Many people picture a cute kitten sitting under the Christmas tree with a ribbon around its neck, and consider it the ideal surprise Christmas gift for a loved one. When considering giving a kitten (or cat) as a Christmas gift, please think carefully to make sure it is a suitable gift for the recipient.
A Long-Term Commitment
Owning a cat is a life-time commitment so please think long and hard before you bring home a kitten at Christmas or give that responsibility to someone else. Sadly many kittens (and cats) end up back in shelters after the Christmas period because they were unwanted gifts.
Affording a Cat
In their first year of life, kittens can be expensive. They usually require 2-3 veterinary visits in their first year; for vaccination shots, and to be spayed or neutered at six months of age. Cats will also need regular worm tablets and flea treatments, an annual vaccination and check-up, and cat owners needs to be able afford emergency vet visits and medical expenses if the situation arises. In addition to the cost of their health care needs, cats require food and treats, litter and a litter tray, bedding, toys and a scratching post. The financial commitment is ongoing for the duration of a cat’s life.
Image: Pawesome Cats
Time and Patience
It takes time and energy to train a kitten. Just like children, kittens need to be taught how to do things and the difference between right and wrong. Not all kittens learn quickly, so patience and time is paramount. Cat owners need to be prepared to teach their kitten how to use a litter box so that they don’t urinate on the floor. They’ll also need to be introduced to a scratching post so that they don’t scratch the sofa or other household furniture.
Timing is Everything
Christmas is typically a busy and sometimes stressful time of year for families with parties and celebrations, visitors and house guests. It may not be the best time to bring a new kitten or cat into the home. Ideally, the recipient needs the time available to spend with their new kitten and the opportunity to kitten-proof their home beforehand. It is often much more practical to welcome a new kitten into a home after the holiday season when everyone is more relaxed and settled into their regular routine.
Image: yoppy via Flickr
Finding a Perfect Match
You may think that a long-haired fluffy kitten is cute and the perfect gift, but does the intended recipient have the time or want to groom a long-haired cat on a daily basis? Do they have a particular breed or colour in mind or would they rather adopt a senior cat than a kitten? To ensure a long and happy union, it is vitally important to match the right cat to the right family, and the best person to do this is the cat owner themselves – they know exactly what they are looking for in a cat. Things to take into account include the cat’s personality, grooming requirements, how much attention they require and how they will fit into the lifestyle of their new family and any other pets.
Image: frankieleon via Flickr
Give a Gift Certificate
If you have your heart set on giving a cat as a Christmas gift, then why not consider a cat themed present accompanied with a handmade gift certificate for a local breeder or rescue organisation so that the recipient can select their own cat after the craziness of the holiday period has settled down.
Remember, a cat is a gift for a lifetime.
Have you ever given or received a kitten as a Christmas gift?
I think the gift certificate idea is purrfect, unless the recipient has already met and fallen in love with a particular cat at the shelter.
I really like your suggestion of a gift certificate. It is so important that the right cat(s) be matched with the right owner and home. It can be tempting to surprise someone that you know wants a cat, but I think that a gift certificate and a ride over to the rescue is an equally good surprise.
Really solid tips! So many apply to any animal – like a perfect match! You just never know.
My husband surprised me one year on my birthday with a cockatiel and it was one of the best birthdays I ever had. I think it is okay for parents to surprise their kids with a pet if the child really wants it and the parents are ready to make that commitment. Christmas morning is too crazy at our house to add a pet, but it might work for some families. However, randomly giving a person a pet isn’t a good idea. I love the idea of an adoption gift certificate, that way a person can adopt the pet that is right for her.
Great idea for the gift certificate if the person has expressed an interest in a pet.
I am not a fan of giving pets as gifts, especially if its a surprise gift! There is so much to consider when bringing a pet into the home. Great post!
Kittens and other pets have been given as gifts and when done right are no more likely to be given up than pets given at any other time of the year.
Yes, there are people who have no idea what they are getting into, but that happens all the time… It is not exclusive to holidays, nor is it exclusive to impulse adoptions..
(fyi you don’t teach a kitten to use a litter box, that is something they do naturally. You might need to remind the kitten where the box is if you give him too much space and it forgets where it is.)
Giving a pet as a gift is something that should never be a surprise. That is how we were able to get Bentley. He was a surprise gift for a friend that was not prepared for a puppy. It turned out great for us, but in many cases, the dog or cat would have ended up at a shelter.
Absolutely couldn’t agree more – animals are not possessions to be transferred. More so they are sentient beings that experience love, fear, anxiety, joy, etc. Just as humans need and thrive in consistency and positive environments, so do humans – and that means it’s for life!
I don’t think giving animals as gifts is a good idea but I like your idea of giving a gift certificate. I did get my cat on my birthday but I went by myself and picked her!
I adopted a cat for my mother as a Christmas surprise after her eldest cat passed away on Thanksgiving. He has been living happily with her and her 3 other cats ever since! 🙂
We got one of my cats a week or so after xmas – he was an abandoned Christmas kitten (so sad!) and he’s now been with the family nearly a decade. He is perfect, I can’t understand why anyone would want to abadon such an intelligent, handsome animal as he is. He’s a joy to be around, so affectionate and loving and never grumpy! (my other two have some real mood swings)
I love the gift certificate idea – picking up a kitten after Xmas means less animals having to die in the shelter due to overcrowding!
NO PET should be given at the holidays unless the recipients have been asked first!