Adopt Instead of Buying

If you’re thinking about whether to adopt or buy a kitten or cat, think adoption first!

Instead of searching for where to buy cats or where to get a kitten, start with Petfinder—a resource that gives you access to more than 100,000 lovable, adoptable cats and kittens from 11,000 animal shelters and rescue organizations who are waiting for forever homes. When you search for cats on Petfinder.com, you can filter your results by:

City, state or zip
Breed
Age
Gender
Recently added
Appearance
Health and behavior
Shelter or rescue group name

You can find lovable, healthy cats or kittens for sale that you’ve searched for online at your nearest animal shelter or rescue group. Also, unlike the cost of buying a purebred kitten or cat, the cost of kitten adoption or cat adoption is much less expensive. Plus, the adoption fee usually covers basic veterinary care, including vaccinations and spaying/neutering, which can greatly reduce the cost of caring for a cat.

If you’re thinking about finding a “cat for sale near me” or a “kitten for sale near me,” adoption is a better option. To find adoptable pets near you, start a search for cats and kittens.

Benefits of Adopting a Kitten or Cat

By adopting an adult cat or kitten from a shelter or rescue organization, you’ll discover benefits beyond your wonderful new feline friend. For example:

By adopting, you’ll be able to save a kitten’s life or a cat’s life and have the emotional satisfaction of knowing you made that second chance at life possible.
When you bring your new pet home, you make room for the shelter or rescue group to take in another homeless pet. So, you help save another life.
Because shelter pets usually aren’t purebred, the breed mixes and characteristics make each cat or kitten from a shelter or rescue group uniquely wonderful.
When you welcome an adopted cat or kitten into your family, you’ll enjoy the reward of watching them grow, thrive and become the happy companion they were meant to be.

Cost of Adoption

Any cat parent will tell you how priceless these small, furry family members are, from their entertaining, acrobatic prowess to their instant purring appreciation for your love and attention. While no one can put a price on the endless hours of enjoyment you’ll have with your adopted kitty, an adoption fee does help to cover the expenses of sheltering and veterinary care for the pets in an adoption organization.

To ensure the important work continues by pet welfare professionals, most pet shelters and rescue groups will require a minimal adoption fee when you adopt a cat. In some instances, an adoption organization may waive a fee to place cats and kittens in healthy, safe and loving homes, and the benefits of adopting don’t end there.

Animal welfare groups often provide the cats in their organization initial medical care such as spay/neuter, age-appropriate vaccinations, microchipping and a wellness check. These important health checks are covered in the adoption fee, which could range from being waived to a couple hundred dollars. It is always a good idea to confirm fees beforehand, as they can vary from one adoption organization to another.

To help a cat or kitten get off to a healthy and happy start in their new home, the following medical care is often included in a typical adoption fee. This care not only gives adopters peace of mind about their new pets’ health, it also ensures the well-being of adopted cats and kittens as they join their new families.

Treatments	Procedures	Services
Feline Leukemia/FIV test Ticks, fleas, or deworming treatment Distemper vaccinations Rabies vaccinations	Spaying Neutering Microchipping	Veterinarian appointments Wellness exam Registration tags or license

Adopt a Cat or Buy a Kitten?

If you’re considering whether to buy a purebred kitten or adopt an adult cat, ask any adopter who has welcomed an adult cat into their home. They will tell you that the satisfaction and joy of watching a cat learn to accept the love of a new family and share their personality as they learn to trust their new home will warm your heart even more than watching the cutest kitten at play.

Kittens and Cats for Sale: Consider Adopting Instead of Buying Your Cat

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