Tell us about your "cats with a past"

[ondine]

Both Josephine and Gracie were "second hand."  Each was adopted by our former neighbors.  Gracie was about five weeks old and the neighbors decided three days after they adopted her that they didn't want her.  They knew I had cats, so they figured I could find a home for her.  I did (with us!)  Her third eye was showing when they brought her to me.  Their youngest child was holding her by her tail.  Needless to say, I took her right away.  A few days later, they came back.  The youngest child had decided she wanted her back.  I told them, sorry, I'd already found a home.  They threatened to sue me!  I can't really remember but I think I laughed out loud.

A few months later, in July, they got another (too young) kitten.  There wasn't much I could do.  I realized they might not be feeding her (the cat was always outside).  I offered them a bag of food, which they took.  I didn't see the cat again and hoped they'd taken her inside.  In September, they moved suddenly, so I hoped for the best.

In December, I looked out my kitchen window to see her digging around in my garden!  Within an hour, I had her trapped and inside.  She was spayed (luckily she hadn't gotten pregnant) and is now my main lap kitty.  I am very, very glad those neighbors moved!

 

[roxieecat]

Hi Everyone Meet Marshmallow! 

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 

Marshmallow joined me when she was just a month old 1 year ago October 29th 2012 but her life in just a few days drastically changed. Marshmallow's Mother was an Ally cat in the City Of Queens NY. I have unfortunately never gotten the chance to meet her because after Hurricane Sandy she was no where to be found. Marshmallow was found along with her litter of 5 brothers and sisters on the streets of queens just one day after Hurricane. they where found next to an apartment building outside in the alley. The people who found them assume the mother took them from wherever they where and brought them up to higher ground so they would be out of danger unfortunately the mother was nowhere to be found. 

Since then Marshmallow like myself had become a Hurricane Survivor when i brought her in to my house while i was living with my parents we had no heat no electric hardly and hardly any furniture like her we had also had a life changing experience during Hurricane Sandy. Not only did I save her but she saved me despite everything that just happened she was an absolute blessing and the best decision i have ever made. 

I moved out and so did She. We now live in an apartment in my boyfriends mother's house. Marshmallow now has another 5 brothers and sister who she continues to play with everyday. along with a westie named Molly ( who also thinks shes a cat lol) 

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

  Marshmallow When i first got her

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 Tree of Marshmallows Brothers

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 Marshmallows best friend and most recently added to the family Montana

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 weirdest sleeping cat in the world

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 Best Friends XD 

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 She sleeps with me every day 

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• roxieecat
• Sep 5, 2013

 My Most Recent picture of my baby girl 

 

[ldg]

I really love all these stories. :rub: They're heart-breaking and heart-warming all at the same time. :heart2:

Our kitties all have histories... but they were all told here on TCS. None are "second-hand" cats, they're all former ferals. Well - except for Ming Loy. She was thrown away, tied up in a garbage bag with her sister. The garbage man heard them mewing. They were thrown away most likely because of their cerebellar hypoplasia. For those that don't know, CH is brain damage specifically to the motor skills part of the brain. It happens most frequently when mom has panleuk while pregnant. It doesn't affect anything other than their coordination.

All Ming Loy wanted to do was play and play and play and play and play. :lol3: She had no interest in laps or pets. She was three years old, I remember so clearly... I was sitting on the floor, playing with her with a wand toy. And after flopping over (because of the CH) for about the 100th time, she got up, walked over, and just plopped herself in my lap. Now it's something she insists upon several times a day (she's 9 this year) - and I mean insists. And if I don't pet her while she's there, she nips (hard!) at my hands. She grabs that soft spot between my thumb and forefinger. :lol3:

 

[ravencorbie]

I got my cat when she was 8 months old, and she'd already been to CLAWS (a no kill shelter/rescue place) twice. The first time was with her brother, and they both ended up getting adopted (but not by the same family). But then when she came down with an infection, the new family took her back to CLAWS. I got her by accident -- I thought she was a different cat:

I'd seen a small grey (short-haired) cat around while I was volunteering, and I asked the owner/operator? about the little grey cat. She said she was out for adoption that day, but if I wanted her, I could get first dibs, being a volunteer. I wasn't sure at that point, but after I was home, I just kept thinking about her, so I immediately went and picked her up and adopted her from the Petco where she was. I brought her home and was worried about her. Her tail was all big like she was scared, but at the same time, she kept purring.

Her original name was Fluff, but I wanted something more dignified for her. I had a whole list of different names, and I started going through them. She mostly ignored me, until I said "Iris." She immediately came to me and started rubbing against my leg. I called her that a few more times, and she purred more and wanted me to pick her up: so, Iris it was!

The next day, I went back to volunteer at CLAWS and found out that the cat I thought I'd adopted was still there! By then, I was totally in love with Iris, so that was that. And as for the tail? Turned out that she's a medium-hair cat, so her tail is just big. I guess she liked me from the beginning, too! When the people at Petco told her she was going to her Forever Home, I almost started crying. This is the first cat I've had on my own, and I can't imagine giving one up just because of an infection.

 

[karkel59]

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• karkel59
• Sep 8, 2013

Meet "64"....we were headed to Kentucky from Northern Va to visit my husband's sick brother. We pulled right off Interstate 64, to get gas and this little kitten was running around scared to death, dodging cars. My husband saw her as I was going in to get coffee, when I came back out, I asked "Where did that little kitten go ? " He said " You don't want to know." So I thought the little thing got ran over. To my surprise, she was in or car and off to Kentucky. ...and what a good little rider and OH SO SWEET, she just wanted someone to LOVE her. When we got home 5 days later, off to vet...costly but so worth it. She had an ear infection and a cut to her right eye...she weighs 2.4 pounds and is about 8 weeks old. We always thought we were DOG people, but this little kitty has our hearts and our home...Welcome "64"

 

[tabbymommy]

I got my girl Tabbu off craigslist. I have nohistory on her except that the people found her wondering their neighborhood and she had already been litter trained. When i got her she was coming from a drive an houraway and she was scared. It took her about a few min to a few hours and she started loving on me and then later that night or the next day sge loved on my bf. When i say love she actually licks hands.3 nonths later she had Buddy. We didnt know she was pregnant but she adjusted really well i even sent the lady that i got her from pics to show she was comfertable and loved

 

[tabbymommy]

Ment tabby not tabbu

 

[mani]

My very first cat didn't have a chance to have a past... I was six years old and was at the neighbour's house.  The grandfather there had several kittens and was filling a bucket to drown them..  I was SO upset, but knew I couldn't get away with them all... I just grabbed one and raced home.   My brother used to rescue baby kangaroos from mothers who had been killed and we had kangaroo pouches. I hid him in one for a day (although I thought it was ages). Mum found out while I was ransacking the kitchen for food and finally let me keep him.  He was a tabby named Fred and he lived to 14 years.

I have other stories that fit this topic more but for some reason this one just plays in my mind.  It haunted me that I was unable to save them all.

 

[goholistic]

I wanted to tell a very quick story, not about any of my three cats, but about my sister's cat, who did live with the family for a few years before we all grew up and moved out.

Her name is Fanny and she's a tuxedo cat. What to know how she got her name? She was found in the fan belt of a truck at only a few weeks old - front leg shattered, and skin torn off to the bone. The horrible part: the driver knew she was in there because he heard her cries, but drove the car anyway. How sick do you have to be? My sister demanded that they open the hood. After some rummaging, there she was. Poor girl. After they saved her from the truck, SHE NEVER MADE A SOUND. Not one peep. Not one meow. They thought she was in shock.

My sister wrapped her up and brought her home and took her to a cat-only vet hospital. The vets analyzed her leg and told my sister they wanted to try to save the leg rather an amputate. A much more expensive option! They cleaned her up, bandaged the wound, and put a cast on her leg. Mind you...she was only a few weeks old and very tiny. The cast was heavy, so she kind of drug it behind her most times. It was cute. I know I have a picture of this, but of course I can't seem to find it.

They had to change the cast a few times, but her leg miraculously healed! It is bent a little awkward and the whole arm kind of points inward instead of straight, but she's able to walk on it and play like a normal cat. She's now 12 years old and has a heart murmur, but this girl really did pull through beautifully. She's the sweetest cat and so lucky that my sister was there at the right place at the right time to save her. 

A lesson learned. Stray cats like to hide in engines in the winter months because its warm. Always beep your horn and listen carefully before starting your car. 

 

[tabbymommy]

I hate people tbat are crewle to anmals like about 2 hours from me last year people started killing pits and any breed of dog simaler to a pit i warned my neighbors and everybodyi know that has a pit and hoped for the best

 

[tabbymommy]

They are trying to make holloween kill a pitbull day ugh hate people that are mean

 

[nekochan]

I went to my friends' house one day and they asked "Do you want a cat?" 

That was how I got Sneakers. I don't know much about her past so it's mostly speculation from what I do know. My friend's little sister was going "sukkah hopping" (kinda like trick-or-treating) around the neighborhood and she saw this cute cat in a woman's house, so she complimented her. The woman responded by saying she didn't want the cat and asked my friend's sister if she wanted it. She's a pet lover like her whole family so of course she said yes (without asking her parents) and she took the cat. She carried Sneakers back to her house. Sneakers weighed 16 pounds at the time so I am sure this was an interesting trip. However her family already had several cats and Sneakers did not get along with them so they could not keep her. They were keeping her in their bathroom since she didn't get along with their cats. That's when I came over and they asked if I wanted a cat. We had recently lost our senior cat Sylvia, and so I asked my brother (who technically owned Sylvia) if he was interested. He said we could take Sneakers in to foster her, and the rest is history.

All I really know about Sneakers is that she was around 9-11 years old and this woman just gave her away to some strange kid, along with a box of the cheapest kibble possible. That and Sneakers was a 16 pound female cat with mats on her back (despite being a shorthair) from being too fat to be able to groom herself and no one brushing her. She was a very grumpy cat and did not like her back touched (I'm sure those mats hurt) and would try to bite you if you tried to pet her back, or tried to move her when she was sitting on your lap. I don't know if she was grumpy because of her old age or if that was just her personality, although we did get her to stop the biting thing. We also got her weight down with some good quality food and exercise, and got rid of the mats. She later developed kidney disease so she ended up skinny when she got older, but we were able to manage it for several years and she passed away last year at approximately 18 (we had her for about 8 years).

Here's a photo of Sneakers I took when I first met her at my friends' house:

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

A few more pics of her:

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

 

[tabbymommy]

So presiouse. She seem nds me of my cat piper that we got her when she was about 1 1/2 years old and died 2 days after we got her. She hadnt got into anything at our house. She went into a seizure that lasted about an hour and we didnt have a car at the time so we couldnt get her to a vet and nbody would get up to take us. She bit me once and licked me but the people i got her from i called and i was histerical and the lady started crying because she was healthy when she took uer to the humain society got her out for free ( under the isolation time) and brought her to me the lady said that her stepson found her as a kitten soking wet and had raised her but that her step sone couldnt keep it and she couldnt keep it cause of her dog so she had to give her up if she didnthave the dog she would have kept her but couldnt she was a tuxedo cat and i cant put up pics of her right now or i would i miss her so much.

 

[mani]

  

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

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• nekochan
• Sep 15, 2013

I'm SO glad you were able to make the second half of her life so wonderful.

Those whiskers and eyebrows are just stunning!!  And with her bow tie she looks like the ultimate tuxedo cat 

 

[kittymommy3]

Our newest addition, Mercury, was "pre-owned". He was our elderly neighbors kitten and was originally named Milo, but our neighbor quickly went downhill and was no longer able to care for him as he wished. Our neighbor got him while on visiting family in another state and a breeder was selling Mercury and his littermates to try and get rid of them since her two purebred cats had bred (one was an Egyptian Mau and the other was a Siamese) and he apparently couldn't resist Mercury, but who could, he's the most cuddly and sweet natured cat I've ever seen. Then when Mercury was about 3 months old our neighbor had a stroke and it just got worse and worse over the following weeks and he didn't want to give up his precious kitten but agreed to put him in our care because we were literally right next door and we often take Mercury over and see him as our neighbor is bed ridden and cannot even sit up on his own and Mercury will immediately hop up onto his bed and rub against him and purr and lick his hands and eventually settle down for a nap as we visit with him.  

 

[kierstoast]

Our cat Theo is a frost point Siamese found a rooftop in December. He is the only one of his litter who survived. He was owned by one girl but she gave him to our coworker and he was five months. She had a drooling cat and a chihuahua and a child. She wanted another dog and her husband said she had to get rid of an animal so we offered to take him. She agreed. We had to wait until we moved, but she got another kitten on a whim and offered to take in another cat after kicking out the puppy after one month, claiming it untrainable. Looking at the state of the litter boxes we had to take him. He was mean and nasty. When we visited him at her housed he hissed and scratched a bit and hid. The moment I let him out of the carrier in our bathroom he purred and loved me. He is just so loveable. He ended up having gingivitid from being fed dog food but he's treated like a prince now.

Dinkleberg,, Dink really, was the last kitten in a cage at the flea market on a hot summer day and has a tuxedo. When I picked her up she screamed and wriggled and I knew we were meant to be. She was three weeks old with neon green conjunctivitis. He hated her at first but now there devoted, best friends. I don't do know what I would do without these stupid furballs .

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• kierstoast
• Sep 18, 2013

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• kierstoast
• Sep 18, 2013

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• kierstoast
• Sep 18, 2013

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• kierstoast
• Sep 18, 2013

 

[freaknpink]

My beloved only child Skittles came to us as a tiny kitten, and was an only cat for over 17 years.  When she passed, we got two siblings from the SPCA also as kittens.  Six months later we took in a 6-month old from the SPCA who was about to be put down because he'd been there too long and no one had adopted him.  Our neighbor who worked there told us about him.  I can't imagine why no one adopted him but I'm glad they didn't!  I love Ozzy, he's the sweetest, most laid back cat ever.  So my first four weren't really "pre-owned", but abandoned or given up as kittens.

The "new" four definitely have a past--I joined TCS after getting them, looking for some advice on various issues.  A good friend of ours had cancer.  We (and she) knew she wouldn't live to old age but she was expected to live a few more years anyway.  She was the very loving mom to four cats, now ages 10, 10, 13 and 17, and a little dog about 8 years old.  She had no other family and these pets were her life--she told me she worried every day what would happen to them all if she didn't make it.  Well, hubby and I talked about it quite a bit and decided to make the offer to take her cats if anything happened.  To be really honest, we thought she would outlive at least a couple of them.  One 10 year old is healthy, but then one is 17 years old, and one of the 10 year olds and the 13 year old have been treated for IBD for a long time.  Our friend was terribly worried about losing the 13 year old especially, he was losing weight and not doing well at all.  

We thought if the time came, we'd be taking in one, maybe two older cats (another friend offered to take the dog).  Well....she had a compromised immune system from all the chemo treatments, etc. for the cancer and ended up dying very suddenly from a respiratory infection.  

So we took all four of them in.  Our friend kept meticulous records, thankfully, so we know all about their history--she had adopted each one from a shelter as kittens, and they had all been well cared for and well loved for 10 to 17 years, kept happily indoors together with their little dog buddy.

It was pretty difficult at first--both hubby and I, our three cats and the "newbies" as we call them--were all pretty shell-shocked at the sudden turn of events.  It's been five months now and things are slowly settling down.  Fortunately they are all affectionate cats and get along great (mostly) with each other.  Two of them are integrating well with our kitties.  A third is getting there, she's just kind of hyper and chases our cats so we still don't leave her out unsupervised.  The fourth, also the most ill, 13 year old, is NOT integrating. He's been in some horrific fights with our cats and even in a couple with his own tribe--we have to keep him separate from our cats and he's on anti-anxiety meds now.  

Our cats are tolerating the intrusion better now--they are SO spoiled and were not at all happy about sharing their home with four other cats!  Even so, it's becoming clear we will probably not have one big happy cat family (at least not any time soon) so we're in the process of building a catio outside for the newbies, plus they have an adjoining indoor room for eating/sleeping.  That way, they can have a comfortable living space and we don't have to worry about fights or about them getting out--they've been lifelong indoor cats; ours come and go as they please through the cat door.  

And we do what we call the Cat Shuffle :lol3:  --sometimes we let the newbies have the run of the house while ours are shut in the TV room; sometimes 2 or 3 of the newbies mix with our cats, and sleep out with them/us at night; sometimes hubby will sleep with our cats in one room and I'll do a "sleepover" with the newbies in another bedroom. They were obviously used to sleeping with their mom and love it when they get to snuggle at night.  

Having this many cats at once sure isn't what we anticipated, but we're slowly working it out, and don't regret for one minute keeping our promise to our friend.  

You're seriously amazing.

 

[nekochan]

 
I'm SO glad you were able to make the second half of her life so wonderful.

Those whiskers and eyebrows are just stunning!!  And with her bow tie she looks like the ultimate tuxedo cat 

Yeah Sneakers had ridiculously long whiskers. She also liked to sit on peoples' chest, put her face near their face and stretch her whiskers forward so she was tickling their face with her whiskers. Since she was sitting on your chest you couldn't get away from the whiskers. I called it her "whisker torture".

 

[betsygee]

You're seriously amazing.

Or crazy.  The jury's still out.  

     But thank you.  

 

[sparklexo]

If you read my first posts, you can get a pretty good idea of the situation haha. Captain Cuddles was straight up stolen. Originally, all I know is that a former renter had gotten her from some lady from an ad. This particular girl had major personality issues and was extremely neglectful towards the cat. This included not feeding for several days (literally, she ran out of food, and couldn't be bothered getting more until the end of the week). Poor kitty went without food at all for over 48 hours by the time I realized she hadn't bought more food, and resulted in me sneaking out at 11pm to buy cat food and then smuggling it back into my room in my purse to feed the poor thing. When I had gone on vacation, I came back and poor kitty was covered in scabs, which I found out were bite marks.. she had brought her dog over while I was away, and the dog would attack the cat while she egged it on. I also started taking her to the vet behind the girls' back, since I suggested she may have a urinary infection but this girl didn't care or want to pay for it. I would wait until she went to her classes (she was a college student, but barely went and preferred to lounge around my condo doing nothing all day instead), so whenever she actually left I would make the appt and then smuggle kitty out in my car. Turned out she had a urinary infection, broken tooth, and severe tapeworm. I also ended up having to secretly buy tapeworm meds and give them to her, and then wipe her bum with baby wipes when she had diarrea from them. Basically the urinary issues were because this girl didn't scoop the litter box for 3-4 months (literally, at all) and the cat stopped using the box and was either peeing on her things or holding it. I didn't realize she hadn't been cleaning the box because it was a covered box, and it was in her room which I never went in. I checked one day out of curiosity and it was disgusting, I ended up having to purchase a separate litter box and hide it in my bathroom closet so the cat had a clean place to go. When I showed kitty the new box, she literally burst out purring and curled up in it for 20 minutes she was just so happy and thankful to have a new litter. I ended up rearranging my schedule to be home full time with her to make sure she was safe from this chick (I worked from home) and the cat literally lived in my bedroom and wouldn't leave if she was there. I won't share details of how I stole her just in case that rhymes-with-witch ever stumbles across this thread, but I literally took her across state lines in the middle of the night and now she's mine. She has fresh water and wet food now, a box that's scooped multiple times a day, and a pink fuzzy blanket and mousie that she cuddles with and purrs. She wakes me up with kitty kisses and literally lets me know every day that she's thankful she's mine. I hated that chick, she was an absolute psychotic nightmare aside from the cat issues, but I'm thankful I encountered her because otherwise I wouldn't have my fluffy princess and she would still be living with her and hating life! Everything totally happens for a reason <3