How Did Your Cats Come To You?

[catloverfromwayback]

First three were dumped over our fences in different homes in the 70s.
One was abandoned by neighbours when he was about a year old.
One was from a cat colony near where my mum worked - lost/abandoned by his mother when he was barely four weeks old and rescued by my mum.
The other seven were all from shelters, including my current pair, Phoebe and Daisy.

Phoebe definitely picked us - she was in a general enclosure and swarmed onto my mum’s lap as soon as she went in and sat down. I’d been looking for an adult tabby or calico, but nope! She had other ideas.

Daisy was the only cat at the small country shelter who was suitable for living with other cats, so she too made the choice, in a sense.

 

[Maria Bayote]

Bourbon came to me at a time when I was in one of my lowest of lows. She suddenly appeared at my doorstep, a chunky cat among the colony of cats I was feeding. But even from the start she was a diva, never liked to eat with the rest of the colony, so i would beckon her inside the apartment to feed her. Then after meals she'd leave, and appear again the next day. Everytime we'd part ways I would feel a kind of sadness I never felt before with other cats I took care of. After several months I decided to take her in, officially as a part of my family.

Barley the persian was picked up by my husband outside a church - with ringworms and matted fur.

Pepsi was rescued by my daughter from the streets as a kitten. The vet said he has dwarfism. So he never really fully grown.

Graham (my scottie) was handed to me by a local lady in one of my visits to the vet. She had these kittens which she was looking for forever homes, and I happened to be there.

 

[tarasgirl06]

fat sam.. long hair persian ( first cat a birthday gift to my mom from my dad)
meow meow.. short hair persian my baby sister bought for herself( i was her favorite and fat sam's)
max big old stray tabby we took in
milo ragdoll my sister got
graycie.. petsmart adoption who picked me first day gf and i began looking around at shelters. for a cat to adopttotally ironic and funny to me since the entire time gf and i. were talking the idea to bring a cat into our lives she had already decided on a color,sex,type along with the shelters she wanted to adopt/look at first. like what happened to it being a joint descision?long story short we went to petsmart and graycie went right up to me against the glassi told her this is the one! course i had to allow her the chance to visit and see the other cats she had picked on her own that i never heard abouther picks were all sick or unadoptable for some reason or other so it was back to petsmart hoping nobody adopted graycie.our first meeting she growled at me which also told me really fast why she was the only one left behind from her siblings during the 4 or 5 months she was at petsmart.she was meant to be my cathad a good ride home that day laughing at my gf listening to her complain how she felt like she had no say in adopting grayciewhat can i say she had her chance to try to see all the cats she picked on her own that i had no say over

I do love me a hissy, growly cat. Hoping your gf is totally smitten with Graycie!

 

[game misconduct]

do love me a hissy, growly cat. Hoping your gf is totally smitten with Graycie!

they have a rivalry type relationship graycie will demand her attentoin when we are seperated but soon as we are close together on the bed or couch or even eating dinner graycie will get all over me hogging my attention or stepping on anna;s hair or chewing at it

 

[CindyH66]

View attachment 397173We adopted Peanut after we lost our baby, Bella, we had for 13 years . Bella was a big girl , and we were used to having a BIG kitty. .when we got this kitty her name was actually Elin .. which was my husbands late mothers name. ( I didn't particularly get along well with my mother in law before her passing ) so I said " we have to change her name " .. my hubby said " to what ? " I said " I dont care as long as its not Elin !" .. then he said .. well, she is such a cute little peanut ... we looked at each other ..it just clicked .. he said :" that its ! Peanut !" I agreed . it just fit her !!

add on to this story ( I thought I was answering how kitties got their names LOL) ... we went to the shelter to adopt a certain kitty we had seen online. I really wanted that one. When we got there, a couple who got there like 2 minutes before us adopted her first I was disappointed and ready to leave. My husband spotted THIS kitty and asked about her. She was laying there like a lump. I was not interested in her at all. The volunteer said she had been there for a few months; came in as a pregnant stray; had been spayed yesterday and was probably tired from the meds. then mentioned all the kittens in the cubicle across from her....yeah, the ones all be being adopted out ..those are hers. I though.." I wonder if she is sad ? they are taking all her babies away !" we agreed to meet and greet her in a meeting room . Despite my initial snit over losing out on the first kitty ... we went in.. they brought her in. she hopped up in MY lap .. looked up at me with the sweetest face , curled up and went to sleep, purring. I melted ! my husband laughed and said " we'll be taking her" to the staff ..before I ever said a word ! we adopted her ... and funny part .. HE was the one who found her. He tells people.."yep. when it comes to females, I can pick 'em" ..how can I argue with that ??

 

[klunick]

fat sam.. long hair persian ( first cat a birthday gift to my mom from my dad)
meow meow.. short hair persian my baby sister bought for herself( i was her favorite and fat sam's)
max big old stray tabby we took in
milo ragdoll my sister got
graycie.. petsmart adoption who picked me first day gf and i began looking around at shelters. for a cat to adopttotally ironic and funny to me since the entire time gf and i. were talking the idea to bring a cat into our lives she had already decided on a color,sex,type along with the shelters she wanted to adopt/look at first. like what happened to it being a joint descision?long story short we went to petsmart and graycie went right up to me against the glassi told her this is the one! course i had to allow her the chance to visit and see the other cats she had picked on her own that i never heard abouther picks were all sick or unadoptable for some reason or other so it was back to petsmart hoping nobody adopted graycie.our first meeting she growled at me which also told me really fast why she was the only one left behind from her siblings during the 4 or 5 months she was at petsmart.she was meant to be my cathad a good ride home that day laughing at my gf listening to her complain how she felt like she had no say in adopting grayciewhat can i say she had her chance to try to see all the cats she picked on her own that i had no say over

Sounds like my husband. He sent me over to the lady's house to pick out 2 kittens from the picture I sent him and I ended up getting the other 2. He tells me all the time that if I had picked the 2 I was supposed to, they'd love him and not me like Boone and Gracie do. I tell him that he could have come with me but he chose to stay at work. to him!!

 

[kdm1984]

I have too many past cats to include here, so I'll just include my current ones.

Mallory - got her from local humane society shelter in October 2017
Royal - got him from the same place in October 2020
Cricket - got him from the local PetSmart, October 2021 (it's a complete coincidence that all three of my cats were obtained in October!)

 

[tarasgirl06]

Thank you kdm1984 for ADOPTING. There have been and are so many cats in my life, too -- every one rescued from "the streets" or shelter, or adopted from people who needed to rehome, in the most recent 2 cases. ALL cats are loved by me including the "purebred" but until there are none in the shelters or on the streets, I will always ADOPT.

 

[Margot Lane]

Tamed barn kitten Zorro for my dad as his “last cat.” (The runt of the litter & the best of the lot!). Gave pop SO much comfort after mom passed & now that both are gone I tend to the lad. This will probably be the final feline in a lineage of cat ownership extending unabated for 3 generations, all strays. (No local vet left). What incredible names your cats have! (And I bet each one has at least 3 nicknames). So heartwarming there’s a cadre of humans out in the world welcoming all of these wandering waifs!

 

[frazzfox]

We got Kila from a cat café in town. She chose us -- she walked right up to us and plopped down on my partner's legs like she had known us her whole life! Turns out this was her second time being adopted out by the rescue that works with the cat café. She came to them as a feral kitten from a local shipyard three years earlier. Long story short, the original family who adopted her ended up giving her up and the rescue took her back to re-adopt. While I'm sad she had to go through that, I'm so happy she found her way to us where we can give her a true forever home!

 

[Tobermory]

Sara - My college roommate and I adopted two kittens from a litter that my English prof’s cat had. Sara was a wonderful tortie. Tore my heart to pieces when she crossed the Bridge at 16.

Brandy - My boyfriend (then husband, then ex ) was in vet school and brought her to me. Someone had dumped a litter in the doorway of the vet school. A very pale, dilute tabby, died at 16.

Teddy Bear - A stray cat had a litter of five on my back porch. I kept Teddy (a female) and found homes for the rest, including the mom. She was a very small, long-haired black beauty who crossed the Bridge at 19.

Mayflower - Mayflower was dumped in my parents neighborhood. They and a neighbor took turns watching out for and feeding her, but after a couple of years, the neighbor passed away and my parents were going to be gone all winter. So when I visited at Thanksgiving, I trapped her (she was scared of people) and took her home. She was about six at the time and lived to be 18. She was a gorgeous and very sweet long-haired orange girl.

Max - I was driving to work one morning and saw a very small gray and white kitten running down the side of the road. Scared me to death! I turned around, snagged the little guy, and took him home. My boy. Lost him in 2017 at age 20.

Lily and Iris - After I lost Teddy and Mayflower, I got kittens from a co-worker to keep Max company. (He wasn’t very grateful at first! ) They’re currently 17 years old. Lily is a torbie and Iris is a calico, both long-haired.

Mocha - Mocha was found on the street with a litter of kittens and taken to the humane society. The kittens found homes, but Mocha was deemed unadoptable because no one could touch her. She was transferred to a local care farm where I volunteered. I just couldn’t resist her! A gorgeous dilute tabby, she’s been with us for four years and is about seven…and a total lap cat.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Tobermory a cat guardian after my own heart! You're definitely doing it right to share life with such long-lived cats, all of whom sound gorgeous *hint, hint* Lily, Iris, Mocha, and angel Max are lovely!
Margot Lane "final feline"? Hoping not...and thanking you for adopting "the lad"!