New-ish

Hey guys! I've posted a few things here but I've never formally introduced myself. I got my first cat in June of this year. I've always wanted a cat but never got one because as a child I had very severe allergies. I finally decided to just go for it and attempt to keep my allergies under control using medication. A girl at work had a cat with kittens, which is where I got my beautiful Freya.


She's in a cone right now because she was just spayed and developed an infection, so they had to add an external suture. Anyway, I got her from a coworker who agreed to take her back if my allergies were unmanageable. Luckily, I haven't had anything more severe than the occasional itchy eye, which is great because I fell absolutely in love with her within an hour of having her. She is a very good natured cat, she wants to snuggle in the mornings before she will even touch her food, and hasn't tried to get her cone off since the first day of wearing it.

After having Freya for a while and realizing I had outgrown my allergies, I decided I would like to get a second cat to keep her company while I was at work. She had a bad habit of tormenting the dog when I got home. I began looking at shelter cats, but planned on holding off until after I got her spayed, so it wouldn't be as stressful for her. I had also planned on getting a male cat, with the hopes there would be fewer territorial issues between two cats of opposite genders. However, life doesn't always go according to plan.

I was taking Freya in for her last round of vaccinations when I heard mewling coming from the bushes. I just assumed it was a stray cat, we get a lot of those where I live. I set Freya's carrier on the ground to buckle my niece into her car seat, and when I turned around there was a tiny ball of fur pressed up against Freya's carrier. She bolted when I neared her, and I thought that was the end of it. I took Freya to her appointment and brought her home. A couple of hours later I had to let the dogs out of the house. They ran around the yard sniffing because they knew a kitten had been out earlier, and then they went absolutely nuts over our lilac bush. I quickly figured out the kitten must be hiding there, so I herded the dogs inside and went to investigate. I heard tiny little cries, and despite laying on my belly looking into the bush I couldn't find her. I happened to glance up and there she was, clinging to the tippy top branches of our seven foot tall lilac bush. She let me help her down, and the rest is history. I took her to the vet that day (I had mentioned on Freya's visit there was a tiny kitten hanging out around my house). They told me she was six weeks old and had fleas and likely worms, but other than that she was in good health. I looked, but couldn't find mommy or litter mates anywhere.


I brought her home and named her Zelda. It took a couple of days, but she and Freya were fast friends. They now do everything together, including using the litter box. Half the time Freya treats her like her own kitten. If I had allowed her to have kittens, she probably would have been a great mommy. It's been a heck of a week and a half, they've been mostly separated so Freya can heal from her surgery in peace. Zelda is very loud and outgoing. She's going to be a very bossy kitty, I can already tell. Surprisingly, despite her previous experience she is unafraid of the dog (although he's scared of her, the big baby). She loves being snuggled and playing with shoelaces. She perched on my shoulder while I did makeup one morning, and refused to be deterred. She had a bad habit of trying to suckle unusual places when I first got her, like my lips or eyelids. (?!) Anyway, Freya is six months old this month and Zelda is ten weeks, and I haven't had them very long, but I can't remember what I did without them.

Sorry for the long post, guys, but that's our story. What's yours?

Awww, thank you for sharing that story!  Freye and Zelda are so cute together!     And lucky Zelda to have wandered into your yard.  So good of you to take her in.  

I hope Freya feels better soon.  What adorable sweeties.  Bless you for being kind.  

I currently have four cats.  (I say "currently" because I am always hoping for more...DH has to stop me or I would have a great herd.)  My cats are Speck, a buff tabby rescued from the shelter, my good girl Daisy, a tortoiseshell that was picked up by animal control at the business next door to DH's.  Very scared and mean at the time, she was destined for the gas chamber.  DH and I adopted her and now she is the most loving creature and the most fun of my cats, because she is always up to something.  (And good news, the gas chamber was destroyed,..they allowed an animal welfare group to take an ax to it, as well as I can remember from the article in the paper.)  I also have Blackberry (solid black) and Rue (solid blue).  Blackberry came to us early from the neighbor's house. Someone shot her a few months ago and we had to have her front leg amputated.  She is getting around very well now, hates being kept in the house, though I think she is getting used to it.  She wakes me up in the morning because she wants me to chase her.  I believe she might think I am a giant cat.  The neighbor left Rue when he moved, just left her, so we took her in. I used to call her Blueberry until I learned her real name.  She likes to stay mostly outdoors, but comes in to eat and occasionally to sleep. They've all been spayed/neutered, but Blackberry and Rue want to roam.  So far, we've managed to keep Blackberry inside since her surgery.  I am hoping she will learn to love it.  I think a kitten for her to play with might make her happy, but I'd have to get DH on board.

Thanks for your story! How lucky Blackberry and Rue are to have you. And I'm glad that gas chamber got destroyed. Freya had been released from the cone and is back to her shenanigans.


Ever since I got Freya I've become like hyper aware of every cat in my vicinity. There was one at the vets office I wanted to take home, (a grey tabby who had been thrown out of a car and abandoned- they were holding him until he was neutered, he was very sweet), a friend of mine is getting rid of a cat, the shelters are always full, I'll see a cat on the side of the road, etc. I want to take all of then home. Unfortunately I'm maxed out with two cats. I'm a college student with two cats and a dog. They all eat better than I do lol.

What a cute story! Freya and Zelda are both adorable and Zelda is so lucky you found her.

As far as my story goes I currently have 3 girls I couldn't live without. Isy is a 10-year-old tortoiseshell who found me almost the same way Zelda found you--at about 3 weeks old she showed up under a bush in our yard and she was mine from the moment I laid eyes on her. She's the bossy one, too--there must be something about stray torties. She also acts as Momma Kitty to the other two, which I find funny because she doesn't get along with any other cats she's met. My goregous tuxedo is Maya (my avatar picture), who is one of 2 survivors of an abusive home that she was rescued from as a kitten (thank God). She's the spoiled baby. And Zoey, the tabby and white one, is the little firecracker kitten who will not stand for not being allowed to ride on your shoulder wherever you go. Here are some pictures:

What gorgeous babies! You know I was reading a different thread a while ago and it said something about torti-tude, having an attitude is apparently something common in torties lol. Zelda definitely loved being the center of attention, I was trying to do homework the other night and she wouldn't leave me alone until I let her perch on my shoulder.

I love that picture of (Isy I'm guessing) in the tree, she looks like a queen!

I've heard of that! It fits all the torties I've met, lol. Isy's definitely the queen and she doesn't let anybody forget it.

I love that picture, it's so cute! Zelda is adorable and she's going to be a beautiful cat when she grows up.