What many people don’t think about as they’re falling in love is that a kitten can be a lot of work and even aggravation. They can mean a lot of expense, too, because many a kitten seems to use nearly all a cat’s nine lives, which means you may end up seeing the nice people at the emergency veterinary clinic a time or two in the first few years. With a kitten, you also need to put more effort into training, from making sure the tiny baby understands what’s expected regarding the litter box to helping your kitten learn to stay off the counters. You also need to kitten-proof your home — or keep your baby confined in a safe part of the house whenever you’re not watching him — and then spend months during which, every day, you’re picking your little tiger off the drapes, off the kids, off the back of the couch, or off your slippers every time you walk down the hall.
A kitten may be a poor choice for families with very young children or for someone who’s struggling with advanced age or illness. For all their spunk, kittens are fragile and may accidentally be hurt by young children who don’t understand the concept of “gentle.” Similarly, a kitten isn’t the best choice for anyone who’s a little unsteady on his feet or isn’t able to chase or otherwise keep up with an energetic feline baby.
On the other hand, a kitten can be a dream come true to a family with older, more-responsible children, or a source of delightful amusement to an active older adult. You just need to look carefully at your living situation and consider the problems and pleasures a kitten will bring.
Finally, consider the matter of time. An adult cat does quite well on her own alone in the house while you work — most of the time she’s sleeping anyway. A kitten needs your time, for raising her and for watching over her to keep her out of trouble.
Clara/Photo by Gina Spadafori
FIGURE 2-1: The promise of a lifetime of companionship can be seen in the eyes of a kitten.
Adult cat considerations
Adult cats offer some compelling advantages and few disadvantages — the most serious disadvantage being simply that they aren’t as “baby cute” as kittens!
Kittens get away with all their endearing goofiness because they measure way off the adorability scale, but if you suspect you’re going to get tired of having your feet attacked, if you worry about your children not being gentle enough, or if you don’t want to be figuring out what your little baby is into every second of the day and night, an adult cat is a better option for you.
If you adopt an adult cat, you know exactly what you’re getting. Body type, coat, and eye color are set. Laid-back or active, quiet or vocal, cuddly or demanding, an adult cat has already settled into his own persona. These considerations may not be as important in a pedigreed cat, because you know, based on your kitten’s background and the breeder’s knowledge and reputation, what your kitten is likely to grow into in terms of body type and temperament. But in a nonpedigreed kitten, these qualities are really anybody’s guess. If you want to make sure that you’re getting, say, a mellow pet, choose a cat beyond the ants-in-his-pants kitten stage. (More on pedigreed cats later in this chapter.)
The easy care and generous affection of adult cats make them perfect pets for people for whom walking dogs would be difficult or impossible. And study after study confirms the importance of a cat in the lives of those who feel isolated by age or disabilities.
What age should you consider? Young adults of less than five years of age are often very kitten-like but without the teething, spaying, extra vaccines, and so on that come with new kittens. They are great cats for families with children. Older adult cats might be better for those looking for more laid-back and settled cats. And there's another real benefit to adopting one of these older cats: Some rescue groups wave adoption fees on older pets, and some even offering programs where all the veterinary care for these cats is covered, so a senior cat is truly a carefree companion!
The possible disadvantage of adopting an adult cat is that you may be choosing a pet with behavioral problems — not using a litter box, for example. A good shelter, rescue group, or breeder practices full disclosure of any known health or behavior problems with the animals up for rehoming. Remember, however, that many animals are given up for behavior problems that can be resolved or aren’t their fault — such as the cat who’s looking at a filthy litter box every day and decides to do his business elsewhere.
An adult cat’s personality may be set, but his affections aren’t — a grown cat bonds with you just as tightly as a kitten does. We think that adult cats are even more likely to appreciate you for taking them in.
She-Kitty, He-Kitty: Which One’s Better?
You’re not going to get a definitive answer out of us on this one, even if we had one, which we don’t. Males and females make equally good pets, under one very important condition: altering.
Male or female, a cat who is what the experts call whole or intact — in other words, fully equipped to reproduce — is a royal pain to live with. When females are “in season” — which happens several times a year, for a couple weeks at a time — they’re yowly escape artists who attract noisy suitors from miles around, and engage in very noisy mating rituals with the neighborhood toms. By the time an intact cat is sexually mature, many begin spraying — marking territory with a special pheromone-spiked urine with a smell that’s not only foul but also nearly impossible to eradicate. They’re also roamers and fighters. While some altered cats exhibit these behaviors, they’re far more common in cats who have not been spayed or neutered.
Altering goes a long way toward eliminating spraying, but more is involved in curing this disagreeable behavior. For the lowdown on this smelly problem, see Chapter 11. What’s involved in altering — commonly known as spaying or neutering — a cat? The answer’s in Chapter 13.