Kitten Adoption – What you need to know

So you want to adopt a Fur Child do you??

Well that’s great so here to help you out is a list of questions to ask the breeder of the kitten you wish to adopt.

What cat council are you registered with?

(Here in Queensland there are four accredited councils; QFA- Queensland Feline Association, Cats Queensland, QICC and FCCQ. In order for a breeder to be registered they MUST belong to an accredited cat association.)

Are you a member of a cat club and if so do you show your cats?

(Some breeders simply breed and do not show.Without having cats on the show bench it is almost impossible to tell what quality of kitten you are adopting. Most dedicated breeders will show as it is how you advertise your Catteries quality and lines.)

Do the kittens you sell as pets have official pedigree registrations?

(The ONLY way you can be truly sure that you are adopting a pure breed kittens is if it is registered with one of the accredited registration bodies.)

Do you have your own male stud cats and do you or have you imported lines?

(Having a resident stud is not a really important factor many breeders out-source their mattings.Out-sourcing can be considered like importing without the huge cost implication. Do you import is more of an “indicator” that will tell you if the breeder is dedicated to their breed (s) and is willing to go to the added expense to improve the breed by bringing in new blood lines.)

Where are your new Mum’s and kittens housed?

This can be a very telling question as should identify those breeders that put the utmost care and consideration into their Mum’s and new babies. Use your natural sense and discretion to quantify the answer (think if I raised kittens “how would I do it?”).  Feel free to ask for pictures of the area the kittens are raised in, it can be very informative.  As a person interested in adopting it should be perfectly acceptable for you to ask questions as to the kittens housing and upbringing.

How often are the new born kitten handled by humans?

(This is a fairly obvious question the more handling of the kittens the better the kittens adjustment to people and the better it’s psychological development.)

How long do you leave your Mum’s in with their kittens?

There is no right or wrong reply to this but what you would like to hear is either until the Mum’s get “testy” with their brood (yes...some of them do no question) or until the kittens leave home.  It’s nice if the Mum’s stay with the kittens until they are rehomed as it assists in their “humanizing”, adaptation and social development. However if the Mum gets cranky at 9-10 weeks the breeder will have no choice but to remover her.

How old are your kittens when they go to their new home? Do you early de-sex?

(This is a two part question). Early de-sexing is done one the kitten reaches 1.1 kg in weight.That can be 12+ weeks for a male and 14+ for a female all depends on weight. If the breeder does not de-sex it means that you will have to get your kitten de-sexed before you receive any formal registration paperwork from the breeder.

How many worming’s and vaccinations will my kitten get?  Will my kitten be micro-chipped and registered accordingly?

Kittens should have at least two (2) vaccinations preferable the first one from a registered vet along with an initial vet inspection. Worming, al the least one prior to going home with you.Every registered breeder should be micro chipping kittens regardless. In fact it might be a good idea to contact your local council to see if it is mandatory which in many areas it is.

 Do you offer any sort of heath guarantee?

Yet another obvious question for your own protection and that of the little kitten. Kittens going to a new home experience a number of sudden changes, cars, flights, new human faces.  These sudden changes can be quite stressing on a little kitten and may intensify or bring out any health related issues. The health guarantee protects you against right up front vet costs for something that might have been brewing with the kitten.  Examples are un-diagnosed abscesses.  Abscesses are quite difficult to diagnose until they are infected and swollen and little kittens do play very hard and have exceptionally sharp claws and teeth.  Your kitten may have got a claw or bite injury shortly before leaving the cattery.  Even the world’s most attentive breeder could miss something like a brewing abscess.  The health guarantee just protects you against such circumstances.  Do not expect it to be for an extended time a week is normal ten days exceptional.  Difficulties can arise with health guarantees if you have additional cats/kittens at home as it will then be near impossible to determine if the issue was present when you received the cat/kitten or something post receiving the animal.