Appropriate Measures?

My husband and I are currently discussing what to do with the kittens after they are weaned. Lilith will be spayed, that is a certainty.

I was considering seeing if the vet would be willing to set up a payment plan and we would get all of the kittens done as well. That way, once they find a new home, there cannot be any indiscriminate breeding done with them, nor would they be a draw for those who run kitten farms.

Lilith was rescued from the ditch. I don't want to see her kittens end up in the same situation, kwim?

My only pondering in all of this is whether or not it would be appropriate to request a small amount of money for each kitten. Not the full cost of the spay/neuter...it's not about getting money back. It's about finding people who are actually serious about owning a cat. So many people are 'OMG it's SO CUTE!' and take a free kitten home without any knowledge or even really caring. Particularly those whose children beg and plead until the parent gives in.

Thoughts?

I agree that people should pay something for a kitten. If they were to get one from a shelter they would have to pay something towards it.

The usual price here in England for a moggie kitten is about £50. I would suggest having a look on web sites for kittens for sale and see how much other people are changing in your area.

*shudder* Free. Free. Free. Free. $50 for 1/2 Siamese kittens. Free. Here's a good example of one, personal info edited out.

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS! 

Cute & cuddly orange Tabby kittens in need of a home. In time to fill those stockings with love & affection! Call XXX XXX XXXX or cell at XXX XXX XXXX if no answer, please leave a message!!! ( will deliver) Merry Christmas!

The local shelters range from $120 to $200 for a cat or kitten, regardless of whether or not it is spayed/neutered. That works out to £67 to £110, roughly. The two shelters in the city ensure they are spayed/neutered before adoption, unless you want to pay even more. The local shelter doesn't do spay/neuters before adopting out.

OMG ! :jaw: you could not even get a hamster for free in England lol :lol3:

The cheapest you can get a kitten here is about £35 average about £50 highest about £150.

If you wanted a half Siamese you would be looking around £200-250
Full pedigree Siamese about £400

I'm in shock

This is normal for my area. I run my own business which involves travelling to various towns, selling jewellery and other things. The last sale I did, there was a lady there with a small poster advertising three free kittens.   

I live in a region that is still mostly wild/untamed bush...it takes me 2-3 hours (or more if the weather and highways are bad) to get to the nearest city. Which includes getting to the nearest vet. So free kittens? Totally normal.

I expect that it will take longer to find homes for them, going this route. On the other hand, at least I know they will likely have a responsible owner.

Yeah, free kittens are super common in the US and Canada. It's really odd to me that anyone would pay money for a moggie kitten with no vet work done! You can get away with charging for vet work done but not for the kitten. There are plenty to choose from so why would anyone pay? Just from this forum you can see how many people have pregnant cats :/. You could go to any farm and get a dozen right away.

I think it's an excellent idea to have them fixed before adoption. That way you know they'll never add to overpopulation and will be less likely to be dumped. At least cats usually only have 3-6 kittens instead of a dozen like dogs .

*sighs* I know it's going to take longer to find them homes, but it will be worth the wait, I think. 

There are so many out there for free..I could do the same..not have them fixed and just send them on their merry way. But I'm not that sort of person. I'd rather spend the money and the time to do this in a way where I'm not contributing further to the overpopulation of cats and where I know with reasonable certainty that they're going to have a long term home.

My suggestion is find a non profit cat rescue group.

Mine take them, get them fixed and up for adoption.

The owner pays a small deposit that is refunded when the kitten gets adopted. (this prevents those who will use us for spay/neuters with no intentions on adopting them out)

It's called self-fostering.

Worth a try, just not sure about your area.

Hi, catwoman. :-)

There are no local rescues. There is one in the closest city, but they are already rescuing cats from the animal shelter and don't have enough foster families to even do that enough. 

I don't care to overburden an already swamped group. That wouldn't be fair to them..there are many cats in the city who need a new home.

If it feels awkward to ask money, I do have a suggestion:

Ask a donation to some worthy cause, which both you and the buyer do agree upon.   Doctors without boundaries (Medecines sans frontiers), Red Cross, some church group, that type.  The donation should be anonyme, with the cat as the sender.

This will not only make the buyer pay, but it will also connect the cat with feelings of noble and unselfish good deed.

If they do lack money, its perhaps possible they can pay in natura. For example,

They can perhaps help you with fixing something.  It may be your computer, or something on your house.   Or shorten legs on your trousers.  It may be something you really need, but it may also be something you CAN do yourself, but you let them do it mostly to leth them show their good will.

If they live some driving distance away, they may perhaps wash and clean your car when you arrive to deliver the cat.

Or, if they make themselves the trouble to drive to you three hours to fetch the cat, they are probably honestly wanting it...   As it is costs time, petrol and trouble to drive three hours, just to fetch the cat.

Good luck!

Those are all incredibly good ideas. I'll keep them in mind.
Right now, I'm waiting to see how many kittens she has. Then we can find out the cost and take it from there. 

The past couple of days she has slowed down a lot on eating, but is still drinking and is VERY affectionate. Not normal for her at all. I can see the kittens moving about and she looks very uncomfortable. I keep telling her that it's not much longer, but like pregnant women, she doesn't seem to believe me. lol I have 7 children, including the last two being twins, so I can easily sympathise with her on this.

One of my boys and I have begun to design a cat run for her. There is still far too much snow on the ground to build it now, but once we can, I think she'll enjoy it. :-)