Your love of all things feline, where did it begin?

Well for me I was six years old. I hated my ballet lessons but I put up with them for a year because I was going to be getting a kitten near my birthday. (Best way to bribe I kid I tell ya just tell them you'll get them a kitten)! Anyway the day came when I brought her home. She was black and white and the cutest thing you ever saw. My very own cat!! I felt so happy and I fell in love with her from the moment I saw her. She was so graceful and I decided her name was to be Patch. I loved to crawl around with her and mimic the noises she makes (and to this day I've never stopped doing that with cats)! The year later my brother wanted a cat so a long came Oliver, a lovely ginger tabby but sadly he didn't live long. My mum found a cat walking a long the road a few years later and we took him in and named him Shiny. So from a young age I've had cats and have loved the companionship and love they give. They are divine -looks at Amadeus unravveling her knitting- erm did I say divine?
So how did you fall in love?? I'd love to know

My mother loves cats, and because of that we always had a least one cat growing up. I remember when I was four or so, one of our outdoor cats had kittens. And I got to name the one we were going to keep. I named him Hamlet (how as a four year old I decided to name a cat after Shakespeare I couldn't tell you, ). At one point when I was about 8 my family was living in a split level house with my grandmother and between the two households we had nine cats! I was in heaven. And they were all incredibly tolerant of me. One or two would even let me dress them in my babydoll clothes. Poor kitties, lol.

I grew up as a kid with two dogs that my parents had had before me and my brother were even born. I always wanted a cat, and begged my parents. I was 4 years old (or 5 cant remember) we were at a friends house for Fourth of July to see the fireworks. There was a big empty lot near the houses and a neighbor had found a kitten. They began asking people if it was their cat, no one had ever seen it before. It was most likely dumped in the lot. Soooo i convinced my parents to let us keep her. She was a hodge podge color of orange, black, white and bown, but the cutest thing ever! I named her Milky lmao i think it was after the Milky Way, which i was fascinated with at that time. We only had her for a few years, she was a fiesty cat adn got into fights, she got a punctured lung and was put down . She used to sleep above my pillow at night adn kept all the scary monsters away! Then about a year after we got Milky we saved Holly a calico from the pet store, she was all alone and her owners didnt want her anymore, i named her Holly cause it was Christmas time, she lived to be real old and died a few months ago RIP Holly and Milky! I've just always loved cats!! They give you somehting that no other animal can give you

adulthood as I did not have a cat until then. When I grew up a household member was very allergic to cats.

was a spur of the moment thing for us, we seen pics of flash and i said to blaine i want her and he said ok, hes a dog person but we both fell head over heels for her so we got her and she has never left ( you got it blaine) when she was meant to be mine (bu cats pick their owners and she picked him)

for sooty again... the same person we got flash from her other cat was due to have kittens and blaine was looking at the pics (shes on a car forum as is blaine) he was telling me and i said if she has a jet black one i wanted it sure enough black kitten was there and thats how i got my soots

and my mam got one and her attitude was i only love animals i can eat untill she seen baby pics of smooch, fell in love and said i want him. for years my mam said she would never have a pet and i caught her with gaga eyes looking at the ginger ball of fluff

I can't remember a time there wasn't a kitty of my own! My mom was an animal lover and had atleast one cat, and when I was 5 I was blessed with my first kitten who I loved so much! Till one day he didn't come home and I freaked out, crying and was told he must have run away....I found out not many years later, my babysitter had run over him! Devastated!

I think we've always had cats. My parents almost named me after the cat they had when I was born Susan! . I sort of wish they had. But I've grown up around cats (and we had a couple of dogs too).

my parents had a cat before they had their children, so I have ALWAYS had a cat. Their first cat was a short hair, red tabby that was a stray at the restaurant my father worked at. Waldo was the BEST cat EVER!! he was so tolorent of us as children. I would "share" my stickers with him and then take them back (as todlers do), and he would NEVER scratch--just purr. As I got older he would let me dress him in my doll clothes and push him in my stroller. He lived to his teens. Soon after he passed my friends found abandoned kittens in their yard and I helped had raise them! If I didn't love cats from Waldo, helping to bottle feed and raise their kitten made sure that I would always be a cat person. I was also able to keep one of their kittens as my very first cat (of my own). He was my BABY!! A solid black male, it's why I have always loved black cats!

I think I have always liked furry things. They are easier than dogs so it works out

it started out when i was in 1st grade and my dad brought a cat home that was hanging out by his work. He was a short haired black and white cat. My parents let me pick the name so i named him Junior. I love him very much but i was young and used to torment him and one time he gave me a good swipe to the face! anyway he was an indoor/outdoor cat and one day he never came home, i was heart broken.

It wasnt until after i moved out on my own that i got another cat and that was Sabastian, i think he gets the credit tho for totally making me nutz about cats. This cat has the most unique, loving, cuddling personality, i never met another cat like him. Hes 14 yrs old now, but to me hes still the same playful kitty at heart.

It was the year before I joined TCS. Well, that's not fair - I've always loved animals. But I never knew anyone with a cat that was ever really around. There was one that hung around my grandfather's barn when I was a kid - that's when I found out I was allergic to them.

But a stray wormed her way into our hearts in 2001. Gary (at the time thought he) hated cats. (Yeah right! ). We thought she was feral because it took months to earn her trust. When we took her in to be spayed, we found out she already had been, and that she was a pure bred Maine Coon. Then that next Spring (2002), the kittens turned up in our yard.... and it was then I found TCS to help us figure out what to do. We brought in our first feral baby.... he crawled into Gary's shirt and started purring, and that was it. We were smitten!

Laurie

One of the places I lived in as a youngster was out in the country... somehow we always have a cat or 20 around. We also had a dog (that was my first pet that we went and adopted) but the kitties would stay in our shed and my ma would let me feed them... You could always find me in one of two places, in the doghouse with my dog or in the shed with the kitties. I think the original kitty was bought for the guy we rented from, as a mouser for his shop which was beside our place.

Once I got a place on my own at almost 17yrs old, I got a barn cat. Gysmo. (RIP) I've always felt a kinship towards animals of all sorts. I don't think there's been a time in my life where I didn't have a furry pet.

After Gysmo was euthanised, I didn't have a cat for quite a few yrs... as my husband is not a cat lover at all. I finally convinced him back in Dec. and its great. Kizzy is my furry relaxation (and DH doesn't mind him too much now...he just didn't want a cat like his brothers... a cat on the table/counters, etc. and Kizzy does not go on the counters unless its when we're away LOL)

My grandmother had a big tom cat named, appropriately, "Tom". This was before the days of much neutering...and Tom did his best to live up to his tough cat reputation. He would stay gone for weeks at a time, while I would fret that he would never return. He always came home with many new wounds on top of many old battle scars. In fact, his ears looked like they had been almost chewed off. Most of the time, he kept them laid back in anger. The most wonderful thing about him, however, was the way he would growl in the most threatening manner if anybody walked into the kitchen while he was eating. With all those great things going for him, what little girl could resist his charm? His type of cat seems to have vanished, at least in my world of responsible pet ownership, but he was the fierce and dashing gentleman that attracted me to cats in the first place.

I was just brought up to love animals. Always had neighbors and friends who had dogs, so I really grew up with dogs and not cats. We had our family dog from 1982 to August 1994. I had to put Meigan down as she was going downhill fast. In December, I acquired Whisky when I was 26. From there, my affection turned to mostly cats over the years. When I got the chance to work at a shelter, I worked in the cattery. Had no interest in the dogs even though, I still like dogs. It was while I was working at the shelter and acquiring another cat, Oliver, and being around so many cats at the same time that I acquired a real deep affection for cats. That was right around 2003. I think that is about the time I found TCS. And, it's just grown from there...

I've always loved animals. But due to my Mom's asthma I was never allowed to have any except for a budgie which was in my room. However, the cage was left open and the bird had the run of the house. While I did the work, I think that bird was mostly my Mom's!!

I was always bringing home strays, usually dogs/puppies. I was never allowed to keep any of them though

I promised myself that when I was old enough to move out and have my own place that I would always have a pet. When I lived with my brother and his family they had a dog. I saw how much work went into owning a dog, so when I moved out I chose to have a cat. This way I didn't have to worry about having to rush home and take the dog out to go to pee/poop. Plus I live in an apartment so a dog barking would be too noisy. Basically a cat fits my lifestyle better than a dog does.

If I ever move into a house, I may look into getting a small dog though.

Mine started with Mr Jinx

We had cats up until me being 16, then we moved in with my stepdad who dislikes cats and lives on a busy road, so I had a few years without cats, and then moved in with my housemate who had 2, so got my furry fix again, even though they were definitely her cats (I did get them out of some bad habits though!!). When she left, I was enjoying coming and going as I pleased so said I wasn't going to get any cats, but two days later, one in desperate need appeared, so I took her in and that was the start of it - she died after 9 weeks, and the first thing I did was go and get another cat, and within a week of getting the second was up to 2 cats, and I dont think I have been down to one cat ever since!! I found out about fostering when I had my second cat, and put my name down as soon as my second housemate left, and have had nearly 90 cats in 6 years!!

Oh boy - I always had cats, since I was a baby... We lived in the city, yet our home was almost an urban zoo... I grew up with chickens, ducks, cats, fish, birds, and dogs.... yep, ant the same time.... yep, in the city!
That's me taking a nap with my doll and my childhood kitty - I was 6 yr old Good times!

Cats have been a fascination of mine since I was a baby - all animals but especially cats.

My first cat was a Blue Cream Persian called BB and my second was a White Exotic called Lolly. I've owned about 70 cats since those 2, about 50-60 of them being kittens who now have loving homes. I just love cats and my grandmother got me into them who has been a cat lover since she was born too, likewise my grandfather.

I started showing cats when I was 2, breeding them at 6 and judging them at 18. I now have 5 cats and I wouldn't have my life any other way. 2 of them are permanent lifestayers and 3 are breeding babies, but of course my pets too.

I've only ever owned Persians/Exotics but I've got plenty of love in my heart for rescue cats. Unfortunately my Mum doesn't feel the same way. I can't wait to have a place of my own in the country where I can foster some Domestics.

I was raised on a farm with barn cats, dogs, cattle, horses, pigs, and a couple lambs (both pets for my brother and I from my uncle who raised sheep). I cannot ever remember not loving all animals but in the city cats were the easiest pet for an apartment dweller so I zeroed in on cats.

I love Bijou so much I hate to leave to go to work and leave him alone during the day. This morning I was sitting on the toilet before going to work and he was laying across my shoulders rubbing his cheeks against my face. It is so hard for me to just walk away from him when he is so lovable.