did you get a "FREE" Kitten?

This is really good information. The average pet owner can really benefit from adopting a kitten as opposed to answering free kitten ads. I rescue so the majority of mine are free because I found them or saved them. I have 3 I rescued from kill pounds. For those guys I paid a small fee but had to pay for all their vetting myself. It's about $100-125 cheaper to adopt from a shelter. Keep spreading the word. Spay/neuter people.

I just read that article-- Amen to that.

I don't understand the meaning of "Animal Shelter Hack" -- all the shelters I know of have responsible caring in-house or visiting vets who treat the animals as well as any animal that woudl come thru the door of the veterinary hospital. If there IS a problem with veterinary care at your local shelter -- please inform the city council AND thelocal rescue groups -- and persist until the situation is changed for the better -- we ARE the voice of the animals and something CAN be done about any problem(s) that have to do with proper animal shelter care!

FREE never is -- a cat or a dog will incur at LEAST $300 a year for vet care, food, and basic essentials (litter, beds, toys, and for the dogs -- leashes) -- add more $$ to that as the pet gets older or has an injury or gets sick. I just spent over $2000 for my cats this year already -- the majority of it for Cee Cee, a former abandoned stray that I rescued 7 years ago, who now has heart trouble and possible liver trouble -- she needs more vet care soon.

A pet is, for us, the same type of responsibility as a child would be.

I hope I see an end to those "FREE to a Good home" ads. I hope there is a rise in the spaying and neutering of cats (and dogs of course) because as it stands now, there are at Least SEVEN kittens or puppies born for every ONE human being being born in this world -- EVERY DAY.

This means -- More misery for too many animals-- more death in shelters or out on the streets for these innocent beings.

In TOO may cases, the animal shelters are SO FULL that when a litter of kittens (with or without their mama) is brought into the front door, they usually go immediately into the killing room -- because there is not enough space and there are not enough homes for them all.

I could cry .

all of my cats were "free". They were dumped here at one time or another and some of them in deplorable condition. I have 13 (probably 14 +) indoors kitties. I also had 3 feral cats give birth in my garage this spring.. 16 kittens from them. The #14 is a cat that showed up 2 weeks ago and is very pregnant, she was, by the looks of it, an indoor pet at one time. I did end up taking the kittens from the feral cats to the local no kill shelter. NONE of them are really free though as I have spent thousands of dollars on them for spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, flea treatments, deworming, antibiotics, food, and.. I even bought an air conditioner for the garage so the wild cats would be cool this summer (since I have them trapped in there until I can get them spayed). Plus I volunteer at the shelter now to help defray some of the costs and work that came from the kits I left there. I work my butt off for free several days a week and even foster cats and bottle fed kits for them since they have twice as many cats as they have room for and more coming in every day. I do not have much money and did not go out looking for the cats and am so flipping tired of paying for other's mistakes. BUT I do what I can for the kitties. It is not their fault that they were neglected and dumped.

No, I do not have to go pay to adopt one. Here in my small town in Illinois, people do not like cats and usually end up dumping them in my area.

I have read info. like this before and it does make a lot of sense. The funny thing was for us is that we got a "free" kitten, well rescued the kitten. She has always been perfectly fine and healthy. Then we got her a playmate from the Humane Society. Even though they gave him shots and neutered him right before we got him, we soon found out (by taking him to the vet ourselves) that he had a respiratory infection and ear mites. I guess the first vet didn't do their job right, but it is a funny little twist. I love both my cats and I do agree that I would get another cat from the humane society because it is definitely cheaper having them neutered & shots & adoption fee than doing it all yourself.

I paid $90 for my kitten from the Humane Society. He came prepped with all of his shots, had papers from previous vet visits so I could see exactly what was administered on what day, and came with a voucher to get him neutered for free at a vet of my choosing. Paying for 1st year care and neutering would have cost me farrrrrrrrrr more than that.

I'm glad I got him from the Humane Society. Gave a great lil guy a good home and didn't have to pay much to do so. I always say he's the best investment I ever made ;)

Great article!!

well it's what I already had thought about but it's good to make people think. I would always go for a vet checked kitten, most likely from a shelter. I think if you buy from people that let their cats breed you are encouraging them to keep breeding them-I've seen the same person advertising kittens near me at least twice a year.

That is good information; shelter cats are ore or less free in a way, you're just paying for the whole adoption package, rather than paying for all that separately. It is cheaper than a free cat/kitten.

Sort of- but I rescued it from an abusive home. He wasn't free, but he's awful darn cute. :-)

http://flickr.com/photos/26506846@N03/2945321749/i...

(He's the big orange one up front, the little black head in the back is my mom's "free" kitten, yet another orphan I raised this year.)

Oh, and my other kitten was brought to me as a 10-day old orphan that I raised, so he was "free" too. And equally cute.

http://flickr.com/photos/26506846@N03/2945321759/

I didn't go into either situation with the idea that they'd be free, obviously. They just needed help and I helped them.

Oh, and here's my sister's "free" kitten, the brother of my gray boy:

http://flickr.com/photos/26506846@N03/2945327657/

I have never paid for a cat in my life. And I never will.

But there is no such thing as a 'free' cat. The first thing I do with every animal that comes into my possession is to get it inspected by a vet (MY VET); not some animal shelter hack.

My vet runs a teaching clinic and when she is finished with her examination I am assured that I have a healthy, fully functional animal.

I prefer to get a pet from someone i know rather than a shelter or stranger. I like to know that the kittens have been held and touched everyday and have gotten to run and play around a whole house, not a cage. you also know the demeanor of the mother cat when you build a good relationship with the owner of the mother.

i guess some people could lie about how the kitten has been raised, but that's better than a mystery in a cage. it's important to adopt these cats tho becuase they all need love.... regardless of where they come from

it's every owners responsibility to get vaccinations and checkups- it's unfortunate that many do not. but for my personal choice, i would get a cat from someone i know before i went to a pound or pet shop- but i support those that do adopt these kittens ebcause they all need to be placed in good homes.