The things we do to show our cats how much we love them - Valentine's Day Contest

Anne

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Special Valentine  contest thread!


Please share one thing (or more) that you did, or regularly do, that really shows your love for cats. It can be your love for your own furbaby or for cats in general.

How do you show your love for cats? Anything special/crazy/weird/extraordinary that you did or do?

The Rules:

1. Keep it to one item per post please.

2. You can post up to three times in this thread telling us up to three different things that show your love for cats (one per post).

3. When you enter an item to the contest, please clearly preface it with the words: Contest Entry.

4. Feel free to comment on entries. This is meant to be a fun way for us to share our love for cats. I'll only include posts that have the words "Contest Entry" clearly stated them in the draw.

3. Submit your entries no later than midnight of: Wednesday, February 13.

We love pictures, so if you have any that are relevant to your entry, please add them to your post.

On Valentine's Day, I'll run a quick draw and randomly choose one contest entry as our winning entry. The more you post (up to three entries per member), the higher your chances of winning!

The prize is a beautiful mug from our TCS store:



I'll start -

I always talk to cats. Not only my own cats (that's a given), but I tend to talk to strange cats too, even feral cats. People think its weird, but for me that's part of being a cat lover. I "see" them everywhere and tend to talk them as if they were people. Actually, when visiting a new place, I'm more likely to address a resident feline than a human
 
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mani

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I'll start -

I always talk to cats. Not only my own cats (that's a given), but I tend to talk to strange cats too, even feral cats. People think its weird, but for me that's part of being a cat lover. I "see" them everywhere and tend to talk them as if they were people. Actually, when visiting a new place, I'm more likely to address a resident feline than a human
I thought that was just normal behaviour.!


I have a feeling things we think are weird just won't be weird around here 


I'm working on my entry/ies..........
 

calico2222

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Contest Entry:  Well, I don't know how special/crazy/weird/extraordinary this is, but we always have cardboard boxes laying around the house for my crew. The love them! It makes my house look like crap but I don't care.
 
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txcatmom

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Contest Entry:  This one makes me giggle every time...a perfect example of being a servant to cats....

We remove the sparkles from the sparkle balls because Eko and Leo prefer them that way (and no, no other similar lightweight ball sold without sparkles will do.)  We get plenty of benefit from our effort though since they entertain themselves for hours playing soccer with these...


And the closely related act of love is using the yardstick to retrieve them from under the dryer multiple times per day. 
 

meowmmy_aprile

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Contest Entry:

I converted a bonified dog loving man into a cat loving man.

When I met my husband he was a dog lover. He begrudgingly let me have a cat and then two. Always with the words NO MORE CATS. That was his saying for a good 10 years of our relationship. 

As time went on I got more and more involved with rescuing ferals. Sometimes I had to bring them in to my house to foster always with the promise that once their injury was healed or they found a home they would leave. Sometimes I would get one of the misfits, one who just couldn't be rehomed or released back in the wild due to special needs. I would talk to him and he would let me keep it with the promise that was the last one. No More Cats. (yeah right)

The more involved I got with rescuing the more need I had for crates and special areas to socialize. I started noticing that when we went to the store to get pet food he would ask me if I needed another crate or some cat item. I thought it was strange that he would ask me because well the more stuff I had the more cats I could handle at one time. You see if I only had 3 crates then I could only have 3 ferals at time. 

I live in a very wooded area, great for feral colonies. I had a guy move in down the street from me who had tons of cats that he let roam outside unfixed and their offspring starting coming here to eat. They formed thier own colony and became one of my first big colonies. The guy moved away and left ALL of his cats. Some were tame and some where they had been born outside were completely feral, 

I think that is the moment things clicked for my husband and he understood their plight and what happens to abandoned and unwanted cats. Winter was coming and I was worried about the cold and I remember just moaning to my husband about how sad I was for these guys. I needed to trap the ones I could and have them fixed and at that time our local TNR was out of money and resources to help me get these guys fixed. 

Last Sat he got up at 6am with me to load 6 cat carriers into his brand new car to take them to the spay/neuter clinic. With a comforter protecting the seats in the car and covering the carries we drove an hour to the clinic with 6 nervous cats. On the way home someone pee'd and had an accident, the car smelled terrible. I knew it did and I was waiting for him to say something as I felt so bad. You know what he just rolled down the window and drove home without a peep.  Love that man!

My husband got his bonus from work. He came home one day with a truck full of plywood and a check. He went and bought enough wood to build some kitty houses outside to keep the kitties out of the cold and gave me a check from his own bonus money to have what cats I could fixed and get some medical attention for the old ones who needed it. That was about 7 years ago and every year now when he gets his bonus he gives me money to vet or fix the ones I can. He has now set up a ramp in our cellar with a window opening so that the ones that would like to come inside when it is cold can go in and out of the cellar. 

Yesterday he spent all morning with me outside filling feeders and marking den entrances with snow markers for the blizzard so that we could dig them out after the snow. This morning right now as I type this he is outside shoveling paths from the dens we know of to the house where I have more feeders.

We now how have 7 cats in the house and I haven't heard a peep of the words NO MORE CATS. Infact he will tell me so and so called me and they have some cats living around their house want to go get them? He is the first one at kitten season to point out kittens and ask me if I am going to catch them and bring them in. 

He helps me socialize them. He has his way and I have mine. My method is to leave them be and let them stay in their quiet room until they are ready to be handled. My husband hates to see them alone and at night when I go to bed he will actually go get the crates and sit them in the livingroom so they can watch TV with him. The first time I saw this my heart just melted inside, My dog loving husband has a soft side for kitties :) 

With our house kitties I catch him sometimes in the other room kissing them on their heads and sneaking them little bites of what ever he is eating. He now tells me if they are meant to be here, they are meant to be here and if one rehomed kitty comes back well this is their forever home whether we have 1 or 10. 

I guess that is my kitty love story I managed to share my love of cats to someone else who is now as willing as I am to help them.
 
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smitten4kittens

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Contest Entry:

I converted a bonified dog loving man into a cat loving man.

When I met my husband he was a dog lover. He begrudgingly let me have a cat and then two. Always with the words NO MORE CATS. That was his saying for a good 10 years of our relationship. 

As time went on I got more and more involved with rescuing ferals. Sometimes I had to bring them in to my house to foster always with the promise that once their injury was healed or they found a home they would leave. Sometimes I would get one of the misfits, one who just couldn't be rehomed or released back in the wild due to special needs. I would talk to him and he would let me keep it with the promise that was the last one. No More Cats. (yeah right)

The more involved I got with rescuing the more need I had for crates and special areas to socialize. I started noticing that when we went to the store to get pet food he would ask me if I needed another crate or some cat item. I thought it was strange that he would ask me because well the more stuff I had the more cats I could handle at one time. You see if I only had 3 crates then I could only have 3 ferals at time. 

I live in a very wooded area, great for feral colonies. I had a guy move in down the street from me who had tons of cats that he let roam outside unfixed and their offspring starting coming here to eat. They formed thier own colony and became one of my first big colonies. The guy moved away and left ALL of his cats. Some were tame and some where they had been born outside were completely feral, 

I think that is the moment things clicked for my husband and he understood their plight and what happens to abandoned and unwanted cats. Winter was coming and I was worried about the cold and I remember just moaning to my husband about how sad I was for these guys. I needed to trap the ones I could and have them fixed and at that time our local TNR was out of money and resources to help me get these guys fixed. 

Last Sat he got up at 6am with me to load 6 cat carriers into his brand new car to take them to the spay/neuter clinic. With a comforter protecting the seats in the car and covering the carries we drove an hour to the clinic with 6 nervous cats. On the way home someone pee'd and had an accident, the car smelled terrible. I knew it did and I was waiting for him to say something as I felt so bad. You know what he just rolled down the window and drove home without a peep.  Love that man!

My husband got his bonus from work. He came home one day with a truck full of plywood and a check. He went and bought enough wood to build some kitty houses outside to keep the kitties out of the cold and gave me a check from his own bonus money to have what cats I could fixed and get some medical attention for the old ones who needed it. That was about 7 years ago and every year now when he gets his bonus he gives me money to vet or fix the ones I can. He has now set up a ramp in our cellar with a window opening so that the ones that would like to come inside when it is cold can go in and out of the cellar. 

Yesterday he spent all morning with me outside filling feeders and marking den entrances with snow markers for the blizzard so that we could dig them out after the snow. This morning right now as I type this he is outside shoveling paths from the dens we know of to the house where I have more feeders.

We now how have 7 cats in the house and I haven't heard a peep of the words NO MORE CATS. Infact he will tell me so and so called me and they have some cats living around their house want to go get them? He is the first one at kitten season to point out kittens and ask me if I am going to catch them and bring them in. 

He helps me socialize them. He has his way and I have mine. My method is to leave them be and let them stay in their quiet room until they are ready to be handled. My husband hates to see them alone and at night when I go to bed he will actually go get the crates and sit them in the livingroom so they can watch TV with him. The first time I saw this my heart just melted inside, My dog loving husband has a soft side for kitties :) 

With our house kitties I catch him sometimes in the other room kissing them on their heads and sneaking them little bites of what ever he is eating. He now tells me if they are meant to be here, they are meant to be here and if one rehomed kitty comes back well this is their forever home whether we have 1 or 10. 

I guess that is my kitty love story I managed to share my love of cats to someone else who is now as willing as I am to help them.
I'm a liitle teary eyed here. Where do I sign up for one of him?
 

meowmmy_aprile

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Believe it or not I found him on the internet almost 20 years ago. I lived in Florida, he lived up here. We talked for a while on the phone decided to meet and the rest is history :)

I got very very lucky!
 
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Anne

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Well, I don't know how special/crazy/weird/extraordinary this is, but we always have cardboard boxes laying around the house for my crew. The love them! It makes my house look like crap but I don't care.
Sounds good to me! Just add the words "Contest Entry" and re-enter!
 

adrianna25

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Contest Entry: Here is my first entry showing how much I love cats in general, other than my own two boys.
I had two indoor cats and was living in a basement apartment. I would often see cats hanging around my backyard and assumed they maybe could smell my boys. Or maybe they came around cause they heard through the other street cats that I would love them and take care of them. I would often talk to them, call to them and sometimes throw them some treats. I began leaving water outside for them as the summer was so hot out. I had an overhang at the back of the house that created a shelter for them and would put lotsa water there for them. When it became winter and very cold I began to worry about them. I created a warmer shelter underneath my bar b q by putting a box with blankets where the propane tank used to be. I had the cover over top so it even sheltered them from the bitter wind. I started to leave dry food out there for them too and one day I was talking to my friendly Pet Valu owner. He was so thrilled with me taking care of feral cats that he donated a huge bag of dry food to me for he neighborhood cats. Lol. I became the outdoor cat lady. If I had more money I would have helps them more but that's all I could do for them.
My love for cats is so incredible.
That's my cat love story and I will be back later to tell of my love for my own boys.
[emoji]10084[/emoji] Cats Forever [emoji]10084[/emoji]
 
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nebula

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Showing love! It's called catering and accommodating LOL!!

Contest Entry: When we have company over or we want to sit on the couch, if it is occupied we sit elsewhere. One time, hubby and I ended up sitting on the floor to watch a movie because both cats were sprawled on the couch!!!!

Contest Entry: When I go to bed before my husband, and Smokie comes with me he will generally take over the entire half of my husband's side of the bed, and when he comes into bed 3 or 4 hours later and sees both of us asleep- he will go sleep on the couch and I won't find him until morning!! It is adorable, and self sacrificing for the baby boy!
 
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nurseangel

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Contest Entry:  I try to spend time with my cats on an individual basis before going to bed at night, so that each one knows they're special to me. 
 

runekeeper

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Contest Entry: My female kitty Caspurr (who has since departed for the Bridge) was a very independent cat and she sort of made me work for her affection. Don't get me wrong, she was such a sweetie, but she was not the kind of cat that would seek attention. She would allow you to give her attention, rather. Anyway, at some point in her later years, she decided she enjoyed being carried sort of like a child - I'd hold her in one arm with her against my chest and over my shoulder, and because she enjoyed this so much, I learned to carry her around with one arm and do things with the other. Things that normally required two hands I learned to do with one hand and the assistance of a flat surface. It took me longer, but hey, it was worth it for my kitty girl. She loved being held so much that sometimes if I put my hands around her, she'd stand up on her hind legs so I could lift her easier. Of course, sometimes her timing was off and she'd end up falling backwards. Nothing that caused any injury - she'd just go flop. I'd also like to add another entry, not in any attempt to win, but just wanted to share the story. I might just add it as a comment.
 

runekeeper

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Contest Entry: My other story is as follows. When I was a child, I lived with my grandmother, and my family would feed the neighborhood strays. It was sort of a weird situation because the cats all had "owners," but the owners rarely let the cats inside and didn't take care of them or have them fixed. My aunts would get the kitties altered with their own money (they weren't part of any kind of catch-release shelter program) and we'd buy cat food and feed them. At the time, my cousins and I were in grade school, so while we could not contribute financially, we helped emotionally by playing with all these kitties. We called it the Cats' Club and gave every kitty that came into the backyard a name - even if we only saw them once. We kept a list of those names, and over the span of maybe 7 or 8 years, the list had over 60 cats on it. There were also several "regulars" in our Cats' Club that stayed for years - one of which was named "Saudi" (named after Saudi Arabia after one of my aunts traveled there). Others I remember off the top of my head are Darien, Juniper, Dulcy, Halloween, Lily, Chloe, Princess, Treetop, JJ, Cammy, and Simba. Some of these cats had kittens and my family found them homes, either keeping the kittens themselves or with other folks. I think one of the best parts of this collection of kitties was when I'd walk to the bus stop every morning, I would have at least 3 cats following me. They'd keep me company and even though the stop was a block away from the house, they'd all find their way back. Sometimes, Saudi would be there waiting for me when I got back. He was one of the most loving cats I've ever met; once I went with my family to a 90-minute church service and Saudi followed me...but of course could not go in. He waited on the steps of the church for the entire hour and a half for me to come out, but he refused to let me carry him home. He always wanted to walk beside me. My cousin and I would also sneak the cats into the house now and then, which my grandmother hated, but that's why we did it when she had gone to sleep already. Nothing like making cookies at midnight in July with three strays rolling around on the floor. I don't care what anyone says, I still consider these cats to be my family's cats since we did more for them than their "owners" ever did, and if I was still living in that neighborhood, I'd still be taking care of whoever happened to show up in the backyard.
 
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mani

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Contest Entry:  I used to go 'pretend hunting' with WeiWei (now departed).  We would walk around.. me cat-like on all fours, looking under things.  She loved it. 

However now Nilah much prefers things high up, so I carry her around, looking behind pictures and lifting her up high so she can see the tops of door-frames etc.
 

rmgb

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Contest Entry: For my kitties, Muffie gets a cushion on a chair in my craft room, she comes and watches everything I do.  For Kuddles he just like little yummy treats.  - RoseMary
 
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furbykat

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Contest entry:

I'm new here. My Furball is rather grumpy most of the time. She doesn't like to sit on my lap. Doesn't like to be held and sometimes doesn't like to be petted. She has been this way since she was 8 weeks old. She will be 16 soon. I guess I show her my love by trying to respect the boundaries she has set. Every once in awhile (more now that she is older) she will snuggle with me in bed and want to be petted. I had wanted an affectionate cat, but wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. She trusts me and no one else.
 
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