how did your cats end up in your care?

mwallace056

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how did your cats end up in your care?

mama cat just wandered into the yard when she probably 5 to 7 months, i gave her food and she hugged me i guess that her way for saying thank you, the 9 kittens came from her 
 
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misty8723

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They were adopted from local rescue shelters.  Swanie and Cindy were adopted together in 2005, and they were the best of friends. Cindy died last September, and we adopted Darcy from a different shelter.  Darcy and Swanie were getting to be good friends, when Darcy got FIP, and she died in December.  Now we have Cricket (2 weeks), from the same shelter we got Darcy.  So far, Cricket has stopped growling at Swanie, and they are getting along. He's trying to get closer to her, but she' not ready yet.  Hopefully, one of these days they will become cuddle buddies. Swanie loves to groom. He tried to lick her tail a little bit ago and she swished it away. 
 

jcat

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Mogli is from the local shelter where I volunteer. Our last cat was from a cat rescue organization in the city where I worked and which I'm a member of.
 

nezumi

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My partner and I are housesharing and there was already three adult males here - Scamp, Ripple and Louie. I've wanted my own cats since forever. When my partner´s friend said her cat was pregnant and she couldn't keep them we decided to get one. It turned out she had three (tiny cat, first litter). So Milo was a planned adoption. The mother's guardian couldn't find a home for Sasha and was talking about taking her to a shelter. I couldn't let that happen and I'd met her as a kittenling (she tried to climb onto my shoulder when she was 2 weeks old). I was already in love. We got Milo when he was 9 weeks and Sasha shortly after when she was about 12 weeks and they've mostly settled in now. Thankfully they remembered one another when Sasha finally came home and they're still inseparable.
 
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Kat0121

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Bailey the 12 year old border collie came from our local Humane society. Lilith and Sophie came from the same HS that she did. They will be with me 1 year this Thursday 
 I went in to meet Lilith and came home with her and her sister. They were rescued with about 20 other relatives of theirs from an abandoned house in town. They were my valentine's day gift to myself last year 


Henry is a permanent foster from a local shelter. He had been there his whole life and I couldn't leave him there any longer. He will be with me 1 month this Thursday. He was my birthday gift to myself this year. 
  I pick great presents!! 
 

di and bob

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My Casper is the offspring of Annie, who was dumped in our vicinity at about 6 months old and 2 months pregnant. She lived as a feral for a year, having 17 kittens in all until we moved in that house permanently ( we had been living elsewhere and was fixing this one up. ) and I had her spayed and moved into the house.  She adapted well! Burt was adopted with his brother Erny from a girl I knew who was trying to find homes for a 'bunch of barn kittens'. Cats just naturally navigate to my house because they know I'm a softy (AND have food!) I'm feeding around 10 right now.
 

twinkles21

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Jasmine - DH took her from an abusive home when she was a year old

Pyre - Her mom had taken up residence in the barn on a rental farm to have her babies. The people who were renting the farm were not allowed to have animals, and they took her in and were trying to find homes for the mom and kitties before the land owner came and drowned them all. When I took Pyre, her mom and 4 siblings had all found homes.

Destiny - Found her starved and stuck in the derelict boiler vent at my work. She was nothing but bones and so malnourished that when I touched her, her fur was sticking to my hand and falling off in clumps. Even the Vet wasn't sure that we could save her, organ damage or something along those lines. Of course, happy ending, she's a healthy happy spoiled girl (Profile pic) Weird thing though, The fur that grew in after, also turned white and coarse and fell out, and then re-grew black and healthy. She was bald for like the first 8 months we had her.

Noriel - Also found at my work. A rental vehicle was returned and an hour later, someone else comes in and tells me that the truck outside is 'meowing'  
 So i go and open the hood, and on top of the engine is this tiny kitten. She was shaking she was so scared and had a minor eye infection, but other than that, she was in the best condition for an orphan I've ever seen. Her Mama was obviously taking good care of her. I had intended to foster her only until she was a bit bigger, (vet put her at 3-4 weeks) but she ended up bonding with both DH and I. It was cute (and sad) actually, she was so scared when I found her, to help ease the tension, i put my head on her level and started 'purring' she immediately responded and started rubbing her body on my face and nuzzled herself under my chin and tried to 'nurse' in my hair.

I always say next time we are looking to expand to our family we will adopt from a shelter, but it never seems to happen. They just find me. 
 
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mwallace056

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Jasmine - DH took her from an abusive home when she was a year old

Pyre - Her mom had taken up residence in the barn on a rental farm to have her babies. The people who were renting the farm were not allowed to have animals, and they took her in and were trying to find homes for the mom and kitties before the land owner came and drowned them all. When I took Pyre, her mom and 4 siblings had all found homes.

Destiny - Found her starved and stuck in the derelict boiler vent at my work. She was nothing but bones and so malnourished that when I touched her, her fur was sticking to my hand and falling off in clumps. Even the Vet wasn't sure that we could save her, organ damage or something along those lines. Of course, happy ending, she's a healthy happy spoiled girl (Profile pic) Weird thing though, The fur that grew in after, also turned white and coarse and fell out, and then re-grew black and healthy. She was bald for like the first 8 months we had her.

Noriel - Also found at my work. A rental vehicle was returned and an hour later, someone else comes in and tells me that the truck outside is 'meowing'  
 So i go and open the hood, and on top of the engine is this tiny kitten. She was shaking she was so scared and had a minor eye infection, but other than that, she was in the best condition for an orphan I've ever seen. Her Mama was obviously taking good care of her. I had intended to foster her only until she was a bit bigger, (vet put her at 3-4 weeks) but she ended up bonding with both DH and I. It was cute (and sad) actually, she was so scared when I found her, to help ease the tension, i put my head on her level and started 'purring' she immediately responded and started rubbing her body on my face and nuzzled herself under my chin and tried to 'nurse' in my hair.

I always say next time we are looking to expand to our family we will adopt from a shelter, but it never seems to happen. They just find me. 
Great that you took all the cats in, i don't understand some people why would they beat or hurt a cat or another animal? was the landlord really to to drown them all if they haven't found homes?
 

twinkles21

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Great that you took all the cats in, i don't understand some people why would they beat or hurt a cat or another animal? was the landlord really to to drown them all if they haven't found homes?
I don't know Jasmine's full story, DH just said that they would beat and hit her when she played, and that when he took her she has some internal bleeding. Jas is 13 yrs old now, She is quite comfortable around people, still doesn't play very often though. 

Absolutely. The renters were very nice people, they told me that the landlord found them first, and the father of the renting family said they would deal with the kitties. The landlord had given them 24hrs to find them homes or they were going to be culled.  They hid Pyre's mom and siblings in one of the up-stairs closets to buy themselves more time.
 
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mwallace056

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I don't know Jasmine's full story, DH just said that they would beat and hit her when she played, and that when he took her she has some internal bleeding. Jas is 13 yrs old now, She is quite comfortable around people, still doesn't play very often though. 

Absolutely. The renters were very nice people, they told me that the landlord found them first, and the father of the renting family said they would deal with the kitties. The landlord had given them 24hrs to find them homes or they were going to be culled.  They hid Pyre's mom and siblings in one of the up-stairs closets to buy themselves more time.
who would beat a animal for playing? i can see why she don't want to play often. i hope they don't have kids, what would they do when their kids play?

some people need a heart 
 
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mservant

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Adopted from a legitimate pedigree breeder because there were no kittens available locally and shelters here only adopt out if there's access to a garden and I'm in an upper apartment.  My previous 2 litter sisters were adopted from a friend's parents whose cats had kittens they couldn't find homes for. 
 

my2cats67

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My girl smokey was a stray I found back in 2007 she was about 7 at the time found her out side middle of febuary  she walked up to me let me pick her up the rest is history she past last august 2014. My avatar is Tiger my ex brought him in to our lives back in 08 two years later he developed ibd and my now ex wanted nothing to do with him he chose me because I could care for him he is the sweetest mommas boy going very vocal. My second cat zoey belong to a friend of my sons who was going off to collage and her mom refused to keep the cat so instead of a shelter I get her she has been back and fourth with her mom and me over four years times no she is mine no more back and fourth and her mom is not in a good place to have her so she is mine now and a mommas girl. The cats in my life find me not me find them.
 

duckdodgers

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I was sitting in an English class in undergrad when I saw one of the campus police officers stomping around in the bushes outside the window. After awhile he pulled out this screaming little black kitten. I jumped up, ran out of class, and caught the officer as he was about to get into his car. I asked him what he was going to do with the kitten, and he said "I don't know, take it somewhere." I asked if I could have it, and I carried this screaming kitten by the scruff of her neck to class. Teacher sees me walking back with her, finds a cardboard box, and I carried her around with me until I was done with class for the morning. This whole time everyone was saying "...You do know that's a feral kitten, right?"

I then took her home in the cardboard box and opened the box in my bath tub. I wanted to make sure she didn't have fleas, but I was quite scared of the hissing ball of fury at that time. So, I scooped her up with an oven mitt to prevent being attacked. She immediately became quiet and still while bathing her, and she became significantly more tame while I was holding her in a towel to dry. I tried to find her a home but couldn't, so two years later she's still mine. Still not as domesticated as I would like, but I love her anyway!

My first cat came from a breeder that we found when I was four years old at a cat show. My dad surprised me with her and for the next 18 years I was just about the only person that cat liked. She was an unfriendly creature to everyone else.

My parents' cat was the animal control kitten special. I decided that we needed a cat my senior year of high school, so I went and picked one out from animal control. By the time I was in a position to keep the cat on my own my parents didn't want to give him back to me.
 

bengalcatman

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We have two Bengals, both rescues of a sort..

Makena

Our dear little cat, Milou, had passed away, she was a sweet cat with a seizure disorder. Anything stressful would cause seizures, so we were unable to introduce another cat into our home. All of our cats were rescues but this time my wife and I decided we wanted to pick breed and select a cat. After much discussion, we decided to get a Bengal. Fate intervened and things did not quite work out as planned......

I had a slow day at work (a rarity) and I took a moment to look up Bengal breeders on the internet. A coworker happened by and saw what I was looking at and mentioned that she had an acquaintance who was desperate to find a home for her Bengal. Three days later we brought home a large, aggressive male Bengal that sprayed, hissed and wanted nothing to do with us (or anyone.) So much for my cute little kitten, but a year later and with a lot of patience and love, we had a highly intelligent, loving cat that we now adore.

Lilia

A few years later, the vet that helped us with advice and meds for Makena called. She had a Bengal whose owner had passed away. The Bengal was small timid female who now needed a home. Our vet thought that we would be a good match. A few days later, a very timid, shy Lilia was safely hidden in our bathroom as she acclimatized to our home and to Makena. Lilia is now our little cuddlebug, still shy, but getting more outgoing as her confidence increases. 

So much for picking out a kitten from a breeder! Still, karma heard our desire for a Bengal and has kindly granted us that twice over. 

Eric
 
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roguethecat

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Rascal -

I was eating roasted chicken. I am raised not to waste any food, but also didn't want to eat the fatty bits, so I put it outside for the raccoons. It disappeared. Shortly after, a brown tabby got interested in the spot where I had left it. I told him I didn't have any more food that cats would eat. He came back the next day. I told him, all right, he could come in and visit as I had a mice problem anyway. I started buying cat food. It got cold, and I stopped throwing him out at night. So I was adopted by a huge, aggressive, intact tomcat. The landlord found out and since he was allergic to cats, we had to move. But since Rascal is lord of catnip, the universe and everything (neutering didn't dampen him one bit), he considers the whole world his territory.

(I'll tell of the others another time so I don't write a whole cat novel in one post
)
 

terestrife

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Kitty I adopted 4 years ago from a Humane Society. I had no intention of getting a cat. I loved cats as a little girl, not so much as an adult. My family and I were just annoyed with the neighborhood cats making a mess in our yard. Until one day, that i held in my hands a dying kitten. The cat was so tiny it fit in my hands.

A few weeks after this i felt this desire to have my own cat. I cant explain it as it was not planned. But its been 4 years. and ive been very happy with Kitty.

2 months ago, my mom and I found a stray cat in our yard. Her stomach was sucked in so tightly it was like holes on the side of her body. And yet this kitty was so sweet, and loving. We started feeding her, and named her Elsa.

Right away i noticed that neighborhood cats (who are at a healthy weight) would come by when I was feeding her and try to scare her away from the food i was giving her. Its no wonder she was so thin. It broke my heart how she would wait outside for us and meow as soon as she saw us, how she would stand under the rain so she could stare at our house.

I was nervous to adopt another cat, as I had Kitty to think of, and two dogs as well. But one day Elsa saw the door open and marched right in like she owned the place.


Thankfully they get along, and Kitty is a lot more active, and seems less lonely.

My other family members that didnt like cats are now in love with them.
 
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ravynwriter

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I only have one kitty atm, though within the next year that will be jumping to three :)

As for how I got Athena, that's a bit of a tale.

In late 2000, early 2001 I lived in an apartment with my mother and my sisters. We were a ground floor unit, and outside our back door there was a patio with some outdoor furniture, a strip of grass probably about fifteen feet in length, and then a stand of woods that extended around the apartment complex and around a nearby lake.

I knew our next door neighbors had cats, but I was puzzled. Every time I went out the back door, I could see kitty faces looking at me through their sliding door. Most of them seemed to be very young...six to eight week old kittens. But the odd thing I noticed after a while was it was never the same kitties twice. One day, it might be an adult tabby and a little calico and a little black one, the next day it was a pointed adult with a little gray one and a little white spotted one, etc.

Anyway, a few months go by and the neighbors move out. My complex wasn't the fastest on turning over apartments so it took about two weeks or so before the maintenance men opened the apartment to inspect it and clean it up for the next renter. When he was doing a walk around he noticed that the sliding door was unlocked and there were kitty faces looking at him. Surprised, he opened the sliding door and about twenty cats, all in various states of starvation, streamed out past him and into the woods. Hearing crying, he unlocked their patio side shed and ANOTHER dozen kitties came rushing out of there. 

One or two were still in the apartment and the shed, too weak and nearly dead to move, but the others all made it into the woods. The neighbors had clearly been hoarders and just left all the cats behind when they moved.

Well, for the next several weeks there were these cats, half feral, most only half grown, living in the woods around the complex. A few neighbors managed to lure some in with food and adopted them, the apartment managers called the shelter and had traps put out to try and get the rest of them. It was fall and getting cold and wet, and most of them were clearly skeletal when you caught sight of them.

Our back porch became kind of a gathering place. Each evening I would see three or four of them curled up on our lawn furniture. We left food out to try and lure them in but most often they would just take off if you opened the door, or got too close. 

One day, my mother and I got home to find my two sisters had managed to 'catch' two of the kitties that had been hanging around the porch. One was a handsome blue, clearly not that badly off.  He had some meat to him and was a bit hesitant but fairly friendly and warmed up FAST. The other was a scrawny little patched torbie with absolutely enormous eyes, little more than bones and fur. She wasn't aggressive but she was absolutely terrified of everyone and if she couldn't run away from you she would just sit there and shudder like you were going to beat her.

My sisters had managed to catch them via ambush. They rather cleverly left the sliding door open and tied a string to a food dish and filled it with food, leaving it just inside the door. When the kitties crept in, lured by the food, they carefully inched the dish back centimeter by centimeter with the string, waiting for the kitties to follow it, before moving it a bit more. Doing that, they managed to get the cats as far as the hall without being seen. My other sister hid in the kitchen, and when the cats were nearly to the hall she snuck around and shut the door.

Anyway, Mom said we could keep them and immediately they became *my* cats. I named the male Church, and the little torbie Athena (for her huge eyes). Church was outgoing and friendly enough and it wasn't two days before he was in love with everyone in the house. It took Athena a week before she'd even come out from under my bed with anyone in the room. I took to sitting and reading on the floor in there, and after that week she crept out and inch by inch into my lap, watching me the whole time, ready to bolt at the slightest motion. 

A few weeks later, Athena went into her first heat. I was trying to save up to get them fixed but Mom couldn't afford it and I was only working part time. Anyone whose had an intact male in the house and a female in heat knows what it's like. We did our best to keep them separated but Church went nuts, yowling and tearing at the doors constantly, trying to get to her. Two days before the paycheck that would finally let one of them get fixed I wasn't feeling well, I had a horrible headache, and Church was yowling up a storm. Out of frustration and desperation, I picked him up and put him outside. It's something I regret doing even to this day...why? Because I literally never saw him again. I searched for weeks, posting flyers around the complex, checking the shelters in case he got caught by one of the traps still around, checking the 'hit by car' lists the cities put up on their website...nothing. He just disappeared and never returned :(

Turns out, ironically, that at that point it was too late anyway. One of my sisters must have slipped up, or else we weren't as careful as we thought, because a few days later when I had Athena fixed it turns out she was a week pregnant. 

Anyway, we couldn't know her birthday but the vet guessed her age at 'just about a year'. It was January 2001 at that point so I just made her birthday January 1st of 2000. By that determination, she just turned 15.

She is my baby, my soul cat, my bestest bud. She's still very hesitant of most people and often hides if there's anyone but me in the house, but the first time she met my fiancee she immediately climbed into her lap and started purring...and in fact, completely ignored me in favor of my fiancee the whole two weeks she was at the house! Can't ask for a better 'stamp' of approval than that :)

So yeah. right now, Athena is the only kitty I have. In about a month, however, my new baby boy comes home: a lilac british shorthair. And within the next year (fingers crossed) when immigration allows, my fiancee will be moving in and bringing her 14 year old deaf white cat Odin to add to the mix.
 

sivyaleah

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Casper, we took in when a very close friend was having some major life troubles.  He was living in another state from the home he owned, and was worried sick about how Casper would fare with him not there to take care of him daily.  At that time, he was an indoor-outdoor kitty, more outdoor from what I now know.  Neighbors were checking up on him but it wasn't enough.  After some months of going back and forth about it, my friend finally got to a point where he knew Casper HAD to have a family again.  He promised he was an awesome, well behaved cat and he surely did turn out to be one.  He's indoor only with us and adjusted to this lifestyle very well.

Cocoa, was our second choice from a local rescue group.  We'd been searching for a friend for Casper but none seemed to click.  After nearly taking in a different cat which fell through, the foster group asked if we would like to meet Cocoa (then called Elmora) who was found on the street of a neighboring town living in a colony.  They warned us she was pretty timid and passive so we thought she'd make a good pal for Casper, who was more outgoing and typical alpha.  I fell in love with her as soon as I held her and felt an incredible amount of protection towards her.  I worked very hard in acclimating her to our household, took a good month or so before her and Casper were in the same room together.  She was extremely shy at first but now, she's the house Diva supreme!  She actually turned out to be fairly alpha herself once comfortable with her surroundings and consistent care; and with Casper getting older and caring less about his status I think, it worked out exceptionally well.  
 

chromium blues

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Dusty Springfield is our Zoo Cat. Her mum and brother were caught, but she evaded the trap until the next year. A friend of ours who works at the zoo was trying to catch her, but didn't want to until she had the kittens. Unfortunately, an overzealous co-worker caught Dusty and took her to the pound. Panicked, our friend called the pound and told them not to do anything with the cat, she'd be there for her first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, she had some serious kitten hunting to do and managed to rescue all SEVEN week-old kittens. She bottle-fed them for the night and then went to spring Dusty, only to find that the nursing mum had been spayed...!? Luckily, she was able to nurse her kittens without affecting her incision. We fostered the little family. Our calico, Sylvia Rose became very attached to Dusty so we kept her and she's a lovely (still feralish) brown tabby. She was named Dusty Springfield because of her big beautiful green eyes.
 

tara g

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I adopted Nero in August 2008 from one of the local shelters. Monte had died in June 2008, and I had a hole in my heart to fill with another furbaby. My now-ex told me to wait until after we'd gone on our Maine vacation, so when we came back, we hadn't even slept - went straight to kitty searching. The first shelter we went to, where we'd gotten Monte & Katina, had all the cats under quarantine. So we went to another one that had a few cats available. We almost adopted a pair, but my ex didn't want 3 cats at that time, as we were living with his parents still while saving for a house to be built on land they'd given us. I just so happened to see this black kitten doing acrobatic tricks in his cage. We both held him, and he immediately melted into our arms and purred. Monte had been a lovebug too, and we both looked at each other & knew he was the perfect fit. He's been my Sweetest Boy ever since. He was 3 months old at the time.

I adopted Neko in November 2009 right after doing my shelter volunteer orientation class. They walked us out through the cat part of the shelter, and I saw a black cat laying in the cutest position. My ex had joked about "what would you say if I got you a 3rd cat for Christmas?" (we already had Hoshi, adopted in March 2009, but my ex has him so I left him off this post. I miss him!) ... so of course I mentioned the kitty I saw, and he told me to give it our "kitty test" (make sure it doesnt bite when you pet him, if he would be a fit, etc). I took him in the meet & greet room, played with him, he was very shy but lovey. Passed my kitty test! I called my ex to let him know, and he said the decision to adopt was up to me. Of course that meant in less than 5 minutes I had the paperwork in front of me! He knew when he got home, asked "where's the new cat?" lol. They did a Black Cat Friday event, where any cat with any black on it was free, 2 weeks after I got Neko :rolleyes: (I really didn't mind paying an adoption fee, as I know it helps the shelter).

When he and I split, I took both Nero & Neko. He wanted to keep Hoshi, who was more "chill" and more of a loner out of the 3 cats. It broke my heart to leave Hoshi, but he was always more my "ex's cat" ... he had picked him out, and he'd always seem to hang out with him more. I never would have left my other 2 there, and Neko has actually thrived with living with the new BF and I... he's done a complete 180º from the shy skittish cat he was. He's still a bit skittish, but much more confident, and adores my BF. Neko was just a smart boy ;) Nero loves EVERYONE lol.
 
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