Expert: Norman Auspitz - 11/9/2009

Question
since the loss of my beloveds... I am going to possibly look into adopting a new cat or kitten. I don't want to say I am replacing my cats, but...I don't know.
ok no more sadness.

here is my question--

should I adopt from a shelter?
take in a stray?
get a free kitten out of a box?

I could go to the shelter...
Or I could go on craigslist and see hundreds of 'free kitten/cat' ads..
Or I could go to my neighbor, whose cat JUST had a litter of kittens.

What do I do? I want to do the best thing..


Answer
Kayla,

The politically correct easy answer is to say adopt from a shelter, however, let's look at some pro's and con's.  In the end, the decision is totally up to you.  People adopt in all three ways and, most of the time, never have a problem.

The biggest three issues you need to face are the age of the kitten; whether or not it will be neutered/spayed when you get it; and whether or not it will have its shots when you get it.

The minimum age for a kitten to go to its new home should be 12 weeks of age. At this age, they should be socialized to humans, litter box trained, have all their shots. They can be neutered/spayed, if the vet is willing to do it at 12 weeks.

Some shelters neuter/spay everything that gets adopted out of their facility, some do not.

Most people giving away kittens want them gone by 6-8 weeks. The pro on these is you know who the mama is and whether they have had health issues in kittenhood.  Usually, they have not had any shots, they have not been socialized to humans, and they are almost never neutered or spayed.

Shelter cats, on the other hand, are unknowns. The history on these kittens is generally unknown, although they usually have had their shots.  Most shelters do not socialize to humans. Some shelters have abhorrent conditions and you may be adopting a health problem.

Strays are similar to the shelter situation in that you do not know what they where they have been, if they have had shots (doubtful), if they are neutered/spayed (doubtful), and rarely have they been socialized.

The final comment I have is never adopt a sick kitten, especailly, if they want to give you some meds to get them over it. It is possible that, whatever the kitten has, it is not getting over it!!!!!

When you do adopt your new kitten, it is imperative you get it to a vet for a check up as soon as you can.

Best regards... Norm.