kittens

fabcat

Hi, I'm in the Dublin 7 area and would I'm looking to get a kitten. I have a female cat who is just under a year at the minute and I'm looking for a companion for her. Although I know shelters do a great job, I find alot of the time, cats who have kittens and are given away for free don't get as much publicity as these kittens from shelters, so I would prefer to get one from an ordinary cats litter. Any help is appreciated

Gordon Gekko

Contact http://www.kittenadoption.ie or http://www.catsaid.org or http://www.irishanimals.ie.

These people do an astonishing job, often involving immense personal and financial sacrifices - do them a favour and take a kitten off their hands - at least you can be sure the kittens will have been health checked and vaccinated, which is something you can't be sure of with kittens from the small ads.

Or maybe the 'cats for free' bit is the bit you're interested in :rolleyes:

Ruu_Old

Try your local humane society or animal cruelty prevention center, they will normally have cats or kittens up for adoption and probably will be glad to see you coming

Sigma Force

I can understand what you are saying and it's true the cats and kittens in small ads could end up anywhere and if you can offer them a home that's great.
The rescues take cats and kittens from bad situations so either way you will be offering an animal that needs a home a home.
Rescues do however health check their animals etc so you will have to give a donation but at the same time there will be no unexpected vet bills if you kitten say from a small ad turns out to be not in full health.
Rescue kittens are as ordinary as small ad kittens small ad kittens are already in a home but then again they could be in danger 9from being drowned by owner etc) if they don't find one.

If you deciede not to go for a rescue, put an ad up in your local shop there are bound to be lots now looking for homes.

CookieCat

"An ordinary cat litter" Are you condoning the overpopulation of kittens ? I may be biased as I foster for Kitten adoption. Free to a good home= I couldn't care less about my cats welfare. Make sure if you do get a kitten free from a bad home:cool: Get it FIV and FeLV checked and ask that the mother is spayed. 180,000 kittens die in Ireland every year without opening their eyes.

Claire x

fabcat

What I mean is, lots of people don't get their cats neutered, then when the cats litter is born, if no one takes them, alot of them are turned out onto the street or drowned or in some other way got rid of. The animal shelters do a fantastic job, and are very well advertised, I would automatically have went to one of them, if I hadn't known from first hand experience that alot of these kittens who are born in 'good homes' are 'got rid of' if no one takes them, I don't know anyone who would bother taking the unwanted kittens to an animal shelter, if they couldn't be bothered to get their cat neutered in the first place.

....I don't mind paying for the kitten either.....and when I say 'ordinary litter' I mean a litter who is not in an animal shelter and who has lots of people coming by to see it everyday. I mean a litter in a house where all the advertisement it gets, is a small ad in a post office window.

sharonlarkin

Hi, my cat had a litter 3 weeks ago and they will be available in about 4 or 5 weeks, I want to make sure they are eating properly and are litter trained first.
But on my cats first litter there was one that no one wanted so I kept her myself, not all litters at home are born to bad households, I have 2 dogs and 3 cats, they all get on great, never ever mistreated.
I have 2 young kids who get punished if they shout at any of the animals, so they don't anymore.

If you are interested email me at sharonlarkin@imagine.ie so I will remember to keep you one.

CookieCat

Hi Sharron since this is her second litter will you spay her now? Here is some info taken from www.kittenadoption.ie that may help.
Also remember the importance of worming the kittens and have them healthcheck by a vet. Ideally you should get the their first vaccination before they are re homed too. Maybe better test mom for FIV and FeLV since she has been caught twice. I don't suppose it was a planned breeding, can't be too careful as you don't know what a tom may be carrying and may well have passed on to your own cat and the kittens.


Overpopulation
Kitten Adoption, along with many other rescue groups, deal with hundreds of unwanted kittens that are born and abandoned every each year. These unwanted cats are a direct product of ignorance and misinformation, by the general public, regarding cat welfare issues. Apart from taking in these kittens, tending to their various health needs, and re-homing healthy happy kittens, part of rescue work involves the education of the public in the area of Spay and Neuter. It is the only way we can begin to tackle the thousands of unwanted kittens born every year and the unnecessary suffering of un-spayed and un-neutered cats. An estimated 300,000 unwanted kittens are born every year in Ireland.

Each kitten that is born is capable of going on to produce litter after litter of kittens of their own. One cat and it's partner can produce thousands of kittens in their life time. Multiply that by only 5 or 6 couples and rescue work is back to square one every year, mopping up the unwanted kittens. Our job in rescue is an uphill battle, never enough volunteers, never enough money, never enough hours in the day. It is made easier when people Spay and Neuter.

"It's only one litter" or "I will have the cat spayed as soon as she has had her litter" are frequent responses to spay requests. A matter of days could mean she is already pregnant, and if the owner does get her spayed in the recommended 6 weeks, she may be pregnant and a termination will have to be undertaken.

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Advantages for females
Spaying will prolong your cats life. A spayed cat on average will live 4-6 years longer than an un-spayed cat. Spaying minimizes the various health problems associated with allowing your cat to breed.

The risk of mammary cancer is reduced if a cat is spayed before its first heat.
Spayed pets cannot develop pyometra, a serious uterine infection.
Difficult pregnancy and delivery in older, younger cats or ill cats is prevented. We have had kittens as young as 17 weeks come into season. Pregnancy can occur as early as 20 weeks of age.
A spayed cat no longer goes through heat cycles. Female cats normally come into heat several times a year. Spaying ends several problems associated with the heat cycle, including spraying urine and the necessity of confining females to prevent the approaches of persistent males. Spaying also prevents such irritations as a howling cat in heat. She will be a happier cat within herself as she will not have the urge to get out and seek a mate which itself brings unnecessary behavioral issues. She will not try to get out and roam, which could result in her being killed by a car Or fall foul to other man made dangers.
The mating process it's self is a traumatic experience, there are no hearts and flowers only rough and vicious copulation. The female will be grabbed by the scruff of her neck with a deep penetration bite. This will render her semi-motionless. The male mounts her. His "anatomy" has barbs, so the tom can fix himself to the female. Many females have been torn internally through the mating process. The deep bite wound to her neck may also be a transition site for many viruses and illnesses as is the Tom cats semen.
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Spread of disease
A vaccinated Tom does not stop it transmitting FIV, FLeV, FIP and many other feline illness which are not always obvious.
There is also genetics to consider. I.e The deaf gene associated with white cats, which may have skipped a generation but may present in in any subsequent kitten.
Birth defects, such as cleft palate means a kitten will automatically be put to sleep, as they are unable to feed. Heart defects and other congenital conditions may present themselves.
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Benefit of breeding? What benefit?
I can see no benefit what so ever in allowing a cat to breed. A cats psychological make up and drive is different to ours. How do you know she wishes to breed? As the drive has no premeditation, it is a bodily function triggered of by hormones. It is a case however of humans not understanding cats and projecting their human emotion onto the situation. A cat will not suffer emotionally or psychologically because she has not had a litter. She will be better off. Birth it's self is a trauma for any animal, and things can go wrong, add to that her readiness to be a mother? Instinct does not always kick in, what happens in these cases? Do the kittens survive or do they come into rescue?

It is just important to neuter male cats too!

fabcat

Thanks Sharon, I've sent you an email, and just to put cookie cats mind at rest, my own kitten is getting neutered at the minute, she is an indoor cat, but I know it's healthier to have them neutered anyway.

CookieCat

Well done fabcat.
Claire X