Do Want Kitteh

[jenakle]

Opinion:
What are the pros/cons of finding a 'free kittens to good home' vs. getting one from a shelter? I'm in a duplex, it will be an indoor cat, and I'm willing to buy 'good' food for it, flea treatment when needed, etc. I'm wanting one pretty bad right now and the landlord is requiring a 200 deposit first (of course)...I'm just not sure if I'm able to do that, good food, litter etc, plus the 100 adoption fee our humane society needs. (I'd get shots and spay/neuter later...getting paid 1x a month is tricky!)

[Kagas Kritters]

The main difference between getting a free kitten to getting one from a shelter is that the one from the shelter is already vetted and known to be healthy. The free kitten may not be healthy and will need all its shots (in most cases). You may want to try to find someone that needs to rehome a young cat they have that already has shots and stuff but isn't asking a huge fee. Adult cats are great too. But if you really want a kitten and can't afford the adoption fee at a shelter then just keep looking. You will find the right one sooner or later.

[jenakle]

I am entertaining a not-kitten age, and yes, having all shots and such is much better than having to worry about it later...between the shelter fees and landlord fees, I'm THIS close to just finding some poor feral...
of course, I am in a college town...if I had thought to look a few months ago, I would have been bombarded with requests for 'adoptions'. (How I got my snake!)

[Shadowspider]

First rule of thumb... this is *no* such thing as a "free" pet. While it might cost you $100 to adopt one from a shelter, it could very well cost you a lot more than that if you got a "free" kitten. Generaly people who are giving away cats are too irresponsible to:
1. Spay/Neuter their pets
2. Provide proper vet care when *needed*
3. Are will to lie to you about anything just to get you to take the little furr ball

Kittens, as well as puppies often times come with a good case of intestinal worms and other parasites. They tend to have flea/tick issues and, if not fed properly, tend to have all sorts of immune problems which is where you get allergies, skin problems, colds, drippy eyes, ear mites, flea/tick infestation, internal worms/parasites etc. from.

So, consider this:
As soon as you got your "free" kitten, you'd have to take it straight to the vet for a full work up, and how much is THAT going to cost. Plus, most back yard breeders let their babies go too early. No kitten or puppy should leave its mother until they are a minimum of 8 weeks old, 10 is better.

In addition, flea treatments, *especially* with a kitten can cause a whole host of problems with their skin, fur, etc.
My advice to you would be, use your head, not your longing desires and *wait* until you have the money to get a kitten that *will* cost you *less* than a "free" kitten.

[Shadowspider]

Sorry for the double post, but I can no longer edit my original reply (my time is up ). I just want to mention a few more things about "free" kittens. I have 2 "free" kittens that I got from two different friends less than a month ago. Both are about 3 months old now and both have a host of health issues, they are:
Fleas
Ear mites
dry skin
hot spots
intestinal worms
foul breath
watery eyes with occasional discharge
rough, course coats
occasional coughing and sneezing

The cause of *all* these illnesses.... lousy immune systems. Why are their immune systems so bad? Because the people I got them from didn't have the $$$ to properly care for their pets. So then why on earth did I get, not one but TWO "free" kittens, especially after my spheel in my other reply? Because I am fostering them for one of the local no kill shelters, although I think (OK, I know) that we (my husband and I) are going to adopt them. Did I know the kittens had health issues before I got them...YES, I did and yes, I opted to take them anyway because I have delt with animals with various types and severity of health as well as temperment issues before.
One is a blue point siamese female and the other is a gray tabby male. My tabby, Rattles, has more issues than Siam, my (ok, my husband's) siamese. However, in my case, treating these two myself for their health problems and boosting their immunity is by far cheaper for me to do than for me to pay a vet to do. Now bear in mind, I *do* have a vet, a holistic vet. Holistic treatment(s) are by far, less expensive than conventional, allpathic vets, at least around here. In addition, since I am an herbalist, I know how to properly and safely treat my pets.... under my vet's watchful eye.

But... it is a long, hard, sometimes heart wrentching road to recovery and good health that my two babies are just starting down. I don't know if Rattles will ever have a real strong immune system, but, he's young so there's hope.
Vaccines, alteration and food are the least of the costs with pets. It's the medicine and the number of trips to the vet that will eat your bank account alive with a quickness. In contrast, it's the refusal to or inability to provide those necessary vet trips that will leave you with a bigger longing and hole in your heart when your pet becomes so ill that there is no hope of recovery.

If you can not afford the pet deposit, adopton fees and whatever else is required to obtain and keep a healty pet, then perhaps you can not afford the proper care that a pet requires? $300 isn't even close to what you'd pay for one "major" vet visit and that's only one X-ray, 4 tests and two perscriptions of antibiotics that could run you $400+. Even an older cat is *not* gaurenteed to be any better. Like I said in my other post, people will tell you exactly what you want to hear, even if it's not the truth, just to get rid of an animal. If you find an older cat and the owner says it has had all its shots, demand the cat's vet records. You'll need them anyway to give to your vet so its vaccination history can be varified. If they (the owners) can not provide the cat's vet records and/or give you the vet's name and # for you to obtain the records *prior* to you taking the animal... don't take the animal.

Like I said, there is no such thing as a "free" pet because "free" pets come with a lot of baggage that YOU have to try and deal with and a lot of times, that baggage *never* goes away or gets "fixed" entirely.

[Ginevive]

Yup! Free usually means that someone does not feel like putting the $$ in and taking the animal to the vet. They just want a quick wash. I got my cat from the SPCA and though they had vetted him and he was neutered, he Still came with internal parasites (roundworms.) So I could only imagine what any local kittens could bring into your house..
Rescue groups are a great idea when looking for a cat or dog. A good group will have people that kept the animal for awhile, got it up to good health, and know any issues that you would need to know about it.
Just remember; getting the cat is only a small portion of the $$ you'll spend on it! Unexpected vet bills.. routine things like dental care and teeth cleaning.. flea meds and all of tha can add up fast. I would start with the healthiest animal you can.

[slartibartfast]

Shadowspider had a zillion excellent points.

A few more:
1. The ease with which people can ditch "free" kittens can be expected to have some impact on how important they feel it is to snip the parents. Quite frequently, I hear "Oh, I can just take them to Wal-Mart and give them away", vs. "I got stuck taking care of a bunch of kittens and I need to keep this from happening again".

2. As with ball pythons, "cheap" devalues the intrinsic worth of the animal's life. "Free" kittens contribute to the view that animals are disposable and easily replaced.

3. Generally, rescue groups have deals with area vets to get discounted veterinary services. Their money goes further, if you follow my drift. So if you are looking at investing $100 in rescue work, $100 to a rescue group will do far more good than you investing it at your vet for full price.

4. Rescue groups are (mostly) managed by dedicated volunteers who work crazy hard to save lives. They (we) fill up our houses and exasperate our partners/spouses with the needy, stay up all night bottle-feeding orphans, and network like mad to keep the furkids safe. As a rule, they are better organized and more efficient at saving lives than you are on your own. Supporting them will do more good because your aid will go further. And they deserve it! One of the biggest challenges to us as rescuers is how to keep helping without going broke, because people don't see the value of adopting a fully vetted animal from us when they can get one for free. I was asking $40 for kittens with all vaccines and spayed/neutered and people were laughing at me and telling me I was out to make money. I put around $150 into each kitten...you tell me how I was going to make a profit?

5. What Shadowspider said so well. "Free" is a running joke at the vet hospital where I work. We sigh knowingly each time a "free" puppy or kitten comes up with flea anemia, hookworms, parvo, or panleuk.

Spend your money wisely...go with a rescue.

[Shadowspider]

Jess too made some excellent points and had some wonderful options/ideas to pass along. I for one can vouge for the time, effort, lack of sleep and the MONEY that rescue volunteers shell out on any given day just to try and help *one* fuzzy, much less 10 or 20 like some of the volunteers I know around here. All of the money for food, litter, meds, toys, everything, for Rattles and Siam come out of my pocket as if they were my own kittens (which, as of this next week... they are ). *IF* the rescue has "extra" money, then I might get reimbursed a little bit, but that is not a common thing as every bit of money tends to go into getting these animals up to par. $40 for a kitten is CHEAP from a rescue...especially when you consider that fee covers *everything* including alteration and that just the alteration its self costs more than that . That average price for a kitten here is $75, an adult cat, $55.

I have to totally agree with Jess, look into your local rescues first. Yes, a lot of rescues have adoption applications that they require to be filled out and some (like the one I volunteer with) require a home visit. I know that some people are opposed to that because they feel that it is not for anyone else to decide if *I* can take care of a cat or not... but I assure you, that's not why we do it.
These animals were abused, neglected and/or abandonded once before and it is our "mission" to try our best to ensure that does not happen to them again.
But yes, we *will* deny an applicant if they do not meet the *minimum* monitary requirement for adaquate care or if they live in a pig pen... or, if they already have two dozen pets AND live in a pig pen AND are broke. It's those kinds of people who we end up rescuing animals from in the first place.