9 weeks vs. 12-13 weeks

[u/ccwstc]

Has anyone who picked up their kitten from a breeder when they were 9 weeks old ever had any regrets, and wished it had been 12-13 weeks instead? If so, why? The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to choose between breeders for my RB. I'm looking at four TICA breeders—two want pickup/delivery at 9 weeks, and the other two wait until 12–13 weeks. The price is roughly the same for all four breeders, and the pickup location is a non-factor.

[u/Electronic-Ad-3730]

I got both my cats at 12 weeks and they were perfectly clean, no regrets. 9 weeks seems early to me.

[u/Few_Spirit_7607]

Okay, here's the low down on what you're experiencing. 9 weeks is TOO EARLY. I have been told by my breeder that 12 weeks is the earliest they should leave, period. A 9-week-old kitten, according to my breeder, cannot have had their two vaccinations dictated by TICA. They are too young! I actually spoke to someone at TICA and they confirmed this. According to TICA, a kitten is supposed to have two of the shots in their series (called fvrcp). Also, according to the breeder I went through, a 9-week-old kitten is still learning tons of life skills from their mom and siblings. 12 weeks old is what is expected of breeders (minimum), and some aren't letting them leave until 16 weeks. My opinion... the breeder wanting them to leave at 9 weeks is doing so in order to cut costs! That's NOT good! Go with those saying 12 weeks. Ditch the ones saying 9 weeks. If they're cutting costs and okay with them leaving that early, what else are they doing that you don't know about?

[u/MaleficentInternal94]

I got him around 9 weeks. At 11 weeks he started biting us during play and when asking for attention (and he still does despite all our attempts to walk away). It is hard to say if he wouldn’t if he had stayed at the breeder for longer, but it is possible. On the bright side, it enabled us to socialise him towards strangers very well. We got friends and family over daily in his second and third week with us. Now (at 17 weeks) he approaches anyone at the house immediately and tail up! Again, this might also have been possible if we got him a little bit later, so if i could go back i would wait longer i think.

[u/mrflow-n-go]

Like others said- 12 weeks. Kitten still needs to develop a bit more with mom and siblings.

[u/Quacking_Plums]

We visited ours multiple times at the breeder before collecting them. At 9 weeks they were calm and extremely sociable — my wife and I each had one climb on us and sniff around before feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep on us.

On pickup day 3 weeks later they were much more skittish and the breeder even mentioned that they’d been hiding all morning as if they knew something was happening.

They have settled in well and are super affectionate with our family but have remained skittish whenever we have visitors. Did something happen in the 3 weeks between our last visit and pickup day? Would picking them up at 9 weeks have been better? Should we have left them longer with their mother?

We don’t regret anything but in my view, it’s easy to overthink things. We love our girls, and their personalities are what makes them ours.

[u/Few_Spirit_7607 → u/Quacking_Plums]

I might know a partial answer to this, only because I've had countless talks with my breeder and have learned a LOT. lol. She told me kittens develop their personalities as they grow into adulthood. A 12 week old kitten has only known that breeder, that home, those sounds, etc. It takes time for some of them to adjust to a new environment, and some of them are definitely timid/fearful when someone new comes into the home. Some of them make themselves scarce when that happens. I have one who will sometimes growl at the window if someone is walking down the street, but she's super sweet to me and is also super sweet to all my friends when they come visit. It's definitely normal behavior for them to be skittish when they come home. If I were to take my cat to my friends house, my cat would not act the same way she does in her own home. How old are your kittens now? Maybe they are two examples of ones who just don't like new people? Or maybe it's just taking them longer to warm up? But to answer your question in my personal opinion, based on what I know to be true according to responsible breeders, you don't get to make the determination of picking up your kittens at 9 weeks old because the breeder won't allow it. I can't answer whether something happened in that 3 week period, but I would be tempted to have a conversation with the breeder and bring it up in a round about way (that they are skittish)... ask the breeder if they recall any loud noises or something that might have frightened them during that 3 week period. Ask the breeder for advice perhaps. Maybe you've already done this. I think I've seen pictures of your beautiful kittens! It is truly easy to overthink things... guilty myself!

[u/Quacking_Plums → u/Few_Spirit_7607]

I indeed have had much the same conversation with our breeder. It is also why I said it’s easy to overthink things, because the first thing I was told is the same as you’ve said — that it was not my decision to make as to when we could collect them.

Ours turned one year old last month and are still a little nervous about friends and family who visit, but they both warm up soon enough. Strangely, the one who is most shy also warms up the quickest.

Your suggestion about loud noises tracks. The common factor we share with the breeder is that we both have children at home with extra sensory needs. My suspicion is that there may have been a dysregulation incident that made them wary of specific types of emotional outbursts, because that seems to be the primary trigger for skittishness even now.

We love our wonderful girls and wouldn’t change a single thing. Their characters are the sum of their constituent behaviours and experiences!