Free Kittens

Giving Away Kittens

Maybe you have had an accidental breeding or adopted a cat who was pregnant. Your kittens are by no means pedigreed, and you wouldn’t feel right charging money for them. You need to find homes fast, and everyone knows that the most loving people adopt unwanted animals instead of purchasing. There are so many people out there who are desperate to provide a good home, but can’t afford to buy a kitten. Why not put an ad in the paper, or better yet, spend an afternoon in the grocery store parking lot giving away your cute little fuzz balls for free?

Think again. A few free kittens find their way into loving, caring homes. But many are neglected, abandoned, fed to pet snakes, used as bait to train racing and fighting dogs, or sold to laboratories for experimentation.

The typical free kitten is picked up on impulse, by someone who just can’t resist. Once they get the kitten home, they realize that they cannot keep the kitten because of other pets, unwilling family members, rental agreements, lifestyle conflicts, or simply because it is too much work. Some well-intentioned people take the kitten home and turn it loose, believing they have saved it from a worse fate.

On the other end of the spectrum are those who actually shop for free kittens to feed to snakes, use as bait, or sell for a profit to laboratories. Federal law permits research laboratories to purchase dogs and cats as long as they are not microchipped or tattooed.

A Better Life

Charging a nominal fee such as $25 or $50 will weed out the majority of the worst “free kitten” shoppers, and will improve the quality of the honest takers. When people make a small investment in their kitten initially, they are more likely to be serious about taking care of their pet. If you do not want to “sell” your kittens, you can require a small donation made to your favorite charity, such as a local rescue organization.

Adopting Free Kittens

Adopting free kittens has its advantages and disadvantages. There are many things that you should consider.

If you already have cats, it is a risky choice. Free kittens typically come from homes where the healthcare of the parents has been neglected. You may be bringing a myriad of diseases and parasite home to your cats. Feline Leukemia, mites, and fleas are the most common problems that come with free kittens.

If you do not already have cats free kittens can be a great choice, if you truly want a pet and you are willing to do the work should it turn out that your new kitten does have an illness or parasites. Certainly, not all free kittens are in poor health. Many come from loving homes and from healthy parents.

The origin of your kitten is really not important. The most important thing is your personal commitment. So, avoid taking free kittens home on a whim. Free kittens do come with health risks, but in reality kittens from any source can have a disease or parasites.