A cat is a convenient animal for a city apartment: it eats economically, takes up little space, a system of shelves and houses is enough for games, it does not require walking and does not become sad if the owner works a lot.
And for a private home, a cat is generally a necessary animal. But sometimes, having taken home a kitten, it becomes necessary to find a new home for it (allergies appear) or the domestic cat feeds its litter and the kittens eventually need to be placed. It is at such moments that the question arises about options for where to place kittens.
Fortunately, now the world has access to the Internet and there are more options for where to place kittens than just handing them out to friends and “good hands.” The only thing you need to take care of before looking for a new home for your baby is the appropriate age and medical readiness.
It is better to wean kittens from their mother after 2 months
This is due to one feature of the species - early weaning threatens problems with digestion and wildness of the animal. The cat must raise its offspring and teach it to contact people, otherwise the cat child will live with complications.
The medical aspect consists of age-appropriate vaccinations and treatment for external and internal parasites.
Ideally, before transferring animals, it is better to sterilize them so that the problem of placing new offspring does not arise. But if you are placing kittens up to 6 months old, then the new owners will have to do this.
Keep it for yourself
If you haven't passed by a poor, homeless animal, you might be able to keep it. Even if not for good, but only for a while, until the best owner in the world is found for the cat. Perhaps you will fall in love with the purr and will no longer wonder where to put a stray cat, washed and fed personally. This happens to many people, especially if a child brings a poor fellow from the street, and you think “only for a while.”
If it is not possible to keep the animal for yourself, then we suggest considering other options:
- animal shelters;
- paid and free foster care;
- announcement on social networks about the search for an owner.
There should be no issues with homeless people. But how to properly house your cat, who has become unwanted?
Overview of options
Overexposure or “cat nanny”
This option is suitable for those who face a problem due to sudden long business trips, illness or injury, when a person cannot care for a kitten for some time. Foster care is also good during vacation, when there is no one to look after your furry friend.
Yes, this is a temporary option to solve the problem, but nevertheless, you do not need to worry that during your absence the animal will be in a shelter or you will have to part with your pet forever.
The downside is that the animal does not perceive such a change of owners very easily; a change of place of residence, especially on a regular basis, does not benefit cats, depressing their psyche and making them distrustful and even angry.
There are several ways to minimize the harm from overexposure:
- The cat nanny must be permanent and familiar to the kitten along with the owner. Ideally, this is your friend, neighbor or person you trust and who often visits your home.
- The kitten must “tour” along with a set of permanent personal items: a sleeping bed, toys, a bowl and regular food of the same brand. This way, the cat will be able to quickly adapt to the change of owners and the stress of changing the place of residence will be less than if you simply give the animal away while you are away.
- The conditions of overexposure should be close to the normal living conditions of the kitten. Do not give the kitten to families with small children, dogs or adult aggressive cats.
IMPORTANT: you can also use foster care while looking for a permanent new home. For example, if you have an allergy or moving does not allow you to take a new pet with you, then foster care will help you gain time to find new owners.
Free online classifieds boards
Avito, Yula, From Hand to Hand - all these services provide the opportunity to post private advertisements of any content, including the sale or donation of kittens.
The big advantage is that you immediately write the entire current description of the animal and post photographs of your cute kittens, which will be the initial guide for future owners. Also, these methods of searching for a new home do not require much effort from you - an attractive ad in itself is the key to success.
The disadvantage of such a search is that you will not check the future owners in any way. Conventionally they say whether you give the kitten to “good” hands or not, you won’t know; you will have to navigate by appearance and manner of communication with the new owner.
Shelters
Almost all cities have shelters for animals and kittens in particular. They are either stationary, or they are some kind of network of volunteers and foster care, which is united by the creator and common activities on social networks. You can contact such shelters either with a request to place your ad on the shelter’s platforms (special communities on social networks) or bring the animal itself to foster it and then find a new home.
The advantage is that this method is free and most often all kittens are accepted. That is, even if it is not a sudden litter of your cat, not a kitten that you still cannot keep for one reason or another, or crumbs that you found on the street or thrown under the door - most often shelters take in all animals.
Kittens are taken from the shelter quite often, problems arise only with older cats, but still it is better to surrender a kitten either with a set of food and care products, or with a financial reward. Remember, if you have the opportunity, help the abandoned animal in the shelter and the shelter itself financially or physically, because the quality of new owners depends on the success of the shelter and how long it can find owners, while feeding and caring for the animals.
Bird Market
The option is controversial, but still effective. Let's start with the advantages - pretty healthy kittens are taken away almost immediately. People most often come to such trading platforms with a specific goal - to take a pet into their home, so if the kitten is well-fed, its eyes are not streaming and it stands purely symbolically, then the new owner will not be long in coming.
The disadvantage of this option is that, for example, adopting a kitten from a shelter is much more reliable than picking it up at a bird market. Firstly, for little ones, going to the market is a huge stress, after which health problems begin. Secondly, almost always outdoor weather conditions are not suitable for kittens, which again leads to subsequent diseases. Thirdly, the buyer generally cannot be sure of the cat’s health; he makes a decision based only on the seller’s stories and the appearance of the kitten.
Catcafe
This method is available only to residents of large cities where such establishments exist. The advantage is that you don’t have to worry about the fate of the kittens there - the animal either gets a permanent home in the establishment, or one of the visitors will take the baby to become a new caring owner.
But remember, in such establishments the limit on accepting animals is not endless and the requirements for a new “employee” are serious. The kitten should not be too small, it should be able to communicate with people and not be wild. The animal must also have a veterinary passport, appropriate vaccinations and be sterilized. Appearance does not play a special role, but well-groomed kittens are more willing to be adopted.
You can find out the rules of a particular cat cafe on their website, but in any case you will have to prepare the animal for transfer.
Tips on how to place kittens in good hands
When a cat gives birth, the kittens are small, cute and fluffy, but time passes and you need to look for somewhere to shelter them. It’s easier for owners of purebred animals - kittens with a pedigree are in demand, some even have queues. What if she is a “Ural street servant”? It may be difficult to give it away. Perhaps some tips will help you:
- Kittens should be given away no earlier than 2.5-3 months of age. By this time they will get stronger and will receive good immunity from their mother’s milk. The kitten needs to be trained to use the litter box, otherwise the new owners may get rid of the nasty pet and throw it outside.
- Try offering kittens to friends, colleagues, and family. Perhaps someone wanted to take a mustachioed baby into their home or give it to elderly parents.
- You can place an ad - in a newspaper, social networks, on classifieds websites and cat breeder forums. Don’t forget to take beautiful photos and describe the kitten’s character and habits.
Prepare your ad wisely
If you craft your ad correctly, many more people will respond to it. Take several beautiful and high-quality photos in which the kitten will look cheerful, cute, and active. Add text to them - it should be exciting, creative, but truthful.
Tell us about the character of the animal, its external characteristics, try to find a lot of advantages. In the ad, be sure to indicate the breed, age, birthday, color (since not all users can download photos from the Internet). Be sure to indicate whether the kitten has a pedigree, whether it is vaccinated, whether it is trained to a tray or scratching post.
Cat's House website
This is one of the well-known resources that publishes photographs and data of animals that owners plan to give away for various reasons. The site has strict moderation and high requirements for the preparation of advertisements, since the more complete the information, the easier it is to place an animal. That is why, when composing an advertisement, indicate:
- age, date of birth, gender;
- presence or absence of diseases, vaccinations;
- habits and skills.
On the site they are looking for new owners for adult animals - newborns cannot be placed here, but an older kitten can be offered by making an advertisement.
Hotel for animals
Where to put a cat during a vacation or business trip if none of your friends can help? There are two options to consider:
- Paid foster care. It's cheap, but look only for good reviews, because you won't be able to check the conditions in which your pet is kept.
- Hotel for animals. This is more expensive than foster care, but here they will definitely feed you, play with you, and cuddle you, so you can rest easy! Reviews of pet hotels are mostly good, so you don’t have to worry about your pet.
In both cases, a contract for the provision of services is drawn up. Let's look at the best hotels.
Optimal time to search for a home
An already grown-up pet will more easily tolerate changes in its usual lifestyle than a small kitten. Before looking for a new owner, it is important to teach your baby to feed himself, use a litter box, and treat people without fear.
Also, the animal must be in good health, it must be treated with special flea products and checked by a veterinarian. After 8-10 weeks, vaccination is mandatory. Now you can start looking for a new home for the kitten.
Catcafe
If you do not have the opportunity to keep a kitten, you can give it to a cafe where visitors come to chat with cats. Recently, such establishments have become very popular. Perhaps your city also has such a cafe, and you won’t need to worry about where to place your pet.
The advantage is that the cat will be well looked after, and a large number of visitors will definitely ensure constant communication. The disadvantages are the high demands placed on animals. In addition, there may not be a similar cafe for animals in your city.
