How did you get your furrykids

[Craftlady]

Butterscotch - was the neighborhood apartment complex stray. His owner left him behind and everyone in a small area of a large complex took care of him. After about 9 months he decided to trust us. The neighbor across the way who was feeding him stopped and we started. Over memorial day weekend he came to live with us permantely, that was 4 yrs ago.

Thumper - was given up for adoption to the PetSmart adoption area (allergies in family). The local shelter places allot of the animals through PetSmart. We always go by and "see the kids" whenever we are in the store. Thumper took to us, We to her. Those sad eyes having to be in a cage (she has been there just 3 days). I cried. I wanted to take her home NOW. This was the week of Thanksgiving. The shelter was closed by time we saw her on that Tuesday. Wed they were closed (shelter). The store was closed Thur for Thanksgiving. We visited her at store on Friday, I cried because I wanted to take her home NOW. The shelter was closed Thur/Friday and re-opened Saturday. So that Saturday morning we drove 28 miles north to shelter and was there before they opened up at 8 a.m. There was a gal and her daughter there also, I we said "hope your not going for the Tabby" they said "no" We were all relieved. You had to fill out paper work and pay for animal at shelter than go with all paperwork to store to pick up the animal. PetSmart didn't open up until 10 a.m. we went to Sam's Club which was nearby the store. That was the longest 2 hrs. Thumper has been with us now 3 yrs.

Skinny - was the neighborhood stray. This summer he hung around our house. Followed me everywhere when I was working out in the yard. Helped my husband cook out (he was his sue chef). We weren't looking to ad to our gang but Skinny stole our hearts. He came to live with us over Labor Day weekend this year. I'ts been a month

[K & L]

All of ours were ferals either from the park or the neighborhood.

[Desert Arabian]

We inherited Dudley from my grandma, when she passed away. I went with her to the humane society when she went "cat hunting" and I picked him out for her! Dudley is around 5 years old. The story of how we got Sammy is long. To make it short and simple: mom and I were shopping at the pet store for rat goods, a lady had a small kitten in her arms, and she walked up to us and asked us what to do with it- she found it on the side of the road. We said we'd take it to the humane society for her, we took him home to find all humane societies were closed. As the night went on, we fell in love with him and kept him. We got Sam at 4 weeks old, he is now 6 months old.

DUDLEY:


SAMMY:
(Baby)


(Teenager)

[jazzcat]

Okay, I typed this long story up, accidentally hit the back button and lost it all so here's the short version.

I got Ripley from a neighbor of my sister's who was giving her 3 Maine Coon mixed 7 week old kittens away. I wanted a solid white one but my husband insisted on a male and Ripley was the only male. I've had him 11 1/2 years.

I got Jazz from a rescue group in a local petstore. She was very sick and had been picked over several times because she was solid black, timid and pitiful looking. I've had her just over a year.

I got Scout from the same rescue group after looking around at their 50+ cats and kittens for adoption and having the "I want to save a cat" bug bite me. I have had her for 2 1/2 months now.

[RedHedd]

When my RB Goldie left me (after living with me for over 14 years from kittenhood) in April this year, after a short battle with liver cancer, I was devastated. My house and heart felt so empty and I knew I couldn't wait too long to get another cat. I wanted a red Maine Coon and went looking and found one -- Mishigaas, who had been rescued by Animalsavers from a death sentence at a shelter in Sacramento, California. He was in very bad shape, had a very severe UTI and eye infection and was so badly matted that he needed to be shaved. His first pics on Petfinder were pathetic but I fell in love with the big guy. Animalsavers waited until his UTI had cleared up and then put him under for the shaving and supposedly a neuter. Surprise! He was already neutered. I was warned that he was a very kooky cat.

I hemmed and hawed, wasn't sure I wanted a boy cat - I'd never had a male cat! My friends warned me that because Goldie had been sick all over the apartment, if I got a male cat, I was opening myself up to spraying problems, so initially I decided to go for a female cat. Animalsavers had the cutest tortie calico gal - a little pudgeball they called Sweet Pea. She had been a feral rescue; they thought she was pregnant, but she was just pudgie. I made a snap decision and decided to get "Sweet Pea" instead of Mishigaas.

That Saturday, April 19, the roundest cat I have ever met became mine. Her sweet white mitts with which she constantly gave me kitty high-fives with helped me rename her Mitzi the very first day. After a couple of weeks with Mitzi, she seemed bored and I figured she was probably lonely because I leave her alone when I go to work. I contacted Animalsavers and Mishi was healing well and Diana told me he was waiting for me - so Mishi came home to live with us too.

At first he was the biggest ball of angry cat fur -- Hell hath no fury like a mad Mishi! I was afraid I'd made a huge mistake, but let him be by himself in the bathroom the first day. A little later that evening I entered the bathroom expecting to be attacked, but instead was greeted by the most loving HUGE golden ball of Maine Coon fluff giving me head butts and purrs. He's been a love-bug towards me every since.

It wasn't love at first sight between Mishi and Mitzi, right now Mishi loves Mitzi; but Mitzi isn't too crazy about Mishi probably because he's so much larger than she is. Right now with colder weather coming, they are starting to get a lot closer and much more affectionate with each other and playful with me.

I feel so truly blessed to have these two fur beasts in my house.

P.S. Jazzcat, I did the same thing! Believe it or not, THIS is a shorter version! LOL

[shais_mom]

I had had outside cats when I was a kid, but they never stayed around long, b/c of our cat- hater dog. My dad isn't too fond of cats either, and I wasn't much of a cat lover either so I didn't think I was missing much.
So fast forward 'ahem' a lot of years.
I had my greyhound Shaianne for about a year and half and my own home for 2 years, I started getting the 'kitty bug'. Shaianne had totally changed my life. I didn't think I could ever be so totally completely head over heels in love with a dog, but I was. I became more compassionate/passionate about animals.
I decided I wanted to add a cat to my home. I was going to get a calico kitten from one of my friends, but another friend was trying to find another home for her DLH kitty that was a year old. B/c ( ) her boyfriend didn't like cats and he hated Kylie b/c of her hair, and he didn't like the way she slept up by their head at nite and threw her across the room. I took her 'temporarly b/c my friend was going to break up with him and we wanted Kylie to not be on the receiving end of the violence if any, well he STAYED! ( My friend KNEW about his run in with the law and domestic violence charges, claims now that he has CHANGED- she married him! I wish her the best she is going to need it, I got the better end of the stick!!!)
So one day her and I went shopping B/c I said that I would take Kylie if she bought the stuff I needed. I didn't think she would but she did! We went shopping, got food, litter, toys, scoop, litter box etc! Then the following Saturday Kylie came home. She was not happy with the dog at first, but Shaianne was just curious about her. But that first nite she jumped up on the bed and curled up beside me just for a couple minutes, I knew it would be ok! She slowly came around to accept Shaianne and me.
I just thank God I had the little white angel when Shaianne crossed to the bridge, b/c I don't know what I would have done without her!! She has been in my home for over 2 years now. Another temporary turned permanent 'failure'
So now I am officially a dog AND cat person!!! And I can't imagine my life without a cat in it.

[krazyaboutkatz]

These are all such great heartwarming stories. Here are my stories:

STORM:

I was looking for a kitten but it was January and there really weren't any to be found. I went to the Humane Society and told them that I wanted a loving friendly purring cat. I looked at the all of the cats inside but none of them stole my heart. The lady said that there were some stray cats outside in another building so I went to see them. I picked up a large black male cat named Midnight and he seemed to be very friendly but a little too large.
I was going to look at his paper work and as I passed the cages, a gray cat stuck his paw out at me to get my attention. I ended up holding him and he was purring very loudly and very friendly and loving. His name was Storm.

I adopted him that day and they said he was 2 years old but I found out that he was only 1 year old. He's now almost 8 years old. I'm so glad that I found him. He's the one that started my cat family.

RB Pepper:
Since Storm was a very social cat and I was working long hours, I decided to adopt another cat. It was May and this time I wanted a kitten. I went to Petco and ended up adopting a 9 week old kitten through a rescue organization called CARE. Pepper and Storm bonded in only an hour. I only had Pepper for almost 6 years because he had to be put to sleep due to illness. I still miss him very much.

Sunny:
Storm needed another playmate because Pepper had become a very lazy cat and Storm was beginning to pick on him. Since I've always loved orange cats, I wanted a young male orangie. I wanted another kitten but ended up adopting an 8 month old Aby mix from a rescue organization called Unconditional Love. I didn't even know what an Aby was but soon learned all about the breed. I had already named him Sunny before I even adopted him and the name has fit him perfectly. He's my little ray of sunshine and is now 3 years old.

Cirrus:
After Pepper passed away I knew that I would be adopting another young male cat. I wanted another short haired cat and one that had different colors in his coat. I was shopping at Pet Club and found some rescue organizations with cats up for adoption on their bulletin board. I went to one of the websites and fell in love with a cat named Flint. He was 8 months old and a brown spotted and striped tabby.

I filled out the application online and went to see him the next day. He was much larger than I had expected and also very scared and shy. He was born to feral parents and wasn't held or picked up much as a kitten because his former owner became very allergic to him. He may have also been abused. I knew it would be a challenge but I still wanted to adopt him.I renamed him Cirrus to go with my weather theme and Nomilynn of PT suggested his new name for him. He's now 1 year old and has been with me for almost 7 months. He loves his new home and loves to be petted and brushed. He also gets along very well with Sunny and Sky.

Sky:
I was at a cat show with AmberLee and they were having adoptions there through the Humane Society. I looked at them briefly but none of them caught my eye. Later their stories were told and a cat named Herman caught my eye. He was a stray that had been shaved because his fur had been badly matted. He's a Siamese mix with sky blue eyes. They said he was 2 but turned out to be only 1 year old. A man was very interested in him so I thought good he'll get adopted and have a good home.

Later on they announced that another cat had been adopted. I went over to see which one it was. Well Herman was still there. I ended up holding him and playing with him and then falling in love with him. I adopted him that day and immediately changed his name to Sky. He's been with me for exactly 4 months today. He loves all 3 of his brothers and they love him too.

I'm so glad to have my 4 cats in my life. They bring a lot of joy to my life.

[catmandu]

Hmm! 3 came from a breeder , 2 were outdoor strays , one was a barn Cat , 2 from the Humane Society. And 2 came from a broken home!And the others came from friends , or in one case a crummy pet shop! As I only have an hour I wish that I could say more!

[Sia1]

I have three kitties: Shadow, Whisper, and Callie. My sister-in-law's cat gave birth to a litter of six-Shadow and Whisper included..and the two of them initially went to my sister-in-law's mother. After a year, her mom had to move and "couldn't" find a pet friendly house (even though they kept the dog) and that is how I ended up with the first two. I've now had them for four years.
Callie was found a month after my dad passed away when my husband saw a man throw something out of a truck. He thought it looked a little suspicious so he pulled over and the "garbage" ended up being a little six week old female orange kitten. Part of me still believes that she was a present sent to me from my dad--so I always refer to her as my "naughty angel." She's very naughty but a gift from heaven and we've had for almost four years.

[catlady1945]

Patty was a stray who kept hanging around. We advertised a found cat, but nobody claimed her - so she's been with us for the past 19 years. Ginger was from the Humane Society - she was the most vocal one in the room. Louis was an impulse buy from the pet store - he had been returned due to 'allergies.' Krissy was another stray, advertised as found, but no response, so has been with us for 8 years.

[momofcats]

krazyaboutkatz, I agree...these are just such wonderful stories

[PaysForIt]

We got George originaly, I'm more of a dog person to he honest but we don't have the time to properly care for one.

Anyway we went down the RSPCA and found this gorgeous fat black cat. In true George form he was asleep for the first 15 minutes, it was only later that we met him.

PayItForward was worried that he'd get lonely on his own when she went back to work so we went to get him a friend. We found Millie, again at the RSPCA. Millie was too much for little old George. She wanted to play and he wanted to sleep, so we got her a friend, Milo from the CPL.

When we were choosing Milo we saw Treacle ( nee Sooty ), a sort of skinny young George. Jen kept going on about him and eventualy I relented and we adopted him aswell.

Shortly after that we rescued a mother and her 3 kits from a bramble bush, we kept one ( Bramble ) and sent the others to the CPL. As with Millie Bramble really needed a friend her own age so it was back to the RSPCA to adopt Tigs.

[spunkadelic]

When my first cat Muffins was put to sleep (a few years ago) I was so depressed. Finally my father gave in and we looked for a new cat. One night I was watching (a now extinct) tv channel and saw a tv show on about different breeds of cats. One of them was called an "Egyptian Mau" and I was like Oh goodness they are pretty. Ironically the next day in the paper was an ad (I still have the ad, btw) for a three year old neutered Egyptian Mau. Dad was like "what's that, a snake?" and I was like "no! It's a really pretty cat - they are spotted..." and my dad got interested and said "oh, Carol, why don't you call them and talk to them for a minute?" so Mom called and found out more about Maui (then 'Brickey').

The lady on the phone said he was a major lapcat, loveable, huggable and just plain cutiful. So I begged Dad to let us go see him and we went and saw him.

Turns out she was selling the female too - but the second I saw Maui huddled in the back of his crate, it was then that I fell in love. Mom wanted the Silver Female but I wanted Maui. And that's how we got my best friend! (who never lets me out of his sight - unless I go into the spooooookkkkkkyyy bathroom).

Maui and I are so bonded that when I had my first seizure back in July, he even detected it an hour and a half before! Now I listen to him when he sits on my chest and plays with my buttons - it mean's that I'm going to get sick! LOL.

[Cataholic]

I got TEX when I moved to Massachusetts, from a wonderful shelter called Neady Cats. He was 7 months old, and had been returned. To this day, neither the shelter worker, whom I am still in touch with, nor I can figure out why he was returned. He is a gem. I moved home and went to school, and I thought Tex needed a friend. He was 4 at the time.

I had just been to the vets, for a check up for Tex, and told the girl I was looking for a tuxie friend for Tex. A week later, she called, and said a little baby tiny girl had just been dropped off, rescued from a field, I named her GEORGIA. She was not even 2 pounds, teeny tiny, and within a week, had a umbilical hernia. She went in to get repaired (and spayed ) at the tender age of 3 months.

Fast forward to my second year of law school. Mom calls from her school, "Johanna, there is a kitten...." Keep in mind this is after w have rescued her Indra from the school, so, we now have 3 cats already. I said, "Mom, no..." she said, "he is a tuxie...." and away I went. This was TENNY. Tenny was pretty sick when we got him. Severely matted, and had two abcess (gross). But, we fixed him up, and he now tops the charts at 18 pounds.

Then, in 2000 (or 01, I can't remember)...my girlfriend calls me, she just found a kitty, that was deaf, and pregnant! So, I said, jokingly, I will take the tuxies...mind you, this is a pure white cat! Well, by c-section, we have ALLIE and DAKKY! Little tuxie brats.

Same friend, this time, "Oh, this kitty at the shelter....three months...needs some attention..."....welcome to MINNIE!

(This same friend is responsible for Binx, too! I told her, no more, or our friendship is OVER!).

[Felicia's Mom]

Felicia came from a pet store. I got her after my cat Cleo had been put to sleep.

Beau, my burmese came from a breeder. I wanted a purebred because I never had a purebred before. My first choice was a Russian Blue, but there weren't any breeders close by. (I forget where the closest one was). I was advised against having the cat shipped.

There was a breeder of burmese cats that I could take the bus to see. (I don't drive). I went to see them and fell in love with them.