How did you decide to add to your household?

I know there are a lot of people here with multi-cat households. I'm really curious as to how it got to be that way? Did you make a conscious decision to add to your fur-family or was there a kitty in need who came to you or just touched you so much you had to adopt him/her?

I've currently got 2, so I guess we're already a multi-cat house. Ophelia was a rescue (she was trapped between the walls of our apartment building when she was about 6 weeks old). We thought we lost her (being a feral, she found the perfect hiding spot!), and had bought a lot of kitty supplies so we went out and got Trent, who chose us from the pet store cages.

But the real reason I ask is because we are moving from an apartment, where they really can limit how many animals you have, to our own townhome. The HOA says 2 pets maximum, but from what I know that's more of a recommendation than a real rule.

None of our cats were on purpose.

Manny.. my 11 year old cat, had died in 2001, and my mum wasn't ready for another cat. But in 2003, we moved in town from the country, and my brother and his girlfriend got two little kittens from the petstore. They lived in the apartment above us so I went everuday and visited the little buggers.
They named them Nacho and Orion
They got the kittens in October, when they were 7 weeks old, and in January, they found out that they were going to have a baby and wanted to give the kittens up. So we took them, and were ging to find them a good home. But after we had someone come to look at Nacho, we decided that it was best they stay with us.

So then.. months and months later. .when Nacho and Orion were 10 months old, we took in three feral 4 week old kittens. We bottled fed them, but they quickly started on wetfood. The tabby one was extremely sick.. I thought he was going to die many times. But he lived. Sadly, the little black female died a few days after I got them.
But the other two flourished! They got bigger and healthier. I named them Gordito and Poptart.On July 1st 2004 , Gordito was adopted by a young family. 3 or 4 weeks later they called me back, saying he was extremely agressive and that they wanted the adoption fee money back. But The money had already gone to pay for vaccinations, so they were tough outa luck. After that, we just decided to keep them, since they were brothers. Plus, my mum was in love with Poptart.

So they found us really..

Both cats were totally my decision; my husband had no choice in the matter. 8-Bit came through a person I worked with. He had a mom cat that had given birth about 13 weeks previous, and he wanted to adopt the cats out before turning to the APL. We went over to his house, 8-Bit, bit me, scratched my husband, walked into his carrier, and fell asleep. All we had to do was shut the door.
As stated above we adopted a "bossy" kitty, so it was obvious to me that I needed to get a companion that would mellow out my alpha. My husband said that I had to wait a little longer before this happened. One day I walked into Petsmart and saw Scratch Fury Destroyer of Worlds sitting in a cage. He looked up and me as to say "You're my Mommy aren't you? Take me home please!" So I did. He was everything I didn't want in a cat. He's long haired (my husband wanted short) he's a boy (I wanted a girl), he was abused (I wanted a cat without issues LOL), and has some ongoing health problems I haven't posted about. Yet, he loves me all the same.

both of my boys were rescues.

Miagi was found in this lady's basement and she couldn't keep him. I've always wanted a cat..I grew up with dogs and never once had a cat. We thought I was allergic, it turns out I am..but not that bad that it's life threatning. he's pure attitude. not such a cuddle bug unless you have a blanket or food. he and Tiger both sleep with me..

Tiger was rescued from a highway with him and another kitty. These nice people took him and the other kitty in and were trying to find a home for him..we decided that Miagi needed a friend so we went to look at him and it was love at first sight. he's a heartbreaker, that's for sure.

all of my dogs were from accidental litters but all of my pets I have in the future will be adopted..but I wouldn't trade them for the world. I am blessed to have 6 wonderful furbabies.

Mine requires a short story.
My ex husband and I got a kitten (Domino) from WHS. About a month later I wanted a friend for him, so we got Cajun from WHS. Then about less than a year later, we got 2 little baby girl kittens (Asia and Jinx) from my work (I worked at another vet clinic). Then about a year later, we got Smudge from a friend, who I had told I was looking for a calico kitten.
When we divorced, he took Domino, Asia and Jinx, since they liked each other the most, and I took Cajun and Smudge, since they were loners, and my favorites anyway. I cried more over losing them than I did over him. BTW, he still has them and they're doing fine. They even called me on Mother's Day! (He dialed for them )
Soooo....after a while I got involved again, and moved in with someone, and we wanted to add to our 'family" and got two more kittens, Emily and Cubby. Then, after we broke up, ( ) I moved in here. I had 4 cats at the time, no dogs. I wanted a fifth cat, since I had 5 before, I felt it was a good number, lol. I got Elessar from a client.
I got Rain shortly after that from my ex. She was eating his other dog's poop. I didn't want her going anywhere else so I took her. Funny, she doesn't eat Pedro's poop. She probably didn't like my ex, lol.
About a year ago, we were trapping cats in our area and we caught Bob, and I had given him to my mom but that didn't work out, and we kept the fosters in our basement, and one day I went on vacation and my downstairs neighbor brought Bob up here and while I was gone he made this his home, so he stayed. Then we caught Timmy, very feral and I ended up knowing he would not be easily rehomed so after I got him to like me a little, I decided to keep him too. Then I got Pedro about a year ago from a client at work!
SO! That's my story! They just keep finding me!!!!

Brad and I lived in a small apt when we first got together. Then we bought a house, had to repaint it, carpeted all of it ya know the works. Well he told me that he really didn't want any animals for awhile. It broke my heart because I'd had animals all my life and living in that apt was horrible. I was having animal withdrawls. One night I came home from work and he was there with something behind his back, told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands, I did and he plopped Twig into them. He was SO tiny! Just big enough to fit into one hand. I decided that Twig needed a brother sop we looked for another cat and along came Zen. He passed away 6 months after we got him from FIP. Twig was beside him constantly cleaning him and comforting him until we ahd to put him to sleep. We were devistated and Twig was lost. SO we waited the time limit and were off to look for another cat. We went to a cat show just to look( yeah right) and saw someone with kittens, I asked to hold one, he snuggled under my chin and that was all it took he was mine. We brought him home, Twig batted him on the head twice, he slid across the kitchen and came right back for another one, and that was all there was, and Rocket was home. The girls were ferals that I was feeding outside. They were with a big male grey tabby and were both preggers. Isis had hers, but something was wrong, because one day she just showed up on our step and didn't leave so I brought her inside, put her on the front porch, calmed her down, let the others get to know her and after a vet check, they were all introduced. Luna was the same way pretty much. I brought her inside in Dec and they've both been with us for 6 years now. All my kitties are 6 or 7 years of age. I wish I couldv'e taken the grey male, but he never wanted to come inside, and wouldn't let me touch him. He disappeared one day. I haven't seen him since.

At my maximum I had about 15 or 16 cats. Of all of those, not one was preplanned.

It went something like this:

We had no cats until one day a stray got accidentally locked in our garage. We couldn't find her owners, so decided to keep her, named her Rumpleteaser (I think I had just seen Cats for the first time )... found out she was pregnant and had... I think FIV? We're going back about 15 years on this, so I'm not 100% on what it was. But whatever it was, I remember the doctor telling us that the kittens could get it and it would be horrible, etc. So after having her for 1 week, we had her put down. We were newbie cat owners and did what we thought was in the best interest for her and the kittens.

After having her only one week we were still heartbroken. I still remember my mom and I sitting in the parking lot of the vets office sobbing for almost an hour after we brought her in. Luck would have it that the next day we went to visit my mother's aunt only to find out that her cat had gotten out, came home pregnant and she had a litter of very adorable babies.... and we came home with Gemini. The next year the same thing happened and we came home with Apache. On one hand you would think my mom's aunt would have gotten her cat spayed, but then if she did we would have never had Gem or Pache.

A few years later I went to one of my all time favorite stores, Medieval Mayhem. As soon as I walked in the door I saw their little westie going NUTS. When I asked why the owner ran in the back of the store and brought me this huge box with a little black ball of fuzz in the corner. She said she had found him abandoned behind the store and couldn't keep him because she was allergic to cats. I took him, figured he was about a week old, ran to the pet store to get a bottle and formula... and that's how I got Mayhem.

A few months after getting Mayhem I was moving to a new apartment. I was taking Mayhem to the vet to get all his records to give to my new landlord when I saw a little orange tabby in a cage at the office... horribly frightened of everyone, every thing, every noise, etc. He had been beaten horribly by the neighborhood kids, but when they let me take him out of the cage he was immediately attached to me. He wouldn't stop licking my face long enough to let me write out the check for his adoption fee! I couldn't let him stay there and be scared, and I knew mom was keeping Gem and Pache at her house since they were really her cats... Mayhem needed a buddy at the new apartment... and that little tabby boy, now known as Azrael, came home with me.

A little after I had moved into my new apartment I went to the nail place at the local mall, and low and behold there was a pet store next to the nail place. While walking past I noticed a little black and white kitten in the corner of the window who just looked like he needed a friend... and home came Jack.

After I moved back home, a stray cat had two litters of kittens under my mother's shed... and thats where we got (ok lets see if I can get this straight... ) First litter: Samson, Isosceles, Gizmo, Angel, Bootsy Second litter: Cleo, Max, Tabby, and a fourth we never named because we found her a home.

Shortly after this, yet another cat showed up on our doorstep. He lived on our front porch (voluntarily) for three months until it started to get cold and we finally agreed to let him in. I nicknamed him John Doe figuring hey, we don't know who he is... Once he came inside he became Johnny.

And then, after I moved to Florida, I went back to NY last september for a visit. While there I was visiting a friend in the city who lives near Fort Tryon Park. While sitting on a bench against the wall of the park chatting with my friend about nothing in particular, we heard a rustling in the bushes behind us. We jumped up expecting a rat only to find a severely emaciated kitten trying to make friends with us. We fed her and tried to get her into a no kill shelter. When that didn't work, I tried to get her into a shelter with a 90% adoption rate. No go. Instead got yelled at by the manager for "not thinking of this sooner!" because I had to hop a plane back home the next day. And as funny as this sounds... when I was at the shelter talking to the manager, the kitten peed on me... and I thought "this is her way of telling me she just does not want to be here". So with a roll of my eyes, I left the shelter, paid the extra $50 to Delta and flew her to Florida to live with me.... and now we have Tryon.

I always joke that I never need to go out and adopt a cat. When there's one out there who needs me, he/she will just show up!

We've had a combination of situations: The only time I really took the initiative was with my very first cat, Chinook; I wanted a pet, I decided on a kitten, I got her at the SPCA. She died five days later in my arms. I was heartbroken, and not quite ready when a friend told me about a couple of kittens looking for a home. I took one of them: Shasta. She was an only kitty for 14 years, until a colleague needed to rehome her two six-year-old boys. Gryphon and Nibs came to our house. We learned how wonderful a multi-cat household is.

Of the three, Gryph was the first to go, and a few months later, Shasta. Nibs was always a needy kitty, and became more so as an only kitty, so we started thinking about adding to the household again, and were close to starting a search when Rob's sister told us of a litter looking for homes. So we adopted Suzy and Sam.

Sam disappeared nine months later, and a year after that Nibs crossed the bridge, and Suzy was an only kitty. We again waited a few months, and before we were really ready, a friend of Rob's Mum was ready to rehome a couple of five-month-olds she had been fostering, and MIL said she'd ask us. So, Cindy and Fawn joined us.

We've pretty much come to the conclusion that three is a good number for us, though there's a young black fellow who thinks he'd like to join our household. Fawn doesn't agree. The others are staying out of the discussion.

Now that I have 3 (yes THREE) places, my cat population has expanded:
House 1: Cinders - rescued from a rest area about 100 mi. away;
House 2: Joey & JC - my disabled daughter spent her savings on those 2 in the pet store - they saw us & instantly cried, jumped,JC frantically clawing the cage, to come with us;
AmyRose & Andy - neighbor kids brought them to my husband when I was out of town - their father was taking them to the kill shelter;
Andrea - "The Kitten Who Wouldn't Be Roadkill" - rescued from a particulary dangerous curve of Hwy. 49;
House 3 - "Sweetheart" - not sure of her name, the former tenants(my husband's close friends) left her behind when they moved out of state, which was great for her, as she had been an abused cat for years.
TommyScott, a stray who also seems to have been abused, one half of the left ear cut off, who is an outside cat,but we're working on that.
Yup, the cats seem to find us alright

I have always loved cats but was unable to have one for many years.

When hubby and i got married our first house was soooo tiny it just wasn't fair to keep a cat. 4 years passed and hubby was laid off, this might have been a complete disaster but he got a job here in Wrexham so we moved.

We now had a much bigger house in a safer area so off to the cat rescue we went and a little black scared cat came home with us, Smudge.

I then started to get involved more with rescue work, fatal , and as a result TC was added (poor little TC was killed by a car, she was a very chatty cat and the naughtiest kitten ever). Jasper and Jazmin were found in a box dumped on a country lane, and Jake was born in the rescue centre.

I was fostering Izzy for several months and really couldn't let her go after all that time.

Unfortunately Smudge, TC and Jasper are no longer with us, but not a day goes by when i dont think of them.

I had 5 cats as a child, they were my Mums that she had before she met my Dad and I was a real cat (and dog) lover then, but then they all died and the only contact I had was with my grandmas cat Ginger who was a viscious beast and I was constantly warned 'don't go near his face', 'don't approach him from behind' etc etc and for a kid who just wants to play, I decided cats weren't much fun and were a bit unpredictable so I just stuck to my dogs.
Then after about a year of living with Mark, he decided he wants a budgie, I thought they were cute and we were in the pet shop just browsing the cost of cages when we spotted this little cage with 2 grey kittens in it. One was asleep, the other was sitting up and falling asleep and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen.
We didn't go back to the pet shop but I was always thinking about the kittens. Then Mark heard of someone who had a litter of 4 week old kittens and literally dragged me there because I had decided it wasn't right to get a kitten because we would have to keep it inside (haha yes I know, oh how your opinion changes once you are a little educated...) anyway long story short we fell in love with the little ginger beast that is Sleeves, he wasn't exactly safe at the house he was born in so he came with us at 6 weeks. We searched high and low for someone else with kittens when we decided to get a friend for Sleeves and eventually found someone and thats where we got little Nismo the nutcase!
It seems that when you want kittens, there is nobody about, but when you don't, you seem to hear of lots of people whos cats have had litters...
We actually tried our local shelters (over the phone not by going in) both times we were looking and were told to our amazement, that they will not give kittens away that are going to be kept as house cats! so we just thought that was the norm and didn't question why this was their practise.

Since I take in the leukemia cats, I take them in as they become "available", up to my limit, which is 9. as far as my current kitties, Sapphire came from a shelter in Michigan, and Antigone, Pandora, Zeus, Demeter, Ismene and Medusa I adopted through Eileen (Eilcon) and her rescue group and they were working with another rescue group, Foster Felix. As far as my rainbow kitties, Simon was found in the woods, I had 2 kitties, Dale and Junior, shipped in from Cali, Talladega I drove about 7 hours to PA to meet her former owner who was from Long Island, Rocket was a feral from a trailer park (not mine!) from a small town around here.... I also have contacts at a couple rescue groups around here that will call me if a leukemia cat turns up and if I have space I take them in. I haven't "chosen" a cat in over 8 years I take whoever needs a home

Katie, my first cat, was actually the only one of my cats that I purposely set out to adopt with a lot of thought and planning. I adopted her when I felt I was ready for a pet. I was stationed in Belgium in the Army in the time and heard about her on the radio.

Willy, my Bridge kitty, was a total impulse buy at a local petstore when Katie was about a year old. In my ignorance then, it never occurred to me to adopt from shelter. He was totally worth the impulse. Such a sweet, friendly, accepting boy. Our time together was short, but such a gift.

Gracie came along a few months after Willy died. She came from a colony of feral cats a friend was caring for. I had been thinking about getting a second cat again but had decided to look for a young, adult male (and not a tuxedo because I was afraid it would remind me of Willy.) I ended up with the exact opposite of what I was looking for - a tiny, female tuxedo kitten - my little Gracie.

I had always lived in a one bedroom apt. until about four years when the Sisters bought a two-family house. Now, I have a much larger apartment, a second bedroom, and no landlord restrictions on pets. I didn't consider adopting a third cat until I started volunteering with a small TNR group almost two years ago. The first group of kittens I helped socialize was gorgeous - 4 solid white babies, one buff colored, a calico and and a grey/white male, who was the most timid of all. He had the most soulful eyes. I absolutely fell in love with that kitten. It took a few months because I kept thinking someone else would adopt him. (They did, but returned him claiming he was vicious) Peter came home with me in Jan. '05 and has been an absolute joy.

Then came my sweet, shy Claire. Anyone who's been around TCS for the past year or so knows about my ongoing worry over her as she's been bounced around to a few different homes, then unexpectedly lost her owner last fall. I initially worried about the practicalities of adding a fourth cat, but not for long. Love for Claire won out and I knew she belonged with her brother, Peter, in a patient, stable home. I've never regretted the decision.

I would get another cat in an instant if I knew for sure I could afford the vet bills. I only have Trout because I can handle her, and I would go broke fixing her if she was sick...But 2 cats that needed extreme vet care, and I would be forever in debt.

Someday for sure though I will have another, and a dog too.

Heidi, are you wanting more babies??? I will send Brody over to you, he is short like a cat
I just have Dori who was the very best Christmas gift I ever received from my fiance, and then Brody (the dog) who showed up on my doorstep on Thanksgiving.

We moved from an apartment to a house and decided that since we both work all day that Emily needed a friend to keep her company.

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

I would get another cat in an instant if I knew for sure I could afford the vet bills. I only have Trout because I can handle her, and I would go broke fixing her if she was sick...But 2 cats that needed extreme vet care, and I would be forever in debt.

Someday for sure though I will have another, and a dog too.

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This is a real issue alright - I wonder if you can get pet insurance were you live? The only one available here is PetPlan by Allianz, which is very cheap (even without comparsion to vet emergencies). That might help ease your mind about Trout for the moment and any siblings she might get in the future.

We got our first cat, a siamese named Sassy, from a lady who had literally 30+ cats living in her trailer. A year or two later, I asked mom if we could get a second cat, and after a while, she said yes. We got a black and white kitten from another lady in our neighborhood, and named him Oreo. He wouldn't use the litterbox, so mom asked if she'd maybe take him back. She offered to give us Lucy, even though she was going to keep her. Stinky was born by a stray in the neighborhood, and he came to our house looking for food. He'd always run away when we went outside, but after a while, he let us hold him. He disappeared for a few weeks, and after it got cold, he got under the house and would crawl into the vents and meow at us.. so we let him come in. Sassy ended up getting a cancerous tumor, and we had to put her to sleep when she was about 11 years old. When we moved, we had Lucy and Stinky, and a little over a year after we moved, mom's friend asked us to take her 13 year-old calico "Sassy".. so I asked mom over and over, and we brought her home. We have three kitties right now, and we're adopting a two month old long-haired calico soon.

Well...my first kitty Lucky came to me by accident after I watched her almost get run over by a car, and then she fell in a ditch. I went to get her and she started running towards me complaining loudly all the way. She was about 4 weeks old. When she was about 6months old she was getting a little destructive in my apartment and I figured she was lonely all day while I was at work. I went to the shelter and there were two cages full of kittens. There was one tabby and white one that was all over the place, climbing up on the litter box and leaping onto his brothers and sisters. I picked him up and he started purring and nuzzling into my neck. That was Rambo (he was named that for his behaviour in the cage that day...he has since become a total lovebug who doesn't like to fight!).

I know volunteer for a rescue and have had a variety of kittens and cats through my house. I currently have Annie and Albert, 2 tabby and white 9month old kitties who have been integrated into the house with my two. At first I didn't think my house could handle four (or that I could) but it's become amazingly easy and it seems almost normal now after 2 weeks. Who knows what will happen!!!

Originally Posted by squirtle

Heidi, are you wanting more babies???

I will send Brody over to you, he is short like a cat

I just have Dori who was the very best Christmas gift I ever received from my fiance, and then Brody (the dog) who showed up on my doorstep on Thanksgiving.

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Ooooh! Oooooh! I'd take Brody! lol! I think he's just adorable!!! I especially love the siggy someone did of him on the raft in the pool, like the dog days of summer? Soooo cute!!