Deciding on the best time to adopt.

[jamie.lynne]

Hello all! I just recently became engaged and plan to get married sometime in June. Within a month of getting married, my fiancé and I will need to move across the state so that he can begin graduate school to receive a Masters in counseling.

Here is where this post becomes related to cats: I want us to adopt a kitten as soon as we can. We are currently not living together and I do not plan on moving in with him until our wedding. I am trying to decide whether or not we should wait to adopt until we are moved and settled in our new location. I can only imagine how stressful it would be for a kitten to come into a new home for a month, only to be uprooted again, followed by a cross-state car ride! However, I would love to have a cat from our current city; we met here during college, we are both recent graduates, and will have married here. It seems fitting that our first "child" be born here.

On the same note, though, it would be just as fitting and symbolic to adopt as soon as we move.

I recognize that the obvious decision here would be to wait, but I'd just like "experienced" opinions to confirm my instinct! The little girl inside of me says, "I want to rescue a kitten NOW!!!"

[ownedby4cats]

Hello and congrats on the upcoming wedding! I think it would be best to wait. You are probably going to be very busy, things will be hectic and once you are moved you will have the time to devote to a kitten. And it would be less stressful on the kitten.

[LadyK]

I agree. It would be better to wait until after you've moved. Then, to do something meaningful about your current/college city, you could maybe name the cat after something that reminds you of there, or send a donation to a local animal shelter or rescue in honor of your cat.

[MowMow]

I would wait as well. There's a LOT going on right now with wedding plans, showers, engagement parties, honeymoons and moving.

Besides, isn't June right up there in kitten season(not sure, but summer seems like the time)? Lots of kittens will be looking for homes.

[Nan]

I'm glad you want to adopt a cat, but agree with the above posters. Please wait!

First, if you are going anywhere for a honeymoon, you don't have to worry about what to do with a cat.
Second, with moving, you have to make sure your landlord is OK with cats. Better to do so before adding the cat.

I made the decision to wait -in 2010- (my old cat died in June and I wanted to do a kitchen renovation, so I waited until it was done & adopted late Sept). It is definately hard waiting, but I would have ended up with different cats! So I'm glad I waited.

[BotanyBlack]

I agree on the waiting. I was curious will you also be in classes or working?. If so I would suggest maybe thinking of getting 2 if you are going with kittens as they can help temper each others energy level.. though the rescuer in me would also say to think about an adult cat if you will be out of the house (with kitten season about to hit these will be overlooked).

Anyway Congrats on everything, sounds like your off to a good start.

[jamie.lynne]

Thank you all so much for the input! My fiancé will be glad, he has been telling me that we should wait, haha! I think I am just "starved" for having an animal friend to come home to -- I just graduated in December after 4 and a half years of living on-campus, so obviously no pets were allowed there. Back home at my parents house, our cat passed away in October of 2010, and I just overall miss having a cat's company. I'm sure you understand what I mean. It is difficult not to make a rash decision (especially when I drive by PetsMart during their weekend adoption fairs) but I want to do this right for the cat's sake as well as our own.

Nan, I applaud you for your patience in waiting! It's good to hear from someone who has gone through this sort of frustration before. PS, your Lily looks exactly like the sort of cat I'd like to adopt: tabby with green eyes

BotanyBlack, I will hopefully be working full-time (or as close to full-time as possible). I have definitely considered adopting an older cat, for both of the reasons that you stated. It's horrible that a good number of cats are ignored simply because they're no longer babies. However, I have a somewhat silly desire to "raise" our first cat. Perhaps I might go with an older kitten, already a few months old?

As for adopting two, I have suggested that idea to my fiancé before and I don't think he feels comfortable with it, for some reason. I'd like us both to be 100% agreed when it comes to pets... perhaps he'll change his mind whenever we finally go out to adopt. He's a sucker for animals like me, one of the reasons I love him!

[koneko_otaku]

+1 waiting. Unless you're aiming for specific breed of kitten, you'll get lots of cute and adorable kittens everywhere. Animal shelter, Freecycle, Craigslist, and even signs by the road offering free kittens will be common in May through September. (around here that is)

[MowMow]

Originally Posted by jamie.lynne

I have suggested that idea to my fiancé before and I don't think he feels comfortable with it, for some reason. I'd like us both to be 100% agreed when it comes to pets... perhaps he'll change his mind whenever we finally go out to adopt.

If he doesn't change his mind then he will when there's a 2lb Tasmanian Devil twirling its way around your home leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Or the first time he claws gouges into his arms because it doesn't have another kitten to wrestle with.

Then you can point out that if you had TWO of them, they could wear each other out and take out that kitten play on each other.

[jamie.lynne]

Originally Posted by MowMow

If he doesn't change his mind then he will when there's a 2lb Tasmanian Devil twirling its way around your home leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Or the first time he claws gouges into his arms because it doesn't have another kitten to wrestle with.

True! Although when we go to look at cats/kittens, I will be looking for one who isn't too horribly hyper. I'm sure most people say that though! Then once the kitten gets home and comfortable in its environment he or she transforms into a terror

Growing up, our family cat, Callie, was super chill. I think that's just because she was raised alongside my brother, who my grandma nicknamed the "demolition derby" while he was a little boy. Callie learned not to be phased by much! To be honest I don't really remember how active / destructive she was as a kitten.