Kitten or adult cat: choosing well
Kittens are harder work than people expect and adult cats are easier. What actually differs.
The default assumption is that a kitten is the safer choice because you shape it. In cats, that is less true than in dogs.
What a kitten costs you
Twelve to sixteen weeks of genuine chaos. Kittens climb curtains, chew cables, wake at four in the morning and play with your hands until you teach them not to. They need vaccinating, neutering, microchipping and a lot of supervision.
They are also, importantly, unfinished. A twelve-week-old kitten's adult temperament is substantially set by its first eight weeks - how it was handled, what it met - and you were not there for that. Buying a kitten does not let you choose a personality; it lets you inherit one you cannot yet see.
What an adult cat gives you
You can see who they are. A four-year-old cat in foster has a known temperament, a known relationship with other cats, a known tolerance for children and being alone. They are usually neutered, vaccinated and litter trained. Most settle within two to four weeks.
The trade-off is that you get less time, and that a cat with a difficult history may need patience and space rather than attention.
Two kittens, or one?
If you are getting a kitten and nobody is home during the day, get two. Littermates or a bonded pair play with each other, sleep in a heap, and are dramatically easier than a single kitten demanding a human play partner from 5am. Good breeders and rescues will often say this to you unprompted; it is not an upsell.
What to look for in a kitten
Bright eyes, clean nose and ears, no pot belly, playing rather than hiding. Handled underfoot in a home rather than raised in a pen. Litter trained and eating solid food.
Pedigree kittens should not leave before 13 weeks, fully vaccinated - that is the GCCF guidance, and a breeder offering an eight-week pedigree kitten is not following it. Non-pedigree kittens should be at least eight weeks and ideally more.
Indoor or outdoor
Decide before you choose. Some breeds - Ragdoll, Sphynx, Bengal - should not free-roam, for different reasons in each case. An indoor cat needs vertical space, structured play twice a day and enrichment; it is not a lower-effort option, just a different one.