My 3 girls all came from the shelter I volunteer at - Stumpy and Smudge were fosters I couldn't give back, and Lily was adopted as a playmate for Stumpy (before Smudge came into our lives).
I got Loki from the Humane Society branch in Maryland Heights, MO (a suburb of St. Louis). I got him because I was going to be living on my own for the first time in a non-dorm situation, and I knew I would be lonely.
I got Possum from Columbia Second Chance. I got him because Loki seemed to be lonely when I was gone for work and school.
Now, we're all happy. I'm so lucky that I found them.
I plucked Oliver off the streets of State College, PA... and proceeded to hide him in my dorm for a semester haha... now he's spoiled rotten and would never survive on the street haha
My brother's friend had a friend who found Seamus and took him in. They got him settled down and then I took him. It was a situation where I always talked about getting a cat and never really looked for one, and the opportunity knocked and I answered.
Ziggy (RIP) came from an add in a paper because we really wanted a kitten so that my son would learn how to look after them and grow up with animals
Links was one of Ziggy's kittens.
Lexi came from a farm where they trapped ferals and spayed them. She was a bottle baby thats mum abandoned her and her littermates. I answered an add on the internet for her home.
I'm a service coordinator who works with developmentally disabled adults. One of my clients had been feeding a feral mom and her kitten who lived in his back yard. The mom disappeared when the baby was about 5 weeks old; they presume she was killed somehow. Kit is that kitten. We took him in when he was about 7.5 weeks old.
Stumpy - found in our storm cellar (feral mom)
Eightball - born in the rafters of our garage (feral mom)
Bob - found in a box in our garage (feral mom)
Pinky - feral mom walked up to our house one day with him in tow
Scarlett - feral mom delivered her in our garden bed
Muddy & Koko - feral mom delivered them by our front porch
Lucky Pierre - feral mom showed up with him one day
Sage & Dakota - adopted from humane society
Spanky & Oscar - dumped on our property by someone cleaning out their barn cats
Alex and Evie came from Adopt-a-Pet Illinois, a fantastic "animal shelter without walls." This means it's all run through volunteer foster caretakers. I am forever indebted to Julie, their foster mom, for keeping them safe until I found them
Quill came from the Humane Society of Western Quebec.
Tucson came from the Ottawa Carleton Humane Society.
Cleo was given to us by a friend of my mum's, who was moving away.
Spike was found chained outside and my sister took him in, then she moved away and my dad took him.