Cats are one of the most popular pets in the world. A quick glance at the popularity of cat videos on the internet will testify to that! But while these fantastic creatures have a long history living alongside humans, how should you go about getting one of your own?
There are a lot of ways you can go about getting your own cat – and they don’t all cost money. Let’s take a look at the many ways you can go about getting a pet cat for yourself.
The Pet Store
We might as well get the most obvious answer out of the way first. Yes, the pet shop is a great way of getting your first cat. But you will likely have only limited options and it could cost quite a bit as well.
However, if you’re not after a pedigree breed, then pet stores are quite possibly one of the best places to start searching. Remember though, that many pet stores will only have kittens. So if you’re looking for an older cat then it might be best try one of the alternatives.
Cat Breeders
Cat breeders are to be found pretty much everywhere. You could live really close to one and not even know it. They are often the best way of finding rarer or more exotic cat breeds, with some breeders specialising in one or two particular breeds. Be warned, of course, that the more rare and exotic the breed the more money you are likely to end up paying for it.
There’s a variety of ways of finding a breeder. For instance, many will advertise in pet stores and phonebooks. But in general, we’d say a quick Google search is sure to bring up plenty of results.
Charities / Cat’s Home
There are numerous cat charities and animal shelters out there that make it their mission to find a new home for cats, for example Cats Protection. So you won’t just be getting yourself a new friend, but also be giving a cat a new home into the bargain.
Costs for rehoming a cat/ kitten vary. It might even be free in some circumstances. Finding your nearest cat’s home, charity or animal shelter is usually pretty easy. The phonebook is a good place to look, but the internet will almost certainly also be able to point you in the right direction.
Taking in a Stray
Many cat owners take in strays and with a little patience, it is actually surprisingly easy to “home them” in the majority of cases. It’s important you first make sure the cat is not feral (if the cat is friendly or comes up to you for food then it’s likely not to be feral).
You should also check to make sure the cat doesn’t already have an owner. So make sure you check for missing pet posters. One good way to keep tabs on a missing cat, of course, is to fit a cat-finding device to their collar. Or you could even opt to put your own “found pet” posters up. If no one comes asking about the missing pet, then you may be safe to start taking care of it yourself. Hopefully, in time, your new cat will adapt to living in your home and you will have found your new pet.
Friends and Family
If a friend or a family member has a cat that has kittens, and they want to rehome them, there’s a fairly obvious ready-made route to choosing one of them for yourself. It’s much more common than you might think to be asked by friends and family if you’d like a kitten. And if, for example, a friend or relative is moving away from the area, you might be asked to look after their cat/ kitten temporarily – or possibly even permanently.
So as you can see there are lots of options if you are looking to buy a pet cat. Just make sure you do your research and find exactly what your heart is looking for.
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