The Patter of Tiny Paws (Cats in General)

Member Name: hellyphant

Product:	Cats in General
Date:	11/03/02 (727 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: finally getting your kitten will make it all worthwhile!

Disadvantages: finding a kitten isn't as easy as you think

I’ve always loved animals. When I was at school I always imagined that one day I’d become a vet. A pity really that I was never any good at science and have a tendency to feel fainthearted and dizzy at the mere sight of blood and guts. I also always used to imagine that when I was ‘grown up’ (and I’m still waiting for that to happen in the literal sense!), I would live on a farm in the countryside surrounded by animals. I would have horses and cats and dogs and rabbits, and when I was 5 years old, I’m sure elephants and kangaroos would have been on the list too. Ah…… the idyllic dreams of childhood!

Although elephants and kangaroos were a bit out of my parents’ league, I have almost always had a pet of some kind, from hamsters and gerbils, to goldfish and cats. Not a combination I would advise. I remember quite vividly the traumatic day when my sister’s gerbil Pebbles was eaten by our naughty cat, Coco, but that’s another story….

When I left home several years ago, I was completely pet-less. I lived in a studio flat near the centre of London for nearly 2 years, so having a pet of any kind was an impossibility. But then I moved to a house with a garden, and the first thing I set out to do was to find myself a kitten.

Deciding where to get a kitten from is quite difficult. There’s quite a choice, and making the right one isn’t always easy. It’s also very time consuming – as I was to discover. It took me almost 4 months of strenuous searching and much frustration and heartache before I finally found my kitten. So if you’re thinking of getting a kitten for your child for his/her birthday or Christmas – be prepared to start looking VERY early.

The first place I looked was my local pet shop. I actually had difficulty finding any pet shops near my house – but that’s probably because I live in a fairly obscure pa
rt of London where you walk down the street and all you find are Afro-Caribbean hairdressers and mini markets that don’t accept credit cards. Anyway – I eventually found a pet shop a short bus ride away and set off one Saturday morning, all eager and excited, expecting to be returning later that day with my new little bundle of fur. Hmmmm. That’ll teach me.

The shop – Maureen’s Pet Store in Hackney to be precise, which boasts it’s the biggest pet shop in London no less, was run (or so it seemed) entirely by tarty teenaged Saturday workers, who were all stood huddled together behind the counter giggling when I arrived. I was told that yes, they had a couple of kittens ‘in stock’, and there they were in a glass cage in the corner of the shop – and to add to the cruelty – a parrot’s cage had been placed right next to them. The kittens looked scrawny and unhealthy and just sat huddled together looking up at me. I know quite a lot about cats and I know that a healthy kitten is always an inquisitive one, with clear eyes, pink ears with no visible brown discharge and soft glossy fur. These kittens were none of those things. Although I felt very guilty for turning my back on them in their sorry state, I didn’t want, and more importantly, couldn’t afford to take them home and have to immediately spend a fortune of vet’s fees.

I did try a couple of other pet shops, as I am sure that there are some out there that do sell healthy kittens. However, I didn’t have much luck. One shop offered me a Persian kitten for £200, and another told me it was the wrong season for kittens.

I would give a definite NO to pet shops. Avoid them at all costs. Fine for goldfish and gerbils, but for kittens and puppies, I would suggest you look elsewhere. I think that there is almost something morally wrong and sick about pet shops. Stacking kittens in glass cages as though theyR
17;re nothing more than products to be bought alongside your milk and your bread. Kittens are living creatures – I don’t even think you should have to pay for them – unless they’re a rare breed.

For my second attempt, I tried the adverts in that wonderful London paper, Loot. There were quite a few in there (Loot never lets you down!). However, none of the families lived anywhere near me, and since it was winter and pitch black by 3.00 every afternoon, I didn’t really feel comfortable with the thought of visiting strangers’ houses on my lonesome. If you’ve got a car however, or someone willing to trek all over the place with you, I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble finding a kitten this way. You’ll be able to visit several families and choose the kitten you like best and the one who will be best suited to your way of living.

For me though, it was yet another failed attempt. But I was determined not to give up, and after some fairly extensive research into the various animal welfare organisations in London, I decided my best bet would be to try Battersea Dog’s Home, where they actually also have cats.

It was yet another Saturday morning and by now, a couple of months into my quest, I was beginning to feel quite disheartened and so fed up that I was almost ready to settle for a hamster. My visit to Battersea didn’t change my view either. After a lengthy interview, I was told I was unsuitable to have a kitten. Can you believe that! Because I have a full time job, the kitten would be on its own for too long (despite the fact that my boyfriend works shifts so it would never be on its own for a whole day). The kitten would, apparently, get bored, hence destructive and ultimately become violent and a menace to society and the other cats in the neighbourhood. Honestly, that’s exactly what I was told.

It’s ridiculous, because an elderly relative o
f mine also tried quite recently to get a kitten from Battersea, and he was told (ironically) that he was too old, that kittens need to be with young people who have the energy to play with them and keep them amused.

Ok, so let’s get this straight – neither people with full time jobs or pensioners who are at home all day are suitable kitten owners. Ummmm – so who exactly CAN have a kitten – aside from young people who are on the dole?

I just can’t believe that there are all these kittens who have no homes and who spend their days stuck in a cage (in a dog’s home no less!), when there are people out there more than willing to give them a good loving home. It makes me so angry. In fact, reminding myself about this is making me write more and more quickly and I’m literally tapping these keys in fury here with steam coming out of my nose.

Of course, this is just Battersea Dog’s Home. I know a lot of people have no problem getting their kitten from various animal shelters, cat homes or the RSPCA.

Word of mouth is what it all comes down to in the end; the best jobs… and the best kittens. It just so happened, when I’d actually just given up on my kitten quest, that an elderly uncle contacted me to say he had a friend who knew a family who were looking to home their kitten. And that’s how I finally got my kitten, Willow. She came from a good loving family. I saw her mother and her brothers and sisters and I saw that she had been very well cared for. And can I just add that despite being on her own for a portion of every day, Willow is not ‘a menace to society’, nor is she 'violent' or 'destructive' (expect towards my plants!).

*********************************************
This op was originally going to cover everything you need to know about getting a new kitten, but I don’t think I can fit all that in. Instead I’ll
round this op up by leaving you with a few quick kitten tips.

1)A kitten’s personality can change. If your kitten is very shy and nervous, pay it lots of attention and give it your care and your love, and slowly but surely it’ll come out of its shell. Willow is a living example!

2)If you’re worried your kitten will stray when you let it outside, try and keep it indoors for the first month or so. We did this with Willow and now she knows exactly where her home is and when she’s fed, and she never goes too far. She’s far too used to her home comforts and the love of a good owner. Although I’m suspecting that this might change when she gets older and more adventurous.

3)Place all plants out of kitten’s reach. So many of my plants have been proudly ripped to pieces (and eaten!) by Willow.

4)Don’t spend money on kitten toys – you can normally find things round the house – like string and ribbon; alphabet fridge magnets are good for skidding across the kitchen floor, as are the tops of bottles.

5)Maybe an obvious one, but some people still fail to give their kitten a decent name. For both your sakes, remember you’re going to be standing on your doorstep calling his/her name for all to hear. So you don’t want to be shrieking ‘Here, PUSSYKINS’ or Pussy anything for that matter. (Ok, extreme example, but you get the point).

You’ve probably guessed where I got the name Willow from. (Yes, MAJOR Buffy fan writing!). When I lived with my parents, we had several cats. Looking for inspiration when trying to find names for them, I went to the kitchen and opened the food cupboard. And out came Pepsi, and then Coco.

Maybe you’ll have better ideas though.

*********************************************
OK, so you’ve finally managed to find your kitten (and I hope you had better luck in your kitten quest than
I did), and you’ve considered my few snippets of advice, well, now all you need do is sit back, put your feet up with a well deserved cup of tea, and stroke your new bundle of purring fur.

Summary: