3 Kitties at once...

11710 Views 36 Replies 10 Participants Last post by kayla baxter, May 11, 2012

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · May 7, 2012

Hi all I have a chance to adopt 3 kittens this fall. One is a bengal and the other two are sphynx. I am curious does anyone here have experience with adopting 3 kittens at once? What are the downsides?

I know it can be a lot of work and I am expecting it to be. But what should I expect? My hope is that by adopting them all together instead of a year apart that they will learn to love each other faster and have a stronger bond.

Any advice would be appreciated thank you. :smiles

1 - 20 of 37 Posts

marie73

· #2 · May 8, 2012

omg

Kittens are hard work. I love my bratz, but I don't think I will ever adopt kittens again. Not saying never, but I really REALLY doubt it. Three? I think my head would have exploded. You'll have three kittens to train NOT to bite, climb on curtains, eat cords and wires, etc. Three kittens to clean up after when they have diarrhea or are walking in their own poop in the litter box. Three kittens crying because.....well, just because. I could go on and on.

You'll also have three times the cuteness and fun and laughs.

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 8, 2012

marie73 said:
omg

Kittens are hard work. I love my bratz, but I don't think I will ever adopt kittens again. Not saying never, but I really REALLY doubt it. Three? I think my head would have exploded. You'll have three kittens to train NOT to bite, climb on curtains, eat cords and wires, etc. Three kittens to clean up after when they have diarrhea or are walking in their own poop in the litter box. Three kittens crying because.....well, just because. I could go on and on.

You'll also have three times the cuteness and fun and laughs.

:lol: my thoughts exactly.

I'm not saying it's not going to be a lot of work. I am expecting it to be. But I do want three. I could do all the training at once or go through it two or three separate times.

Also the bond between them is a big motivator for me. Cats are picky picky about change. I worry if I wait to get the third kitten later the resident cats wont want to accept him/her. I've read several stories about it not going well and talked to people who say they cats still don't get along. I don't want to get a kitten the cats would tolerate but not bond well with either.

marie73

· #4 · May 8, 2012

The rescue took too long to respond and I had already fallen in love with my bratz, but if they had been faster, I would have adopted these three (I didn't have the heart to break them up):

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JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 8, 2012

CATS Pro's and Con's QUESTION

I want 3 cats. I have never had a cat before. I do cat sit my sister-in-laws cats on occasion to become more familiar with cat care. My question is what are the pro's and con's of cat ownership with one cat? And with multiple cats?

dweamgoil

· #6 · May 8, 2012

You WILL have your hands full. Not only 3 kittens, but 2 sphynxes....good luck to you

doodlebug

· #7 · May 8, 2012

So you're a complete noob to cats and you're thinking of taking on 3 kittens of breeds known to be extremely active. I have three words for you...

YOU ARE INSANE!!!

If you're really bent on doing this....some advice:

Pack up every knick knack you own.
Take the curtains, rods and blinds off the windows.
Take the pictures off the walls.
Get rid of all your electronic gadgets and equipment
Install overhead lighting in every room, get rid of the table lamps.
If you have nice furniture, put it in storage for 3-5 years. Go to the thrift store and buy some well worn rejects.
Take the shower curtain off the tub.
Put the trash in a cabinet or closet.
Put baby latches on all the cabinets, closets, dresser drawers etc.

I'm sure there's more, but this will get you started.

And yes, I can tell you a kitten story or two or three that supports every one of these suggestions and I've never had more than one kitten at a time. I'm not cured of kittens yet, but I know enough to never get 3 at once. They have synergy...

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spotty cats

· #8 · May 8, 2012

Coming from a good breeder they won't be all that much work. They'll already be litter trained, scratch pole trained, shouldn't chew wires or destroy your home. You will need to give them heaps of attention and playtime and of course kitten proof your home but that's the same for one or three

I breed Ocicats so have kittens around several times a year, I have an intact shower curtain, photos on the wall, electronics, table lamps....

Many times it's recommended to adopt in pairs especially if there are no other cats in the home, three is simply adding one more

cinderflower

· #9 · May 8, 2012

ILuvSphynx&Bengals said:
I want 3 cats. I have never had a cat before. I do cat sit my sister-in-laws cats on occasion to become more familiar with cat care. My question is what are the pro's and con's of cat ownership with one cat? And with multiple cats?

how old are you and do you have any children? if you're under 50 and have no children, i'd say go for it.

multiple cat pros: they play with each other. you don't have quite as much entertaining to do to keep them out of trouble. another pro: once they're grown, you don't have to do the kitten thing again for a very long time. to be honest, after my experiences with cats, i'd adopt in pairs if possible. i always want at least two cats. why? well, when one dies, you have a spare. sorry if that sounds weird, that's just how i am. and hopefully they'll all get along when they grow up together. probably a better chance that they will than won't.

cons: the trio of terror. seriously, do put up everything fragile if you want to keep it. don't ever think, "oh they can't get it there." expense. just like you have to get all their shots at the same time, they'll all get old at the same time, probably. having three geriatric cats at once is probably fairly expensive.

expect to maybe get overwhelmed a little, but it could also be kind of fun.

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doodlebug

· #10 · May 8, 2012

Someone mentioned "reputable breeder"...so there's a major consideration. The initial cost of kittens of these breeds from reputable breeders will be significant...$750-$1000 each for pet quality. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to purebred pets. Bargain prices will typically mean unhealthy kittens/cats. The issues may not show up for years, but they will show up. Then there's the cost of spay/neuter...another $300-$350 or so each unless you use a low cost clinic. But I just can't imagine spending that kind of money on a cat and then using a cut rate service for the surgery.

BTW...while my other post was a bit over the top, there is a fair amount of truth to it. I've had curtains ruined from climbing, blinds broken from trying to get behind them, lamps knocked over and broken, pictures knocked off the wall, lots of knick knacks and glass objects broken, curtain rod pulled out of the wall, shower curtain liners shredded, throw rugs destroyed, garbage strewn throughout the house, kitchen cabinets opened and stuff inside torn open or a cat sitting in the pots...the list goes on.

Also, kittens don't do the worst damage when they're little (under 6 months)....it's the teenagers/young adults that are the hellions. When they're young enough to have kitten exuberance in nearly adult size bodies.

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spotty cats

· #11 · May 8, 2012 (Edited)

doodlebug said:
Then there's the cost of spay/neuter...another $300-$350 or so each unless you use a low cost clinic. But I just can't imagine spending that kind of money on a cat and then using a cut rate service for the surgery.

Ah, but a good breeder includes that in the price. Kittens should come neutered, vaccinated at least twice and microchipped.

Agree with the rest, do your research on the breeder

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 8, 2012

WOW thanks for all of the advice!!! And Marie73 cute cute pic. Sorry you couldn't keep them.

About the breeders. They are both reputable. Both sphynx and bengal breeders test for HCM, they put work into socializing them, they both come with breeder support AFTER I have the kittens and the list goes on. Another thing the sphynx breeder does is the spay/neuter before I get them. Which also means I am going to have to wait a little longer to get them home but that's ok. The bengal breeder does not spay/neuter the kittens before but has a pet contract that you have to spay/neuter by a certain age. I have done my work on reputable breeders and the two breeders I am dealing with are the real deal.

There are some things I was unaware of that I am glad I am hearing now like that it's not kittens I will have to worry about but juvenile cats. Also the amount of damage they can do. Destroying shower curtains? Man o man. It helps me adjust my expectations though so I know what to expect. It's great to hear this now before I get my kitties.

If you want to tell me a story of what it's like having kittens in your home, or you want to give me any other advice please do. I won't be offended, you don't have to worry about hiding the truth from me. After all I will learn sooner or later and it's better that I am fully aware now then to be surprised later. I welcome the advice, your just helping me which is what I want. :thumb

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marie73

· #13 · May 8, 2012

I don't think a breeder who doesn't spay/neuter before adopting out is very responsible. That's a red flag to me. Especially with bengals. How old will they be when you get them? They're wonderful, gorgeous cats, but very, very energetic -- and two of them? Wow. I would want them to have the extra time with their Mom. From what I've read, they also need a lot of room and they love (even more than most cats) to be up high, so you should have some tall cat trees, perches, etc.

They're gorgeous cats, but for a first-time cat person? I don't know.

No matter what, you should definitely buy Think Like a Cat and Cat vs. Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett.

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 8, 2012

marie73 said:
I don't think a breeder who doesn't spay/neuter before adopting out is very responsible. That's a red flag to me. Especially with bengals. How old will they be when you get them? They're wonderful, gorgeous cats, but very, very energetic -- and two of them? Wow. I would want them to have the extra time with their Mom. From what I've read, they also need a lot of room and they love (even more than most cats) to be up high, so you should have some tall cat trees, perches, etc.

They're gorgeous cats, but for a first-time cat person? I don't know.

No matter what, you should definitely buy Think Like a Cat and Cat vs. Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett.

Thanks for the books recommendation. I will definitely look into both of them.

The bengal is to come home at 12 weeks.

marie73

· #15 · May 8, 2012

Oops, two sphynx, one bengal. Got that backwards.

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 8, 2012

Do you think 12 weeks is to early? I will look more into the Bengal breeder.

spotty cats

· #17 · May 8, 2012

12 weeks to come home? That's the earliest we are allowed to let our kittens go here and quite standard for breeders in the US too.

I just feel on the neutering topic, it's our responsibility to ensure our pet kittens can't accidentally produce a litter. It's also better having all vet work done, then kitty can just go and settle into their new home without interruption of surgery.

JustOneMore

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 8, 2012

spotty cats said:
12 weeks to come home? That's the earliest we are allowed to let our kittens go here and quite standard for breeders in the US too.

I just feel on the neutering topic, it's our responsibility to ensure our pet kittens can't accidentally produce a litter. It's also better having all vet work done, then kitty can just go and settle into their new home without interruption of surgery.

Ok great so 12 weeks isn't too early. I thought maybe I had missed something important. I will get him/her spayed/neutered. I don't want to contribute to the pet over-population. It would be nice if she fixed the bengal before it came home but I am not the breeder. It's nice knowing though that I will never have to worry about a possible pregnancy or the surgery and recovery time with my sphynx's.

sunset97

· #19 · May 8, 2012

You are going to be very busy fore sure. I don't know if I would take on either of these breeds being a new cat owner. My other concern is you are getting two different breeds. Make sure they are going to be compatible. Because you are getting a odd number I would worry about one of them being left out. At one point we had three cats (two siamese and one mixed breed). We started with one and kept adding over a couple years. Eventually the two siamese became really close and the mixed breed was never really close with either one of the siamese. We could tell he really wanted to be one of the gang but the siamese didn't want him. When my daughter moved away she took the mixed breed with her. She got another mixed breed kitten and they both became close friends.

cinderflower

· #20 · May 8, 2012

marie73 said:
I don't think a breeder who doesn't spay/neuter before adopting out is very responsible. That's a red flag to me. Especially with bengals. How old will they be when you get them? They're wonderful, gorgeous cats, but very, very energetic -- and two of them? Wow. I would want them to have the extra time with their Mom. From what I've read, they also need a lot of room and they love (even more than most cats) to be up high, so you should have some tall cat trees, perches, etc.

They're gorgeous cats, but for a first-time cat person? I don't know.

No matter what, you should definitely buy Think Like a Cat and Cat vs. Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett.

excuse my ignorance, i honestly don't know the protocol, but what happens if someone is buying because they eventually want to breed, or are you talking pet-quality only? aside from very obvious defects, how would you be able to tell if an animal would be show quality or breeding stock when it's a kitten?

and:

But I just can't imagine spending that kind of money on a cat and then using a cut rate service for the surgery.

you can't imagine because you're normal lol. things like this happen every day. people on medicaid take trips to hawaii. where does the $$ come from? hmm . . .

i remember a classmate in college whose car was repossessed but somehow came up with 5 grand for a sphynx.

original poster: what if you adopted three heinz-57 kittens from dumb friends first, if that goes smoothly, well you'd already have three cats but what you're considering is a huge investment, financially and physically/emotionally. to say nothing of the fact that it really might not be a situation you want to be in.

it's kind of like a woman saying, "i don't have any kids but i want in-vitro fertilization for triplets or quads because i just want to get it over with all at once, plus they'll all play with each other and it will be so cute." um, yes, they will play with each other eventually, but you still have a lot of labor-intensive time in the beginning.

or "borrow" (i'm not sure how you'd go about doing this) three kittens. foster them maybe for an animal shelter? then you wouldn't be obligated to keep them. i honestly don't know, i'm sure marie knows more about it than i do, i'd listen to her.

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