Getting a cat
- Thread starter ShiftyBagLady
- Start date
Hellsbells
World's best procrastinator
Several years ago, i tried to get a kitten from Battersea and I was turned away. Don't know if they have relaxed their policy a little now, but back then, they refused to let me have a kitten b'cos I work full time 
Celia Hammond also refused to let me have a kitten b'cos I rent (although I'd been living in the same place for years and had no intention of moving), and also b'cos I wasn't able to install a cat flap.
Celia Hammond came round to inspect my house herself. She is one scary woman
I eventually got my 2 kittens from the Cats Protection league, who interviewed me and inspected my house, and were more than happy to let me take two of their kittens. NB - they wouldn't let me have just one - all their kittens came in pairs.
Celia Hammond also refused to let me have a kitten b'cos I rent (although I'd been living in the same place for years and had no intention of moving), and also b'cos I wasn't able to install a cat flap.
Celia Hammond came round to inspect my house herself. She is one scary woman
I eventually got my 2 kittens from the Cats Protection league, who interviewed me and inspected my house, and were more than happy to let me take two of their kittens. NB - they wouldn't let me have just one - all their kittens came in pairs.
story
Gone for a Burton
My first cat was neurotic, largely because she endured some very rough playfighting when she was a kitten. I learned my lesson, every other kitten was taught swiftly that playfighting was a no-no.
One of the advantages of getting two kittens is that they learn from each other that claws and teeth hurt. They learn the enough-is-enough rule.
If you have room for one cat, you have room for two. Dogs seem to make a room smaller, but cats just use the available space. They sidle, and slide, and drape.
Scratching the furniture: well, I had one chair that was destroyed, but I had it re-upholstered and they never touched it again. No other piece of furniture has ever been used as a scratch post. But then we have doormats (which they seem to love), and trees in the garden.
Boys or girls... well there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Boys spray, but not all boys will spray indoors. Some boys will spray even if you neuter them. Girls can be... well, catty. Girls tend not to get on with other girls. If you decide to get two, watch the litter to see which two get on with each other. Ask the people what they think. If a child is there, they often know more than the adult about the kitts - ask them.
And yes - 6 weeks is too young to remove a kitt from it's mother. When our house was a kitten breeding farm (three litters in two years ), we never let the kitts go before they were 9 weeks old, sometimes later. (This was partially cos we enjoyed them so much, it has to be said). They learn good manners and other important things from their mother and from their litter mates.
Neutering is a good idea, I'd always advise it. Vaccinating is another question. We used to get all out cats vaccinated, and then for some reason, we stopped. It may have been coincidence, but all the vaccinated cats had worse health than those that were never vaccinated. None of our present cats have been vaccinated, and (apart from being neutered) they have never needed to visit the vet.
Litter tray - in our experience, older cats have always needed a litter tray (who wants to go outside to pee when it's cold and wet...?) but the youngsters would rather take a shit far from where they eat and sleep.
Fighting and fussing: well, it's part of the story. Cats are more like housemates than pets. If they get themselves into scrapes and quarrels, there's very little you can do about it. If you have other cats in the neighbourhood, there will definitely be a period of readjustment. At the moment, your yard belongs to some cat. When you get a cat, your yard will belong to your cat. Your cat and the cat who has been usurped will have to work it out between them. If you get a boy cat, this might be more of an issue than if you get a girl cat.
Cats know their own strength and power. It's only when they are more or less equal that they must fight it out. Mostly, they will confront each other, quarrel, complain, sing to each other; full-on fighting is a last-ditch thing.
It's another advantage to having two: two kittens will have more bargaining power than one kitten.
Incidentally there was an article in New Scientist this week about how feral cats in Rome were observed to give precedent to the kittens when feeding. This goes against the habits of wild cats, who will give precedent to the adult males. The theory is that in the wild, the adult males must be strong and healthy in order for the family group to be protected and safe; while feral kittens must be kept alive and healthy long enough to ensure that they achieve breeding age so that the genes of the older cats are passed on. I thought that was interesting.
One of the advantages of getting two kittens is that they learn from each other that claws and teeth hurt. They learn the enough-is-enough rule.
If you have room for one cat, you have room for two. Dogs seem to make a room smaller, but cats just use the available space. They sidle, and slide, and drape.
Scratching the furniture: well, I had one chair that was destroyed, but I had it re-upholstered and they never touched it again. No other piece of furniture has ever been used as a scratch post. But then we have doormats (which they seem to love), and trees in the garden.
Boys or girls... well there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Boys spray, but not all boys will spray indoors. Some boys will spray even if you neuter them. Girls can be... well, catty. Girls tend not to get on with other girls. If you decide to get two, watch the litter to see which two get on with each other. Ask the people what they think. If a child is there, they often know more than the adult about the kitts - ask them.
And yes - 6 weeks is too young to remove a kitt from it's mother. When our house was a kitten breeding farm (three litters in two years
), we never let the kitts go before they were 9 weeks old, sometimes later. (This was partially cos we enjoyed them so much, it has to be said). They learn good manners and other important things from their mother and from their litter mates.Neutering is a good idea, I'd always advise it. Vaccinating is another question. We used to get all out cats vaccinated, and then for some reason, we stopped. It may have been coincidence, but all the vaccinated cats had worse health than those that were never vaccinated. None of our present cats have been vaccinated, and (apart from being neutered) they have never needed to visit the vet.
Litter tray - in our experience, older cats have always needed a litter tray (who wants to go outside to pee when it's cold and wet...?) but the youngsters would rather take a shit far from where they eat and sleep.
Fighting and fussing: well, it's part of the story. Cats are more like housemates than pets. If they get themselves into scrapes and quarrels, there's very little you can do about it. If you have other cats in the neighbourhood, there will definitely be a period of readjustment. At the moment, your yard belongs to some cat. When you get a cat, your yard will belong to your cat. Your cat and the cat who has been usurped will have to work it out between them. If you get a boy cat, this might be more of an issue than if you get a girl cat.
Cats know their own strength and power. It's only when they are more or less equal that they must fight it out. Mostly, they will confront each other, quarrel, complain, sing to each other; full-on fighting is a last-ditch thing.
It's another advantage to having two: two kittens will have more bargaining power than one kitten.
Incidentally there was an article in New Scientist this week about how feral cats in Rome were observed to give precedent to the kittens when feeding. This goes against the habits of wild cats, who will give precedent to the adult males. The theory is that in the wild, the adult males must be strong and healthy in order for the family group to be protected and safe; while feral kittens must be kept alive and healthy long enough to ensure that they achieve breeding age so that the genes of the older cats are passed on. I thought that was interesting.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
thanks you everyone, when you explain it just seems like common sense and im a bit dense for asking 
As for playfighting, i dont know how much i would encourage it to be honest, i dont want shiftyjunior thinking that you can play roughly with them or else one day they will scratch him and i couldnt really blame them for it.
My sisters cat scratched my brother across the face and it didnt heal for AGES, she ended up getting rid of the cat because of the scratching
I await your pics KJ
I should have called that postcard ad shouldnt i? and i think someone on here had a litter that was quite near me but i decided against it
and thats another thing, if i do get one i'll have to get a digital camera so i can post up stupid pic reated questions like, does this poo look right to you, does the fluff look fluffy enough and so on
As for playfighting, i dont know how much i would encourage it to be honest, i dont want shiftyjunior thinking that you can play roughly with them or else one day they will scratch him and i couldnt really blame them for it.
My sisters cat scratched my brother across the face and it didnt heal for AGES, she ended up getting rid of the cat because of the scratching
I await your pics KJ
I should have called that postcard ad shouldnt i? and i think someone on here had a litter that was quite near me but i decided against it
and thats another thing, if i do get one i'll have to get a digital camera so i can post up stupid pic reated questions like, does this poo look right to you, does the fluff look fluffy enough and so on
story
Gone for a Burton
Playfighting is just normal play for kittehs, I'm afraid.
get two and they can fight with each other, It is the only logical thing to do
And it's inevitable that there will be some scratches and puncture holes while the kitten learns how to use and manage it's claws. They are needle sharp, btw.
The best/worst is when they leap up to Velcro onto your thigh when you're wearing something thin. The yelp you emit will frighten the kitten, you will want to fling it away from you but it is caught in the flesh of your leg, you grab the kitten and try to disengage it's claws from your skin, and then it's all alright in the end. Most kittens will be so alarmed by the event that it will never again attempt to climb your leg. Some kittens are so amused by the chaos they inspired that at the next opportunity, they will creep up to you and deliberately fling themselves at your thigh.
I was quite touched this morning by one of our cats: she wanted to get onto my lap. I watched while she calculated how to do so; I saw that she was thinking "Hmm... mustn't use my claws.. how awkward... how shall I do this without using my claws... hmmm..." It took her a while: in the end she went around the long way by climbing a chair and then jumping onto the desk and then stepping onto my lap.
get two and they can fight with each other, It is the only logical thing to do
And it's inevitable that there will be some scratches and puncture holes while the kitten learns how to use and manage it's claws. They are needle sharp, btw.
The best/worst is when they leap up to Velcro onto your thigh when you're wearing something thin. The yelp you emit will frighten the kitten, you will want to fling it away from you but it is caught in the flesh of your leg, you grab the kitten and try to disengage it's claws from your skin, and then it's all alright in the end. Most kittens will be so alarmed by the event that it will never again attempt to climb your leg. Some kittens are so amused by the chaos they inspired that at the next opportunity, they will creep up to you and deliberately fling themselves at your thigh.
I was quite touched this morning by one of our cats: she wanted to get onto my lap. I watched while she calculated how to do so; I saw that she was thinking "Hmm... mustn't use my claws.. how awkward... how shall I do this without using my claws... hmmm..." It took her a while: in the end she went around the long way by climbing a chair and then jumping onto the desk and then stepping onto my lap.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
aww thats sweet 
claws sticking into thighs though not so sweet
claws sticking into thighs though
not so sweetDonna Ferentes
jubliado
Indeed, "your excellency" would be more to the point.
zippyRN
Orange, Fuzzy, and allowed to possess Cat As
chymaera said:
not exactly ...
people own dogs ... cats live with you
i'd echo most of what has been said
if you are getting kittens get 2 ... 8-10 -12 weeks is a good time becasue they are still definitely kittens but if they are with mum should by then be socaialised, reasonably weaned and litter trained
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
*melts*
Ive been reading about how fussy the rescue places are about rehoming animals. Its obviously good that they are looking out for the bests interests of their animals but I'm begining to worry that they won't let me have one.
I'm going to call Battersea tomorrow and ask them a few questions I think.
How exciting!
Oh yes and any cat of mine will be named after a pensioner
Ive been reading about how fussy the rescue places are about rehoming animals. Its obviously good that they are looking out for the bests interests of their animals but I'm begining to worry that they won't let me have one.
I'm going to call Battersea tomorrow and ask them a few questions I think.
How exciting!
Oh yes and any cat of mine will be named after a pensioner
One of my kittehs was given to us when we found and took in a cat we found at Christmas which was very disabled and couldn't have survived out on its own; when the owners got her back, they gave us my Beedle from a litter another one of their cats had recently had as a token of appreciation!
Pooks is a pedigree and my parents spent a stupid amount of money on her.
Pooks is a pedigree and my parents spent a stupid amount of money on her.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
ahh what a lovely taleidioteque said:
maybe a cat will just find me like yours found youspeaking of stupid moeny, i've seen regular non-pedigree moggies going for £90-£120. Battersesas kittens are £40 and come with all sort of frills. Rreminds me, I must call them
Hellsbells
World's best procrastinator
Do you definitely want a kitten? Or would you be happy with an older cat?
I think you're going to find it alot easier if you're willing to take an older cat, especially with Battersea as they are incredibely fussy and particular. When I went there, they told me they only give their kittens to retired people, stay at home parents, or people who only work part time.
I think you're going to find it alot easier if you're willing to take an older cat, especially with Battersea as they are incredibely fussy and particular. When I went there, they told me they only give their kittens to retired people, stay at home parents, or people who only work part time.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
I thought about this, I do want a kitten because I think my son(and I) would really enjoy it and its our first pet so I think it would be nicer for us to have the experience of seeing it grow.
I just called Battersea and listened to their recorded information, they say you need to have a rehoming interview and if you rent (as i do) that you need to bring written permission from your landlord/council. Thats a bit of a hassle, as is going for an interview and arranging a home inspection..... it's good that they are thorough but it is a bit off putting
I just called Battersea and listened to their recorded information, they say you need to have a rehoming interview and if you rent (as i do) that you need to bring written permission from your landlord/council. Thats a bit of a hassle, as is going for an interview and arranging a home inspection..... it's good that they are thorough but it is a bit off putting
Hellsbells
World's best procrastinator
ShiftyBagLady said:
Have you tried the Cats Protection? I'd really recommend them as I found them far more helpful and less hassle than Battersea. I think they have several cats homes/offices around London.
ShiftyBagLady
Thinks she is a flower to be looked at
Really? No I havent heard of them, I'll look it up. thanks
Chairman Meow
Perth, WA
You could try Blue Cross too. I got my last cat from them, and I was renting. There was no home visit either - we did take an older cat though.
alsoknownas
some bloke
Although I've got one cat, I too would recommend getting two. Kittens need playmates. They need to scratch and bite and push and pull. Unless you're willing to do all this (personally, I love playing rough) then he/she will need a little furry friend.
Actually my kitten quickly learned who it was okay to fight with. She gives me scratches and bites, but my kids she just bats (with her claws retracted). My partner (who 'aint playing that') she leaves well alone when she's in the mood for a tumble.
Actually my kitten quickly learned who it was okay to fight with. She gives me scratches and bites, but my kids she just bats (with her claws retracted). My partner (who 'aint playing that') she leaves well alone when she's in the mood for a tumble.
We got two from Cat's Protection. Stig started a thread about it: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=224673
They amuse themselves most of the time, occasionally disturing us for food and cuddles. Which is good.
The CP require you to get them neutered if they aren't already, though.
They amuse themselves most of the time, occasionally disturing us for food and cuddles. Which is good.
The CP require you to get them neutered if they aren't already, though.
wtfftw
roof's about to blow ♩♪♩♬ ♬♩♪♩
My family got one of our cats from Battersea. This was about 14 years ago mind and we didn't got for a ultra small kitty, Copper was about 6months I think. Which worked as really we wanted company for Carbon who's sister had been run over (at 9 months *weeps*).
Um. I don't recall it being a difficult process but I was only young. My mate got a cat from battersea in the last couple of years. I remember her being slightly stumped by getting her landlords permission but I think it was easier than she thought. She only got the one cat but he's since introduced several other cats through the catflap.
Um. I don't recall it being a difficult process but I was only young. My mate got a cat from battersea in the last couple of years. I remember her being slightly stumped by getting her landlords permission but I think it was easier than she thought. She only got the one cat but he's since introduced several other cats through the catflap.
