How did your cats come to live with you?

Lazlo, Shelly, Spooky, Tuxedo (and Julius, adopted by the vet tech) were babies in our yard.

We adopted Lazlo and Shelly as our first indoor-only kitties.

Spooky and Jules we tried to adopt out, but did a bad job, and rescued them back. We kept Spooky.

Tuxedo was "unadoptable," but it got SO cold over winter, we put him in boarding, he got really sick, and after being in the hospital, we brought him home, and he was ready. (Thank goodness ).

Flowerbelle was rescued by a couple that brought her to the vet while Gary was there. She was in terrible shape, but they couple didn't want to pay for her care, so they were going to put her back where they found her. Gary grabbed her.

Ming Loy and her sister were thrown away, and garbagemen rescued them. The county shelter (that knew us) called to say we had like an hour (or something ridiculous) to get over there and get them. They had cerebellar hypoplasia. A different vet tech adopted Ming Loy's sister.

Billy and Bing were the only kitties that turned up the first summer we were back in the RV park. We found Bing a home, but had to adopt Bill ourselves.

Chumley we were going to TNR, but he seemed like a sweetie, so we made arrangements for the foster network to take him. But he tested positive for FIV, so here he is.

Not very interesting stories here!

Elmo, Mushroom & Brie were born here and I picked them for my own.

Sophie was born at Nana's and my Mum chose her.

Flutterby was born in Gore but my Nana picked her for my birthday present.

Gypsy came from Australia....as a gift from a friend.

Shadey- He was an older kitten in the local shelter. I knew I wanted a kitten and he was all alone in his enclosure. He looked at me with his big owl eyes, looked SO sad and I was hooked!

Elliott - I wanted a friend for Shadey. I saw an add in the newspaper that said "Kittens in desperate need of homes, mother killed by dog!". Elliott was brought to me the next day.

Imhotep - I went with Mom to the shelter so that she could adopt her 2nd cat. I wasn't planning on adopting, but I heard this ungodly meow, turned around and saw the most beautiful blue eyes! I picked him up and he was headbutting and rumbling right away.

Cleo II & Osiris - Their Mom, Nefertiti, showed up on my back doorstep as a pregnant stray. I took her in, made her well and sat with her while she had 3 kittens on my bed. I kept them all, had them spayed and neutered and fell head over heels in love. Nefertiti passed away over 3 years ago now, as did their brother, Horus.

Nova - He was a package deal with Dana. He was a street cat. Dana was living alone, and a friend of his suggested he take this kitten they found on the street.

Azizi - When Dana and I got together, we wanted to take in a kitten TOGETHER. We saw an ad on Kijiji for available kittens and went to have a look. These people were OBVIOUSLY rednecks who let their kids AND animals run all over the place, they refused to spay/neuter and the animals were obviously neglected. We took Zi right home...

Teyah - She was a pregnant foster. 2 of her 3 kittens passed away. The 3rd thrived AND she raised a litter of abandoned kittens! She would always run out of the foster room and got along great with the other cats. She thought she owned the place, so we knew she belonged right here!

Pria - Another foster. She was on death row with 5 male kittens. We took them in so they wouldn't be euthanized and I fell totally in love with her sweet, loving, easy going personality.

Lionel Pitre - Another foster. Pria claimed him as her own. I figured it would be cruel to not indulge this friendship. He's here to stay.

I found Mattie on petfinder.com. I went to see her in person a few days later, and adopted her on the spot (on 10/03/07). I found Chloe on petfinder too, and adopted her shortly after (on 11/10/07).

Henry was my SO's sister's cat. She adopted him as a kitten, but he ended up back in the shelter a few months later. I recognized him when he came in to the shelter (was volunteering there) and to make a long story short, he's been with us since (12/13/08).

Same here

Demetri, Farley, Anastasia, Malika & Ashia all came from a breeder (who's become a dear friend & mentor along the way) they all came over from Victoria at 12+ weeks old. Hattie was born here.

Callie chose me as her human after showing up on my back porch demanding food.

When we bought this house, I wanted to add a 2nd cat & a friend for Callie since she was not as active as I thought she needed to be. We went to several shelters and cat adoption events and didn't find a cat we liked. We finally went to the city pound on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, 2005 and came home with Hannah. Callie was NOT pleased.

Tumbleweed (aka Tumbles) was rescued by CatMom2Wires (a fellow TCS member) on July 1, 2010 after he was flushed out of a storm drain and had climbed up into the tire well of the SUV stopped at a red light in front of them. This was during the downpour from Hurricane Alex. After she posted pics of the little booger, I knew he needed to come live with us. It took me several days to convince Mark. He came to live with us July 13th.

Joji - was living in the house when I moved in.
QT - was my sister's cat. My sis emigrated to Canada and could not take QT.
Ichi, Ni, San - rescued from the sidewalk. They were in a plastic bag. They were only 2 weeks or so old.
Buddy - a stray who moved in on his own (along with RB Ashley)

Kuce and My RB cat Sphinx - adopted from a kill shelter.
Luvbug - a rescued from the street that was nearly starved to death (2lbs underweight - he might have bee someones pet that was either dumped or spooked - we did have 2 moderate quakes in the area that year).
Lil' Jag - found in the tirewell of my brother's Jaguar coupe at 3.5 months old.
Tux (AKA Buster) - a stray that moved in with us.

Fafeena, Slinky, Cow, Twitch, Billy Bob & Tony Bob, Tabitha, and Dory were all born on the farm before the cats were S/N.

Ophelia Rose was part of a traveling feral colony that roamed several farms.

Lily may have been born to one of the farm cats, or a feral - who knows. But she was found @ about 4 - 5 weeks, bottled until she was ready for a new home - but was so timid we kept her.

Captain Nemo showed up one day, got neutered, & hasn't left. 10

Squishy, Molly, & Margo were all to be euthanized at the shelter - so I took them home instead.

Gumby & Lola were foster failures - since they were so unadoptable I adopted them.

Eden was a rescue, foster, then a foster failure.

Nora: I replied to an ad on Craigslist that said kittens for $10. I met the guy in a parking lot of a department store, handed him $10, then took her home.

Thomas and Walter: I found Thomas on Petfinder and he was with a rescue. His foster mom suggested that I bring home one of his brothers also b/c it would be less stress on Nora. I had a choice between two, and I chose Walter.

No very interesting stories, but maybe sort of interesting. . .in the order I got them:

Scotty--I found his mother, hugely pregnant, in the trailer court where I had a paper route. The person at the trailer I was delivering to told me her owners moved and left her there. I took her home and 3 weeks later she had 4 monster-sized babies in my closet. Scotty was the youngest and I kept him. His mother stayed with my parents when I moved out and I took Scotty to my new house.

Silka--she was a farm kitten. The mother of the guy who owned the farm saw her, just HAD to have her (she's a beautiful kitty, with blue eyes), and took her home. She was only about 4 weeks old at the time. She's psycho, the lady decided she couldn't handle her a few months later, so I took her. She's still psycho.

Sammy--I have always wanted a longhaired black-and-white male. So I went to the shelter and there was an entire litter of black-and-white longhaired kittens! I picked Sammy.

Scrappy--he showed up at my house as a stray kitten, about 4 months old, just a couple weeks after I got Sammy. He is also black-and-white, but shorthaired.

(And yes, I was going for an "S" theme, but gave up on that pretty quick)

Dusty--showed up at my house as a stray. I thought he was feral because he wouldn't let me touch him, so I was just feeding him and not trying to catch him. Then I saw him rubbing up against the neighbor's legs as she fed him, so I started trying to make friends with him. After a while he accepted me, and I took him inside and had him all fixed up.

Bitsy--showed up as a stray at a friend's house. She couldn't keep her, and it looked like she was pregnant, so I took her home. It really looked like she would give birth any day. After 3 weeks, still no kittens, so I took her to the vet. She wasn't pregnant, just had lots of worms (yuck!). So I had her spayed and kept her.

June--she was found in my parents' garage eating the cat food they had out for their cat. She was a skinny, tiny kitten. Probably hitchhiked into town in the wheelwell of a farm truck. I took her and nursed her back to health.

Dot--was stuck up the tree next to my house, squalling her head off. About 9 weeks old, tame and well-fed. She must have belonged to somebody. . .I put posters up, but nobody ever claimed her.

Dakota--her owner couldn't keep her, so I took her.

Mooch--he showed up as a stray. Neutered and de-clawed, so he must have belonged to somebody. I put up posters but nobody called.

Tabbs--she was one of my outdoor ferals that I had TNRed. She was very wild at the time. After a while, she started getting friendlier, and so I brought her inside.

Mamacat, Nacho, Patch, Tippy, and Jellybean--Mamacat was a feral in my neighborhood. She had a litter the year before, and I had already TNRed her kittens from last time, but she would not go into the trap. She had another litter, and when they were 10 weeks old I trapped them. And she went into the trap, too. I intended to release her after being spayed, tame the kittens and find them homes, but things happened and I ended up keeping them all inside.

Tugger--one of a litter of 4 abandoned kittens my cousins tried to bottlefeed. 2 of them died (they really weren't being fed properly), so I took them. When they were old enough, I gave the little girl to my brother and I kept Tugger.

Foxy, Bunny, and Pixie--I was walking my mail route and I heard kittens mewing from an empty house. When I walked by, they toddled out to see me, mewing all the time. I patted them, finished the street and walked back, and they came out again. I couldn't just leave them there. . .even if their mother was still around, they'd probably grow up wild. So I popped them into my mail bag and took them home (my house was only 5 blocks away and I had a break). They were maybe 2 1/2-3 weeks old. I had to bottle-feed them for a week or so, and then they got the hang of eating solids.

I got Mimi from a shelter

All came from shelters

Zoey - Came from a local low kill ( ie very sick would be PTS )... She was Feral and had a litter nuresed them and they spayed her ... they thought she was 2-3 yrs old ( he he 8-10 Months )

Sylvester - Local No kill HS ... Zoey needed a buddy and I needed more to do after Mom passed... He was 6 months old ... Prior owner could not handle him...lol..

Punky - Came with his Bro RB PJ.. Via White cat lover and her shelter she helps with in her area... Okay so they lived as her fosters for 14 months till I decided Zoey needed More brothers ..

Dahlia - Came Via a shelter in the next state thru White cat lover finding a semi feral , twin of Zoeys on pet finder one night... She was in a open cage shelter for 4 yrs prior to coming home with me ... More feral than semi but a lovely girl

Jamie is from a rescue organization I belong to. His pregnant mother was being fostered by a student's family, also members, and when she came to school and announced the birth of five kittens, I spontaneously said we'd take one or two, as our cat (RB) at the time was a feral and not the least bit cuddly. DH consented (when later consulted), and I said I'd take the runt or "ugliest" kitten. Jamie had other ideas, as he was the biggest and IMO cutest.

My friend had said she had a litter of kittens due and we picked out flash, flash needed a friend so my said friend had another cat with another litter due and I was hoping for a black kitten we got said black kitten

Smooch came from the same litter as flash

Pearl-My daughter rescued her from an abusive home, and almost went to jail over it. I took her in when she was 5 months old, she is now 10, and the onlu one that we know when she born, the 4th of July.

Pepper- I saw her get hitby a car. She was maybe 7-8 weeks old, it is amazing she survived. She is my lovey girl. She loves to cuddle and give me kisses.

Scooter-He is my only boy baby, and orange tabby cutie pie. I got him from the maintenance creep at a hotel where I worked because he wanted to know if you could flush a kitten down the toilet!

Fluffy-DH was at work Christmas Eve, and someone threw her out of a car into the parking light in front of the shop. They kept hearing a scratch at the window, looked up, and their was baby Fluffy looking in and crying, They could not bring her inside, so DH sat outside in the cold for 2 hours, kitten tucked inside his jacket. He is her person.

Rainbow (deceased) - showed up at my parents' door as a kitten squawking like she had something to say that the whole world needed to hear. I was still in college/living at home but I convinced them to keep her and I'd take her when I moved out (after trying to find her owner of course). She never shut up until the day she died of kidney failure.

Lizzie (deceased) - I was looking for a companion for Rainbow because she was such a pest and I thought a playmate would be good for her. I looked at all the shelters and none of the cats caught my eye. I visited one shelter and saw Lizzie huddled in her litter box. I got her out and she nuzzled into my hair, wrapped her arms around my neck and wouldn't let go. I couldn't leave her there. She and Rainbow got along fine but Rainbow was still a pest.

Ned - when I was dating my husband he just had to go get this cat he saw at the pet store adoption center. I went with him and there was this big grey tomcat with half a tail.

Louie - we made a dangerous trip to the shelter and I was looking at the little rodents that were available. I look across the shelter to where my husband is standing with the most pathetic looking cat wearing a sweater. He had the look that said he was coming home with us. Louie was a Persian mix stray that came in all matted so he had been shaved down and wore a sweater to stay warm. As we were carrying him out of the shelter the volunteers were going "Ahhh... Louie!" The sad looking cat was a staff favorite.

Bobke - Lizzie died in the summer when shelters are cram-packed with cats. Since we had room for a cat I decided we should take one in. I went to an adoption event at a pet store and Bobke was just itching to get out of his cage. We needed an outgoing cat that could tolerate our dogs so he came home with me. We named him Bobke because it was during the Tour de France and Bob Roll (aka Bobke) is our favorite commentator.

Frida - my husband has always wanted a Cornish Rex. I watched for one to hit any of the rescues. Frida and another Rex were surrendered to a local rescue and we got on their list to adopt. We originally thought we'd get the other cat but the people on the list ahead of us took him instead of Frida so we went to meet her. She immediately climbed all over my husband. On the way home we both thought of the name Frida (she was named Callista).

Peanut Butter (Rainbow Baby) - He was the runt of a litter that my GFs cat had. So called because that boy looked like a fluffernutter! He passed away when he was seven due to kidney problems.

Hydrox, the Old Coot (Rainbow Baby) - Bought him for $2.00 from a neighborhood boy. He lived to be twenty years old and passed away due to breast cancer.

Da Pumpkin Boy (Rainbow Baby) - a gorgeous red tiger, DH brought him home from work. He died of leukemia when he was not quite three years old.

Banshee (Rainbow Baby) - DH saw an ad for tiger kittens in our newspaper and we brought her home. She was the best little girl in the world. She died at 14 from asthma and thyroid problems.

Whisper, one of our Old Ladies - We catnapped her. She will be 17 in July.

Bootser, our other Old Lady - Whisper's sister and we catnapped her, too. She'll be 17 in July.

BooBoo - Whisper's son who will turn 15 in February. He was born in a clothes basket in our bedroom, one of five babies.

Ms. Pepe - Whisper's daughter and BooBoo's sister and she'll be 15 in February.

Amber Louise - our psychotic kitty, she was given to us about a month or so after Pumpkin passed away. She'll be eight in October

Mollipop - We took Boo to the vet for an check-up and found Molli. She'll be one year old in February.