# Wow, it's easy to find kittens...



## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

I've kept an eye out for kittens ever since the thing with my moms neighbors kitten fell through, and wow, they're everywhere. I never noticed before, it's kind of sad really. There are TONS on craigslist, at the shelter, petsmart...I don't see how they find homes...I guess alot don't.

I mentioned at work today that I was looking for a kitten and sure enough, a guy I work with has a cat that had kittens. They are 6 weeks old now, two black and two tabby. I told him I am going on vacation in a week and that I am possibly interested in one of the black ones if they are available when I get back. They will be 8 weeks then, so we'll see...not getting my hopes up again, but it's a possiblity.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

They are everywhere. It's so heartbreaking at so many of them are in need of loving homes. Unfortunately there are so many more kittens than people looking for kittens to adopt largely due to people not being responsible and having their cats de-sexed.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

I personally would go to a shelter and not support someone who didn't bother getting their cat fixed (unless they are a registered breeder of course). To each their own I guess.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

I agree with Becky. If they are able to re-home the kittens easily, they will probably be more likely to not fix their cat and just keep letting her have kittens that they think they will be able to keep finding homes for..


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## Arkona (May 7, 2012)

Why don't people spay/neuter their animals? Ugghhhh


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

love.my.cats said:


> I agree with Becky. If they are able to re-home the kittens easily, they will probably be more likely to not fix their cat and just keep letting her have kittens that they think they will be able to keep finding homes for..


I thought about that. On the other hand, if no one takes them they could end up at a shelter anyway or he could keep them and they could run around unfixed and continue to breed. It's a crappy situation all around.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

jadis said:


> I've kept an eye out for kittens ever since the thing with my moms neighbors kitten fell through, and wow, they're everywhere. I never noticed before, it's kind of sad really. There are TONS on craigslist, at the shelter, petsmart...I don't see how they find homes...I guess alot don't.


You're right. A lot don't. Then they grow up and aren't "cute" anymore, and adult cats are even harder to adopt out. So the kittens who aren't adopted get to sit in shelters... and depending on your view of "lucky", they either get euthanized or sit in a cage day after day, after day, after da.... etc.

While I'm glad I work at a "shelter" that the cats are free roaming in big rooms with toys, cat towers, and have each other to play with... it would still be better if they could have a home with human interaction on a regular basis.
Our shelter is VERY low on funds, and we do not have a full time staff (actually, we have no _staff_... it's all volunteers). The only time humans are there, are for the cleaning, which usually takes 2-4 hours. So 20 hours a day, the cats have to entertain themselves.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

I went to the shelter to visit a couple of weeks ago and they said aside from the kittens you saw there they had over 200 in foster care. Thank goodness they are a no kill shelter.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Arkona said:


> Why don't people spay/neuter their animals? Ugghhhh


Because they are either ignorant or don't care (or a combination of both).


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

So many people think of the spike in kittens in May and June as "normal" this time of year. Me, I would rather spay and neuter and I am beginning to feel vets should do desexing operations at cost as a good will gesture; plus required by law that all dogs and cats be desexed. I know, very controverial.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

It is sad. I really don't understand why so many people don't do it. It doesn't even cost all that much, all things considered. I know my vet is cheaper than some but he does a neuter for $40. Basic spay was listed as $70 when I took Ollie in to get neutered. I really think he tries to keep it affordable so people can and will do it.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

A lot of it is ignorance. I have a friend who has a male and female cat. They are both roughly around the 9 month mark. He got the male fixed when he was about 6 mos, but the female has gone into several heat cycles. He thought this was perfectly fine since they live in a 3rd floor apartment and she can't get outside.

I kept urging him to take her and he keeps complaining about her being noisy and not eating, etc. He just didn't think it was a priority. Then, I told him about the increased risks of cancer and cutting her life short by allowing her to go into heat so many times. He did his own research based on what I told him, and he finally has an appointment for the end of this month....thank goodness!


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

I am holding off for now, but my co worker sent me pictures.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

Well I don't know about you, but I want them both.  Oh, there's 3?


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

Four actually, one more tabby. Not sure if I'll be getting any, but the first one was the one I was interested in...or the third...can't tell them apart.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Well if I were you......LOL...dont you love that when people say that. I know I grimace when someone begins to say that to me. Tell the man that your interested in one of his black kittens. Youd love to rescue it and give it a good home. But your concerned that if you take this kitten you would enable him, if he wasnt responsible, and would keep letting the mother have babies. 

Otherwise youd go to a shelter where you know they s/n and stop the cycle of unwanted cats and kittens. Explain to him nicely that 75% of cats that end up in kill shelters are euthanized. 4 million cats & dogs are euthanized yearly in the US.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

The gray striped tabby is adorable!!! Well, they all are but I have a thing for gray kitties. lol


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

you could do what i did LOL. i was leaving in three days to go on vacation but a girl who lives across the street was in the pet store too and wanted a kitten, (these were shelter kittens from the dumb friends league placed in the store to "view" wink wink) so i asked her if she'd keep mine until i got home and she said sure. i wasn't going to leave a little brand-new kitten alone with my other two cats.

when i got back, she said, "oh they play together so cute, can you just give me houdini?" and i said, "no, i really wanted him, but chloë can come and visit." she said, "oh good," and then a couple of weeks later she gave her kitten away because she took a job in utah training as a flight attendant.

i rarely do things like that on impulse, but usually if i do, things work out well. i LOVE black blue-eyed kittens. i don't know if there are a lot of them but if you're wild about the kitten, give him some money for food to hold it for you. if you trust him, that is.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm with Merry. Offer to take a kitten but only if he agrees to have the mother spayed.


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## LaurulFeatherCat (Sep 16, 2011)

Isn't that black one beautiful! Be still, my heart.


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## Arkona (May 7, 2012)

cinderflower said:


> i rarely do things like that on impulse, but usually if i do, things work out well. i LOVE black blue-eyed kittens. i don't know if there are a lot of them but if you're wild about the kitten, give him some money for food to hold it for you. if you trust him, that is.


All kittens have blue eyes, the color changes as they grow. I've never seen an adult black cat with blue eyes. I think they exist, but are very very rare.


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## Oriole (Jan 11, 2010)

This is such an annoying issue here as well - right now I have a 1 year old already neutered foster cat living with me looking for a home. Believe it or not, I actually got a call from a lady (NOT a breeder and this is NOT a breed cat) who was _consciously _looking for an 'in-tact' male cat as a "companion" for her female!!! How idiotic can people get? :fust


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## cinderflower (Apr 22, 2012)

Arkona said:


> All kittens have blue eyes, the color changes as they grow. I've never seen an adult black cat with blue eyes. I think they exist, but are very very rare.


my sister had a pair of siamese and the neighbor's black cat must have gotten through the fence because she had a litter of all black kittens with blue eyes. a couple of them stayed blue. people really wanted them too, even though they were mutts.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Oriole said:


> Believe it or not, I actually got a call from a lady (NOT a breeder and this is NOT a breed cat) who was _consciously _looking for an 'in-tact' male cat as a "companion" for her female!!! How idiotic can people get? :fust


There is no shortage of fools in this world. :fust


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

I was confused when I was looking for a cat as well... I knew someone who's cat had kittens and I considered getting one, but I didnt know if it would be better to get one from a shelter or rescue instead....luckily a pregnant cat showed up at my backdoor and chose me, so I didnt have to make the choice. If she hadnt found me, I would have gone through a rescue. My local rescue posted something the other day that made a lot of sense:

when you adopt from a rescue, you are saving 3 lives....the one you adopt, the life of the next shelter cat that replaces your new companion in the foster system and you've created space in the shelter for a new cat.


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

shan841 said:


> My local rescue posted something the other day that made a lot of sense:
> 
> when you adopt from a rescue, you are saving 3 lives....the one you adopt, the life of the next shelter cat that replaces your new companion in the foster system and you've created space in the shelter for a new cat.


Aren't the last two the same cat? So it's two: the one you adopt and the next one that comes along to the shelter.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Nan said:


> Aren't the last two the same cat? So it's two: the one you adopt and the next one that comes along to the shelter.


No, I'm talking about a rescue that pulls cats from shelters. So the cat you adopt, the cats that gets that spot in the rescue, and the cat that gets the spot in the shelter. 

Stray--> Shelter --> Rescue --> Forever home


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## jadis (Jul 9, 2011)

I don't think their eyes are actually blue, I think it's just some kind of effect from the flash. I think they are grey, possibly greenish.


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## Richo (Jul 4, 2003)

Craiglist rules for pets are somewhat vague. Under the prohibited items list is:


> Household pets of any kind including dogs, cats, primates, cage birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish. Re-homing with small adoption fee OK. Pet animal parts, blood, or fluids - including to stud/breeding service


It says you can't sell pets but you can re-home with a small adoption fee? Isn't that like saying you can't but you can?


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

I think that just means you can't post animals with the intent to sell (like a litter of kittens), but you can rehome a family pet. So, no "BENGAL KITTENS NO PAPERS ONLY $800" posts. It's probably written intentionally vaguely.

I wish kijiji (a CL equivalent that people actually use here) had the same rules.


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## shan841 (Jan 19, 2012)

Richo said:


> Craiglist rules for pets are somewhat vague. Under the prohibited items list is:
> It says you can't sell pets but you can re-home with a small adoption fee? Isn't that like saying you can't but you can?


they have the right idea with this. FREE animals draw attention from people who want to make money by selling them to animal testing. If you charge an adoption fee, it deters them. Allowing High prices encourages backyard/irresponsible breeding. So this is the middle ground


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Small adoption fee is something like 50 dollars, not 500 like the backyard breeders will change on sites for 'purebred' whatevers. And free promotes irresponsible people adopting that will not spay/neuter, if people get an animal for free it may not have as much value to them, they may not have adopted it with any serious intentions to care for it properly.



Jacq said:


> I wish kijiji (a CL equivalent that people actually use here) had the same rules.


I wish they would too, but realistically, they'll just move to another site.

PS: Kijiji is eBay classifieds but the Canadian version.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

There is a huge problem with pit bull fighting since were very near the Mexican border. (Yes i know it exists other cities and states too) if you give away kittens and cats here the pit bull scum bags use them to bait dogs. I cringed when some of the shelters did a $10 for cats over 3 yrs old and the did $10 kittens. I know the shelters motives were pure but there is such a downside to it.


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