Malia was a stray kitten found after the St Pete flooding early September. She will be ready soon (early-october) for her furever home and available for pre-adoption now! Although she is a single kitten, she would do best in a home with another cat or kitten. Please submit an adoption application found at CJPAWS.ORG/ADOPT so we can set you up with an appointment to meet! Mother Nature Knew What She Was Doing When She Created Kittens in Litters! Kittens need interaction with other kittens for healthy social development. A kitten learns a lot in the first several months of life from their mother and littermates. Even loving, caring, humans are not adequate substitutes for kitten companionship. Even if a person is fortunate enough to be home quite a bit, the amount of attention a lone kitten will demand is likely to occupy more time than the person has available. A pair of kittens will definitely still want to interact with people, but can keep each other occupied. Most cats, regardless of their age, are highly sociable and are truly happier living with other cat companions. This in turn makes them better pets. Kittens are curious and crave constant stimulation. Out of boredom, a single kitten will often entertain themself by chewing plants, climbing drapes and furniture, unrolling toilet paper, exploring electrical cords and sockets, etc. Kittens who live with other kittens may sometimes do these things as well, but if they have another kitten to tumble around and play with it is less likely they’ll need to entertain themselves with behaviors like these, which can be destructive and dangerous. Kittens bite and wrestle with one another–this behavior is normal. You can’t prevent a kitten from doing what comes naturally, any more than you can force a two-year-old toddler to sit still. Though it’s not acceptable for a kitten to bite and wrestle with their human companions, in the absence of having a littermate or companion their own age to play with, this is precisely what a single kitten will want to do. Even if you are willing to allow (and can tolerate) this behavior from your kitten, by the time the kitten matures, you will end up with an adult cat who has developed very bad habits (i.e. biting and scratching as “play”). Kittens are very active at night A single kitten is likely to keep people awake at night with constant jumping, pouncing and other “hunting” behavior. With a companion to play with at night, this behavior is minimized because they will have each other to chase and play games with until they too fall asleep. A single kitten is not a good companion for an older cat Kittens have boundless energy. They want to play and run constantly which typically overwhelms and irritates an older cat. Likewise, a kitten is apt to be frustrated that their companion doesn’t have their same level of energy. At the very least, this can lead to two very unhappy cats. At worst, behavior problems such as litter box avoidance or destructive scratching can occur as one or both cats act out their frustrations on their surroundings. It’s not likely that the two will have a close, bonded relationship, even after the kitten matures, since their experiences with one another from the beginning of the relationship are likely to be negative. An older cat is better matched with a cat closer to their own age and temperament. If you chose to add a kitten to a home with an older cat, adopt a pair of kittens, not a single kitten. This ensures the energetic kittens have buddies to play with and the older cat can choose to participate in playing or not. Please follow us on Facebook where you can message questions via messenger. 100% of adoption fees directly support CJPaws, a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal rescue headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL where we are dedicated towards improving animal welfare in our community. Our mission is to provide compassionate care to homeless cats especially those who are pregnant or injured, by rehabilitating them and ensuring they find loving forever homes while promoting responsible pet ownership. Our rescue is 100% run by volunteers, and we are 100% run on donations. We do not receive any grants from the government or from any private organizations. We are able to keep operating and saving animals because of donations from people like you. If you would like to help us continue to save animals, you can donate, foster, and adopt! ** To apply, please go to our website, www.cjpaws.org and visit the Adoptions page. Or copy and paste into your browser: http://www.cjpaws.org/adopt/app/ *** It can take up to 24 hours to respond to your application and an additional 1-2 business days to have your application approved. Not all applications will be approved. Applications that are incomplete will not be approved. Please include all veterinary information, as we will be contacting your veterinarian. Our non-refundable adoption fee covers spay/neuter, age appropriate vaccinations, deworming, monthly flea medication while in our rescue, any medications while in our rescue, an FeLV/FIV test, and the unconditional love of your new family member. Our rescue does not continue to pay for flea medication, vaccinations, deworming, or any other medications after the animal is adopted. All costs and fees accrued after adoption are the responsibility of the new family.
