Choosing the Right Kitten?

[julia123]

My friend's cat snuck outside right before her spaying appointment and got pregnant. She had 5 kittens, and I'm planning on adopting one once they're old enough. I currently have one cat, a tabby, male, 8 years old.

The kittens are about 4 weeks old right now and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been visiting every week and playing with them. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s one tabby, one grey, one black, and two buff colored kittens.

I noticed right from the beginning that the buff colored kittens were more vocal when crying for milk. As theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve gotten older, the 2 buff colored kittens are always the ones that are trying to climb out of their box, who are playing with each other and the other kitties, and who seem to handle being held the best. The black kitten is fairly active, but the grey and the tabby both are quiet, smaller, and donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t interact as much with the other cats.

So obviously there are several fathers involved with this litter, but one of the fathers is a buff colored male next door. Apparently he has a wonderful personality, and the buff colored kitten from the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s first litter has a wonderful personality…friendly, loves to be held, etc.

The most important thing for me is personality. I want a friendly cat, of course, whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll get along well with my current cat. Am I reading too much into this, or are the buff colored kittens the ones with the “best chance†of having great personalities, because of their father and the fact that theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re already so playful? Or does that mean that they might be aggressive/overbearing adult cats? Does the fact that the tabby kitten is quiet and not very playful mean that heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll probably be a quiet cat? I was originally leaning toward the tabby because he was just so cute.

My mom told me that once I get a kitten (at 7 - 8 weeks), if I spend lots of time with it and play a lot, he will “learn†to be more loving and playful, even if thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not his personality.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d love to hear peopleâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s thoughts on this!

 

[StefanZ]

Originally Posted by julia123

My mom told me that once I get a kitten (at 7 - 8 weeks), if I spend lots of time with it and play a lot, he will “learn†to be more loving and playful, even if thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not his personality.

I think I will agree with this. People do get this cat whom they do get, and most are happy with their cats.

So yes, your handling will compensate for much.

Although I would recommend you to wait another couple of weeks. Say, till they are 10 weeks.
Being with their mom and siblings is usually a plus for them.


The color doesnt matter as I know. Although a friendly, well behaving father with good psyche does have more than marginal influence on the kittens! More than one thinks.

So if you want to play it safe - take the one fathered by this friendly, nice tom.

Good luck!

 

[Willowy]

They might all be fathered by the same tom. . .what color is the mother?

 

[cococat]

I wouldn't take the kitten until it was 10-14 weeks old.
Keep assessing them week by week and you will know which one is for you.

 

[julia123]

The mother is kind of a mottled grey, with little flecks of cream, yellow, etc. in random places, but mostly grey. She's a very sweet girl.

10 weeks...hmmm. I'd read that 7 weeks is long enough...was that wrong? We'd planned on taking the kitty around the beginning of December...right around 8 weeks. It's just that the house the kitties are in...full of kids and a dog and the 2 cats my friend owns wander in and out of the house...I'd prefer my kitty doesn't go outside, especially without supervision. I don't want him getting fleas or developing a hankering for outdoor life. My friend is super busy and doesn't have time to devote to the kitties...they're all going to other homes...I'd prefer to take him when he's able!

 

[strange_wings]

IMO, since you have an older cat I would say go with one of the calmer kittens so as to hopefully not overwhelm your boy. But that depends on his personality, he may be able to handle a kitten.

Your new kitten will need vet care, deworming, and should not be introduced to your male without at least a two week quarantine (since that's ~ how long it takes to treat roundworms).

 

[Willowy]

It is best to wait until after 10 weeks--you'll have a much better balanced pet that way. They learn a lot about proper cat behavior from their mothers and littermates in those last few weeks. If circumstances require it, though, taking a kitten at 8 weeks wouldn't be a total disaster, as long as you have another cat at home to teach the baby a few things. Or if you take 2 kittens

.

The kittens probably have the same father. Those colors aren't out of the question considering the mother's coloring. So don't let the question of who the daddy is influence your decision too much. As they get older, and the more time you spend with them, you should be able to get a good idea of their personalities. And then, of course, how you raise the kitten will also have a huge influence on how he/she turns out.

 

[kailie]

Follow your heart and choose the kitten that you have the most connection with. All kittens have different personalities, no matter their color.

at 4 weeks they are just starting to develop their little personalities, so really it's too soon to tell for sure.

 

[frankthetank]

I got my kitten Joey at 6 weeks. He was advertised on my local craigslist and I thought he was adorable. All of his "siblings" had been adopted out, he was the last one. (this was before I knew much about the ages kittens should be separated and I thought 6 weeks was typically normal).
Anyway, Joey is a cream/tan colored stripey kitten and he is the best kitten I could ever have. He is very loving, is a total lap cat, and gets along so well with all our other cats.
Are you only able to take one or could you take two? Joey was the only kitten for about 2 months. It wasn't a problem but when we adopted Billy, Joey was so happy to have someone to play with. They have bonded VERY well and love to play together...and they nap together! Joey tried to play with the older cats a lot before Billy came alone, and no one would really play with him. Would your older cat play with a kitten or pretty much ignore it?
It helped with Joey that I work from home, and was able to be around a lot to give him tons of attention and play with him. I made sure we had tons of toys...I didn't want him getting lonely and agitated because his energy was not getting let out. (before we got Billy).
Anyway, I didn't see anything of Joey before I got him, I just picked him up one day and brought him home. I think it was the socialization he got in my home that helped him develop into the cat he is today (which is a little spoiled, and dependent on me....but I love that he loves me, sits in my lap all the time, purrs like crazy when I hold him etc.)
Good luck with your new addition, whichever kitten you choose! If your friend doesn't have a lot of time to spend with them, I think it will definitely help that you are trying to spend time with them. One of my husbands friends had a litter of kittens he never once touched/held/played with...they just had their own room in his home with their mama cat. I tried to play with them whenever I was over, but they always ran from me. He ended up given them all to his parents when they were about 6 months old because no one would take any of them, and his parents had enough room for the extra cats on their farm.

 

[my4llma]

Keep visiting the kittens so you can find the 1 you connect with the most, and choose that 1. Believe me it helps to have 1 you connect with right from the very start.

Also you have an 8 year old cat, if that cat has always been an only cat, you might have some trouble getting him to adjust.

Lynxx is 9, the moment I brought Luna home he didn't like her. He became very sad, refused to eat/drink/use his box. It got so bad that I was afraid we'd have to give Luna away. The way we found Luna I couldn't give her away. We got Midnight in hopes that Luna and him would play and leave Lynxx alone. It didn't work because Midnight was so much younger than Luna they couldn't play together.

So make sure if you do get another kitten for your new kitten to play with, that their close enough in age that they can play together!

It's been 9 weeks since Luna and Midnight have been here, and Lynxx has gotten much worse.

I'm not trying to discourage you on getting a new kitten. I'm just telling you what happened with my older cat when I got a new kitten. Lynxx is such a friendly cat, I truly believed that he would be friends with another cat. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have brought any other cat into our home.

I have a friend who has a 14 year old cat. His brother died last year. So she brought home 2 new kittens, all 3 of her cats get along great, they were best friends the moment the kittens came through the door.