Kitten search

So I'm having a lot of trouble finding a cat... I know it sounds silly, but I'm really trying to find a specific kind of cat.... My mom lost her favorite cat many years ago, and she is finally able to get another. She told me she really wants one that looks like her old cat, who was a light blue or lilac point with ice blue eyes. I know I'm not going to be able to find anything quite like him again. He was a fluke. A tortoiseshell barn cat that randomly showed up one day had 4 kittens and then vanished. Three were black with white socks, and one was special. We had to bottle feed them, and we grew very attached to the the pointed one and kept him as a house pet. It was the first cat I've ever had. His brother and sister who looked most alike got fixed and went to the cow barn where they are still spoiled every day by my granddaddy when he goes to check the cows, the other sister went with my great great aunt, but ate a mouse that had been poisoned and passed. But we no longer have our special kitty. Mom really wants to get a kitten, a young one under a few months old.
Seems like every other time there would be dozens for free but right now there are some gorgeous patched tabbys and blacks and others, but she isn't interested in any of them. I found a simmilar kitten but it's hours away and has a $150 adoption fee (veeeerrrryyyy steep!!! Would never dream of paying that much for a cat.... I know purebreds are expensive, but I have no interest in showing and just like plain old DSHs.)
I dunno, I guess I'm just frustrated.
I checked our local no kill shelter and they don't seem to have any that fit the bill, at least none up on their site which they usually keep up to date.
I checked pet finder and no luck there.
Our pound has a really high kill rate so I have always wanted to adopt from there, but they are only open on weekdays and I can never get over there in time.
I know our kitten is out there somewhere.....

Looks aren't everything... You'll know your kitten when you meet him/her. On paper, my Holland would have been the last cat I would have thought I'd end up with. But the moment we were in the same room together, I knew she was mine.

Try to get to your local shelter during business hours. They are loaded with "diamonds in the rough".

Originally Posted by mews2much

My sister just adopted a blue point female siamese mix from the pound last week.
She had looked a long time before she found the right kitten.
Can you pay the vet for the shots and everything if $150 is to steep for a kitten?

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Depending on the shelter, and location, you need to be ready to pay close to $100... Plus take the kitty to the vet as soon as you take it home. A rescue will charge you around that - $150 or so...
This is why they charge you this money... Because the kitty that has been through a shelter, or a Rescue, has been taken care of, and has been incurred costs, probably much more than what they are charging you. Those kitties sometimes get to the shelters pretty beat up, some of them need surgeries... A LOT of them (probably the majority) need spaying or Neutering... Flea care, URIs, care for any disease they might have, plus food, etc. A lot of shelters also microship before sending the kitty home. It cost money to save their lives - nobody is making money out of those $100 - $150, that I can guarantee you. Is a "plain old DSH" a second class cat? Remember, these cats have the cost when it comes to vet care, food and such as a purebred...

Good luck on your search, I hope you go to that shelter, and save a kitty's life

You may find the exact replica of your mom's cat. However, there is not a guarantee it will have the personality she craves.

Please keep your options open. There are so very many kitties out there that desperately need a good home. Don't limit your choices.

I always loved white cats. But there is not a white cat among my guys. I don't miss having one. I am just happy that I can give them love and safety. Their color means nothing.

Hope you consider opening up your options to include all the little cats that want a nice, warm home.

It's not kitten season yet, really, so you may need to keep your eyes open. Have you checked on Petfinder?

The cost to adopt a kitten at our shelter is $75, $25 of which goes toward a spay/neuter and $15 or so toward a microchip.

In some areas it will cost $150+ to spay the kitten, shelters charging that much sometimes are a bargain!

Try not to look past older kittens, as we've had several lilac point kittens around 6-8 months come through the shelter here.

And be prepared for this new kitty to look like your old one, but never act or be the same as your old kitty - many people go for one that looked like their past cat, however end up returning them as "they just aren't my past cat".

I would suggest taking your mom to shelters and adoptions events to meet kitties. Maybe she'll find one that has a similar purrsonality that will win her heart.

I know I wanted a brown tabby when I first started looking, but the Squeakster just cuddled her way into my heart, so now I have a big fat orange (er red) cat

And as others have said, $150 may be a little high, but it isn't too much. Our rescue's adoption fee is $100 for adult cats and $115 for kittens. If they've had vet attention, medication, microchipped and been spayed or neutered, the rescue may have put even more than the adoption fee into the animal. I know we do, especially when kitties comes in who are ill.

I would agree with those that encourage you and mom to please keep your options open. When I lost my first cat Sid... my sweet little 'cow kitty' boy (white with black spots)... I went to the local Humane League, looking for a cat at least somewhat similar to him. I knew for CERTAIN I wouldn't leave there with anything other than a white or light colored cat with a pink nose.

What did I come home with? Lola. Black as midnight, and without a single common trait to my beloved Sid. Four years later, I can't imagine my life without her, and am glad I was not successful in 'replacing' Sid. I couldn't have if I tried.

The thing is, I can get the shots, spay/neuter, etc for less than that. I dunno, it just seems so weird to pay for a cat.
When I got Riot I spent $75 total, for spay, shots, everything. She was free. I got her through our local shelter, who has an adoption fee, but she was in foster care so she was free, they were just happy to see her get a home. She had her first set of shots when I got her, then I gave her the others myself except rabies which was given to her for $5 when she got spayed.
I just don't see myself traveling several hours to spend that much on a cat when I could get one at home so much cheaper. I guess I don't spend much on my animals, since I know that the purchase price is the least amount of money I will ever spend on them, I conserve there. I've gotten all my horses for next to nothing, same with my dogs, and all my cats have been free... So it's not that we can't afford to take care of them, it's just that it doesn't make sense to spend that much.

I understand what you mean in opening the options. I can see doing it either way. I think that if she fell in love with one she wouldn't care what color it is. But then again, when I set out to find Riot I got as close to the pattern I wanted as I could possibly find. I wanted a patched tabby, I got a torbie, so I pretty much won. And she's the greatest cat ever haha.

You're really lucky that things are cheap around you. Up here, spays/neuters, blood testing (for FIV/FLuk) and shots can easily run you $100+. I just paid $70 for an annual exam with the normal run of shots.

I don't think that $150 is overly expensive for adopting. I paid about $120 when I adopted Holland, but she was spayed, had had her first round of vaccinations, I got a bag of Science Diet food for $1, I got a free checkup at the vet, she already had a microchip implanted, I got a hard-sided carrier, I got a collar... it all evens out.

Adoption fees don't usually even come close to what the shelter pays out for care of the animal. It's only fair they recoup a portion of their expense, otherwise how would they remain in business?

Just as a suggestion, you might check with the vets in your area to see if you come across one with some kittens to give away.

By the way, ***I*** have the prettiest pointed cat on earth, a foster for our local shelter. He desperately needs to find someone without a current cat who is very lonely; he is so much company!




But we have a lovely little snowshoe female at the shelter, a tortie point, and who knows tomorrow?

He is gorgeous!

Originally Posted by Krickette

The thing is, I can get the shots, spay/neuter, etc for less than that. I dunno, it just seems so weird to pay for a cat.
When I got Riot I spent $75 total, for spay, shots, everything. She was free. I got her through our local shelter, who has an adoption fee, but she was in foster care so she was free, they were just happy to see her get a home. She had her first set of shots when I got her, then I gave her the others myself except rabies which was given to her for $5 when she got spayed.
I just don't see myself traveling several hours to spend that much on a cat when I could get one at home so much cheaper. I guess I don't spend much on my animals, since I know that the purchase price is the least amount of money I will ever spend on them, I conserve there. I've gotten all my horses for next to nothing, same with my dogs, and all my cats have been free... So it's not that we can't afford to take care of them, it's just that it doesn't make sense to spend that much.

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I have a question for you: If one of your "free cats" have a medical emergency, and that would cost $1,000- $1,500 to take care of - say it needed emergency surgery, hospital stay, whatever, but after this treatment, it would be perfectly fine... What would you do?
Because emergencies like this happens quite often, and I am getting the impression that you don't see a cat being worth that kind of money. Sorry if I am being unfair, but what would you do? Would you treat it?

It's been said before, but I want to emphasize it. 150 dollars is not bad for what you get at all.

You get a cat who's been checked out, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, possibly microchipped and many other things the shelters sometimes add in.

The 150 dollar price point serves 2 purposes. 1 is to recoup some of the money spent on the cat and 2 is to filter out people from just getting a cat on impulse and abandoning it shortly thereafter.

150 dollars isn't really that much. I also agree with carolinalima and would like to add if you get a free cat it's much more likely to come up with a condition that would cost a lot of money because it probably hasn't been checked out.

Krickette already said

I guess I don't spend much on my animals, since I know that the purchase price is the least amount of money I will ever spend on them, I conserve there

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so I don't think there will be an issue with not taking care of the cat if they should get sick.

I am concerned by this

Mom really wants to get a kitten, a young one under a few months old.

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Kitten are not ready to leave mum until 10-12 weeks old.

Sorry for delayed reply, school got crazy again.
I didn't mean as young as I said haha, I was more thinking under 6 months old. I know I wouldn't want to take any away too young. I got Riot i think around 8 weeks, but she was already an orphan and they were desperate to be rid of her.
And yes, I would be completely fine with paying whatever emergency bills came our way. I've been through all that before, I know how expensive they can be. Heck, I had one cat that needed 3 stitches, and it cost me more than when my horse broke his leg (which included multiple xrays, home visits, polticing, etc.... he made a full recovery btw). Like I said, it's not that the cat is not worth a lot to me and I would put in whatever I needed to, I guess I'm just not seeing that that particular cat would be worth it at all.

And mrblanche that cat is amazingly gorgeous!!! I want! Where abouts in Texas are you, if you don't mind me asking? I might have to pay that shelter a visit if it's not too far! Some parts are only 30 minutes away from me, but then others are waaaaaaaaay too far. It's such a huge state haha