Totally off-topic here, but my better half runs a kitten rescue in her spare time, and has worked for veterinarians for a few years part-time. Time and again we see people make the same mistakes or have the same questions on how to adopt a kitten (or cat) that I thought I would make posts on this, and other cafe forums I visit:
1. If you have no other pets, do not adopt just one kitten, adopt 2 at the same time, preferably siblings. We have seen this 100 times. People think they can't afford two cats, two would be more trouble (like a dog), and one is enough. so they adopt one kitten, and find the thing cries all the time, needs a lot of attention, seems confused, shreds the furniture, etc. Cats are sociable creatures, and they like to play. If you have two (or more) they will play together, sleep together, clean each other, and when you're not around not get lonely. They'll also cry a lot less. Two is also not much more expensive. You have one food bowl, one litter box, etc. They aren't like dogs, and don't require the same amount of work.
If you're in a big family, and home a lot, sometimes 1 kitten does work, but find the right kitten. If you have other pets already who may be kitten friendly, 1 kitten may work.
2. Adopt a cat, or cats, not a kittens. While kittens are adorable, they are grown up by about six months. At least they look almost grown up. They'll keep playing until often 3 years old, or older. So, consider adopting a young cat. The county shelter can often help with this. Plus, if you insist you only want 1 cat, this is an easier way to make that work.
3. Spay or neuter your cat! Within four months, without fail! There are too many unwanted pets out there. Ask around, you can find vets that will do it relatively cheap. If you are going through a pet rescue, they can often take care of it - rolling it over into the cost of the adoption, or give you a voucher for a very inexpensive vet visit.
4. Get to know a good vet. Not only for vaccinations, but everything else.
5. Breeds do have different personalities, but the environment they are raised in has as much to do with it. Exotic cats are beautiful, but expensive. We find Manx mix cats (kink in tail) to be very playful and fun overall.
6. Black cats are common, and often passed on. We've had a lot of luck with black cats. Consider a black cat.
7. If your cat is going to be an outdoor cat, get them a collar, tag and microchip. Again, ask around to get the best prices on chips. You must train your cat to stay the hell out of the road! A good way is to let it wander around, and when it comes to the front of the house or yard, yell at it chasing it to the back. This must be done many times for the cat to get the idea.
8. Consider a cat door/window. We have several cats, and they love the cat door to our (big) back yard. Works great for us too. If you have a cat door, be prepared though. One of our cute little kittens was so sweet and adorably we named him "Flower". Well, just like the boy named Sue, Flower grew up to be a tough, hunter/gatherer cat. He frequently brought inside all kinds of stuff through the door. Sticks, twigs, leaves, pine cones, dead mice, birds, snails, rats, squirrels, etc. Imagine waking up one morning and finding your little kitty has proudly placed a dead bird on your pillow next to you (yes, this happened to me). He's pretty much grown out of it, however...
9. Feed your cat the best food you can afford, but don't radically change food on them. We often have a few food bowls out, and slowly cycle through the food. If you do it abruptly, cats don't like it.
10. Find a good kind of litter, and stick to it. One problem some people have is cats peeing on stuff. Once you find litter kitty likes, stick with it, and don't change. We like the pellets. Especially Feline Pine. But recycled cardboard, etc. works good. A great litter too is called The World's Best Cat Litter, but it's expensive.
Change the litter frequently. We had one kitten who hated an unclean litter box. He would even let us know. We'd find him meowing, wonder what he wanted, and an hour later he'd pee on something. Well, it was because the box had poop in it, and he didn't like it. Not all cats are this picky, but be aware of it. It's also easier to clean a litter box that isn't very dirty twice a day, than a filthy one every few days.
As an aside, if cats don't like the litter and are peeing in the house, they will look for something similar, or to cover it. Plants are good to them. If not that, piles of clothing.
11. Get a good scratching post, or similar. This can be tough to train cats on. We find some take right to it, while others much prefer the couch/bed/carpet and take training.
12. Kittens and cats put a smile on my face every single day. Especially over the last 2 years of economic misery. They're almost always in a good mood, and help put me in one too. Yes, even my hunter who brought me gifts.
External link to more info, mostly about vaccinations and care.
1. If you have no other pets, do not adopt just one kitten, adopt 2 at the same time, preferably siblings. We have seen this 100 times. People think they can't afford two cats, two would be more trouble (like a dog), and one is enough. so they adopt one kitten, and find the thing cries all the time, needs a lot of attention, seems confused, shreds the furniture, etc. Cats are sociable creatures, and they like to play. If you have two (or more) they will play together, sleep together, clean each other, and when you're not around not get lonely. They'll also cry a lot less. Two is also not much more expensive. You have one food bowl, one litter box, etc. They aren't like dogs, and don't require the same amount of work.
If you're in a big family, and home a lot, sometimes 1 kitten does work, but find the right kitten. If you have other pets already who may be kitten friendly, 1 kitten may work.
2. Adopt a cat, or cats, not a kittens. While kittens are adorable, they are grown up by about six months. At least they look almost grown up. They'll keep playing until often 3 years old, or older. So, consider adopting a young cat. The county shelter can often help with this. Plus, if you insist you only want 1 cat, this is an easier way to make that work.
3. Spay or neuter your cat! Within four months, without fail! There are too many unwanted pets out there. Ask around, you can find vets that will do it relatively cheap. If you are going through a pet rescue, they can often take care of it - rolling it over into the cost of the adoption, or give you a voucher for a very inexpensive vet visit.
4. Get to know a good vet. Not only for vaccinations, but everything else.
5. Breeds do have different personalities, but the environment they are raised in has as much to do with it. Exotic cats are beautiful, but expensive. We find Manx mix cats (kink in tail) to be very playful and fun overall.
6. Black cats are common, and often passed on. We've had a lot of luck with black cats. Consider a black cat.
7. If your cat is going to be an outdoor cat, get them a collar, tag and microchip. Again, ask around to get the best prices on chips. You must train your cat to stay the hell out of the road! A good way is to let it wander around, and when it comes to the front of the house or yard, yell at it chasing it to the back. This must be done many times for the cat to get the idea.
8. Consider a cat door/window. We have several cats, and they love the cat door to our (big) back yard. Works great for us too. If you have a cat door, be prepared though. One of our cute little kittens was so sweet and adorably we named him "Flower". Well, just like the boy named Sue, Flower grew up to be a tough, hunter/gatherer cat. He frequently brought inside all kinds of stuff through the door. Sticks, twigs, leaves, pine cones, dead mice, birds, snails, rats, squirrels, etc. Imagine waking up one morning and finding your little kitty has proudly placed a dead bird on your pillow next to you (yes, this happened to me). He's pretty much grown out of it, however...
9. Feed your cat the best food you can afford, but don't radically change food on them. We often have a few food bowls out, and slowly cycle through the food. If you do it abruptly, cats don't like it.
10. Find a good kind of litter, and stick to it. One problem some people have is cats peeing on stuff. Once you find litter kitty likes, stick with it, and don't change. We like the pellets. Especially Feline Pine. But recycled cardboard, etc. works good. A great litter too is called The World's Best Cat Litter, but it's expensive.
Change the litter frequently. We had one kitten who hated an unclean litter box. He would even let us know. We'd find him meowing, wonder what he wanted, and an hour later he'd pee on something. Well, it was because the box had poop in it, and he didn't like it. Not all cats are this picky, but be aware of it. It's also easier to clean a litter box that isn't very dirty twice a day, than a filthy one every few days.
As an aside, if cats don't like the litter and are peeing in the house, they will look for something similar, or to cover it. Plants are good to them. If not that, piles of clothing.
11. Get a good scratching post, or similar. This can be tough to train cats on. We find some take right to it, while others much prefer the couch/bed/carpet and take training.
12. Kittens and cats put a smile on my face every single day. Especially over the last 2 years of economic misery. They're almost always in a good mood, and help put me in one too. Yes, even my hunter who brought me gifts.
External link to more info, mostly about vaccinations and care.
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