Advice on rehoming kittens?

[BarnyardChaos]

So first let me say mama Karma is getting spayed on Oct. 25th so this doesn't happen again. Dad Sammy is a feral neighborhood cat that my husband dotes on and refuses to get him neutered. He's a fantastic mouser and lives under our feed shed. That said...

Karma had her first (and only) litter on Aug. 13th, five beautiful little kitties. They are very healthy and growing so fast! They play and explore all over the house all day long. I've already got them litter-trained, and am working on socialization with our two other cats, three dogs, and the grandkids. They aren't weaned yet, but almost. They eat dry kitten chow, supplemented with cooked chicken or tuna from time to time. I just took them to the vet a few days ago for their first round of shots, and have de-wormer on hand when they're just a bit older.

My question is how to best go about rehoming them? I will ask for payment, to cover their vet bills and to ensure they don't just go to someone who'll feed them to their pet dragon or whatever. Craigslist scares the heck out of me, to rehome a pet - but I may have to. Facebook marketplace? Somewhere else? What approach should I take?

 

[Gizabelle]

You could check with your vet. They would likely allow you to put up a flier, and you'd have some piece of mind knowing the prospective owner is already an established veterinary client (probably). A vets office may also be able to point you to local FB groups that focus on rehome/rescue.

Your babies are absolutely adorable!

 

[Callender Girl]

Karma and her kittens are beautiful! It's admirable that you are taking such good care of the babies and getting Karma spayed.

I like the vet office idea. But, if that's not practical, Craigslist doesn't have to be awful. You can meet the respondents in person and question them at length. The animal rescues I have worked with do home visits and background checks. Not really practical for you, I'm sure. But meeting the potential adoptees can help you determine if your kittens will be going to good homes.

My chief suggestion is that you do whatever you're going to do while the babies are still sweet, young things. When I took in a pregnant stray, everybody I talked to wanted kittens until she actually produced four. They all ended up living with me -- forever.

I'm sure you've mentioned this to your husband. but neutering Sammy is likely to keep him safer from wandering and getting into skirmishes with other male cats in addition to reducing the number of kittens needing homes.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Just a heads up, neutering doesn't guarantee they won't wander or fight. We have a neutered cat, and while he won't wander off our property, he absolutely will fight other males if he sees them.

Also some shelters actually advise against rehoming black cats around Halloween, depending on where you are, since unfortunately people can be awful with them during spooky season

 

[MasAhora]

Karma and her kittens are beautiful! It's admirable that you are taking such good care of the babies and getting Karma spayed.

I like the vet office idea. But, if that's not practical, Craigslist doesn't have to be awful. You can meet the respondents in person and question them at length. The animal rescues I have worked with do home visits and background checks. Not really practical for you, I'm sure. But meeting the potential adoptees can help you determine if your kittens will be going to good homes.

My chief suggestion is that you do whatever you're going to do while the babies are still sweet, young things. When I took in a pregnant stray, everybody I talked to wanted kittens until she actually produced four. They all ended up living with me -- forever.

I'm sure you've mentioned this to your husband. but neutering Sammy is likely to keep him safer from wandering and getting into skirmishes with other male cats in addition to reducing the number of kittens needing homes.

Neutering a male cat is essential to prevent more unwanted kittens in the neighborhood.
I trapped and neutered a male cat who had been in fights. I ended up bringing him inside to live with me permanently. His wounds were not easily seen at first but one scratch was very deep and got seriously infected. Because he kept scratching the wound it got bigger and took a very long time to heal. He'd be dead from infection if I had not brought him in.

He has adjusted to indoor life beautifully and I love him, but his scars are permanent and run from above his ear to under his chin. I doubt that he could tolerate another serious fight scratch on that damaged skin.

I've often talked to men who cannot separate being forced to personally have a vasectomy with neutering their male dog or cat. It's a guy thing but they can be won over! One trick is to never call it castration, that (understandably) seems to creep many men out.

 

[CFLRanching]

You could always go the old route too before the days of internet...little sign out front with Kitten, Free to a Good Home, and put your number. Or place something @ your feed store (If they have a board) or most Tractor Supply stores in the back usually have a board for ad placement.

 

[Tevian]

I agree with a vet and feed supply ads if they’ll let you put them up, or any community notice board you have available. Facebook banned the selling of animals so you can’t go through there, but you can still go through Craigslist if you want. I’d have a list of questions ready to ask anyone who asks about them, regardless of how they heard about them.
Stuff like:
- what other pets they have/how many/if those pets are used to cats
- what’s their cat owning experience
- if they have kids/elderly people in the house
I don’t think you could ask for proof of vet records like shelters can, but you can probably get an idea of how responsible they are with their pet ownership through chatting to them.
And if you can’t rehome them all, you could always contact a local rescue or the vet office, who might have contacts for fosters or other rescues that can place them.
The colour point kittens are so gorgeous! I’m sure they’ll find homes super fast.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Thank you! I think so, too. I was hoping the black kittens would also find homes quickly, with Halloween just around the corner. They'll just be two days over 11 weeks on Halloween. Close enough!

I wanted to add that at least back home the shelters won't adopt out black kittens during the month of October because they had issues with people using them for "rituals". Just something to be aware of.

We had a feral cat show up we had no idea how old he was initially, but we trapped him and had him fixed by the vet. He was estimated to be approximately 2-3 years old at the time when he was fixed. He showed up everyday to be fed for 15 years after that.

 

[Folly's place]

And Sammy will be a better hunter if he's not worried about 'girly stuff'. Also he'll be safer, as already mentioned. And his pee won't be so fragrant.
Mary

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I've placed ads on rescueme.org (thank you, @texsuze ) and craigslist. Already have two inquiries as of this morning. Ads state they will not be available until Nov. 4th (they'll be 12 weeks, and I'll get their 2nd round of shots done before they go). I hope to do home visits before letting them go, but not sure if that's feasible. Already it hurts to think of letting them go, not knowing what their fate will be. I've grown so attached!!!