So I know that it is standard for breeders to rehome no earlier than 12 weeks, but what about cats in a rescue setting? I ask this because I am a foster for a local cat rescue group. Two of my fosters will be going to their new families this afternoon, they are 10 weeks. I wonder if its more acceptable practice to rehome before 12 weeks in a rescue setting since none of these cats have homes in the first place? They are bounced around frequently between their fosters house and Petco, where the group holds adoptions on the weekends. Maybe they aren't concerned with the cats being 12 weeks since the cats will have way more stability and a better life in their permanent home, no matter what the age. What do you guys think?

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Lollo

Speaking as a shelter worker for the past 7 years, I would say it is definitely better to get shelter kittens into their adoptive homes as soon as possible. Waiting until they are 12 weeks old is ideal for breeders because while with the breeder, the kittens have their mom, their siblings, a stable environment, etc. It's in the best interest of the kittens that they should never be rehomed from a breeder before 12 weeks. But if they are in a shelter environment (ie. the actual shelter facility where they are most likely living in a cage and being exposed to dozens of illnesses and other animals and many random people on a regular basis) it is absolutely in the best interest of the kittens to get out of there as soon as possible. A shelter/rescue center is one of the worst types of places for a kitten to grow up - the cages and exposure to illness being huge reasons why. If the kittens are with their littermates and in a clean, stable, loving environment like a foster home rather than at the actual shelter facility (and without constant trips to adoption events, etc.) then yes it is probably better for them to be able to stay there until at least 10-12 weeks, for the obvious reasons. But situations like that aren't really the norm, at least not here in the US. Whenever we would get kittens in at the shelter we would scramble to get them OUT as fast as we could because otherwise they would most likely get sick or turn out a little 'cage crazy' due to the lack of proper socialization and normal kitten learning experiences. It is also MUCH easier to find these kittens homes when they are still tiny because there is such an overabundance of them, the general public always wants the youngest/smallest ones possible... Seems if you don't want a pedigree, you can find homeless kittens just about anywhere. If you don't have younger kittens available people will just go somewhere else that does. There were many times where unfortunately a litter would get sick, have to be held back, then by the time they were available at 4+ months old no one wanted them anymore. Sadly we have a lot of cats at the shelter today who have literally grown up there since they were tiny kittens for reasons like this. :(



Btw, thanks for being a foster parent, you are awesome! :)

Thanks for the responses! This is just something that I was thinking about after dropping them off to get spayed this morning. I was driving and thought "oh no, im sending my kittens away before 12 weeks!" But then I thought about it and figured that it was better for them than having to sit in those cages 2 days a week. Im always so sad when I have to drop them off for the weekend. I just have to tell myself at least they have a big room to play in instead of a tiny cage. They have it good compared to the kitties who have to be in cages everyday. Being a foster is so much harder than I thought. Ive already had one foster failure from my first litter and now I can't have another bengal since I decided to keep her I do love her though

I just wish all kitties could have loving homes. Our shelter is full of kittens these days, so they are euthanizing the older ones because they seem to think the kittens will be adopted. I would love a houseful of cats, but my husband thinks one is plenty. Bless you for fostering kitties.

[quote="Sherry"] Our shelter is full of kittens these days, so they are euthanizing the older ones because they seem to think the kittens will be adopted. /quote]

So sad I hate to think of any animal spending its whole life in a rescue centre, still preferable to what some animals live through I guess.

My two went through 3 foster homes before I adopted them at 14 weeks and still are quite wary of new people. They are quite clingy due to their experience and won't eat when I've had to leave them. They love people they know and seem to automatically trust older women like my mum. They would have been much better of being adopted out earlier.

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Lily

My kittens were dropped at a high kill shelter at 8 weeks old. They were transported to a rescue in my state and a foster mom brought them back to good health and raised them until they were 4 months old when I adopted them. They had all their shots and were spayed. They have never gone outside their box and are the most social cats I have ever met. I have people over often and they entertain and perform as if they were alone with me. I think that is due to the foster mom having other pets at the house and the terrific job she did raising them. They are incredibly trusting. They are always under food and never jump away. They allow my friends to hold and pet them and love the attention.