Your new kitten will need his or her own corner of a room that is specially furnished with comfy bedding so that they can make themselves at home in their own personal space. This will be their safe spot where they will retreat to if tired. Kittens like to sleep curled up, so the area doesn’t need to be huge, but it is good to give it some sort of walling so that the kitten will feel the area is private.

Food and water are essential to sustain a kitten, so you should ensure you have the right sized food and water bowls to allow your kitten to drink from it comfortably. A litter tray is also an important item to have so that your kitten has his or her own personal bathroom, rather than using your own living space to satisfy their needs!

A scratching posts and a selection of combs or brushes are often overlooked, but are again essential caring for a kitten. A scratching post will keep the kitten’s claws in good shape so they don’t cause pain, and it will have the added benefit of reducing the scratches made on your furniture! Your kitten should be groomed on a regular basis in order to stop knots forming in the fur, but it is also a good way to check for disease-causing parasites. These parasites can be detected by having a good brush through the fur, and if any are spotted the vet can soon clear them up.

If you want to do a good deed, whilst saving yourself some cash, you can pick up a kitten from your local rescue center. These centers contain cats and kittens that have been found stray or abandoned and have ended up at the rescue center to find new, loving homes. Most centers will let you take them away for free, provided that you have your cat vaccinated and sometimes sterilized. This isn’t usually a costly procedure with prices somewhere between $50 and $100.

The next option is to buy from a general cat breeder. Here you should be able to pick from a wide variety of cats from different breeds, and with different features, for a few hundred dollars. Don’t expect them to be pedigree though, as you generally pay more than this for pedigree cats, as covered below. You can find local breeders with a quick internet search, or by looking through your local directory.

Finally, if you want a ‘superior’ pet and the bragging rights to go with it, you will want a pedigree kitten. These kittens are bought from specialist breeders, who usually focus their breeding on just one species, and will come with certification that they are pure. Unfortunately these don’t come cheap. You can expect to pay anywhere from one thousand dollars for a pedigree kitten and the Guinness world record book in 2007 showed a pedigree kitten that cost $42,000. For kittens and cats that have won prestigious feline shows, you can even pay in excess of $42,000 with some breeders charging $50,000 or more for some of their best male pedigree kittens.

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Adopting kittens can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your lifetime as you get to see them grow up from being able to fit into the palm of your hand, into fairly large, elegant creatures that will climb around any obstacle it is given. Lots of these cute creatures will end up in rescue centers around the country as stray cats have given birth to a litter, or an owner simply finds their cat has had such a large litter that they can deal with them all and has had to give a few away.

Your adopted kitten, and eventual cat, will be happy to curl up next to you on a cold winter’s evening, and will probably follow you upstairs to bed, before falling asleep on your feet. If you live alone, they can make a great companion to see you through hard times and they are equally great if you live with other people as kittens will grow up liking the other members of your household. He, or she, may well strengthen relationships between you as you will find you have something in common to laugh about, or discuss.

However, you may be worried that adopting kittens can be expensive, but many rescue centers allow you to adopt them for free as they are happy that someone is giving it a loving home, but you will need to give your new kitten the necessary vaccinations to give it the best start in life. These used to be very expensive, but they are getting cheaper and they can now be done for anywhere between $50 and $100 (approx. £30-£60 or €35-€70). If you are serious about getting a kitten, you will find this a small price to pay and the benefits in the long run seriously outweigh the small initial cost.

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As I was surfing around the net this week, I was thinking a lot about Adopting Kittens and I found an interesting article which gives 5, very useful tips.  I hope you find it informative and useful.

Adopting a cat or a kitten is a very exciting time. While they are cute, cuddly, and playful, it is important to be a responsible pet owner. Your feline friend will be an important part of your household for many years and will look to you to provide for its needs. In other words, your cat or kitten will depend on you.

It is important to take some time to think about this important step. Here are 5 tips that will help you make a decision that is right for you and your new family member.

First, you need to ask yourself if you are financially prepared to take care of your new cat or kitten. They are not self-sufficient and do have many needs. These needs include visits to the veterinarian for routine vaccines and any illnesses that may occur, a carrier for transportation, ID tags and collar, a microchip to help reunite you should your cat get lost, spaying or neutering, food, dishes for food and water, a litter box and litter, grooming tools such as a comb, flea comb, brush, and nail trimmers, toys, and treats. There also may be a cost associated with the adoption itself.

The second factor is to decide whether you want a kitten or an older cat. There are a lot more kittens available for adoption than older cats due to owners not having their cat spayed or neutered .While both will need a certain amount of behavior training, kittens by far need the most help with this. They tend to get into more mischief than older cats but you get the joy of watching your kitten grow up. Older cats also make great pets but there may be a somewhat longer adjustment time. If possible, find out if your new pet has been around other cats or dogs. Some cats are best as solitary pets, others thrive on having other cats to play with, and some are jealous of one another and may fight. Some cats just do not get along well with dogs. If you do not have information about the previous living conditions, you will need to be vigilant during the adjustment phase to ensure your animal’s emotional and physical safety. Bringing your new pet home needs to be as stress free as possible. In addition, if you have a small child in your home, it is wise to wait until they are at least five years old before bringing a cat or kitten into the household. Even then, they will need supervision. Young children and cats are playful and can be a dangerous mix. A child may tease the cat unknowingly or on purpose which can cause it to bite or scratch or may squeeze it too hard and hurt the cat. Waiting until your child is older can prevent injury to both your child and the cat.

Next, decide where you will adopt your new feline pet from. The best place to adopt from is your local shelter. Shelters are full of cats and kittens that will likely be euthanized if someone does not adopt them and give them a good home. You will be giving them the gift of life! A rescue organization is another way to adopt. Typically, these organizations provide foster homes to the animals until a permanent home is found. There are rescue organizations that help with specific breeds as well. Another way to adopt a kitten or cat is to look in the paper or for signs in your neighborhood announcing the animals are free to a good home. If you want to eventually enter your cat in cat shows or just want a specific breed, you will want to find a good breeder. You can find information about breeders at cat shows, Cat Fancier’s Association, and The International Cat Association. Remember that both the breed-specific rescue organizations and breeders will not allow one of their animals into your home until they are sure it will be cared for properly. It is never a good idea to adopt your pet from a pet store since these animals frequently come from breeding mills without regard to the breed, or their health and well-being. Most stores will not sell these animals. PetSmart lets rescue organizations show their animals in their stores. These animals have been rescued and are not from mills and are not sold.

Now that you have decided you can be financially responsible for your pet, you know whether you want a cat or a kitten, and you have chosen a place to adopt your new family member from, the next factor to take note of is the health of the animal. When you look at the cat, it should be playful and friendly, the eyes should be bright with no drainage, the nose should be clean with no discharge and no sneezing, and the area around the tail should be clean and dry. Any signs of sneezing and drainage or discharge from these areas could be evidence of illness. As heartbreaking as it may be, it is best not to adopt a sick cat unless you are prepared for any difficulties that may arise as a result.

Finally, you need to decide if you are willing to cat-proof your home. This means removing anything that can be eaten, chewed on, or easily broken. It is the nature of kitties to be inquisitive and they will get into everything they possibly can. They are quite adept at climbing, jumping, and getting into tight spaces. Cats love to chew on plants. Some are poisonous and most will make the cat vomit so it is wise to either remove all live plants from the house or place them in a room that your cat will not have access to. Keep small objects, such as rubber bands and paper clips, out of your cat’s reach as these can cause choking and veterinary emergencies. Any cords that hang down should be secured to keep your cat safe. If your cat or kitten goes outside, please be careful with anti-freeze spills. Anti-freeze is tempting because of it’s sweet taste. However, it will cause fatal poisoning in a short period of time. If you spill anti-freeze, clean it up immediately!

These are just some of the many factors to take into consideration when adopting a cat or a kitten. When you make a careful decision, you will be prepared to be a responsible pet owner from the beginning. Remember, your new family member is counting on you. In return, you will be rewarded with your cat’s life-long love and loyalty.

Visit http://www.dailycatitude.com to discover more about adopting cats and kittens and to learn about taking care of your cat through all life stages.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donzie_Welgoss

“After reading Ms. Commings’ book, Shelter Cats, I would recommend it not only to everyone who is interesting in adopting one of society’s “throw away” pets, but to anyone who works or volunteers at their local shelter. Not only does she cover lots of ground, she obviously knows what she’s talking about. She also mentions the most forgotten animals of our society, the “special needs” cats. The cats that have been abused or suffer from medical problems that will require them to have a special guardian the rest of their lives with lots of love in their hearts. Since I work at a non-profit, privately funded, “no-kill” shelter in Austin, Tx., I know how hard it is to place some of these cats in loving, PERMANENT homes, but they make the most REWARDING pets. At this moment “Bob” comes to mind, a kitty that was brought to us who is blind & deaf, but is pure joy to be with. In her book Ms. Comming’s also mentions several animal establishments, like Denver Dumb Friends, the Tree House Foundation & the S.F. SPCA. All of these organizations are a WEALTH of valuable information, and they share a lot of it with the public through this book. This book is definitely FIVE STARS!!!!”

To make it easy for you, I put a link for the book below so that you can read the other reviews.  The nice thing about Amazon.com is that you also pick up some pre-owned copies from 3rd party vendors for ultra-inexpensive!

(There is a cute picture from their site that I’ve posted — to see it, click on this post at the top)

Their mission and purpose is devoted to rescuing cats and kittens from the streets and shelter euthanasia.

Since the inception of Kitten Rescue in 1997, they have rescued and placed over 5500 cats into loving homes. In 2003, Kitten Rescue pulled more animals from the Los Angeles shelters than any other rescue group. They are Los Angeles’s largest rescue group and one of the most respected rescue groups in the country.

Per usual, these types of rescue operations are run in the red — it’s a mission of love, certainly not dollars. They expect to pay about $120,000 next year in medical care for animals next year. They obviously are very grateful for any support — and of course, any contributions are 100% tax deductible.

This is a photo from their site.

From their site, “Kitten Rescue” is also a proponent of “Microchipping”, which is where a small microchip is placed underneath the skin of your pet for the purpose of identification if somehow he/she got lost.

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“Romeo is one of ten cats from across America that will be participating in the Meow Mix House, a reality show for cats put on by the Meow Mix company. Each day from June 13th to June 23rd, visitors to the Meow Mix House website will be able to meet the cats, watch them in action and vote for their favorite one. The cat that gets the least amount of votes each day will be voted off the show.”

Cat Shelter
Cat Shelter