, so I I am not seeking advise on training,the cat that I returned to my mom I returned for one reason and one reason only and since many of you missed this when you read my post it was because she was with her brother cat to long. She is only 6 months old and was a good cat she played and did things cats do but she would cry all night and continued to look for her sibling. In other aspects she was adjusting well she ate played and behaved and was not a pain as you put kittens are.I could not see making her unhappy any longer when there are some nice cats out there that need homes.
 

naturestee

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I'd recommend an adult, because you only want one and you won't be home much. Kittens need to be played with and watched a lot so that they are socialized properly, and having a second kitten is an important part of socialization. Eve would be an absolute terror if she was an only kitten, and as my hubby and I both work we'd never be able to train and socialize her as well as keep her busy and somewhat less destructive. Lily keeps her busy, gives her much-needed company (Eve cried constantly at the shelter because she was alone, she needs companionship), and also taught her not to bite or claw as hard.

I think many adult cats (1 year+) do well on their own though, and shelter or rescue people can definately point you to cats that are either used to being on their own or really don't like other cats. I've talked to some volunteers with the local sanctuary, which fosters all it's animals, and they usually have a few cats that have to be kept in separate rooms because they hate other cats so much. Plus adults are over the "naughty kitten" stage and tend to be better behaved.

Actually, I would have adopted adults except I wanted kittens that could grow up around my rabbits. With adults I had no idea if they were used to getting outside and killing baby rabbits for fun- not safe for my precious rabbits.

Best of luck!
 
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