How I became a cat person or...

How my cats adopted me!

Well, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I was living with my girlfriend (at the time) in Orlando. She wanted a kitten, but I didn't like cats! Can't believe it huh? Trust me, niether can I after being catified for the last 7 years. Well, I reluctantly agreed and we went to this coworkers apt. where her cat had just had a liter of 3 beautiful lil' Calicos. Well, my girlfriend picked one (or, should I say, she picked us) and Kathy had her tucked in her shirt for the drive home. Well, this little kitten, soon to be named Tiffany, looked up at me and said "meeeeow". Well, that did it. From then on, it wasn't Kathys cat, but mine. Kathy used to get so jealous because Tiffanny would sleep on MY chest. "But, honey, you have little mountains so she can't lay on your chest as easily". Well, that didn't help. I loved Tiffany (and Kathy) with all my heart and soul and they were both my first loves (First female love and first cat love). Unfortunately, this first story doesn't have a happy ending that still saddens me to this day. During a rough period in our relationship she called her parents to come and get her and while leaving they were in an accident that left Kathy comatose for a month and partially brain damaged. Tiffany was fine, but the accident kept Kathy and Tiffany in SC and me in Florida. The next thing I hear, Kathy had taken Tiffany to the pound. I was FURIOUS!!!!!!! I told her that I could forgive her for breaking my heart, but I'd never forgive her for killing our baby (Hopefully, someone adopted Tiffany). She had done this during a 6 month period when we weren't speaking. Since that time our lives haven't merged again and I still occassionally get a call from Kathy. And though Tiffany has long been gone she still purrs in my heart.

Well, I moved home to Jacksonville and was, temporarily, rooming with my best friend at her house and she had 2 cats Tammy and Delilah. Well, Delilah was this fat, affectionate ole Siamese who just adored me and I her. I tucked her into bed with me at night and when I'd wake up she'd be in the SAME spot under my arm. It was during this time, as my heart healed from Kathy, that I bonded with Delilah. Delilah became MY cat and I begged Laura to give her to me once I got back on my feet and got a place of my own. Delilah LOVED to bathe my hairy arms and Laura would tell me "I can't hear the tv for all that licking going on". Delilah would lick, and lick and lick until one arm became raw and I'd have to flip her around so that she could groom the other arm. Well, before I got on my feet again, Delilah (at 16+ years) got very sick from old age and the end result was that she was suffering from diabetes among other things. Her time had come and the vet allowed us some moments alone and Laura and I both cried hysterically, hugging Delilah. I used to cradle her in my arms like a baby and she'd just stay there and let me carry her around, purring away. Well, this last time with her she started purring and I just LOST IT! I was practically screaming. In the end, it was the best thing rather than her to live her final few months in agony. We made a casket out of a shoe box with her picture on top and had a very tearful service in the back yard where she was buried. Laura was about to move, but we felt that since this was where Delilah first came into the world then this is where her final resting place should be. To this very day, 5 years later, when I pass that house I never forget to roll down the window and yell "HI DELILAH". I'm sure the current residents wonder who this nut is that drives by yelling out his car window and who in the heck is Delilah?

Jump forward a few years to a point when I was living with friends, just weeks before I move into my own apt (These are my friends who are the parents to my kitty nephew Nickademus and kitty niece Bella). They come home with a box and tell me to come upstairs to my room. When I did, they opened the box and out came this TINY little tuxedo kitten who looked at me and said "MEOW". I was OVERJOYED! My first son as a single father and I named him Socrates. He slept on my chest every night and TO THIS DAY we can't go to sleep without playing "catch the hand under the covers". In fact, I can't sleep w/o a cat anymore. Is that pathetic or what?

Well, about 9 months later, nearing Christmas of 98, Socs and I (along w/ my roommate) were living together just fine and enjoying a nice father/son relationship. I went for a drive with Laura and in her neighborhood we saw this sign that said FREE CHRISTMAS KITTENS! Well, both being catified, we stopped. I told Laura "Now, listen, I'm NOT getting another cat, so YOU have to refrain me when we see these cute kittens" (I should have known better than to take someone whose as big a cat person as me). So, we walk into this families home where this sweet 12 yr old girl had been loving this liter of 8 kittens since birth and she had even named ALL of them. Well, lying in this chair, were this multitude of tiny feet, tiny ears and tiny tails. Just one big pile of the cutest little kittens. Well, the one in the very center of this heap looked RIGHT at me and said (Yep, you guessed it) "MEOOOW". Well, Laura leans over and whispers "Listen, he's saying 'Dad! Dad!'" Do I really need to tell you what happened next?

And, boy, was Socrates pissed when I brought this kitten home. Theres even a picture on this first day of me on the couch with Tiger Jones (As in Indiana Jones and Spielberg is my fav. filmmaker AND the little girl had named him Tiger Jones, so I couldn't bare to change it) smiling at the camera and Socrates is standing on the couch staring at me as if to say "You SOB! Your gonna pay for this".

Today, I live by myself and the babies and when you first enter my home theres a sign that reads: THIS HOME IS MAINTAINED ENTIRELY FOR THE CONVIENENCE AND COMFORT OF MY CATS.

Ain't it the truth! It's not MY apt., it's THEIRS and they humor my presence in THEIR household. I'm a slave to my SPOILED cats and they have me right where they want me: Eating out of their paws!

Now, I know the first half of this story is sad, but I just wanted to share my Cat-history, so that you'll understand what has made me a catified male, through and through. I even keep a bag of food in my car so that when I see strays out and about I can feed them. In fact, I want to trade places with my cats for a day and let THEM come to work and let me stay home and be spoiled rotten. Socrates and Tiger are fixed and they are indoor cats for life (except for those occassions they might push the screen out and fall onto the grass).

Let me hear your stories? I'm really curious. I hope mine wasn't too sad at the brginning there.

>^..^< Meowfully,
MeowMan (Chuck)

Wow, what a story! You're right, it was a little sad at the beginning, but it seems that you have created your own happy ending with your babies!

My story is quite different. I always loved cats as a kid and there used to be quite a lot of strays that lived around our house. I used to try and befriend these cats, feeding them when I could etc. But my mother wouldn't allow me to have a pet. Anyway, one day I contracted two ringworms from the strays. One on my neck and the other on my scalp. Needless to say the one on my scalp made my hair fall out, so I ended up looking like a monk! This at the tender age of about 7 mortified me! My mother ended up calling the RSPCA and they came and hunted out the strays and took them away.

I still wanted a cat, but while I was at home this was not going to happen.

Years later I met a friend who had 3 cats and I used to go over to her house quite frequently. Unfortunately, I was allergic to cats as it happened. I would sneeze and my eyes would swell up and water. So I didn't think that it would be possible to every have a cat.

As it happens I eventually moved in and shared the house with this friend (damning the consequences!). It turned out that after living in the house for about 2 weeks I did not have an allergic reaction once. Yay for me!!

The opportunity arose one day when another friend of mine's beautiful cat gave birth to 7 kittens. I couldn't resist. I was very scared about the decision of getting a kitten because this was a whole little body that was going to rely on me to feed it, take care of it and love it, and I really didn't want to stuff up. I went around to her house and my current little boy, at the age of 6 weeks old, sauntered up to me and jumped onto my leg. I had been chosen!!

He was a tiny grey and white ball of fluff! I named him Fagan after the character in Oliver Twist (Fagin) who was just as scruffy and grey and my kitten.

After about 3 months, I went through a difficult period. This may sound a little strange but I wanted to give Fagan back. My thinking was that I had come to love him so much that I didn't think that I would ever cope if I lost him. Silly, huh. I still think about that some times.

He is 4 now and I have moved into the country with my boyfriend. Fagan has decided that he likes being a country cat (more prey, more space, more everything!!).

I know what I would do if something happened to him and I don't want to think about the time when he has to go. I love him so much sometimes it hurts. He is my best friend and he knows me so well.

A little morbid isn't it! I suppose everyone has a little bit of sadness in their tales.

I'm just lucky that my attitude has renewed the thoughts that everyday with him is special and he deserves the best of my affection.

How's that, is that what you're looking for??? Good idea for a thread, I think everyone wants to be able to share their story.

Looking forward to reading some more.

What an emotional thread... It is amazing how those little kitties can make you fall in love.

I'm afraid that my parents had never been reponsible pet owners. We've always had cats and dogs coming and going. When I was 12 I decided to put an end to that. I wanted to have a cat of my own and I told my parents I would be in charge of that one. That was my first cat, Lucky, may she rest in piece. She lived with me for 14 wonderful years and died of a liver condition. That was a very sad time - the vet tried all he could to save her but there was too much damage done, so we had to put her to sleep.

When Lucky was 1 year old she was joined by my second cat - Blanche. Blanche was a very difficult cat with tons of behavior problems. I rescued her from an abusive home, where they took her from her mom at 3 weeks of age and treated her very badly. She had only been there for a month or so, but I think that was enough to scar her for life. She was aggressive to other people and used to spray around the house. But she was very loving and sweet to me. My parents really didn't like her but I refused to give her to a shelter, saying she's been through enough as a kitten. She stayed with me for about 10 years and then she disapeared. I suspect she was stolen, as she was a beautiful white longhair.

Then for some years I had no cats. I came to live in Tel Aviv and shared an apartment with my boyfriend. He didn't hate cats but he didn't care much for them either. He kept saying we shouldn't have a cat while we lived in a small apartment and I didn't want to fight over this. I kept rescuing stray cats and taking them to shelters and he was very good about that, always helpful and supportive.

Then one day, almost 2 years ago, we went to visit my brother and hid girlfriend in their new place. My boyfriend went for a walk to check the area and came back with 5 tiny four weeks old kittens! I was overjoyed at the thought that he had become a kitty rescuer too!

It was the weekend and the shelters were closed, so we took them home... You can guess the rest 6 kittens (I found another one the same age in a different place the next day) that age would melt any heart... We both fell in love with one particular kitten.

I found good homes to 3 of these kittens and when we gave the other 3 to the shelter, they said they could find homes for two of them but the third would be put to sleep. Well, we had no choice, did we ? I just pulled our favorite out of the basket and she's been with us ever since. A couple of months later, after doing some research we decided she needed a companion and we adopted a kitten from the shelter.

These are our two babies. To hear my husband talking about them now... you'd never believe he used to dislike cats. They're his babies as much as they are mine and he absolutely adores them. Seeing the way he takes care of the cats, looking after them and taking care of their every need and wish, I'm sure he'll make a great father for our baby.

Well... Another long post...

Boy, I am so happy to hear these good stories!! I love good endings. I will try and make mine short since I have so many.
Jack is our first baby, he was a kitten from an unwanted domestic litter(product of not spaying) and a gift to our daughter from a good friend.
Bridgette and Sebastion we due to go to the pound. They were the only 2 of a Manx litter that had tails. The breeder couldnt sell them. I brought Bridgette home and told hubby her brother was going to the pound..he said okay..go get him.
Crabby Tabby came into our lives when looking for the usual cat toys and food. She was a very tiny scared little kitten in a cage at the pet store...the only one left.
Sammy and Ariel our 2 altered Munchkins came to us from a rescue. I was looking to buy 1 munchkin and was referred to this rescue. She had a litter of sick kittens in need of a home. I went to get Ariel and fell in love with Sammy as well.
Tinkerbell also from the rescue..I was fostering 2 feral kittens and when the time came to take them back to the rescue to go to their new homes. The president asked me if I wanted to see the new bunch of abandoned kittens she had. I played with every one of them giving hugs and kisses. On the 30 minute drive home, I thought about one particular kitten. Came home..gave hubby the eyes and drove the 30 minutes back to get her.
Moonshadow the persian and Purrty Girl the munchkin are from a breeder I know. I will say nothing more than they are much better off in my house!!
Last but not least..our little Lunette, she is a long legged munchkin a gift from a friend. She is a cute little fire ball who will be loved for life! We will convert her into an outgoing kitty after being caged from birth till 8 weeks.
There they all are..I am sure I will have more stories in the future.

Hi Chuck!

Boy, your story brought tears to my eyes. You are the first man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing who is actually a devoted cat person.

I grew up with dogs (Airedales). My daughter who is 24 convinced me to take home a tortie from Vermont. She was my very first cat (her name is Mollie Rose). A year after Mollie came to live with me, I heard of a litter of kittens that were going to the humane society because they could not find homes for them. I went just to take a look, mind you (yeah right). This tiny little white and buff colored male climbed up on my shoulder, licked my cheek and meowed. That was it. Home he went with me. Next, a friend of mine had a cat who had a litter of kittens. My daughter and I went to see them and Amy fell in love with this cute little calico that she named Callie Anne. So became cat #3. When Amy got a place of her own, Callie Anne when with her. Then I joined an animal rescue group and it was up hill from then on. I fell in love with a beautiful turkish angora wannabe named Marina Mar. She was born to a feral mother on a boat in a marina (hence her name, Mar is Spanish for ocean). I call her my little butterfly kitty because she has turned into the most beautiful long haired black cat. I thought I was crazy at having 3 cats. Did I stop there? Nooooo. Tucker, a Korat, was rescued from a kill shelter in NYC. He was scheduled to be euthanized that very evening. I fell in love with him. Unfortunately, he antagonized Casey who is a scaredy cat. Tucker now has a wonderful home and is very happy (I went to visit him last weekend). Maya Laquita Linn, a siamese mix from Puerto Rico entered my life unexpectedly. Our rescue organization had an adoption day and I fell in love with her (surprised??) She has been shown in cat shows and does great! I then adopted an American Curl from a breeder who was losing her home and needed homes for her cats. Her name is Carly the Curly Girl. Very petite and loving. My next fur baby (or should I say lack of fur baby) I adopted after fostering him. He is a Sphynx (no fur) and his name is Moo-Shoo. He was a rescue from upper state NY. Although not perfect, as his eyes have scar tissue on them from lack of care, he is the most docile, loving (not to mention WARM) cat I have ever come across. Then there is shorty. That's my nickname for her. Her show name is Faberge and she is the most perfect calico munchkin I have ever seen. I first met her at a cat show. She was very shy and did not show well. Why? Because she had been in a cage her entire life with no socializiation or interaction with other cats. I offered to take her to my house and let her hang with my cats. Since that time, she is the most loving, playful cat you'd ever want to meet. Last and certainly not least is Pixel. She is another Sphynx (Moo Shoo's cousin) who was being fostered. Unfortunately the cats at the foster home were beating up on her. She then went to my friends house who owns Pixel's sister. Well, there is no such thing as family reunions because Pixel's sister beat the living crap out of her. They tried to cage her to protect her but she was very unhappy. So, I took her home and she loves it here. If you've been able to keep track, I now have 8 cats. As I say, what's one more poop in the catbox? I love everyone of them and would rather move than give any of them up. They are my kids and I love talking about them. Everyone I work with calls me the cat lady. They have bets going that my the end of the year, my cat population will be in the double digits. Whatever. So there you have. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would have that many cats. But I love coming home to them. It's less lonely and I know that they love me unconditionally.

Wow....I have really enjoyed reading all your posts! The first one brought tears to my eyes, how you lost little Tiffany.

And also the one about Delilah.

I know how you feel. It is so hard to lose a pet...I have 9 cats, but Merlin is my only indoor kitty, and I'm so terrified of something happening to him if he gets outside. He is still alot smaller than the other cats, and not use to our dogs like they are.

I got my first six cats from a lady who didn't want them...it was the mama and her five babies. (They are all grown up now)

Patches and Fluffy I got from the pound, but Fluffy disappeared around Thanksgiving and never came back.

And Merlin is the only surviving member of a litter of 8 that the first mama had a few months ago. He is my baby. Sleeps right on top of me!

I love them all!

Oh ya...I forgot Peaches...I got her from a guy at work when she was a little kitten.

I guess I don't have any real exciting stories to tell of how I got them all, but I sure have enjoyed all of yours!!!

I've been a cat person since the day I can remember. The only one in my family to want cats out of 5 children. Like Jacqui, I would befriend all the strays as a child. We had cats living on our roof. My first kitten was pure black and born on my 7th birthday.
I've had too many cats in my lifetime to post how and when I got them all so, I'll just leave it at that.

What a lot of great stories!! Our cat companions reallydo choose us, don't they?

Our story is very recent. John & I had just gotten married & moved to NC from MI for his Army service. I was very lonely and couldn't meet any new friends. We live in an apartment on the first floor, and after a month, we got new upstairs neighbors. One morning, we were awakened by VERY LOUD meow-ing. We looked out our window, and saw an orange tabby cat on the upstairs balcony, trying to look in our window. The same thing started happening every morning, and we noticed that this same cat would hang out on our balcony in the afternoon. He was jumping off a 20-foot-high balcony to get free!! This cat came into our house and woud not leave us alone until we played with him to his satisfaction. We tried to return him to the neighbors, but they were never home. One day, the cat did not come around, and I hoped that his people were letting him stay inside, but after asking a few questions of the building supervisor, we found out that he was at Animal Control. The next day, I went there and adopted him. We named him Fergus (actually, Fergus was the only name he would answer to! It is a Celtic name that means "super choice") and he was very happy to have a family.

Three weeks later, after we'd gotten him his shots and had him neutered, the neighbors saw the cat in our window. They DEMANDED his return, even though we had legally adopted him and they had never even bothered to look for him! We agreed that if they kept him inside (we live near some very busy roads, and cats do not do well outdoors here) and took proper care of him, they could keep him. They decided that they were unwilling to do this, so he stayed with us.

Fergus has had some respiratory problems, and almost died before Christmas, but he is now healthy again, and we look forward to growing as a family with him! Someday, when we can afford vet bills for 2 kitties, we will adopt a companion for Fergus, but for now, he likes being the sole source of our attention.

I'm so glad you got hold of Fergus! Your neighbors are weird! Giving their cat to the pound and then wanting him back? What's wrong with these people? He's definitely better off with you!

I have always said and do believe that things happen for a reason. Fergus is very lucky to have you as his "human valets". Your neighbors, however, definitely have screws loose and don't deserve Fergus.

It makes me so giddy inside when I read all of your stories and realize I am not the only one out here completely in love with the furry littly babies.

I grew up always having the "family pet" Whether it was a dog or cat and for some reason I never really got too attached. The cats were always outside, coming in when they felt like it. They would most often run away and sometimes much worse. When I was 21, and on my own I really wanted to share my life with a little kitten. A friend of mine brought little Lily home to me and she was the funniest and yet cutest little thing I had ever seen. She had the largest ears and tail. She was so curious about everything and darted around the apartment checking it all out. She and I bonded immediately. I kept her an inside kitty because of living in an apartment I couldn't bare for anything to happened. One day she got out, nobody even saw her leave. For four days I searched and searched. I couldn't sleep, eat or think about anything. I was miserable. Finally I got a phone call from a neighbor telling me that she found a cat with abnormally large ears and tail. I knew instantly that was her. I have not let her out since, I cannot go through that again. She too sleeps on my belly and gives me kitty kisses every night. She will be 4 this year. I have contmeplated getting another kitty, but I would hate for her to think for even one second she is not the most important thing in my life. She too is the ruler of our home. She tells me what to do, and when of course to do it. She says who and who not is allowed in our home. I like it that way. She is such a small little being and will most likely not be around as long as I will. If I can make her precious little life as comfortable and special as possible than that is what I will do!!

Thank you all for sharing your amazing kitty stories. It makes me feel so happy to know you all feel the same way as I do.

What great posts all of you have! I enjoyed reading them all! I still have 6 hours ahead of me at work and in reading these it makes me miss my kids already, even though I was just taking a nap with them 4 hours ago.

Meghan....I'm sure glad you got Fergus!! If they didn't even realize he was at the pound, hadn't even looked for him, then they don't deserve him anyway!! Sounds like he has a much better home now!

What wonderful reading this has been! It's so terrific to know there are others who love cats as much as my husband and I do.
We currently have 13 cats and they are the loves of our lives. I used to foster cats for a local feline group and I kept falling in love with the ones I fostered and would adopt them myself (imagine that!) I just couldn't bear to give them up...
They are all indoor cats-my husband built a nice big cage in the back yard and the cats access it from a ramp in the basement.
Last year one of our babies went over the Rainbow Bridge and our hearts broke into a million pieces. She started off with a form of cancer and we beat that with chemotherapy, but by then she had developed "fatty liver" disease. We had a feeding tube put in but it was too late. I think my heart will always be a little bit broken because we tried so hard to save her, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. We have her brother and sister and they are wonderful-they always seem to know when I need a special look or a kitty in my lap.
One of our other kids just had a colonectomy (yes, alot of our money goes to the health and well being of our cats-but they give us so much more than we could possibly give them...)and Chester is doing great. He's such a wonderful little guy-he was destined to be put to sleep at the animal emergency clinic because he had been hit by a car and was a stray. I fell for the little cutie and told them to fix him up and I would take him-9 years later he is still "my little man."
Yikes! Sorry this is so long, but I get carried away when I talk about the kids!


[Edited by maryna on 02-16-2001 at 08:43 PM]

Oh, Maryna, thats just beautiful! They all sound so wonderful. Aren't cats, like, the greatest creatures to have blessed us with their love! I just think they're ALL so beautiful!

I just love this place. I can tell everyone how much I love my cats and nobody will think I'm weird and say "they're just cats" or "they're only animals".
A lot of times I feel I'm the only one that feels the way I do about cats. Today, my daughter called me at work and told me one of our new babies died. When I got off the phone I must've been teary eyed because a co-worker said "Geeze, it was just a cat" I just smiled and said "But I love my cats" and walked away.

Terri, I am sorry to hear you lost a kitten. They are so fragile when they are small. You were very kind to not say anything to the co worker! They are not just animals and deserve tears just like the rest of us.

You are much kinder than I think I could be under the circumstances....I really don't think I could cry any harder for a human than I cried last year when our sweet Rini died. I still cry for her-we miss her so very much.
At my office most everybody knows to not say ANYTHING bad about cats because I will absolutely call them on the carpet for it. As far as I'm concerned cats are superior to we humans-they don't hold grudges (well...maybe for a short time!)they love us unconditionally, they really don't ask for much-except to be fed, loved and a warm place to sleep. As someone once said, "The more I learn about people, the more I love my cats...."

I'm sorry to hear of your loss....it is painful. I also agree, the more I know about people, the more I love my cats...

Terri, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Hows the rest of the litter? Hey, those people who say "Its just a cat" is just proof of a shallow heart. Only animal lovers can understand your loss and know that we all feel for you.