# advertising kittens



## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

Was looking at kitten ads on pets4homes and why do people advertise their kittens before they are born? or, one advert was advertising them while mum was having them  What happens if you get 6 buyers and 1 kitten ... just wondering?


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

*Yea, i've noticed that a couple of times too I think it's silly, it's tempting fate and as you say, how do you know how many kittens you're gonna get *


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2008)

I have wondered the same actually...there were a couple of ads from breeders who were advertising kittens before the actual mating had taken place and that is pretty forward planning!!!

I would worry about having either not enough kittens or not the right 'type'. What if you reserved them all and then one turned out fantastic and you wanted to keep it???


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## LousKoonz (Feb 9, 2008)

I've noticed this a few times too  x

I have a reserve list for kittens now but i do say to them they may have to wait a few litters as it doesn't always turn out the way you plan xx

it'd be sods law anyway that you had reservations for girls and all boys came out LOL xx


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

*Hahaha, yea like me, lol*


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2008)

I guess it's a bit different having a reservation list if you are advertising actual kittens and someone contacts you after they have been reserved or sold or whatever....I would be very wary of advertising before I knew what I had.

Especially as we all know just how much can go wrong or even just the fact that you can't really guarantee gender, colour or amount.


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## Saynamore (Feb 28, 2008)

Dont know how they can do this because as some of us know to experience the first two or three weeks are the most critical time of any newborns life. I would never advertise a kitten for sale under 6 weeks old, nor would have anyone visit the kitten before that age either


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2008)

I have had a mixture from the breeders I have been to. One of them wouldn't even send me pics until the kitten was 6 weeks old because she said I would be able to get a better idea of what she was like from that age, although she was happy to reserve her for me to make judgement. She did exactly the same when I got the 2nd kitten too.

Another were happy to reserve as breeding queens from very early on so I guess it is all very much down to the breeder. Personally, I would be happy to advertise and take reservations from 4-6 weeks onwards because then I would have an idea as well of any that I would like to evaluate.


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## Fireblade (Sep 7, 2008)

I start to advertise when they are 4 to 5 weeks old(If they have not all been booked), but i don't allow any one to come and see them until they are at least 6 weeks old.
Once booked i send pictures of the kitten to the owners to let them know how they are growing, or the owners come in between to see them.
I cannot understand people advertising them any earlier as things still can go wrong. xxxxx


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## Selk67U2 (May 5, 2008)

*Thing is you just can't guarantee anything when it comes to kittens. Someone was selling NFC's gurantee'd show/breeding.....how can you gurantee a show or breed newborn*


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

Plain silly. I don't start advertising mine until they are almost ready to go - there's no point really, the adverts get buried so quickly.

Liz


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## Biawhiska (Mar 28, 2008)

Glad it's not just me. Does seem like tempting fate.


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## Rraa (Apr 15, 2008)

I have seen a breeder whose website advertises babies from potential litters of planned matings in advance. 

My website which shows pictures of my kittens and past litters, is in itself an advertisement for kittens. However, I don't actually make my kittens available for sale online until they are about six weeks for the same reasons as many of you have already said. 

I try to explain to enquirers that its easier for people to see a kitten's characters and distinguish them from one another when they are a little older, so generally visits to see kittens are arranged from when the kittens are over six weeks old - by then they are weaned, more playful etc. 

Strangely, though, I have actually had a couple of calls recently enquring about kittens who are currently growing inside my Suki - to these people I have said that nothing in nature is guaranteed, keep looking, took their names (since they asked me to) and asked them to please contact me again in a couple of months. 

If someone had reserved a kitten from me which did not survive for whatever reason it would be a difficult task but one that I would have to do to contact them and tell them what happened. So far this tragedy has never occurred with any of my litters. Any kittens I have lost, have been in the very early days (generally it was the first 3-4 days).


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## josajojosa (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi Im new to this forum

just wanted to add i was looking to rehome a kitten and went to a reputable rescue centre where i was told by their website and themselves that they had 6 week old kittens. i proceeded to 'buy' one from them and was told she was weaned and drinking cat milk and to mash her wet food with plenty water to keep her hydrated which i did. i also told them that me and my partner worked full time and asked if this would be ok and how to go about feeding, i was told that feeding on a morning and couple of times in evening would be find. i 'bought the kitten last sunday and had to have her put to sleep on thursday morning as she had a viral infection from not having her mothers milk to give her antibodies and that she was only 4 weeks old. i contacted the rescue centre out of concern for the rest of the litter as the vet said they could all have same infection and advised them that they had told me the wrong info about age of kitten which they replied they could never know the exact age, which i think is utter rubbish and because of their irresponsibility and 'naivety' i have lost my first pet kitten and also cost me over £200 in vets bills within 4 days, not that i would have minded if it meant she would get better but i was told by the vet that very few hand reared kittens survive and i believe the centre would have known this and should not be letting them be rehomed until the are past the danger area and old enough for injections


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

That rescue centre deserves to be named and shamed in my opinion.

However to be fair I wouldn't be at all surprised if that kitten really was six weeks, you see they are very small and very slow developing when they are hand reared. I have a hand reaered litter right now that are over nine weeks old and I realised with a shock yesterday that I haven't got their first vaccinations done yet. The reason i haven't is because they are so small and immature that they just don't seem like nine weeks and I keep forgetting how old they are. And they were not totally hand reared - they did get Mum exclusively for the first two days, and Mum as well as hand feeding for a few days after that. Mum was desperately ill and lost her milk - of course she has it back now they don't need it and, making up for lost time, keeps suckling them in the most inconvenient places she can find, like right behind the front door 

The centre certainly should not have let hand-reared kittens go at this age, in fact ANY six week old kitten is very vulnerable to infection, it's just about the worst time for them as maternal immunity has worn off, and at that age by the time you realise they are ill it can already be too late. I have lost several at that age just from diahorrea and vomiting, you see you can rehydrate them, but by the time you realise something is wrong their kidneys are usually affected and that is what kills them.

Liz


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## josajojosa (Oct 5, 2008)

Thanks for your message it does put my mind at rest a little as we were blaming ourselves thinking maybe we did something we shouldn't but we followed advice we were given and were very careful, it was just a shock that within 4 days of getting her she was gone and it was all of a sudden she was fine one minute then just collapsed and was all floppy the next. It was my first kitten as i had always wanted one and has kind of put a dampener on the whole thing. I definitely want another but dont want to rush in like i did this time and will be extra wary im also scared that there maybe chance of the infection hanging around the house even though we have disinfected everything.
Does anyone have any tips on things you should look for or ask when going to look at kittens and anything to be wary of.

By the way the rescue centre was Ramshaw Rescue Centre in West Auckland, County Durham, i have also reported them to the RSPCA as i dont think they should get away with what they have done.


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## Saynamore (Feb 28, 2008)

josajojosa said:


> Hi Im new to this forum
> 
> just wanted to add i was looking to rehome a kitten and went to a reputable rescue centre where i was told by their website and themselves that they had 6 week old kittens. i proceeded to 'buy' one from them and was told she was weaned and drinking cat milk and to mash her wet food with plenty water to keep her hydrated which i did. i also told them that me and my partner worked full time and asked if this would be ok and how to go about feeding, i was told that feeding on a morning and couple of times in evening would be find. i 'bought the kitten last sunday and had to have her put to sleep on thursday morning as she had a viral infection from not having her mothers milk to give her antibodies and that she was only 4 weeks old. i contacted the rescue centre out of concern for the rest of the litter as the vet said they could all have same infection and advised them that they had told me the wrong info about age of kitten which they replied they could never know the exact age, which i think is utter rubbish and because of their irresponsibility and 'naivety' i have lost my first pet kitten and also cost me over £200 in vets bills within 4 days, not that i would have minded if it meant she would get better but i was told by the vet that very few hand reared kittens survive and i believe the centre would have known this and should not be letting them be rehomed until the are past the danger area and old enough for injections


I just find this disgusting  If I get kitten enquiries and they obviously cant afford a registered pedigree cat the very next sentence I would say is please contact your local animal welfare centre because they always need good homes.

Then when you hear stories like this it really does make me angry. They winge all the time about the amount of animals they have to house, at least they can try and make sure the kits are healthy and treated before they are moved on. The charity shelters do get reduced if not free vet bills for neutering and stuff as far as I know.


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## Saynamore (Feb 28, 2008)

lizward said:


> That rescue centre deserves to be named and shamed in my opinion.
> 
> However to be fair I wouldn't be at all surprised if that kitten really was six weeks, you see they are very small and very slow developing when they are hand reared. I have a hand reaered litter right now that are over nine weeks old and I realised with a shock yesterday that I haven't got their first vaccinations done yet. The reason i haven't is because they are so small and immature that they just don't seem like nine weeks and I keep forgetting how old they are. And they were not totally hand reared - they did get Mum exclusively for the first two days, and Mum as well as hand feeding for a few days after that. Mum was desperately ill and lost her milk - of course she has it back now they don't need it and, making up for lost time, keeps suckling them in the most inconvenient places she can find, like right behind the front door
> 
> ...


I'm curious Liz cos I have an underweight kitten that was fostered on to another mum. She has been well underweight and my vet wont vaccinate her until she is up to 750 -1kg. She is like a dwarf cat and I had one of them before that died at 10 week old. She doesnt seem to be putting on any weight but seems fine in every other way, she is now about 14 week old and still so tiny. Its just with you saying you had some so tiny that they couldnt have vaccs, how are they going on and are they showing any positive signs


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## josajojosa (Oct 5, 2008)

exactly, i have always loved tabbys and thought that if i could offer a loving home to a cat,my best choice would be a rescue centre, when i think back alarm bells should have rang when they wouldn't tellme what food they had her on as i no this can upset their stomach, but you just assume they know what they are doing and have the animals welfare and wellbeing at heart. I originally was going to purchase a kitten from a pet shop but everyone was telling me horror stories about cruelty, i wish i had stuck with that but then i wouldn't have been graced with my little Tiggy.

the centre even had the cheek to offer me a replacement kitten from the same litter as if nothing had happened i think that upset me most, when i refused they said they would put it in quarantine (i bet they do!!!) i just hope the owners of the rest of the litter aren't as unlucky as me


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

Saynamore said:


> I'm curious Liz cos I have an underweight kitten that was fostered on to another mum. She has been well underweight and my vet wont vaccinate her until she is up to 750 -1kg. She is like a dwarf cat and I had one of them before that died at 10 week old. She doesnt seem to be putting on any weight but seems fine in every other way, she is now about 14 week old and still so tiny. Its just with you saying you had some so tiny that they couldnt have vaccs, how are they going on and are they showing any positive signs


I have had really tiny ones before, odd ones in a litter I mean, usually they have ended up dying at about 6-8 weeks (though one tiny one survived and eventually went to a new home at five months as a give-away, she is fine, but it turned out she had a heart defect). I don't think these are quite that small. They are lively enough and apart from a couple of sticky eye problems there has been nothing wrong with them throughout, which is amazing really in view of the poor start they have had. They're just not as advanced as other kittens, that's all - for example only just discovering the very top of the cat tree, only just beginning to come upstairs, only just getting to the stage where they are trying to go out (no I am not going to let them out!), and so on.

One of them is really angelic though  (no I have no idea how I got this lighting effect!)










Liz


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## josajojosa (Oct 5, 2008)

ah she looks gorgeous!! i have just been given a kitten today she is 7 weeks old and twice the size of the one i got from rescue centre, hopefully i will have better luck with her. i think i have learnt a hard lesson and would never recommend a rescue place again x


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## lizward (Feb 29, 2008)

There's no reason why you shouldn't be fine this time. It really isn't all that common to lose 6-7 week old kittens.

Liz


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## Guest (Oct 10, 2008)

If they are genuine... couldn't it just be a way of building up a waiting list? in a way...

That's part of being on a waiting list, there might not be enough to go round, might not be your colour in the litter, might not have you sex available etc.

You could also say, well if they are genuine and that good a breeder then they would already have a waiting list!


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