I found TCS on a search and liked the format. I was looking for other people who love cats...sadly something I am lacking at my work place. I have not been disappointed; the conversations and people here are great!
I don't remember how I found the site, but I lurked for several months. I didn't join until someone mentioned that they were misting their leopard gecko with water - along with mentioning a few other problems with the care they were giving it. Since these mistakes can kill a gecko I felt the need to join and help the person correct their care.
I was searching for info on general cat behavior when I stumbled on to this site. I was and still am a volunteer for an animal rescue here... and people would ask me questions about their cats behavior, nutrition, litter etc, and I don't like saying "I don't know."
So I lurked for a while to see what the tone of the site was and like it alot... and joined... hmmm... a year ago last October (2007).
The site has been a joy and a godsend to me. I have learned SOOOOOO much that has helped me with my rescue work. And I have made a few friends along the way
I found The cat site, when I found my girl Lucky on my front lawn. She was an hour or so old. Abandoned by her mother. I read on how to care for her. I joined about a month later, when I needed some more help with her. I don't know that Lucky would have survived without this site.
I was surfing. Googled something or other to do with cats -- I haven't the slightest idea now what, as I was not on a mission, just curious -- and found TCS in the first few hits. Dropped in, looked around for a couple of hours, decided it felt like home, registered. Was not disappointed.
I found this site in August 2005 after I was presented with 3 kittens by Sissy, the pretty tuxedo punk rocker cat I had at the time. We called her that since instead of a pink nose, she had a black nose. The parents were b/w and the kittens were colorpoints. I had done a search on kitten care and came here.
I had to re-home Sissy and the others when I lost my house in 2007 and didn't have a place to keep them. They have all been adopted out now!
The Finnish cat forum which I normally use is under maintenance and I thought this would be a good time to look for a foreign site to get more information as things can be very different in other countries. It's good to have as broad perspectives as possible.
I joined after googling for info on cleaning cats the night I found Persil. She was under a car, thick with motor oil. I loved the helpfulness I found, the honesty and humour, and the special ways we all support each other. It is the only forum I have stuck with.
I started caring for my first feral family, a mama and her three babies. One of the babies seemed to be ill and I also wanted to have the family spayed/neutered and didn't know the age perameters were acceptable. I had absolutely no experience with cats or kittens so I googled kitten care and posted a question on the experts forum. The information I received helped me to ensure that Blondie, Hercules, Al and Blackjack all were taken to get spayed/neutered and that little Hercules got well.
Since that time, I have acquired Sunny, my first kitten (indoor) and have had numerous questions about his care. He was also very very sick when we found him. This site has helped me to care for him properly and now he is absolutely thriving.
Another mama cat, Matilda has decided to move in with our little feral family. She has three babies, Star, Zoey and Mango. Little Star was plagued with a very severe eye infection when he was very tiny. The advice I received on TCS helped me to get him on the mend and today he's rather robust and is perfectly healthy.
Also recently, we have had a large male under our house who stares longingly at the cats/kittens while they eat. I've kind of decided to name him Oliver but haven't really decided. He's been eating for about a week and will also be neutered along with Matilda and her three babies. So far, no questions or concerns with Oliver - yet. TCS will be there if I need them - I can count on that.
TCS has been a lifesaver (literally) for my babies and has provided me with a wealth of information that I didn't know in regards to cat/kitten care. For that, I am forever greatful.
I started lurking quite a while ago, after a cat I had had for almost 14 years (RIP, buddy!) died from cancer. I learned a lot about feline health that I wish I had known earlier.
I started posting because I had specific questions about treatments for feline asthma.
As at least one another poster mentioned, this site is a great place for like-minded people to talk about pet health concerns. When my cat was sick, I learned very quickly who among my friends "gets it" and who doesn't when it comes to animals. Some of the loveliest people may not necessarily understand that to us, pets are family members!
I joined last year after typing in on google 'cat forums' just out of curiosity...low and behold TCS came up on the first page and it caught my eye for some reason
And I am still lurking about on here a year later after sharing so many stories about my trio
I came here b/c Gus had just died and I wanted advice about Nora grieving, and I also wanted to see other people's cute kitties to get my mind off of him.
I joined in Nov 2007 because my brother showed me the site and I was getting a kitten from him with fcks. My first post was about Coco with her bladder problems. The next posts were sad. They were not long after Strormy was pts. I have learned so much she I joined this site.
I joined just a few days after getting Chestnut and he had a seziure and I googled everything I could think of to try and find any info I could! I loved TCS so much, I stayed!
In August 2006 i went perusing through google on information about looking after blind cats, and TCS seemed to know everything! This was only days after Tristan's mum saved a 4 months old blind kitty from a certain death, and now she is known as Cleo and is extremely adventurous and independent!
Since the people here seemed as nutty and animal friendly as me, it seemed like a place i was going to be on for a very long time