Foster Home and Age of Adoption

kcoutts

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Hello all, I'm new to the forum!  I have had cats for a combined 20 years, but had a catless break for 15 years.

I am interested in adopting a kitten who is currently 7.5 weeks old and in the care of a foster.  The shelter is willing to adopt her out at 8 weeks old, and I am a stay at home.  I heard that 12 weeks is an ideal age so that the kitten can learn from the mother.  The young mother was found in an abandoned building with kittens.

Here is my problem: she is being kept in a tiny room with her mother and four siblings.  There is one cat toy and a litter box, but nothing else inside the tiny room (4x4).  She is also being fed with the group, and the group eats the food clean within about 3 minutes.  The reason why the cat and kittens do not move about is the foster has dogs and a cat herself.

I am concerned that while the kitten will learn to play with her siblings, that she is being brought up in an abnormal environment (no run of the house) and is also being underfed.

Should I wait to adopt her at 10 weeks or 12 weeks, or take her now to ensure she gets fed properly, and gets exposed to people?

Thanks for your advice.
 

catwoman707

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It is absolutely fine to adopt her now.

As long as she is eating completely on her own there is no further need to keep her with mama.

Curious, have you considered adopting a sibling as well? This is the ideal way for young kids, they will wear each other out with their endless energy and spunk, which means more relaxed for their people time with you.

Plus gives a wonderful lifelong companionship for them both. I truly believe when sibs are adopted and live together, it actually makes for a much nicer, patient cat.

By the time they are 3 months old they should be fixed too.
 
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kcoutts

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Thanks for your help, catwoman.  I would love to adopt two, but we are planning to feed her raw food, which I worked out to be around $900/year (or more!), so I think that $2000/year is too expensive for us.  The last time I had cats, I adopted two six month olds from the SPCA and the two of them didn't get along at all!  Mix and match for cats don't work!  It would have been better to adopt siblings.
 

msbedelia

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While I agree that a raw diet is best, I think the benefits of a sibling friend mixed with a wet food diet probably outweigh it. Social things have important impacts on physical health too. But that's my personal bias based on my experience adopting one very social and energetic cat, who made it clear she would need a playmate. :)
 

catsallaround

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I too think 2 would be ideal.  Either way I would take kitten at 8 vs leaving it in this home much longer.  Seems like there should be more food offered to ensure all are getting enough. Also mom may still be nursing and needs ALOT to keep up her weight and support the kittens. I would worry about how good this place is/what is done medically for them. 
 
 

Willowy

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Generally speaking, raw costs about the same as a mid-quality canned food. How are you coming up with the estimate? I figured raw at about $1 a day, but of course it depends what you buy.

In any case, I agree that for a kitten, it's better to be raised with a sibling than to have the very best diet. In my experience, kittens raised alone tend to grow up a little. . .odd :lol3:.
 

StefanZ

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I too think 2 would be ideal.  Either way I would take kitten at 8 vs leaving it in this home much longer.  Seems like there should be more food offered to ensure all are getting enough. Also mom may still be nursing and needs ALOT to keep up her weight and support the kittens. I would worry about how good this place is/what is done medically for them. 
 
Catsallarounds answer is also my answer. Our usual recommendation is 10-12 weeks, yes.

But there are exceptions. One is if mom is feral and good adoption home is waiting - as the fostering is easier when they are -9 weeks.

Another exception is  when their contemporary home isnt very great, so to speak.  As here. Surely better than nothing, or being killed off as is commona in a kill pound.  But...

Although, for the sake of convenience, it is of course good they can eat themselves and use the litter.   :)     So 8 weeks will be just fine.    :)

I also agree  2 is much easier than one for you as owner, and having a pal / sibling is better for the kitten. 

Good luck!
 

franksmom

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Generally speaking, raw costs about the same as a mid-quality canned food. How are you coming up with the estimate? I figured raw at about $1 a day, but of course it depends what you buy.

In any case, I agree that for a kitten, it's better to be raised with a sibling than to have the very best diet. In my experience, kittens raised alone tend to grow up a little. . .odd :lol3:.
I have had only cats before and it hasn't been a problem. Especially because you stay at home it should be ok. Don't get me wrong it is great to get two but if you feel you can't afford it do not feel bad about getting one. I got frank as an only cat while he is odd (but he was like that when he was with his litter) however we developed a very close bond living in an apartment together with just each other.
 

andrya

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The legal minimum age of adoption here is 8 weeks, so it is done all the time and will be fine.

However, if the mother cat is somewhat friendly, could you visit your kitten often while she's still with the mother? You could also start to slowly introduce her new food by taking tiny portions on each visit, so you know she's getting adequate nutrition. She's likely still nursing too if she's hungry.

lt would be really great to have two siblings together. l feed homemade raw to my three cats, and when l worked out the cost of the last batch and posted it on this forum, it was $1.52 per day, for all 3 cats who eat 18oz per day. Here in Canada cat food is very expensive, l was paying about $300/month for high end canned, so the raw worked out great for both me and the cats. Maybe you could drop by the Raw Feeding forum and see if homemade interests you 


Kudos to you for already being a responsible cat-parent 
  lt is much better to have one cat and be able to afford vet care on top of their annual food cost rather than to take two and be too stretched financially to take care of them properly.
 

andrya

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l meant to say, she is an absolutely beautiful kitten. Congrats.
 
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kcoutts

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Thanks all for taking the time to give me advice.  I also live in Canada, and the cost for raw is very high, as Andrya pointed out.  She was feeding them high end canned $300 for three cats/month, and I have one cat, so at $100/month, that's $1200 a year.  Raw is even more expensive than high end canned.

I would like to make my own raw food to save money, but I'd have to invest in a grinder, and the time, and the cleanliness when you're working with raw food.  There is a local seller of prepared raw who can sell at around 21 cents/oz, so around $2/day or $60 a month.  Which still works out to $720/year.

If you add in cat health insurance at $30/month, litter costs, then you are well over $1000 a year for one cat.  Two cats really is double that.

$2000 is a good chunk of disposable income.
 

franksmom

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Thanks all for taking the time to give me advice.  I also live in Canada, and the cost for raw is very high, as Andrya pointed out.  She was feeding them high end canned $300 for three cats/month, and I have one cat, so at $100/month, that's $1200 a year.  Raw is even more expensive than high end canned.

I would like to make my own raw food to save money, but I'd have to invest in a grinder, and the time, and the cleanliness when you're working with raw food.  There is a local seller of prepared raw who can sell at around 21 cents/oz, so around $2/day or $60 a month.  Which still works out to $720/year.

If you add in cat health insurance at $30/month, litter costs, then you are well over $1000 a year for one cat.  Two cats really is double that.

$2000 is a good chunk of disposable income.
Yup pet care is a lot more expensive in Canada and vets are about double the cost as in the states. I have three pets (two cats and one dog) and I spend an astronomical amount on pet care (It is too depressing to add up all the costs). 

Which insurance are you getting? I am looking into getting it for my kitten and four year old cat (my dog is 16 so the rate would be far too high). I did have pet insurance for Frank but it never covered anything so I stopped it. I am thinking the ASPCA one looks good.

If you happen to live near toronto I would love to get more info on that local seller because that is a good price. 
 

tulosai

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Yup pet care is a lot more expensive in Canada and vets are about double the cost as in the states. I have three pets (two cats and one dog) and I spend an astronomical amount on pet care (It is too depressing to add up all the costs). 

Which insurance are you getting? I am looking into getting it for my kitten and four year old cat (my dog is 16 so the rate would be far too high). I did have pet insurance for Frank but it never covered anything so I stopped it. I am thinking the ASPCA one looks good.

If you happen to live near toronto I would love to get more info on that local seller because that is a good price. 
Just FYI, if the cats ever had anything it is usually deemed a 'preexisting condition' and the insurance will not cover it.  If I were you I'd be VERY cautious in getting coverage for your 4 year old because of the hairball/tummy problems she was having.  It is likely insurance will not cover any stomach issue she has ever again.

I personally am very skeptical about pet insurance in general- I had it for a while but it ended up feeling like (and being) wasted money to me because most of the time I paid for it and nothing happened (though I guess I had some peace of mind) but then when something did they did cover a TINY amount of it, but no more, and I was left shouldering most of the cost myself anyway.  Now I just put some money in a cat account at the beginning of each month for emergencies.  So far that's working better for me.

That said, I don't mean to necessarily discourage you from getting it- I just really, really urge you to read EVERYTHING about the plan VERY carefully, especially what they will reimburse for and how much of it they will reimburse for.
 

StefanZ

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 She was feeding them high end canned $300 for three cats/month, and I have one cat, so at $100/month, that's $1200 a year.
Now, you dont need to go for high end canned. Even medium end is much better than good dry, probably even cheap canned is better...

So if you are tight on money, or want to put your money somewhere else, you can use relatively cheap canned, and still have good conscience.

This said is no contra against raw, and the one doesnt not preclude the other. Begin with the easier, canned, and build up your raw knowledge stepwise, if such is your wish.
 

franksmom

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Just FYI, if the cats ever had anything it is usually deemed a 'preexisting condition' and the insurance will not cover it.  If I were you I'd be VERY cautious in getting coverage for your 4 year old because of the hairball/tummy problems she was having.  It is likely insurance will not cover any stomach issue she has ever again.

I personally am very skeptical about pet insurance in general- I had it for a while but it ended up feeling like (and being) wasted money to me because most of the time I paid for it and nothing happened (though I guess I had some peace of mind) but then when something did they did cover a TINY amount of it, but no more, and I was left shouldering most of the cost myself anyway.  Now I just put some money in a cat account at the beginning of each month for emergencies.  So far that's working better for me.

That said, I don't mean to necessarily discourage you from getting it- I just really, really urge you to read EVERYTHING about the plan VERY carefully, especially what they will reimburse for and how much of it they will reimburse for.
Thanks for the advice I am still on the fence about it. It is just vet care is so expensive here though my four year old was fine for 3 and a half years before the hairball saga so I probably would have spent more paying for the insurance then the $900 I spent on his hairballs.

Edit I just googled the aspca insurance I was talking about before and the reviews are terrible (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/aspca-pet-health-insurance-canton) don't want to hijack the thread but if anyone has a good experience with an insurance company in Canada pm me. 
 
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kcoutts

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I was advised by the shelter to use Petsecure.  It works out to $360/year.  By the time you have your first incident, say in 3 years, then you would have paid $1000 into the plan.  These insurance plans are always a winner for the insurer.

If I take good care of my cat, then it might be cheaper in the long run just to pay when necessary, especially since she will be an indoor cat.
 

franksmom

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I was advised by the shelter to use Petsecure.  It works out to $360/year.  By the time you have your first incident, say in 3 years, then you would have paid $1000 into the plan.  These insurance plans are always a winner for the insurer.

If I take good care of my cat, then it might be cheaper in the long run just to pay when necessary, especially since she will be an indoor cat.
I had petsecure with my four year old and they barely covered anything when he had an URI as a kitten. Today I have been reading various reviews of the companies and I decided to just put a little bit away each month and hopefully find an honest vet. Here is blog post I found talking about petsecure (http://trueler.com/2011/01/25/pet-insurance-review-complaint/). 
 
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kcoutts

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The local seller is "Club Canine".  They sell the raw chicken version for around 0.21/oz.  Hopefully my math was correct.  Let me know if I was wrong, okay?  They have a price list on their website.
 
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kcoutts

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We picked up TWO kittens tonight, and they are in their carrier, as far back as possible from the door in our upstairs bathroom.  I hope that they have been adequately socialized.  They are 8.5 weeks old, and I found out today that they've been eating dog food, because the foster thinks that dog food is the same as cat food, only cheaper.

Meanwhile I already bought a meat grinder.  I figure I might as well start from the beginning.  It will be here in a few weeks, enough time for the kittens to get used to the new home.

They've gone from sensory deprivation in a closet to... sensory deprivation in my bathroom, as that was what was advised by the cat care books when bringing a new cat into the home.  And it's even worse--there is no mother and siblings, only one sibling.  So even more sensory deprivation.  Yikes.  Hopefully we can introduce to the rest of the home sooner than later.
 

msbedelia

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Kcouts-

Congratulations on your new acquisitions! Poor darlings. I'm sure with your love and care they will turn out very well. I'm sure in no time they'll be exploring. A bathroom can be a wet interesting as exciting place- just ask my kitties- and hopefully they will begin exploring it when you're not around. Feel free to leave a toy or two in there. ^^ Also, I think they will benefit from having each other.

Congrats, and good luck!!
 
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