I want a kitten!!

[Twink]

Originally posted by PayItForward
This statement alone worries me. You might not have to walk a cat (well unless you live in the USA) but a cat takes up a lot of time.

I dunno...I think I understand this "low maintenance" statement. When we first got Rizzo, we spent over a thousand dollars on cat supplies, checkups, neutering, microchipping, medicine, etc. We can't leave town for more than a day without making arrangements for his care. We spent a whole day cat-proofing our place, and we still have to be SUPER careful not to leave out shoes or anything with strings on them. We lose sleep every night when he decides to get vocal, and he wakes us up every morning. We can't eat off of paper plates without him thinking he's going to get a Fancy Feast treat, and therefore tripping us, crying at us, clawing at the cabinets and just generally being un-ignorable. The litter box is a non-neglectable chore, and there's a lot of extra sweeping involved. We've spent a LOT of time scrubbing the carpet and giving him partial baths after he drags his tail in the litter box. He needs a good grooming at least once a week and a claw-trim once every two weeks. He doesn't like to entertain himself and demands to be played with...constantly! But I still consider him "low maintenance" compared with a dog, for the simple reason that we don't have to walk him every 6 hours!

I just re-read that paragraph and realized it sounds like I'm complaining. I'm not! I'd do anything for my Rizz. I just wanted to point out that just because someone considers a pet comparitively low maintenance doesn't mean that they're not prepared to do anything and everything necessary to care for him.

[catmandu]

The kitten , at six months is a more mature pet , than a three month old Kitten , and sadly is growing out of the Cute Kitten stage of her life.So please think of adopting her , or even a Cat , that is a yeatr or two , as you know that thier personalities are settled , and they always have a lot of kitten , in them!

[guster girl]

I can see both sides of this. I totally understand why someone would want a really young kitten. We got Lock when he was four months old, and, I wished he was a little younger even then. I wouldn't trade him for the world, but, I was interested in a little younger. and, as for cats being lower maintenance, I can see that, too. They're not easy, by any means, but, I do think they are less work, generally, than dogs. Especially kittens versus puppies. We brought Lock home in November at four months, and, we brought Finn home on the fifteenth of this month, at 8 weeks, and, he is WAY more work than any cat I've ever had. I adopted a pregnant stray cat years ago that had six kittens, and, they were not that much of a hassle. The litter box makes a huge difference, as far as maintenance. I, personally, clean litter boxes out daily (sometimes more), just because I'm really ridiculously anal about that kind of thing. But, just the potty training of a dog and the forever commitment of getting a dog outdoors to potty is what makes a dog higher maintenance, IMO. The last dog I actually owned (RIP little Bruno) was given to me when he was already over a year old, so, the puppy stage is something I haven't gone through in awhile. But, it's all worth it. Anyway, just my two cents.

[gotalonglildoggie]

Oh Im sorry! I did not realize that it was just her signiture!! I thought she aimed it at me! I apoligize!! I did not mean to offend! I am new to this site. Please know I did not mean for it to offend anyone, I just thought she was calling me one! Sorry!

[guster girl]

Hey, I think it probably happens a lot more than people realize, just because I know the first time I saw it, I was thinking "goodness, that's pretty rude." But, I just didn't say anything because I was just reading, not posting. And, then, I realized it was part of the signature. It's cool that you're apologizing, a lot of people don't say they're sorry anymore. Welcome to Pet Talk, by the way. Are you staying awhile or just getting info about kitties?

[halliecat]

Thought that may be what happened...please let us know how your search is going. Not sure if this helps....I got Hallie in June when she was 8 weeks old. I hope that wasn't too young to take her away from her furmom but she has been an easy kitty. She was never afraid and wanted to be with people...

[gotalonglildoggie]

I plan to stick around for a while!! I am a big time animal lover! I just love to brag up my puppy and talk about those furry little bundles that just make our lives so much better! Ummm... So far nobody has kittens that are younger than 6mths. I know that is still really young, but my hubby and I both want a smaller one. We both have experience with kittens. Keith (my hubby) had a cat that had 4 kittens and 2 wolves at one time. He loved it.

Oh and dogs really are muuuuuuuuuch harder to care for than cats! I grew up having cats. This is my 1st dog. It was so hard to potty train him and to get him to listen. He does very very well now! He's a very good boy!! (and sooooooooo cute!!)

Oh and I would never mean to hurt or offend anyone. It just came across as rude that she would say that to me, but I didn't realize it was her signature! An apology was definatly in order!! I hope I didn't make her angry!!

[Sirrahsim]

Hi and welcome to pet talk!! I want to apologize for some of the comments that fellow PTers have made. All of the people here have a deep love for their animals and sometimes tactfulness is hard to find if the person feels strongly enough about a subject. The majority of us are really quite loveable Good luck in your search for a baby kitten. I have never had the opportuinity to have such a young kitten in my life, but I know that there must be a special bond between a kitten and it's owner when they meet very early in life. There is nothing wrong with wanting a young kitten rather than adopting. The sad truth is that there are some people who only want a kitten during the tiny stage and then choose to "get rid" of it. I'm sorry that you were questioned right off, I think it should just show you how much the lives of cats mean to everyone here I hope that this experience hasn't put a bad taste in your mouth for Pet Talk!! Good luck!!
Oh yes, we all expect to be showered with pictures just as soon as you DO find your kitten!!

[NoahsMommy]

I think it depends on where you live, but kitten season around here is every month other than December.

I think maybe you should wait until the right cat or kitten comes along if you don't want what's currently available.

While it is fun having an itty bitty kitten, I personally couldn't deal with all it takes to properly train a kitten (read: early prevention of declawing, etc.) AND have a baby and a new house....oh, and a dog. While cats in the long run are less time consuming due to their independant nature, while kittens, they take a lot of time.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

[gotalonglildoggie]

I am really enjoying this site! I have never had so many responses to one of my threads on any other forum. I get so excited when I get an email saying I got another response!!! So much fun!!! This is the only site I have found where I can talk about something I really enjoy!! You have all been wonderful so far!!!

I just find a lot that most cats are freaked out by my dog because they are bigger than he is. Usually when they say that a certain cat is good with dogs, they usually mean dogs that are bigger than them. He is REALLY good with dogs, but he is even better with cats! He gets so sad when the cats don't like him. He runs and hides behind me. A little kitten will be able to adapt to him much better because by the time they get bigger they know him. Plus we both looooooove the responibilities because of the joy and love pets can offer!!! I will definatly post pics when we find what we are looking for. Oh and yes, we are going to wait to find just the right one! We both already know about everything we would like in our newest family member!!! So excited!!!

[gotalonglildoggie]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW........ I just love looking at all of the kitty pics you all have posted!!! I can't get my computer to add any of the pics I want to use! I couldn't even get it to put a pic of a doxie under my name. Hmmm.. Maybe somebody could give me some advice on this!! I'd really appreciate it!! Email me if you'd like!!

[leslie flenner]

If your looking for a cat/kitten to get along with your dog- your best bet is to go to your local animal shelter where they will know who gets along with (and some cats actually love to be with) dogs! For a kitten younger than 6 months, don't hold your breath. Even breeders (don't go that route for other reasons!) won't let you adopt till 3 months - depending on how good they are- no kitten should leave mom in an ideal situation, until they've had one distemper vaccine and if possible, the 2nd. No kitten can have it's 1st vaccine until age 8 weeks and if there are any cold symptoms, not until these are over. People who foster kittens for shelters will often not relenquish (and are not allowed to ) abandoned kittens until after the 2nd distemper (which covers a slew of viruses) because, if they have been without mom's milk and through her milk, virus protection, they are at high risk for death from the simplest virus and pneumonia.
Then new owners come back upset and lawsuits etc. So shelters are very careful. Sometimes TOO careful but just to let you know.
Even if you found a younger than 6 month old kitten- there's no guarantee he/she would get along with the dog- all animals have their own personality as you know- just be aware and ready for whatever! And Playitforward had good advice!

[Felicia's Mom]

I want to welcome you to Pet Talk. My two cats are Felicia and Beau, seen in my signature. I hope you find a kitten.

[Vermontcat]

Welcome to Pet Talk gotalonglildoggie(and you got a long user name too!)
I hope you stick around here and get to know everyone.
You should check out the Cat Rescue section where people post when they work at shelters or foster kittens.
You should also check out the Dog General section to meet the other Dachshund owners too.

Here is a link to Petfinder that may help you find a kitten at a shelter in your area.
www.petfinder.com

What area of the USA are you in?
Where I live there tend to be more kittens available at the shelters in the summer months.
When do you plan to move?
It may be better to wait until after you move and maybe even after you have the baby before you get a kitten.
Both moving and adding a baby to the house can stress out a cat.
Good luck in finding your kitten!

[gotalonglildoggie]

Well we don't plan to get one until we are all settled in. That will be in a month or less. I am in Ohio. It seems we have no kittens right now. We have a ton of places around us that will get them in and give them away for free. I think I mentioned earlier that the one will even spay/neuter them, and give them all their shots for free also. We are really waiting to see if they get any in. We will also bring the dog with us when we do find one we want to make sure they get along very well. He is very gentle, but it's usually the cats who are spooked. I dont think they know what to make of such a little dog! It's really quite funny!

Oh yes I have checked out the dog section already! It is quite fun! I have gotton a ton more responses here in the cat section though. I couldn't think of any doggie questions to post! Im sure I will think of something soon!! I responded to a few theads over there I think!

Oh Ha! Im glad you noticed my username!! I always think it's creative!!! Sometimes it takes people a while to get it though! LOL!!!!