Soph the vet and others please

[nanette]

We are considering getting a kitten since our cat had to unexpectedly be put to sleep in April. I have a few questions.

 

Is there a difference in male and female cats? (Either way we would have it fixed) I have only had male cats so I don't know about females. I have heard that males can decide to spray. Fortunately I have never had a problem with this.

 

Is it better to get a kitten from an Animal Protective League or and individual offering free kittens? I don't know if there are any health concerns from getting one from a shelter. I have had 2 shelter cats and they were fine, but I don't know if there are any concerns in going that route.

 

If this would make and difference in getting a male or female we do have a 5 yr. old female black lab. She is sooo friendly. She was use to a cat since we had our cat before she enter our household. Should she do ok acceping a kitten? Do kittens adjust quickly to dogs?

 

Thank you for any advice anyone can offer.

[MicheleB]

About the shelter...

 

We adopted kittens about two years ago from our local SPCA and unfortunately, one became very sick and died (within days!). So we adopted another one and this one got sick. We took it to the vet and she said it was really, really sick and beyond help. So we took that one back to the SPCA and subsequently ended up with two kitties that, yes, got sick.

 

This time the vet said she thought they might make it and after about $300+ of vet bills, they did recover and are now healthy, cute cats. :) Our vet told us that it's just a gamble with kittens from the SPCA. They're exposed to so many things there and then moving them to the home, etc., is hard on them.

 

That's just our experience and others may have more positive ones to share about animal shelters. We did adopt a full-grown, 5yr old dog from the shelter and he was fine. But I'm thinking his age and hardiness helped in that. :)

[Brigitte]

We got our last kitten from the Humane Society shelter. She was very healthy. But, our shelter keeps the cats and kittens in a separate area from the dogs. Kittens aren't brought in the kitty area until they have been checked by the vet. Everyone must wash/sanitize their hands after holding a cat/kitten before picking up a second one. They were meticulous about the care and health of the animals.

 

Our kitten (who is not a kitten anymore, but we still call her that) loves our dog. They are good friends.

[camibami]

Kittens are sort of fragile no matter where you get them. We've never gotten one (from an individual, a stray or a shelter) that didn't have worms. Many cat rescues test for feline luekemia or FIV, so you know ahead of time- we volunteer for a cat rescue that does so. Some shelters do, some don't. Same with individuals. IMO, taking a "free to good home" kitten is rewarding irresponsibility: they didn't fix their cat, and now have kittens, in an over-populated world. So we don't do that.

 

Kitten "season" is usually spring, but we found a stray feral kitten (couldn't catch the mom) a few weeks ago, so there is certainly no shortage of kittens around any time of year!

 

Look for a cat rescue, they usually have the kittens dewromed and tested for FLK/FIV, and they are in foster homes so they are socialized. You can even find one who is good with dogs. I prefer female animals because they (in my experience) are usually smarter, but spaying is a bigger surgery than neutering, so thats something to consider. Never had a problem with spraying, myself.

 

Kittens are so fun- its been a hoot having this little guy in the house. Sorry about the loss of your other cat.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Our new kitten is from the Humane Society. He is healthy now but had in its 3 months of life had already been treated for giardia (G-I parasite, I think) and a respiratory illness that had required 2 rounds of antibiotics. Fortunately bringing it home was the best thing for this cat because it has been very healthy without being exposed to all the junk it was around in the shelter.

 

Re. introducing to dogs. I was very careful introducing the kitty to the dogs. Not because of the kitty's reaction - he was delighted to see the dogs and saw them just as really big chew toys. But because the dogs could inflict serious damage if they wanted to. I kept the dogs in their crates at first and introduced the kitty to them. After about a week of crate visits, I opened one of the crates and while keeping a firm hand on the dog, introduced the kitty to her and let her sniff the kitty. Same with the other dog at another time. Eventually I let them be together for very supervised short visits. Now they can be together for longer but I always keep an eye out because there is always the possibility that those sharp little kitty teeth and claws could push one of the dogs past his tolerance level. So I supervise (in the same room but not more than that).

[VaKim]

Well, we currently have 2 cats and 4 kittens. :) Our adult cats were here before our 3 dogs, so they never did develop a good relationship. But the kittens were introduced to the dogs (first at a distance) as soon as they were getting around, and now they are all great friends.

 

I think the only time you have a problem with males spraying is if you don't get them neutered young enough, or at all.

 

As for male or female, we have always had cats and have found that the females tend to be more "independent," but also better hunters (if you care), while the males are more "lovey" and affectionate. Not sure if that is always true, but has always been for us. :)

Edited September 26, 2008 by VaKim

[Soph the vet]

Hi Nanette,

Kittens are plentiful and there are so many ways to acquire one! The benefits of the Humane Society (or similar place) are that they will do early spay/neuter and give routine vax (not usually rabies, you still need to take the kitten to your vet and get PE and rabies) and will test for things like feline leukemia. They do charge an adoption fee but usually it is cheaper than the spay and testing combined.

If you do decide to get a free kitten from a farm or wherever, see if the kitten looks "sick" or not. Does it have clear eyes or crusty eyes? Is it playful or is it dull? Are its gums nice and pink or is it white as a sheet?

If you do this, make sure the kitten goes in for a good PE at your vet right away. Most clinics have kitten plans that are more economical than paying for each individual visit for the series of shots, testing for leukemia, and spaying or neutering. They will also check its stool for worms (very common) and deworm if needed.

Try to avoid catteries. By this I mean uncontrolled large populations of cats owned by hoarders (not breeders). Typically, they have a higher incidence of infectious problems on their property.

Males and females each have issues. Males are more prone to behavioral urine spraying but females can also do it. Please put any male cat on a diet with urinary acidifiers in it (will say something on the bag about protecting the urinary tract). A blocked male cat is a medical emergency, it is expensive to unblock and recur. In most the diet is critical. If you have more questions you can always PM me!

Soph

[Jeannie in NJ]

we have 7 cats. We had 5 last year but the 2 oldest died , one from kidney failure and the other from heart disease. Anyway, when they died, we had 3 so decided to get kittens. We went to a rescue group and got 4 (3 from the same litter). They all ended up being sick, one with giardia (had to crate her for 2 weeks to keep her seperate from the others). One had a bladder infection, one had and still has recurrent colitis. They all had to be on medications. All of our previous cats , except of one, came from private homes and were all healthy kittens. The exception is Blackie who is now 8 years old. As a kitten, he barely made it, it was touch and go for a while (he came from our local humane society),

 

When our current kittens turned out to be so sick, I was not happy as I had spent the last 4 1/2 years tending to our oldest cat that had kidney disease and now I just wanted healthy kittens. But we took care of them and spents LOTS at the vet and they are mostly quite healthy now at almost 1 year of age.

 

Regarding males and females. Based on the 10 various cats that we have had over the last 15 years years, I have found that the males tend to be more loving (the females have all attached themselves to just one member of our family, usually my dh and just ignore the rest of us). while the males tend to be loving with everyone in our family and even guests. The females however are the hunters and when we do have mice (insane mice that would come in a house full of cats ) it is always the females that catch the mice. Also the male cats just love my children and are great friends for them.

[hsmamainva]

I have found that the males tend to be more loving (the females have all attached themselves to just one member of our family, usually my dh and just ignore the rest of us). while the males tend to be loving with everyone in our family and even guests. The females however are the hunters and when we do have mice (insane mice that would come in a house full of cats ) it is always the females that catch the mice. Also the male cats just love my children and are great friends for them.

 

:iagree:

 

This has been true in our house, too!

[cin]

We've had several cats. We started with females to avoid the spraying, but our last one was a male. And he was delightful, most of the time. He LOVED your lap, your hands, your FACE. He was sooo loveable. But sometimes it was a pain in the tush. He was sometimes too clingy ;). The females MIGHT sit next to you, but not on your lap. We always said they would ALLOW you to touch them. Feel honored. :glare:

 

We've had mostly strays. Literally. One was picked up off the road, one was from a stray who had her kittens in our friend's backyard. One came from a newspaper add (healthy, but probably abused by the family's boys) one from a breeder and he was a freakin' mess! And the last one from a pet store. Sick in the beginning but healthy after the first 3 mos. (eyes, worms, etc).

[Ria]

We adopted two cats from a local cat rescue organization two years ago. It was a wonderfu experience. The kitten (8 weeks old) and the cat (3 years old) had been kept in foster homes and were much loved by their foster families. Both were healthy and friendly. Our 11-year old lab was great with them, and both cats quickly learned to like the dog.

 

We've decided to get another kitten in a few months. This time we've done our research and found a show breeder of Bengal cats. She's got a good reputation nationally - she's not just a "backyard breeder." Our kitten was born two weeks ago...I'm so excited!

 

Our two existing cats are both males and are wonderful. The new kitten is a little girl. With five sons and only one daughter, plus the two male cats, I deserve a little girl! My friends at work have girl cats and think they are great. I think my male cats are great. Ultimately I think any cat can be wonderful...it's all in the personality and how they are raised.

 

Ria

[Ellie]

Is there a difference in male and female cats? (Either way we would have it fixed) I have only had male cats so I don't know about females. I have heard that males can decide to spray. Fortunately I have never had a problem with this.

We never noticed any behavior that we could specifically say was gender related. Our boy was affectionate with everyone, but 2 or 3 of our girls were, too. (We've had many cats over the last 34 years.) Our boy did spray, but then so did a couple of our girls. (I think he was somehow the instigator, because since he died last spring, the girlie who was spraying hasn't done it.)

 

Is it better to get a kitten from an Animal Protective League or and individual offering free kittens? I don't know if there are any health concerns from getting one from a shelter. I have had 2 shelter cats and they were fine, but I don't know if there are any concerns in going that route.

Some shelters do health check ups on their kitties. Mine have all been either strays I found where I lived or strays rescued by friends. All have been healthy (except for our little boy--chronic urinary tract blockages, which nothing completely cleared up, poor guy).

 

If this would make and difference in getting a male or female we do have a 5 yr. old female black lab. She is sooo friendly. She was use to a cat since we had our cat before she enter our household. Should she do ok acceping a kitten? Do kittens adjust quickly to dogs?

I don't think gender will affect this, either.

[nanette]

Thank you all for your help. I still don't know if I want a male or female. I want to be leaning towards a female because of the spraying problems and urinary problems of males. My cat that we had to have put to sleep in April did not have either of these problems so I guess I was lucky. But even though it was a male cat, he did not need attention. He would not sit on your lap or like too much petting. I really want an affectionate cat, so I am affraid to go with a female.

And I would love to rescue a kitty from the local APL where there are so many that need homes, but I am so affraid of getting a sick or unsocialized and not friendly kitty.

I'm so confused!!!

[Catherine]

4 kittens, and gave the other 2 to friends. All 4 of them are incredibly sweet tempered and docile. All 4 were male, all were kept with their mother until natural weaning around 3-4 months, and all were neutered before 7 months. Also, all 4 were handled very frequently by enthusiastic children, from the moment of birth practically!

 

I am convinced that the frequent handling and natural separation from mother cat, after weaning, accounts for their good temperaments. It's only ancedotal, but we have another cat we took from his mother around 7 weeks, and he is not very friendly or playful at all. Anecdotal? I don't know. I vote for free kittens, from a loving home where they've gotten lots of attention. Or adopt a pregnent female as we did. It was really a wonderful experience for my guys.

[Jean in Newcastle]

At our Humane Society they let you take the cat or kitten to a visiting room so that you can get acquainted with the cat. (You wash your hands between visits to prevent spreading infection among the kitties). We visited with 3 different kitties before we chose our kitten. The first kitten was too docile - in fact it was terrified of people and huddled in a corner. Not a good temperament for a family with children. The next kitten I nicknamed "Columbus" for the visit. It was so inquisitive that it ignored us completely. It was a nice cat but not the cuddler that my ds11 wanted for his birthday kitten. The third kitten (who came home with us) was just right. He purred and cuddled with us but also had a healthy interest in his surroundings. And he has stayed true to that personality.