Advice noted. Thanks. Don’t want to cause trouble unnecessarily.
No, none of the cats were from the same litter. They were all (at various times) introduced as adults.
You’re right in that I didn’t clue in to the “kitten” distinction.
I agree, I definitely encourage people to consider adopting an adult cat. I did it that way and I’m glad I did. Kittens are definitely cute, but you never can be sure which ones will grow up to be grumpy adults, so I feel it is less of a gamble to focus on looking for a friendly, playful adult if you enjoy kitten-ish behavior. Even though he is now several years old, my cat often still acts like a kitten because it’s just part of his personality to be friendly and playful.
I looked at both the kittens and adults when I was at the shelter, but I felt more confident getting an adult cat who had been given a reputation by the shelter workers for “loving everyone”. 
It turned out to be an accurate reputation. He’s so ridiculously good-natured and friendly that some of the people I know who dislike cats make an exception for him.
I can understand why shelters would want to encourage people to adopt two cats. Two cats really are not that much more work than just one, and I do think that cats who are frequently alone benefit from the mental stimulation of having another animal around (even if they aren’t cuddly pals with each other - my two aren’t, even though the cat mentioned above would love to cuddle up to the other one if she would allow it).
However, I am surprised that any shelter would insist that you have to take two cats. The shelter I went to has a policy of “Two for the Price of One” to kind of encourage it, but they would have allowed me to take just one if I wanted to.
Some of the rescue agencies do seem to expect an awful lot of potential adopters (I know of a bird rescue around here that requires anyone who wants to adopt a bird to be a volunteer at the shelter for a while before they can even apply to adopt a bird!). I think it is a bit off-putting. However, I can see how some shelters feel the need to screen people rigorously. I’m sure they have seen a lot of terrible things from irresponsible pet owners and don’t want to be party to that sort of mess.
Mine was a no-kill shelter cat of about a year and a half. She was the one cat in the cage who wasn’t just sitting around. She was nosing at the bars, very friendly, very curious. I was looking for a more active cat, so the one I already had wouldn’t get lazy. Sure enough, she turned out to be the goofiest, most loving, and active cat I’ve ever seen in my life. Everyone adores her. Now, at around 10 years old, she mostly sleeps, but she was very active for quite a few years.
I adopted Kee-Kee from Petsmart two years ago when she was thought to be seven months old. She still loves to play, and I wish we could get her a companion, but hubby has said only one cat in the household 
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Mine weren’t adults, actually. I went looking for adult cats, but the ones that picked me out were the cat equivalent of teenagers. Cats of that age (5 months - 1 year) are still very playful, but are harder to find someone to adopt them because they’re out of that cute fuzzy stage.
And it’s possible that your cat will pick you out, just like Luna picked me. When I walked by her enclosure, she meowed at me. I picked her up, and she started licking my face. I knew that was my cat, right there and then.
And if they weren’t hypocrits about judging other shelters and pet owners, I wouldn’t care. But when you have policies that encourage people to use pet stores or commercial breeders while simultanously bemoaning the existance of said pet stores and commercial breeders, I really can’t get past “you guys aren’t helping - you think you are helping, but you aren’t.”
Just in fairness, here, I work with a few people who are dedicated shelter volunteers, and their reticence to place with anything but the most perfect homes comes (for them) from seeing way too often what happens when they don’t. They DO want to place critters, but they see every day the consequences of placing critters in non-ideal homes, and it often involves euthanasia.
When our kitty Sebastian was killed at a young age, after having charmed us into adopting him as a stray baby, I decided to adopt a pair. Bridget and Oliver are indeed a pair: now a year and a half old, they egg each other on to new heights of destruction!
Simply and boringly put, you just can’t tell with kittens what they’ll turn out to be like, or whether they’ll like each other. If it matters to you to have a cuddler, by all means quiz the shelter people about their adult cats. They will know.
Wow, nice foot. Did you just get a pedicure? (Nice kitty, too. 
)
Actually, cats are not THAT solitary in nature.
Cities that have large populations of stray cats will prove that.
They do live together in large groups with an alpha male and female.
I don’t know where people get the silly notion that cats are solitary in nature.
Yes, they do like to roam by themselves, but they do tend to live in communities.
And since we are repeatedly told there are more pets than homes, some pets are going to be euthanized. They are prioritzing the individual animal over the animals in aggregate. Obviously, not all animals placed in less than perfect homes are euthanized (in fact, I doubt there is an “ideal” home for pets). Some homes that shelter workers judge as less than perfect do turn out to be wonderful homes. Some people don’t have fences - but don’t need them - they have leash dogs that get plenty of exercise on long walks or jogs - or small dogs that don’t need as much exercise - we live half a mile from a wonderful off leash park - and while we are putting in a fence for the dog, the dogs been functionally yard trained in a week while waiting for the fence (he will follow the kids out of the yard if they are running). Some homes that are good homes to the shelter workers turn out to be poor homes long term. The owner brings in a new partner the dog doesn’t like. Babies are born into a house and the owners decide babies plus dog is too much.
So I ran out of time this morning. The author of Dogs for Dummies makes a really good point about this behavior. When you deny someone an animal, and they go to the pet store or puppy farm or take their friend’s neighbor’s kittens (and pay for them!) they are rewarding the irresponsible behaviors associated with not neutering your pets - and your an accessory to that. If I manage to sell five of my box of kittens for $30 each and have no vet bills associated - and drop the sixth off at the shelter cost free - hey, that’s $150 for very little effort - it will cost me that much to spay my cat. Why not let her continue to have kittens - an extra $150 here and there for almost no effort would be welcome. And its a win for the adopter of the kitten - humane/rescue society kittens and puppies come pre-fixed and pre vaccinated - and they pass along the costs to you - kittens are $100+ through a rescue organization. With a $30 “box of kittens” cat I can take it home and make it a house cat and avoid the fixing and the vet (maybe a cheap vaccination clinic or something) - and end up with my own “box o kittens.” The idea here should be to make doing the responsible thing as easy as possible so people avoid/are not rewarded for doing the irresponsible thing.
Absolutely. I can see both sides; if you can’t afford $100 to spay/neuter, you should probably reconsider getting a pet at all - they are going to expect to be fed regularly, etc., but on the other hand, it benefits everyone to have all the pets possible spayed or neutered, so make it as easy as possible for people to do the responsible thing.
This is actually my favorite age to get a cat. They’re much easier to care for, you don’t have to train them too much. Their personalities are pretty well-developed and you can tell what they’re going to be like. And they still love to play.
We adopted our 10-year old, Jack, when he was almost 1. My husband was looking at the little kittens and Jack walked over, rubbed Mr. Tee’s legs and then threw himself on his back and started purring and begging for tummy rubs. He was ours right then. The cats we adopted 10 days ago are about 8 months old. Very playful (this morning one of them chased the shadow the other’s tail made on the ground) and friendly, with definite personalities and the desire to explore. 5 months to a year is an excellent age.
I suspect most people don’t end up with the box o kittens due to financial hardship - they do it because they are LAZY. Or maybe not lazy, per se, but “well, I’ll wait until she’s a little older, a little kitten and surgery isn’t good.” Its so easy to put off 'til tomorrow something like fixing your cat. Before you know it your cat is eight months old and knocked up because she slipped out the door for two minutes. Because those kittens go at the human society neutered with the neuter bill attached.
Or they don’t realize how quickly cats come into sexual maturity. Jim’s cat was spayed at 6 months (I believe it was), and she was in her first heat when they did the surgery.