If you have decided to open up your house and family to a new kitten – keep reading. So how do you choose a kitten? Especially when you will be responsible for this cat for the next 13-20 years. In this post we will discuss what to look for in a kitten and using shelters to find your kitten.
Shop or Adopt?
The first decision you will probably make is are you going to shop or are you going to adopt? People shop for their kittens for a number of reasons. They may be showing cats, or breeding a particular breed in order to keep that breed active and genetically viable, or like the look and traits/personality of a particular breed. Here at CoolStuffForCats we have in the past had both pedigree (Ragdolls) and adopted “moggies”.
More often that not people who have pedigree cats (or dogs) do also adopt. Responsible breeders also help as wet nurses to abandoned kittens and puppies. Adopting a cat from a shelter means that you will be giving an abandoned cat (or kitten) a nice new home.
So once you have decided whether you are wanting a pedigree kitten or you want to adopt from a shelter the next step is to work out what traits are you looking for and what kind of home are you offering.
So What Kind of Home are you offering?
Is your new kitten going to be coming into a home with other pets already resident – such as a dog or another cat? Do you have young children? Are you out all day and your new kitten will be alone for 10 hours or more a day? These questions might mean that you adopt a pair of kittens especially if you are out all day.
If you have other cats or pets then you also have to think about introducing your new arrival slowly as you don’t want to upset the resident pets. If you have very young children then you might not want a shy and nervous kitten as they may be more scared around young children, also young kittens are fragile and so young children will need to be gentle with them.
You may, after thinking about these questions decide that an older cat may be more for you. Older cats can be more laid back and maybe more of a lapcat. But their personalities would have been developed as a younger kitten and so their experiences will shape their personality. If you are going to adopt though a shelter will have a large number of lovely older cats that would be looking for a good home.
Special Needs Kittens
You may also think about adopting a special needs kitten if you have the time and commitment to share. A special needs kittie will be no less loving but they may have issues such as blindness, deafness, they may have lost a limb (either genetic or through an accident). But it is amazing how a kitten will adapt to these issues and grow into a loving adult who will offer unconditional love.
One of my previous cats was regarded as special needs. She was a feral who was found at about a month old with her sister abandoned by the mother cat and all the other littermates were dead. It was found that she had polyps on her ears and after an operation she was left profoundly deaf. The two sisters then caught cat flu and just about pulled through. I took both as the needed to be kept indoors as they were susceptible to catching disease and because one was deaf.
The deaf cat lived to be 18 years of age and lived a very full and happy life – she finally succumbed to a mouth tumor. Sadly her sister, who had always been the healthier cat, died at 15 years old after getting a nasal tumor. Again though 15 is a rather good age.
Shelter Kittens
So now you have decided to adopt you need to find the shelter or animal adoption agency. This is very much dependent on which country or city that you live in.
In the UK you will find Cats Protection and the RSPCA as examples of cat adoption centres.
In the US you might try looking at the Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society or the Cat House on the Kings (a cat sanctuary where over 800 cats range free and are not caged). Look at this video below for details on the Cat House on the Kings (this place is amazing and you will want to take them all home)
With a shelter many will hold the cats and kittens in cages. Therefore look for clean cages and clean litter trays. The kittens should have toys and the area should be warm with sheltered sleeping areas. These kittens may not be very well socialised as they are kept in cages all day.
Types of Shelter
Other adoption centres may have fosterers. These are people who take the cats and kittens home to live with them whilst awaiting a new family. They may therefore mix with any of the other pets a fosterer might have and they will be more used to living in a house. Often they may be more socialised as they are integrated with the rest of the family. Sometimes fosterers will end up becoming the adoptive family – its difficult to give up kittens.
In the case of the Cat House on the Kings, their kittens are kept in a special kitten house. As some are orphaned they may be hand fed.  The rest of the cats roam free – but with plenty of shelter, beds and food and water on hand.
When you go to adopt a kitten, the staff should ask you lots of questions about your circumstances – and you should do the same back. Ask detailed questions about how the kitten was found, temperament, how often is it handled, any health issues.
Most of the reputable rehousing charities usually conduct a home visit to make sure your home is safe for a cat. If the kitten is too young to be neutered they will often ask for a signed agreement that you will neuter the kitten as soon as possible.
Adopting a kitten (or cat) from a shelter is not free, a donation or adoption fee may be required. This fee often covers administration, vaccinations, spaying or neutering so could range from $50-$150.
You’ve chosen a Shelter – how to Choose a Kitten
When you visit the shelter, spend some time watching how all the kittens interact with each other. Kittens start interacting at an early age and you can get an idea of their emerging personalities.
For example, that quiet kitten that hides at the back of the cage might need a lot of work to bring it out of its shell. It may need time to integrate with your household and if you have other pets it may remain shy and nervous for a while. The important thing is for you to pick up the kittens and give them a cuddle. You can now see if the kitten is responsive to you. Does it hiss or does it enjoy being picked up and given attention?
And what about the very boisterous kitten which is bossing its littermates about? If you see a kitten that is actually fighting with its littermates rather than playing and has a stiff body and flattened ears then this may be an aggressive kitten. And it will take work to over-turn this bad behaviour.
Traits and Personalities
A cat’s personality is very much influenced by these first few weeks of life. So you probably would want a kitten that is confident but not overly aggressive. They should be playful and alert and happy to be stroked or picked up and given attention.
If you manage to find these traits then you have spotted your dream kitten. Remember that this will be your feline friend for a number of years.
Now you just have to reserve that kitten with the shelter. Usually you do have to wait until they are 8 weeks old before taking them home.
If you decide to purchase a pedigree kitten then go here. We discuss what you need to look for when you choose a kitten from a breeder.
I hope that this post helps you with choosing your new kitten. If you have any questions then drop me a message below and I will try and help. If you have recently got a kitten from a shelter let me know how you found them.
Awesome post, I have always had my heart set on adopting a shelter cat, giving it a new home, I don’t know, there’s just something about giving an animal another chance at a good life.
I understand that most grown cats will have certain characteristics or traits that will be hard to break. Like lets say the owners were abusive and the cat was abandoned at an older age, they’re most likely going to be aggressive, out of fear.
But me an my girlfriend are looking to get a kitten, since they’re first few weeks are so impactful to the way they act, how hard will it to be to break the traits of a cat that was raised in a rather abusive home?
Like their fear or possible aggression, will it eventually hear with the right love and care over time or we they need professional help from a certified trainer?
hi thanks for your comment. The younger the cat then the easier it will be for them to build trust with you. Even an older cat will learn to trust you if you take it slow and offer them love and kindness. I’ve had a feral cat that ended up being a loving lap cat
I grew up with cats and my mum used to always pick the runt of the litter as she knew the others would get homed.
she always used to get old sheltered cats aswell.
Must of had 9-10 cats over the years this way and all of them was good pets, it was almost like they knew and was grateful
If I was to get a cat it would be this way
nice to hear about your cats. I’ve had shelter cats and pedigrees and shelter cats deserve as much of a good home as any other cat
What a great post! It’s been many years since I last kept a cat. That was when I was staying in a home with a garden. I’m not sure if I should adopt a cat now that I’m living in a high rise building. Would it be dangerous for the cat?
Hi thanks for stopping by. I actually live in a second floor apartment these days and my cat is an indoor only cat so there is no issue there with safety. I do make sure that windows have safety catches or are meshed.
Really nice write-up. I’m a dog person, although I grew up with a cat and enjoyed your write-up. I also appreciated what you said about carefully introducing a new pet to a household that already has them. Do you have any specific thoughts on how to introduce a new cat to a dog household?
Hi thanks for the comment – and loving the picture of your dog in your photo. Introducing a cat to a dog household is almost the same process as introducing a cat to a non-dog household (though if you do have a shelter cat that is used to being with dogs that is a bonus). keep the cat to one room when they come into your house. Have all their toys and food there so they have a safe haven. Keep them in the room for a couple of days initially whilst letting your dog get used to the new smells and vice versa. Then start leaving the cat out for small supervised amounts of time – but leaving them the ability to retreat back to their safe room if they feel overwhelmed.
Nice article on choosing a kitten, there are so many kittens available in shelters today. Anyone interested in adopting one should check their nearest shelter, this article interests me I never had a kitten I am a dog person.
I am allergic to cats, but dogs do not seem to bother me nearly as much. Many people are allergic to cats, this is something to consider before adding a kitten into your home.
Cat allergies are usually down to an enzyme that is present in cat saliva, urine or dander. So there are a few different breeds of cat that actually do not produce so much of this protein – bengals for example.