Kitten and cat checklist

Before you go

• Agree you are seeing the kitten with its mother, in the room it was raised in.
• Pedigree kittens should not leave before 13 weeks, fully vaccinated. Non-pedigree kittens not before 8 weeks.
• Know the breed's tests: PKD for Persians and British Shorthairs, the specific HCM mutation for Ragdolls and Maine Coons, PRA-b and PK Deficiency for Bengals.
• Ask whether the kittens have been raised underfoot in the house or in a pen. It makes more difference than the pedigree does.

On the day

• Clean ears, clear eyes, no sneezing, no runny nose. Upper respiratory infection is common and it can be lifelong.
• A round belly is normal; a hard, distended one is not.
• Watch them play. A kitten that will not play is a kitten to ask about.
• Is the litter tray clean, and do the kittens use it confidently?
• Does the mother look well, or does she look worn out?
• Ask to handle one. A well-socialised kitten tolerates being picked up.

Questions worth asking

• How many people have handled them, and from what age?
• What are they eating, and how often?
• Have they met a dog, a hoover, a washing machine?
• Are they vaccinated, microchipped and wormed, and can I see the record?
• What is the mother's temperament like? It predicts the kitten's better than anything else.

Two, or one?

If nobody is home during the day, take two. Littermates play with each other, sleep together and are markedly easier than a single kitten demanding a human. Good breeders will often say this to you before you ask.

Walk away if

• The kittens are under eight weeks, or under thirteen for a pedigree.
• The mother is not there.
• The kittens are kept somewhere you are not allowed to see.
• You are being sold on colour or on "rare" markings rather than on health.