Kittens to give away: where, when, how?

Your kitty had a litter and you will soon have to find them a new family... When to give the kittens and how to look for adopters? What precautions should be taken before adopting them? The donation of a kitten is subject to certain legal obligations, which ones?

You will need to write a classified ad in good and due form, and make sure you do everything in order... Find out what you need to know beforehand and implement to let your little cats go peacefully!

Find an adoptive family for your kitten

There are several solutions for placing kittens in a new family, starting with the simplest: word of mouth! By communicating around you, it is already possible for you to target the people with whom you think your little ones will be able to find a new life: family, friends, neighbors...

Unfortunately, this is often not enough. To find future owners for each of your baby cats, you will surely have to turn to strangers, particularly through classified ads (in nearby businesses, on the web, etc.) or even through an association such as the SPA or other local voluntary associations acting for the placement of animals in private homes: Second Chance, Animal Assistance Foundation, etc.

Some associations, acting at the departmental or regional level, are very active on social networks (Facebook) and will allow information to be relayed. Of course, you can also use your personal Facebook to spread the news.

Publish a classified ad

The sale of kittens, and more broadly of pets, even free of charge, is governed by law about the content of advertisements, particularly on the Internet (Le Bon Coin...): certain information must be duly informed. For example, you may be required to have the kittens microchipped and vaccinated before offering them up for adoption, and this should be included in the text of the ad.

You will then have to provide the identification number of each kitten, or failing that, that of the mother if the little ones are still too young to be microchipped. It is also possible for you to offer to fulfill all these obligations as soon as the kittens are old enough, that is to say, to take care of them yourself with the veterinarian but to indicate in the advertisement that the costs will be the responsibility of the adopters (obviously with veterinarian invoices and the kitten's health record in support).

Finally, be aware that some animal dispensaries (Animal Assistance, SPA, SAPAH) or veterinary schools offer the majority of routine consultations (vaccination, sterilization, etc.) with payment facilities, or even free of charge under certain conditions. At the SPA, prices are calculated according to household income.

At what age should kittens be given?

A kitten cannot be given up before its weaning, which generally takes place naturally around 8 weeks: the mother begins to distance herself and to push her little ones towards independence. Before giving a kitten, first, make sure that it is clean; this natural learning too, supported by the mother, is essential to the good balance of the cat and will facilitate its integration into its future home.

To do this, take the kittens together or individually, separated from the mother, and check that they know how to use the litter: leave them for a while in a separate room where you have placed the tray. If you see them panicking, it's probably still too early. Repeat the experiment as many times as necessary, taking care to gradually lengthen the time of separation with the mother.

But be careful: weaning a little cat prematurely and forcibly can cause behavioral problems, it is especially likely to be clean later. Finally, note that the diet of the kitten before and after weaning is different: take care to have made the transition before placing them in a new family.

Submit an ad to the veterinarian

You can also submit your advertisements to a veterinarian, whether it is your usual veterinarian or neighborhood veterinary practices; in both cases, you will have to ask permission and above all take care in writing your ad, with which it is strongly recommended to put a photo of the kittens so that it can be displayed in the waiting room by example.

When you go to your veterinarian for the first consultation with the little ones (production of the health record and vaccinations from 2 months), do not hesitate to talk to him about it: perhaps he has patients who are looking for adoption. For identification by chip, be aware that there is no minimum age but it is compulsory beyond seven months. In general, the veterinarian prefers to take advantage of the first vaccinations or sterilization to implant it.

What about purebred kittens?

The mention “purebred cat” is only authorized if the kitten is registered in the LOOF (Book of Feline Origins), that is to say, that it must have a pedigree. For this, the parents must themselves have a pedigree attesting to their origins. Obtaining a pedigree is subject to a LOOF registration process because the fact that the parents have a pedigree is not enough to officially make the kitten a “race X cat”.

However, in the absence of this inscription, it is possible to indicate “kitten type race X”, for example, Chartreux type, Siamese type ... In general, people seeking to adopt a small cat for free do not are not looking for a purebred cat, but this can already give an idea of ​​their appearance.