How did you get your pet?

imjustacatmom · Sep 19, 2016

Our story has also been told several times here on the catsite but I'll share it again

Our Siamese Duchess came to us...in fact she scared the living daylights out of me...I was dancing around in our little Ohana (mother-in-law) and I see through my screen these eyes...well it was tough at first because she would run and so I just started putting out more food...I was already giving the landlord's cat snacks...anyhoo there's more to this story but I'll keep it short...so she ended getting pregnant and at this time she would barely let me pet her but she did..and the minute my hubby would show up she'd bolt...this is part if what led me to believe that she was once owned but it was apparent she had been abused..and that she had become half feral...anyhoo she ends up getting pregnant and from then on really started her journey with us...we ended up having to give her babies away...and then we had to move...and we had to take her because the landlady said she wouldn't take care of her...this was all on the island of Oahu...anyhoo we moved Jan 2014 to a new house still on island but closer to my school and that is when she became an indoor kitty and it took so much time to get her where she is yoday...but God put her on our doorstep...she has become my life...she is my ESA which she really stepped into that role once she got pregnant that summer of 2013 she and I have a bond like no other I've ever seen ir had with a cat...and I'm a cat person...here is a pik...just now Sept 19th 2016

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imjustacatmom
Sep 19, 2016

And our boy Prince...well he was a rescue kitty that my father in law got and apparently he was from a kitty mill...he had no hair and was in just terrible shape and my father in law nursed him back to health...well in Nov 2015 my father in law went home to be with the Lord and he left us the cat and the car in his will...and while the road has been a challenging one with him...him and Duchess don't get along the greatest...and while we've made strides he still exhibits some social behavior problems...but we love him...he is ours and I thought he was a Persian till we went to vet and someone called him a Himalayan and well because of that this is how I found the catsite and well after a bunch of confusing statements about his breed(long story)...I've decided that he is a Persialayan. ..here is a recent pik today Sept.19th 2016

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imjustacatmom
Sep 19, 2016

Primula · Sep 19, 2016

Great stories & photos!

muffy · Oct 6, 2016

I saw a stray cat in my yard one time and the next day I brought some cat food and the rest is history. They came and had babies, more came and had babies, etc....... I finally got them all sprayed and neutered and adopted 8 of them and brought them inside. Of all of those cats I only have sweet little Muffy left. She is the love of my life. She is 17 years old and has kidney disease. I took her to the vet yesterday to have her checked over and she is not doing very good. I'm going to have to make that decision soon.

Ellen

Kieka · Oct 6, 2016

Nightfury - found him unresponsive in a box. He was about 4 weeks old and we didn't think he'd make it through the night. Hes now my Moms baby.

Link - I was going through a really bad time. Abusive relationship, fired from my job, low self-esteem, feeling worthless. I felt like I needed something that was mine and, honestly, needed me because I felt that noone and nothing needed or wanted me at that point. Selfish but there it is. So I searched Craigslist and found him (probably a backyard breeder but too cute). 6 months later I finally left the abuse when I realized I didn't want him around Link out of fear (we didn't live together, long story there). Then I started the journey to piece me back together. Sad as it may seem, he gave me a reason I needed at that point in my life.

Rocket - Dumped on my doorstep by a woman who fed ferals because she liked kittens around. The kittens always disappeared or (likely) died. But the woman refused to let anyone catch the kittens because they were "hers" or TNR the adults. Rocket was 3-4 months, total feral (I have a scar from that first week still), 1 pound and so stinky and flea covered I had to disinfect my bathroom after getting her cleaned up. The woman thought Rocket might be Links so I'd want her (hes neutered). Ended up bonding to Rocket in socializing her and the rest is history. The woman who dropped her off got yelled at by her landlord shortly after for the smell from the ferals and stopped feeding them.

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Kieka
Oct 6, 2016

destinyz12 · Oct 7, 2016

I ended up getting my girl Foxy when we had to put our other girl Feeny to sleep after a losing battle with kidney disease. It was practically fate though as we walked into the vets office to say goodbye to Feeny, and this little kitten was sitting in a cage all alone in the lobby. A sign on the cage said a litter of 10 week old kittens were found abandoned and they were giving them away. There was just 1 kitten left at that point and it was love at first sight for my whole family. We decided to wait a day to make a definite decision since we were grieving for Feeny, but we did go back the next day to take her home. That was 2 months ago, and she's now 4 months old and is gigantic compared to when we first got her! The first 2 pictures are from when we first got her, and the last 2 are current.

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destinyz12
Oct 7, 2016

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destinyz12
Oct 7, 2016

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destinyz12
Oct 7, 2016

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destinyz12
Oct 7, 2016

boney girl dad · Oct 7, 2016

Xena and Boney Girl just showed up at our front door 7 years apart. Xena is 14+ and still with me. Today I am remembering my Boney Girl coming home from the hospital 2 years ago. She was not expected to live through the night. We had 3 more wonderful months together. This photo is 3 days later when I took her outside to soak up some sunshine.

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boney girl dad
Oct 7, 2016

Primula · Oct 7, 2016

Primula · Oct 7, 2016

She's beautiful. A Siamese? Did she just have her kittens? Kudos to you for rescuing & keeping Margarita.

queenmargarita · Oct 7, 2016

Primula said:
She's beautiful. A Siamese? Did she just have her kittens? Kudos to you for rescuing & keeping Margarita.

Yes, She definately looks like a Siamese mix. The kittens are 16 days old now. [emoji]128571[/emoji] I didn't rescue her...she rescued me.[emoji]128159[/emoji] She's the best.

Primula · Oct 7, 2016

Come back in December & tell us how many of the kittens you couldn't bear to give away. :clap:

msserena · Oct 7, 2016

I lost my 17yr old black baby girl in Oct of 13 & after a few weeks I knew I couldn't live without a cat. I decided to become a multiple cat household & drove 45 min to the Humane Society to adopt 3 kittens, they had a $10 special going on. There was like a 2 hour wait. I was devastated. I was talking to a gal & she mentioned there are mobile units out & about today, I asked where! Of course there was one 15 min away from my house so back into the car I go. I get to the mobile spot & no one was there. As soon as I get into the pen to see the kittens, multiple people started coming (even a couple down at the Humane Society! I guess I drove faster than them) There was a very striking kitten that people were pointing to, I was playing with all of them & loving on all of them but I did notice the striking one. I told the gal, I hope you guys go in order of who was here first & she assured me yes. I wanted 3 girls but one of the workers talked me into getting a boy to "balance out the females". I filled out the paperwork & took them home. After a few months of dealing with the male & his testosterone, (aggression & fighting) I decided to give him back. He was adopted out again in less than 2 weeks!

So I had a brown tabby & a white/black/brown cat. I longed for a little black one. In the summer of 14, I looked up my County Animal shelter's website (because they euthanize) & decided to go save a life. I looked at all the black cats, wrote down all their numbers & names & drove 45 min to make the visits. I had like almost 20 cats to see. I get there & there is a line, I think they were having a special as well. When my name was called, I was told only 5 can be looked at a time, if I wanted to look at more, I have to wait in another set of line & look again. I visited with the 5 & none seemed to click. I was just going to leave & try again another time when as I went through the door to go back into the main area, there was one window of glass & I saw this black thing when her arms up stretching & I couldn't help but notice. I asked the worker - hey who's this? (No name, no number, she wasn't on their website). She said she just came in & wasn't on their website or have been named yet. I told her plllllleeeeeesssasssseeeee let me see her. I visited with her & the rest is history. If that's not a gift from God, I don't know what is.

Here is a picture of my cat family.

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msserena
Aug 25, 2016

Alicia88 · Oct 7, 2016

My aunt's cat had kittens and she posted on facebook; asking if anyone would want one. I said, "Sure, I'll take a couple if you can bring them to me!" I was pretty much joking - she lived in Illinois and I was in Missouri. But she said, "Yeah, sure, which ones do you want?" So, I picked out Connor and Murphy and we met halfway when they were about 10 weeks old.

Primula · Oct 7, 2016

Msserena, what are their names?

msserena · Oct 7, 2016

Primula said:
Msserena, what are their names?

in order of the picture, Ella, Gypsy & Jasmine

neely · Oct 8, 2016

Too many rescues over the past 30 something years to post every pet but the most recent adoptions in the last 15 yrs. were: our german shepherd/collie mix that was picked up by the police roaming the streets - he was with us for 15 yrs. and will always be my heart dog

; our torbie kitty, Neely, who we adopted at the same shelter as our dog - she was an owner surrender named Precocious, that should have been our first clue that she was going to be a diva

; and our present persian cat, Carleton, who came from a terrible hoarding situation, i.e. 23 persian cats kept in a garage with no food, litter boxes or ventilation covered in feces and malnourished. Carleton is the man of the house now and we tell him how thankful we are to share our life with him each and every day.

No pics right now, dog sitting for my daughter while she's away. She rescued her dog from a shelter also, like mother like daughter!

NewYork1303 · Oct 8, 2016

We got our dog Luna when one of our friends came over to stay and brought the two dogs her boyfriend owned with her. She told us they were trying to find a new home for Luna since she had picked up the habit of killing chickens (basically she was being starved as she was pregnant and then breastfeeding since the other dog was a bully and would steal all her food) and they lived on a farm. We took her to "find a home for her". Of course, then she was there to stay.

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NewYork1303
Oct 8, 2016

Carrot, our orange cat, came from a shelter. We were looking for an orange cat- though we wanted more of a kitten under 6 months old. He was almost three, but was so sweet and cute and had the loudest purr. So we were sold.

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NewYork1303
Oct 8, 2016

We soon after started to look for a companion for him (really wanting a kitten this time). We wanted to get a black kitten since we knew these were often overlooked. We found an adorable polydactyl kitten through petfinder and brought her home. Angua and Carrot soon became good friends.

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NewYork1303
Oct 8, 2016

Ruby we got more by accident. I started volunteering at a shelter and she was a young mother cat who was looking for a home after her kittens were adopted. No one adopted her for several weeks and she was so sad in her cage. I fell in love and had to bring her home.

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NewYork1303
Oct 8, 2016

Stray animals are not common in our area. We live in a forest which means plenty of wildlife that would eat them. This is why all our cats came from shelters.

allmykitties · Oct 9, 2016

I reached a point in my life when I was able to think about having cats (and the associated vet costs), and I had it in mind that I really wanted a tuxedo cat. So I began looking, and found a tuxedo cat who was living in a rescue a couple hours south of me. But in reading the blog of this rescue, I learned that she was bonded with another black and white cat who had been found with her, probably a littermate.

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allmykitties
May 16, 2016

They had other names at the rescue, but I dubbed her TV (black and white TV) and he became Domino.

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allmykitties
Apr 20, 2016

When they were found, he had a horribly broken back leg (spiral fracture) but he got surgery shortly after being trapped (needless to say, despite the fact that he was horribly underweight, they did the neuter then since they had to do anesthesia for the broken leg anyway). So these two settled in, and I found myself restlessly wanting more cats. So I went back to the same rescue to get Autumn (the calico) and Circe.

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allmykitties
May 16, 2016

Now, at the time they were found, they were all the same size, but Autumn had all her adult teeth while TV & Domino were in a transition stage that put them around 4-5 months. There has been some speculation that Autumn is the mother of the two, like if she'd been caught on her first heat and gave birth.

I also had fallen in love with a "senior" kitty (at the time, she was 6.5 years old, which may be senior for shelter kitties, but not a true senior cat. She is my snuggle-kitty at night.

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allmykitties
Apr 8, 2016

Now these were my four intentional cats. Then, there was a cold spell, and a sick little cat came in front of my house. We lured her into the garage, I gave her some dry food and water. You might not be able to tell how skinny she was with the shadows, but you could *see* the ribs and feel the dents between each bone of her spine. She scarfed the food while I prepped a litterbox (using a plastic dishpan that I happened to have), and promptly had diarrhea. I got her into my vet and got her healthy and then brought her into the house.

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allmykitties
Apr 8, 2016

Her name is Cosette (after Les Mis ... scrawny little waif cat who is now quite a beauty):

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allmykitties
Apr 8, 2016

Primula · Oct 10, 2016

So many lovely stories. TV is a brilliant name!

bengalcatman · Oct 14, 2016

My wife and I have always had cats. This is the story of how we ended up with our two Bengals - both rescues.

Our cat Milou was old and suffering from seizures. Often the seizures would cause respiratory distress and she would take days to recover her strength. Anything that would upset or scare Milou could trigger an attack of her illness. Bringing a new cat into our home was out of the question. We played with her carefully and were cautious to never startle or upset her. Finally, she succumbed to her age and illness.

After Milou was gone we found ourselves catless for the first time in our lives.

We decided that we would get a kitten from a breeder. All of our previous cats were from rescues or somehow just "showed up" at the right time. We are both suckers for a cat in need. We were determined that this time we would research breeds then shop around and choose a cat. We settled on getting a Bengal. Everything about the breed seemed right for us: vocal, active, playful etc etc. With great excitement, we set about researching breeders.

Fate, as she is often inclined to do, had other plans for us. Either that or there is a secret underground cat network that somehow detects suckers like my wife and I and seeks to rehome cats that have fallen on hard times.

I was having a slow afternoon at work and I sat at a computer researching Bengals and breeders. A colleague happened to pass by and noticed what I was looking at "Oh, so you and your wife want a Bengal? I have a friend who is desperate to find a home for a Bengal and (insert long boring sad story here)"

A few days later we arrived home with our Bengal (did I mention we were suckers?) Makena was a very beautiful, very large and very broken cat: he was ill tempered, liked to spray and had been rehomed several times. Brokenhearted, angry and afraid to love or trust anyone, Makena crashed into our lives and our hearts. So much for our carefully selected kitten of impeccable breeding.

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

With a LOT of love and more patience that either of us thought we had (and a couple bottles of enzyme cat urine cleaner,) we worked with Makena to help him overcome his anger, fear and numerous behavior problems. He slowly turned into a highly intelligent, obedient and loving companion (who ALWAYS uses his litterbox!)

While out hiking with my spotted friend, I often pause to think about how far he has come. I find it difficult to reconcile the memories of the angry cat of a few years ago with the amazing creature who now joyfully shares our lives.

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

After a few years and with Makena doing great we started talking about finally getting our Bengal kitten. Once again fate (or that underground homeless cat network!) intervened......

The phone rang one day and it was our much loved and trusted Veterinarian who had often helped us with advice when we were struggling with Makena's behavioral problems. She had a Bengal who needed a home: Lilia's owner had passed away and she was stranded at the vets office. Of course Lilia had some special needs, she was very frightened and traumatized by the loss of her home. Did I mention that we are suckers for a sad story?

We arranged to meet Lilia at the vets office. Lilia was so frightened, she could not move

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

When my wife picked her up, Lilia buried her little face in my wife's hair and trembled.

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

Could you have said no?

Lilia will always be a little shy, but she is very happy in our home

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

She loves to tackle, chase and play with Makena (he is MUCH larger, faster and stronger than her but he is very careful not to overpower or hurt her.)

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

In the final accounting, two cats who needed homes found a home and two people who needed cats found them. We hope to someday select a kitten (we have been talking about Savannahs) but have not really decided yet.

Makena racing

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

Lilia about to pounce

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bengalcatman
Oct 14, 2016

How did you get your pet?

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May the purr be with you

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