Kitten Adoption – Excitement and Anxiety

Having grown up with cats I was determined to have a kitty in the household when I purchased my little home three years ago. However, with a long term trip in the pipeline it was not a good time. Yet upon my return from the big trip nothing stood in my way.

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I had always planned to adopt a rescue cat, but had originally planned to get an older cat, ideally one who might have difficulty finding a forever home. However my boyfriend was pretty set on a kitten, and wasn’t too fussed how we found one. In the end we both compromised and opted for a rescue kitten.

Adoption Process
We visited our local RSPCA centre which had fifteen lovely kittens looking for new homes. After an interview to ensure we were suitable, we met a few of the kittens ready for adoption. We decided to reserve our Momo as he was the most playful, and also seemed to like being cuddled. Once we reserved reserved him we awaited our home visit. I rather stupidly googled what a RSPCA home visit was like, and worried myself silly. As with most things, the Internet is full of horror stories about failing home checks, and I was adamant we wouldn’t pass. But when the lady came she was really nice, and offered us plenty of advice. Then a few days later we had a call to say we could pick our lovely kitten up.

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I want to offer reassurances to other future kitten parents. We live in a quiet cul de sac, but there is busy (30mph) road not far away. I was sure this was enough for us to fail, but I was honest with the home checker, showed her where it was in relation to our house, and she said we were far enough away. Also we don’t have a back garden, only a small garden on the front with a low picket fence. Again she was okay with his considering how quiet our area is, and that we live at the end of the the cul de sac (so no through traffic).

There are rumours that RSPCA centres are too rigid with their adoption criteria. But this was not my experience and I hope other prospective rescuers are reassured by this. Although a home check might seem daunting I think they just use it as an opportunity to check you live where you say you do, and you’re suitable pet owners. They don’t expect you to live in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no roads. They appreciate you may not have a huge garden, and accept the cat probably won’t stay in the garden anyway. There isn’t an expectation for you to have the “perfect house”, but rather a focus on how well you will care for  your new pet.

Please don’t let the horror stories put you off adopting. It’s definitely the best route to getting a pet. It’s a wonderful feeling giving an animal a second chance of happy life, and I love my Momo more than anything!

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43 thoughts on “Kitten Adoption – Excitement and Anxiety”

    • doingbeingbecoming says:
      Reply

      Ginger cats are lovely. He’s our first ginger – I grew up with brown tabbies and my boyfriend had a black cat. Definitely a bit more rambunctious and loves play time. He’s so orange my boyfriend say he looks like a cheesy Wotsit! He he.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Me says:
    Reply

    He is GORGEOUS! We adopted a kitten just over a week ago, and he is utterly adorable – we have many, many other pets, but our kitty has stolen a huge chunk of my heart. He is perfect in every way. I’ve never been a cat person but I’ve fallen hard! Today we discovered that our boy has a genetic chest deformity that could seriously impact his lifespan, so although we might not have him for the longest time, we are going to dote on him while he is here 🙂

    Enjoy your beautiful boy!

    Liked by 1 person

    • doingbeingbecoming says:
      Reply

      Thank you 🙂

      I’m glad to hear you also adopted, but sorry to hear he’s not too well. It sounds like you’ll spoil him while he’s with you and he’ll enjoy his time on this world – which is the most important thing!

      Liked by 1 person

  15. mylittlefarmintown says:
    Reply

    Thanks for visiting and following MyLittleFarminTown. I bet you were lured there by the siren call of Sammy. Yes, that white belly is just as soft as it looks! Momo is darling. My Mom rescued a big orange tabby years ago and called him Tony. Your new cat reminds me of him. Take care, Begonia

    Liked by 1 person

  16. terrepruitt says:
    Reply

    Oh he is super cute! Congratulations. I too was set on getting a kitten, but then I realized my desire and my need for a specific type of cat was stronger than my desire for a kitten. I think out cats were about 1.5 when we got them. I say, “I think” because the dates on the paperwork don’t make any sense so it is difficult to tell how old they are.

    I am looking forward to more posts about your little orange bundle!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • doingbeingbecoming says:
      Reply

      Thank you. I think it’s wonderful you adopted a slightly older cat, rather than a kitten. I think once they’re over 6 months it becomes a lot harder to find them a home, so it’s a really good thing to do. I wanted a cat for that reason, but my boyfriend had never really experienced having a kitten (his parents got his only other cat when he was 3 so he doesn’t really remember him as a kitten). It’s also the only opportunity we might have to adopt a kitten as rescue centres generally want you to be at home with them for a long time, which I can do now but maybe not in the future. Hopefully once we have a bigger house we may adopt another older cat (if we think Momo will stand for it!).

      Your cats are are absolute beauties by the way 🙂

      Like

  20. kldmarie says:
    Reply

    Love the adorable cat photos, so glad you were able to adopt a rescue kitty! Being a cat owner is the best, but I’m also a little bias. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • doingbeingbecoming says:
      Reply

      He really is, but thankfully his curiosity didn’t get the better of him this time! He can now go outside. So hopefully he won’t be making anymore bids for freedom out of the bedroom window!

      Like

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