Adult Cat VS Kitten
When you first visit a shelter you'll be torn between appealing kittens clustered in cages, but keep in mind that grown cats often are more "user-friendly", and will be ever-so-happy to find a new home. These cats often came from a happy family setting, and were given up because of illness of an owner, divorce, death, etc. The benefits to you in adopting an older cat are many:- Older cats (other than ferals) are usually trained to a litter box.
- Kittens are rambunctious and lively. Your household will never again be peaceful with a crazy kitten running around. If "serenity" is your lifestyle, you'll be better off with an older cat.
- Grown cats may already have been neutered and had its "shots."
- Older cats may make the transition to a new home easier than kittens. Older cats are much more grateful!
The benefit to the older cat is that most of these cats will not find homes, because people naturally gravitate toward the kittens.
A final consideration is your own age. If you are 65 or older, it is always possible that you will not outlive your cat, so an older cat would be an excellent choice. You might even want to adopt a "disabled" cat, one that is blind, an amputee, or otherwise "unadoptable." These cats make wonderful companions and compensate for their "disabilities" with a wealth of love and devotion for their human savior.
For more information, please read this illustrated article on the many Reasons to Adopt an Older Cat
If you are younger, with school-age children, a cat who is one or two years old would be a great choice, and s/he can grow up with your children.
One or More Cats?
You may have not even entertained the idea of adopting more than one cat, but it is not unusual for someone to go to a shelter to adopt one kitty and come home with two. You may fall in love with a beautiful, personable cat, only to find that she has a litter mate or "best friend" and can only be adopted as part of a pair. My response to that scenario is that if you have the space in your home and your heart and the resources to care for more than one, you'll be rewarded with much more than twice the amount of joy. This is particularly true when getting a kitten. Kittens are loads of fun, but for a number of reasons, two kittens are better than one, in many cases.
This is the third lesson of a two-course series of lessons on "Getting a New Cat." After completing this series of lessons, be sure to continue to the next series on "Your New Cat," which will give you all the help you need in shopping for your new cat, making your home "cat-safe," and the information you'll need on getting him off with a good start in his new home, as a family member for life.
Next > Part 4: Where should I look for a cat?
The Series:
