How Did You Choose Your Cat?

tarasgirl06

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I don't understand how the neighbor having an outdoor cat, which she abandoned when she moved, that I took in somehow equates to me not being a caring person and not having spayed/neutered indoor cats when in fact they are.
You misconstrued what I said, which again is that I HOPED and PRAYED they are kept indoors and spayed/neutered. Good on ya for doing so! and may your beloved cats live long, safely and loved!:yess:
 

Nature9000

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Ooh it's a long story. For Prince, it's much simpler. Here's Prince:

20180811_132141.jpg

I was working at Pet Supermarket and he was one of the kittens there, 5 months last November, and of course I've always said "I'm a dog person, and if I have a pet it's going to be a dog, or a black cat if I get a cat" that last part is important to Nikita's tale later....point is Prince was playful and cuddly, exploitative and always wanting my attention every time I moved by his cage. He charmed me of course (initially they named him Sweet Tea, but I talk fast and say Sweetie, and he's a guy...so my childhood nickname in gaming was King, I named him Prince) My coworker was trying to get me to adopt him, but what finally got me was feeling jealous and nervous watching a customer cuddle him. I knew I had to bring him home then.


Nikita is more complex. Here's the lovable little girl:
20180515_101325.jpg


When I was a kid, I had a beautiful black cat my mom named Nikki for short (Nikki was actually a he) Mom wanted to name Nikki after her favorite show La Femme Nikita. Well, when she and my brother passed, my grandparents wanted no animals. They sent the dogs to the pound, but Nikki bolted out the door. I don't know if Nikki ever found a home or died outside...

Years later, I was in an abusive relationship with this woman, during that time I had a beautiful black kitten which I named Nikita the 2nd. She was the runt of the litter, loveable and cuddly, and the one bright spot in my life during that time. When I finally got the courage to escape that place, I went to stay with my grandparents but they told me "Don't bring any animals", and I was forced to leave Nikita behind.

Now back in March, while working at Petco and two weeks before leaving to work for the school district, this beautiful, kitten sized black cat came in. She was always watching me, and let me pet her and love on her. The runt of the litter and all, she reminded me so much of Nikita the 2nd that I just had to have her. So I adopted her, and she became Nikita the 3rd, no one could keep me from having her and she is so loveable. At first, Prince didn't like her, having been an only cat for 3 to 4 months, but now they're like the best of friends.

Here they are together:
20180526_002350.jpg
 

tarasgirl06

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Ooh it's a long story. For Prince, it's much simpler. Here's Prince:

View attachment 247278
I was working at Pet Supermarket and he was one of the kittens there, 5 months last November, and of course I've always said "I'm a dog person, and if I have a pet it's going to be a dog, or a black cat if I get a cat" that last part is important to Nikita's tale later....point is Prince was playful and cuddly, exploitative and always wanting my attention every time I moved by his cage. He charmed me of course (initially they named him Sweet Tea, but I talk fast and say Sweetie, and he's a guy...so my childhood nickname in gaming was King, I named him Prince) My coworker was trying to get me to adopt him, but what finally got me was feeling jealous and nervous watching a customer cuddle him. I knew I had to bring him home then.


Nikita is more complex. Here's the lovable little girl:
View attachment 247279

When I was a kid, I had a beautiful black cat my mom named Nikki for short (Nikki was actually a he) Mom wanted to name Nikki after her favorite show La Femme Nikita. Well, when she and my brother passed, my grandparents wanted no animals. They sent the dogs to the pound, but Nikki bolted out the door. I don't know if Nikki ever found a home or died outside...

Years later, I was in an abusive relationship with this woman, during that time I had a beautiful black kitten which I named Nikita the 2nd. She was the runt of the litter, loveable and cuddly, and the one bright spot in my life during that time. When I finally got the courage to escape that place, I went to stay with my grandparents but they told me "Don't bring any animals", and I was forced to leave Nikita behind.

Now back in March, while working at Petco and two weeks before leaving to work for the school district, this beautiful, kitten sized black cat came in. She was always watching me, and let me pet her and love on her. The runt of the litter and all, she reminded me so much of Nikita the 2nd that I just had to have her. So I adopted her, and she became Nikita the 3rd, no one could keep me from having her and she is so loveable. At first, Prince didn't like her, having been an only cat for 3 to 4 months, but now they're like the best of friends.

Here they are together:
View attachment 247280
Good on ya for "escaping that place" and the other places that were not positive, and for adopting and loving Prince and Nikita, who are gorgeous together! The unconditional loyalty and love cats give can't be found anywhere else. :redtabby::bigeyes:
 
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corvidae

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I am so grateful for everyone who shared their stories! I made a post about it in the photo forum a little while ago but I figured I would post here as well, as I have finally been able to choose my cat!

I went to the SPCA and was interacting with a lot of the adult cats, all of whom were lovely. But when I opened Jem's kennel and reached out to him he crawled up into my arms, purring up a storm. Then he licked my shirt and buried his face in the crook of my arm. Then he licked my cheek. A couple minutes later I went to put him back in his kennel so I could continue looking around, and he wouldn't go. It turns out I didn't have to choose a cat- my cat chose me.


Featuring the bed I hand sewed over the summer.

Mid yawn!
 

ArchyCat

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corvidae corvidae -- The cats choose us, the staff, more often than not! Some, like you, at a rescue center, or on our porch or back garden. Jem looks like a sweet orange (some call that red) cat. I have a orange girl I rescued from a neighbors patio. She was pregnant and three kittens two weeks latter.

Good luck! Hope things go well for you and Jem!
 

1 bruce 1

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I picked one cat out based on his looks and coat, and his really cool laid back demeanor. ONE.

The rest of them picked us and just randomly showed up, little knapsacks on their backs and were like "HI. I'm your new cat. 'Scuse me" (as they moved past us into the living room), "Move, please, while I hop up, clean my butt on your couch and leave hair all over the place. Oh yeah, I have like 2,000 fleas and now all your other cats do, too. LOL."
And we said :cloud9: "Welcome aboard."
 

Elphaba09

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Going with our current cats

Estella and Astrid: Some jerk was going to use them for target practice and then bury them in a field. I took them.

Fennimore and Willow: They were saved with their brother, Pip. He stayed with my friend, Willow and Fennimore stayed with me. Why? Pip became my friend's cat's baby and would not leave him alone. Fennimore reminded me of one of my former cats. Not in looks by any means, but in personality. I could not give him up. Willow fell in love with my (future) daughter-in-law who lives with us, so it worked out.

Tara and Simon came as a package deal because Tara saved Simon. My aforementioned friend was going to keep Tara, but I did not want them separated. I chose Simon from the start because he was an older cat with FIV who needed extra love and care.

Freya was a stray/feral kitten who my daughter found. I kept her out of love for her and my daughter.

Evangeline was captured by my son and we planned a TNR, but, when we discovered how sweet she is and that she is deaf, we could not put her back in the wild.

Silas was a tiny stray/feral who was found with who we assume is his sister. I took him because I was standing in a parking lot with a woman who said that she would take one if I took the other. She picked the girl and I got Silas by a lucky default.

In the end, my cats found me. I was just lucky enough to say yes.
 

tarasgirl06

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corvidae corvidae That's how it happens. They KNOW. May you and Jem have a wonderful life together! *He's very handsome, btw.*
JamesCalifornia JamesCalifornia -- yep, that's how it happens. We live in CATifornia.
Elphaba09 Elphaba09 -- THANK YOU. And FYI, it's a FELONY to harm ANY cat in the U.S. including in NE Ohio. Those devils should have been reported at once.
1 bruce 1 1 bruce 1 -- Love your anecdote!
 

tarasgirl06

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I absolutely reported them!
Thank you bigtime, Elphaba09 Elphaba09 . Too many people are discouraged and say the authorities will do nothing/didn't do anything. We need to keep up the pressure and report EVERY TIME. Of course laws are made to be ignored by the lawless. But they ARE laws. We need to hold those trained to enforce them to do their jobs.
 

calikitteh

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we tried adopting a kitty early in the year thinking it would give our dog some company. said kitty was ok being around dogs but didn't want to interact with ours so we took her back to the rescue and offered to foster.

fast forward a few months and we ended up fostering a a few kittens and falling for all of them. they were curious and friendly and loved to cuddle. the litter was sick, we didn't realize it at first and learned a lot about kitty care on the fly...one of them didn't make it which was awful. another one almost died; we couldn't part with him after that. we decided to keep another littermate as well so they could keep each other busy and chose the one that liked our dog the best. instead of explaining all that when people ask how we ended up with these cats, i usually just say we are suckers. =)
 

1 bruce 1

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we tried adopting a kitty early in the year thinking it would give our dog some company. said kitty was ok being around dogs but didn't want to interact with ours so we took her back to the rescue and offered to foster.

fast forward a few months and we ended up fostering a a few kittens and falling for all of them. they were curious and friendly and loved to cuddle. the litter was sick, we didn't realize it at first and learned a lot about kitty care on the fly...one of them didn't make it which was awful. another one almost died; we couldn't part with him after that. we decided to keep another littermate as well so they could keep each other busy and chose the one that liked our dog the best. instead of explaining all that when people ask how we ended up with these cats, i usually just say we are suckers. =)
When they're that sick and you nurse them like that 'round the clock, you never give them up.
Signed, a fellow sucker.
 

Pixelated Cat

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Pixie chose us. He was living on the streets, homeless and hungry when we moved into our apartment in December 2017. I actually remember the date he showed up on our porch: December 17, 2017, two days after moving in. He was meowing quite loudly out of what I could tell was hunger and loneliness. I offered chicken as it was the only thing I had to offer him that night. He voraciously ate it and proceeded to jump into my arms, purring loudly, kneading me, and head butting my face. I immediately fell in love, but my hubby said "no way" at first. Pixie just gave that look in his eyes that told me, "don't worry, I will win him over. It is meant to be." At first he came once a day for feeding, and I started buying cat food. Hubby grumbled about it at first, stating "we can't afford to keep buying cat food!" I kept buying and feeding anyways, and eventually Pixie had a schedule in which he came for food twice a day. After his meals he would jump into my arms, and would stand up on his back legs asking to be held. Then, Pixie went missing for three days. I was frantic, and paced the apartment complex looking for him. Hubby started to get worried after two days. "Where is my pixelated cat?" he asked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with him. All you do is gripe about how we can't afford cat food," I responded. Hubby answered that Pixie had grown on him, and that he didn't realize it until he went missing. "Look, if he comes back, I will help you with cat food. I just hope he comes home...if he does, I want him to be our cat officially," said my hubby. On the fourth day early in the morning, I heard yowling outside. One yowl in particular sounded familiar and caught my ear: It was Pixie! I just knew it was! I slipped on my shoes and hurried outside still in my pajamas. I headed in the direction of the yowls and behold, there is Pixie in a confrontation with another tomcat. He had been defending territory for three days and had not come to the porch to eat his meals. I was not aware at the time that is normal behavior for tomcats, and our veterinarian, Dr. Mac explained this behavior to me during one of our first visits with her. Anyhow, I called Pixie's name quite loudly, and he abruptly stopped hissing and growling, and looked at me. "Pixie...come home! I have food, and I know you're hungry! Come on!" He followed me back to our apartment with his tail way up in the air as if he was never fighting with the other tomcat. After that, we transitioned him to being our indoor cat. We took him to the vet and had him medicated for worms and fleas, and had him neutered. My hubby loves him now, and was worried sick about Pixie when he recently had a bout of pneumonia. Hubby also wants Pixie to sit in his lap all of the time now, and is bummed out when Pixie hops out of his lap. It is a long story, and Pixie chose us.
 

kittyluv387

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My stories aren't as moving but I'm happy to share.

Benny - I got him from a no kill shelter when he was 5 months. I literally spent about 3 hours at the shelter trying to choose a cat. They were all just too cute! I noticed Benny because he was getting held and loved on by everyone and he was loving it. Everyone wanted to hold him so i had to wait a while. By the time he got to me he was maybe sick of all the holding or maybe he didn't like me that much haha. But i picked him and boy was he a lot of trouble. Hes rambunctious and has had a lot of health issues i had to solve. But he's my favorite and he's a total momma's boy. He has silky soft black medium length hair.

Nemo - He was 2 years old. My last apartment was stray cat central. Absolutely terrible number of abandoned cats. :( I noticed this orange and white tabby in the bushes by my unit and started feeding him. I noticed that another girl with 2 chiuahuas also feeding him. I talked to her and she said she couldn't take him because her dad was allergic to cats. This went on for a little bit. Well he started off obese and suddenly got really skinny after a while. I became concerned about him at this point and decided to take him in out of duty. I really actually wanted another kitten so that Benny could have a friend to play with. Nemo was friendly for food but still kind of shy and cautious. He always retreated to his bushes. So the other girl helped me catch him. She was fearless and just picked him up and plopped him in my bathroom. I actually took him to my SPCA to give his old owners a chance to reclaim him but they never did. I couldn't just ditch him so I officially adopted him. It took a while for both of us to grow on each other but we have a great relationship now. After a year he became a big cuddler!

Skye aka Kitty - She was our upstair neighbors cat. They used to keep her inside but started keeping her outside. She just wanted to be close to her people. I saw her pawing at her owners door. One night it was cold and she was shivering so she went on my lap for warmth. My bf and i just fell in love with her because she was suuuuper friendly. We were heartbroken for her. Her old owners just didn't have room for her in their lives anymore. So when we moved to our current apartment i texted her asking if we can take her. She literally said we could pick her up 45 min later. Apparently she was looking to rehome her so she thought we were a godsend.
 
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Erin80

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Kaia was the only kitten left from her litter and was alone in the cage. My friend had adopted her sister, so I decided to just go "look" and see. As soon as she saw me, she was at the front of the cage pawing at me and meowing and purring up a storm. I asked to have her out, and she was amazing....just laid in my arms, let me kids carry her around with zero struggle, and was super confident. She chose me. She is still the same way - very brave and confident, purrs literally as soon as she sees us and enjoys being carried.

I am off to the SPCA today to find a friend for her - I have narrowed it down to couple but I wonder what this trip will bring......
 
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