Kitten vs Adult cat

IMO - Kittens are *way* too much trouble. In everything, on everything, nosy about everything. And then they go through the 'terrible teens'.

Gimme an older/lazy/adult cat any day!

Honestly, it's up to you and your decision. However, I would adopt an adult, that is just me. I got Miagi as a young adult (9 months) and Tiger at 4-5 years. They are the best behaved, most sweetest cats ever.

I got Angel at 8 weeks, my first kitten ever. I have to say I am more towards the adult cats as Angel was a devil as a kitten and still is.

It's more of a gamble with a kitten to see how they will turn out to be, they are fun but I will probably never have a kitten again as Angel was a lot of work and still is. Maybe foster kittens but that's it. Plus they get a home easier than an adult. I love Angel dearly but she is heck on wheels! At the end of the day, it's up to you.

Kittens may be a lot of work, but they are also so very entertaining and endearing and they don't stay kittens for long.

Like you say, you can also mold them and train them a bit more as well and tend to adapt well to your lifestyle rather than visa versa, and you get to spend that much more time with them since our kitties lifespans are much shorter than our own.

I would just make sure that the kitten wasn't TOO young though and had plenty of time with mama and her siblings to learn proper manners and socialization.

Kittens are fun.

For about 3 months.

Then they're pretty much adults.

I would say, go to a shelter/rescue and find a young cat, past that cutest (but most fragile) kitten stage but still young enough to still be developing personality. If you came into our shelter, I could show you everything from kittens who really are too young to be on their own, up to grumpy/loveable geezercats. And out of the 40 or so we have available at any one time, I'd bet you could find one to love.

Right now we have a Maine-coon looking orange boy who would make you extremely happy. We have a stunner of a flame-pointed dandy. We have a little lynx-pointed girl who needs a warm lap.

See what I mean?

We've taken in numerous adult cats and have never had any issues with them. But like you, we decided that we wanted a kitten. So we got past our guilt and brought home a litter of foster kittens (3 total kittens) and two of the 3 got adopted fairly quickly leaving us with one. Even one was exhausting. That one kitten was more work than we ever want to do again.

For us, we discovered that we love the peaceful laziness of adults.

Take the kitty you fall in love with. Old, young, they all need homes.

LOL says you!

Jade is my youngest at 4 years old, and still very much a kitten, beginning to wonder if she isn't mentally disabled

I love kittens and the kitten cuteness, I've had Jade since she was 5 weeks old, she was feral.

Spaz I've had since she was 3 weeks old, she is Norwegian Forest Cat and was surrendered to the vet (to be euthanized) by her breeder (a BYB according to the vet).

Baby adopted me as a 2 year old stray adult.

My point here is, you may have no choice in the matter, it could be that the right cat (or kitten) will find you.

I was never actively looking for a cat when any of these three came into my life.

I say just visit the shelter and pick the kitty that melts your heart. You will just know when you make the right connection! And no reason to feel guilty about getting a kitten if that's who you fall for. EVERY kitty needs a loving home.

I would adopt an adult cat for the reason you mentioned. Everyone wants a kitten and the older cats are left in the shelters with an unknown future. I have had the experience with a kitten and I enjoyed it but now I would only adopt adult cats. I adopted Autumn at a little over two years old.

I love both adult cats and kittens. I say get one of each

I am also in the process of looking to add 2 more kitties to my gang and I go back and forth with this same decision. After making serveral trips to the shelter I am leaning more towards an adult cat. I see sooooooo many there that have been there for months and even years that I know I can give a great home.

Kittens get adopted much more frequently and I know taking an adult cat I am going to give it a chance to have a good forever home that it might never know just because people pass them by and go straight for the babies.

As far as training them. I have one cat I got when he was around 2 years old. He walks on a leash with a harness just fine. He will do pretty much whatever I ask of him. It wasn't so much his age as it is his willingness to please that made him easy to train. I have one that I have hand raised from a kitten who not be caught dead with a leash and harness no matter how many times I have tried. She is a diva princess and thinks the world is here to serve her. I am her main slave

Kittens are adorable and so funny to watch --- but like everyone else said - they are a handful! I would say you should adopt an adult cat --- save a life --- everyone goes for the adorable kittens, but it's the older ones that truly need a home. When you go to the shelter, chances are that the "right" at will adopt you!!

Go to the shelter and see who you fall in love with. That will be your kitty.

As far as how long they stay kittens, Oliver is 12 years old and he is very mucn a "sophisticat". He has been for a long time. Tripod is 9 and still thinks he's a kitten. They're all sooooo different.

Instead of thinking kitten versus adult when you're at the shelter, let a kitty pick you, if you can. And don't feel guilty about kitten versus cat.

Mollipop, last year, was our first kitten in about 9 years or so. And yes, she was a handful. But then again, she was our first kitten in about 9 years, so we weren't used to kittens at all anymore. There were some....interesting....experiences with our Miss Pop and there were a few times when I was ready to tear my hair out, most notably when she was tearing the drywall in the bedroom. But she quickly, too quickly actually, outgrew her kitten-y stages and is now a beautiful little girl.

And this summer, when Tabby came to live with us at about 4-5 weeks old, we were more used to dealing with a kitten and knew more of what to expect. And again, our Tabby-girl can be a quite the character sometimes, but she's growing up way too quickly. And quite honestly, we wouldn't trade our experiences with both girls for anything. (Last night Rick and I were lying in bed watching tv. Tabby jumped on the bed, came up between us, and burrowed in under the electric blanket with Mollipop....just like she never knew anything else. )

In our case, Boo is our resident male out of the seven cats in the house and he does not take kindly to adult cats becoming part of the family. He does very well with kittens, though, especially when they're girls. We tried bringing in a young male many years ago and it was nasty for quite a while. We won't do that again, if we can help it.

You do what works. And while I completely agree that older cats aren't as adoptable as kittens are, a life saved is still a life saved. Don't feel guilty about what you decide to do.

^ That. I went to the shelter looking for an adult cat, and although they were all sweet and lovable, I didn't have the right connection with them (it was a no kill thankfully). Then I went to an adoption event and saw the cutest kitten ever, and even though I swore I wouldn't get a kitten, I asked to pick him up for a minute just because he was so cute! We had an INSTANT connection and the rest was history

Kairi is my first kitten ever in my life (I'm on the wrong side of 40) I adore him, he's alot of fun, but honestly, he drives me nuts sometimes. Never have I had a cat that got themselves into the predicaments that this little man (ok, at 5 months old today, he weighs 8 pounds-not so little) manages to get himself into. He's been swimming in the fishtank, he's been on my display shelf in my center hall (12 feet up, I still have no idea how he got there), He can open doors, and has been spotted stealing DD's tv remote. Nothing on the counters, tables, shelves is not pushed off for him to chase on the floor. He chases images on my TV, making it impossible to watch anything without "Kitty editing", he knocks everything in his way over, he drives my poor maltese insane, he sleeps on the birdcage, making the bird a wreck, he pounces on my face, my back, my feet, my legs, my head...at the WORST times.

I'm glad he's growing up. I like kittens, they're the cutest creatures on the planet. However, I believe they were created that adorable to keep us from getting TOO angry at the destruction!

I vote full grown, sleepy, cuddly CAT.