how did your cat(s) come into your life?

[Mary_NH]

Missy - I worked for a shopper paper and a lady brought in an ad for a 1.5 year old spayed sealpoint Siamese cat. I didn't even run the ad, I got Missy. She is my first ever siamese cat. My husband wasn't thrilled as he had an aunt that had Siamese and they would obnoxiously loud. Missy is very quiet and set the standard for my adoration, and wanting to help, the breed.
Tilly - A couple of years after I got Missy I called my local shelter (I do fundraisers with them as my way of volunteering, used to foster for them). I asked to have my name put on the list for Siamese cats. About a week later I got a call from woman who had to give up her year old bluepoint. This lady had been very ill and unable to work for a year. She wasn't able to financially provide Tilly (then Matilda) with proper care and was going to put her in the shelter. They had her call me. Fate it was - this lady was driving the very same car I had except a different color and her name is also Mary.
Zeus - When my Sessy went missing I wanted another kitten/cat. Husband said no. I'm sort of devious so I printed every kitten picture out and taped them all through the cab of his truck. That Saturday I went to the shelter and picked out Little Zeus, who became Massive Zeus. I adored his double paws and when I found out he and his brother had been picked up as weeks old stray kittens - well he deserved to never be a stray again. He'll be 7 in June and with us 7 years in August. He's my special ed kitty.
Dixie - 3 years ago she came in with a blind Siamese I fostered. Thought they were bonded. They weren't. Dixie moved in when she discovered we had deli. She was with us about 5 months when hubby relented and offered to let her stay. We had the adoption complete in about 5 minutes. I gave coworkers as my references to rescue and via email had everything done in a flash. Dixie has been a wonderful family member. She's about 11 years old now and although she will call out at night (I think she says goodnight to her former owner who is waiting at Rainbow Bridge for Dixie and MaiTai), I am told MaiTai does the same thing. After her adopter goes to bed MaiTai also lets out some loud meows. And I do think they are sending a message to their former. I was told they were both much-loved cats. Unfortunately their former passed away leaving them alone. I like to think she's looking down at them smiling knowing they continue to be very loved.

[sunset05]

My kitties Socks and Mittens were strays who showed up in my one daughter's yard when they were kittens. They are sisters. My daughter couldn't take them in since she already hat pets, so I took them in.

I remember having them in a carrier and while driving home with them which took over an hour, I didn't hear a peep out of them. I thought they were such good kitties in the car.

That has all changed. When I take them to the Vet now they hate it and cry all the way there. They hate cars.

[vene]

Pookey- We purchased from Great Northern Mall in Clay, New York in 1994. Because of too much inbreeding, he developed end stage renal failure at 1.5 years. He taught me unconditional love.

Pumpkin- 1994 we adopted her from a cat lady who takes care of kitties for a local pet shelter in Syracuse, NY. I wanted a playpal for Pookey and I was obsessed with getting an orange kitten . It was love at first sight for the both of us. She happened to be the runt of the litter and was the last one to get adopted out. She would not eat at the cat lady's and was on prednisone. She had no trouble gaining weight at our place. She was the love of my life and was always there for me through the good and the bad times. Cancer took her life away last Sept. I will never forget this loving girl.

Monty- In 1996 I saw Monty's picture in the local paper and fell in love with him. We checked him out at the Forgotten Felines no-kill Cat Shelter in CT. He was so tiny and so cute and he played hide and seek with us. We brought him home on Valentines' weekend. He remains the best mannered and sweetest disposition kitty we've ever had.

Venus de Milo- The siblings came as a pair in 2000. Our friend had too many barn kittens. We only wanted to see one but the 2 were inseparable. They both grew up to be beautiful and very loving cats. Unfortunately in 2003, Vene escaped the house when my mom opened the front door and she died after getting hit by a car. Hubby said it was retribution for her hunting too many prey. She is now buried alongside Pumpkin in our backyard. Milo is the sole survivor of his clan.

Rene- We were heart broken after Vene died. We kept going shopping at Steve's Pets and saw a cute 5 month old kitten in the cage. She looked just like Vene. We gave ourselves 3 weeks time before purchasing her. If she was there after 3 weeks, she's meant to be. At the end of 3 weeks, we purchased Rene Bengal. Little did we know she's the most mischievous kitty we've ever had. She went berserk after Pumpkin died so now she lives with my in-laws who lives a few minutes drive away from us.

[HDrydr]

Patches I got as a kitten my roommate took in a stray and low and behold she was pregnant. I got to see Patches being born!!! I had a Siamese girl at the time and she took to just one of the 5 kittens (Patches). She groomed her, she would bring her up onto the bed to sleep, cleaned her up after the cat box (which she took her to and taught her).

Harley well my co-worker lives on a farm and she got overwhelmed with kittens. So that's where he came from. He was the runt of the litter and just tiny....... I felt bad for him because the other kittens pushed him away and he didn't get to eat as much and I felt that he was going to have a bad demise.... So I wanted to give him a good life, not to mention he was the only odd colored baby the rest were white and orange tigers..... And he had a really cool white flame on his nose!!!!

Buster: My first husband and I wanted a Boxer and we were telling alot of people hoping that someone would know of some pups. I went to the shelters with no luck.... He had a co-worker tell him that she had a boxer/lab that her husband didn't like and needed to get rid of him. He was a year old. Come to find out he was what I call a yard ornament. He spent all of his time outside or in the garage he never came inside. Bad food, no toys. They said that he was an aggressive chewer and that's why he had to go. Again he had nothing to occupy his time...... bored dog = destructive dog...... He knew nothing no obedience no manners NOTHING. He had never been in a car, on a leash, inside, not fixed. Oh and I realized that he was hit......alot..... very head shy and afraid of correction....

It has been a long haul but he is very obedient, only chews on his toys. He is the best dog ever!!!!

[halaroo]

Moe - In 2001, my husband and I just moved into our first home and I felt we needed a cat. We went to the local humane society. I walked around the room once, looking at all the cats in their cages. By the time I reached the other side of the room I was in tears and didn't want to go back to the first side again. My husband convinced me that there was a really cute cat in one of the first cages that I needed to see again. So I went back and she was just the tiniest, skinniest, friendliest thing I had to have her. We had to have her hospitalized the next day for one week due to illness, but she was worth every penny! Her shelter name was "Chandra", which had to be changed immediately...

Artemis - In 2004, I went into my local pet store to by food for Moe and saw Artemis and his sister (they were from the humane society). I've always wanted a tabby and couldn't resist him.

Artemis was 8 weeks old when we got him and Moe was 2 years old when we got her.

[Mechanix]

We got Nitro and Honey from the Norco, CA animal shelter in 1991, I found Suzy at a job site in Santa Fe, NM I was working on. I didn't plan on bringing Suzy home at first, but it was going to get down to below 0 degrees that night and heavy snow so I took her home. Was a fun 70 mile drive with a scared kitten under my feet. I am glad I did bring her home she was a good baby. I miss her and Honey, Nitro is still kicking strong today at 17 years old.