How did your pets come into your life?

[spinbaby]

Without ever looking for a cat to adopt, I somehow have eight.

Two came with the house.
Two just showed up and moved in.
One came with my son when he moved in.
I got one in a divorce (not my divorce).
I got one because someone was moving.
One was a foster fail.

[brewens]

1. One cat at a time, all of them found me. The last two were rescues by girlfriends. I got

Silver my current cat when she was about six months old. She was a holy terror around my girlfriends house with her two dogs. She had to ship her off to me. She's the perfect balance of sweet and frisky at 8 1/2 years old.

[Siwsan]

2. A teacher my sister worked with was an oxy addict. She had 2 cats and 1 dog

When the woman was fired she left town, abandoning the animals. The dog went to another teacher. My sister asked me to take one of the cats, who was still pretty much still a kitten (Sophie Stinky Toes, a tiny Tuxedo) and foster the other (Boudicca a Tortie) until the prospective owner could collect her. He never did so Boudicca lived with me until she passed, 2 years ago.

I keep perusing the local animal shelter web sites, thinking I might rescue another cat, although I'm not too sure Sophie will be on board. However, when her cousin, Dude (a MASSIVE ginger) stayed with us for a few months, she eventually, albeit begrudgingly accepted his presence.

I also keep an eye out on the local ferals, to see if I spot any kittens. So far, none have been seen.

[Evergreen Emerald]

3. We have two kitties who were living in our barn --just showed up one day.

They were tiny and sick. We brought them into our home. One went through seven rounds of antibiotics before he was well. They are wonderful additions to our family.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. I have kitties and each and every one was a rescue.

Some were "feral" but not really. Some were foster fails. All are dearly loved.

I have more than you....

[catbyte]

5. My three spoiled cats are all rescues.

Sammy was found wandering in the woods alone when she was about 3 weeks old. I still don't know how she managed to survive all of the predators out there but I'm sure glad she did. The woman that found her was very allergic to cats so I saw an ad on our university employee electronic bulletin board asking if anyone could adopt her.

I got Otis the same way when somebody at my university took in a stray cat that turned out to be pregnant. He was one of her kittens. Edited to add: She kept mama and all of her babies were adopted.

Rosie came to me when the lady who had adopted her from the Humane Society a couple of years ago had to go into assisted living, so it was either come live with me or be surrendered back to the shelter.

[forgotmylogin]

6. I was given one cat when my girlfriend moved out of her apartment.

They could only take two to the new place, so I adopted Louie. I didn't want a pet, but he's the most polite, sweet little guy.

After a few years, Louie was having a territorial war through the patio door with a white cat that was infringing on his territory. On the fourth of July a few years back, this cat approached me outside - she was skeletal, pure white with one blue eye and one green eye. I gave her some food which she hungrily ate.

She literally walked right in my door, made herself at home, and eventually climbed onto my chest curled in a ball and fell asleep. So she chose to live with me. She is spayed and litter trained and not feral and still loves going outside so I think she must have been lost when someone moved away. She survived in the forest by our apartment for what must have been at least a month or two in the summer.

Luckily Iggy is the most good natured cat, causes no trouble (though she and Louie still have deep-seated grudges but tolerate each other) and now she's my well-fed lovely fluffy marshmallow angel.

[Iliyah]

7. WOW, I commend you! . . .

My present cat is from Lancaster, CA. Her mother was a street cat but found a home with relatives. She had 5 kittens but one died. All 4 kittens found a "forever" home.

One relative from Lancaster works seasonal for H & R Block. She went to the office in Rosemond and was the only one there (morning). A older women in parking lot was trying to coaxed a kitten from under her car. As soon as my cousin opened the H & R door and kitten ran out from underneath the car and ran into the office.

Needless to say, she will be bringing the kitten to her forever home (my house in South Bay, 80 something miles from Lancaster) on 2/20/2021

[Chainfire]

8. It had been some years since I had to put down my sick and aging dog.

The pain was so deep, I had decided that I could not go through the process again. But I reached the point that I just couldn't stand it any more.

I went to the shelter and picked out a puppy that the attendant told me would not likely be adopted because of her coloration. After a long life of a long line of wonderful dogs in my household, I picked the best puppy ever. Only dog people understand the strong bond between the two species. There are reasons why, in so many cultures, there has always been strong bonds between dogs and people; the two species have grown up together.

Stella is dozing beside me as I type. She is ever watchful, protective and loving. She doesn't hold grudges, she is never spiteful, and she is honest. (except when it comes to the cat's food bowl) Yep, I am a dog lover. I don't believe that there has ever been a bad dog, only bad dog owners.

[tblue37]

18. What is her coloration?

[Chainfire]

21. Stella was solid black

[tblue37]

22. Amazing that some people reject black dogs or cats, isn't it?

[Chainfire]

23. I find it very odd as well.

All I can say is that everyone who did not give her a second look missed out on one of the finest dogs that have ever come into my house.

[Butterflylady]

9. I got my Maxi when my beloved Oliver crossed over the Rainbow bridge.

Went to local Humane Society and told them I wanted an older cat for an old lady. They had the perfect cat for me. She's not only older but she was not good with other animals and kids. In otherwards I was perfect for her needs.

[OregonBlue]

17. I am so happy for you both.

[LazySusanNot]

10. Olivia, our stray kitty walked up one day and asked if she could live at my house

She was thin and skittish the first time I saw her. The cans of cat food we had saved from babysitting another kitty came in handy. When I set the can down on the sidewalk for the first time, I got a full circle leg rub as a Thank You. 6 years later she loves her indoor life and snacks. Lots of snacks! LOL

Thanks for posting. Interesting to hear these stories.

[gibraltar72]

11. My current cat was found screaming his head off under my race car trailer.

Barely had one eye open. Fed him kitty formula with a bottle. Seemed like every two hours he was hungry. The one before that was found in my garage apparently abandoned by his mom. Best cat we ever had. All of our dogs have been adopted save one I bought from a former co worker.

[Polly Hennessey]

12. Cats do just appear and they stay.

Pumpkin Pie was a stray. One day he became part of my life. He has six toes and he is orange snd white.

Millie came into my life one night at 10 pm. Kendall, my dog walker, showed up at my door with Millie. She was found wandering around one of the local hospitals. How could I say no. Miss Millie is now in charge of Pumpkin and two large dogs, who are also rescues.

[happybird]

13. I'm down to 2 kitties these days

Pooper was tiny (10-ish weeks old) when we saw her sitting on the curb at a Wendy’s drive-thru on a very, very busy road. She looked like she was waiting for the bus, so prim and proper with her tail neatly curled around her little back feet. It took about 20 min and most of a jr bacon cheeseburger to catch her. We were going to “find her a good home” since we already had 3 cats and an 80 lb dog in a one bedroom apartment that didn’t allow cats. That was 10 years ago. She’s my sweet baby.

Leo wandered out of the woods at a farm we used to live on. He was covered in mats and ticks and fleas. We were already feeding Annabelle, a kitty the previous renters had abandoned. I think they were friends, but the landlord said he definitely didn’t belong to the previous renters. The first day I met him, he let me trim off the mats and put Advantage on him. He was so needy for love, he drooled when he was pet (he’s still the neediest, most clingy cat I’ve ever had– and I adore him). He came by everyday and eventually started sleeping on the glider on the breezeway. When we moved, both came with us, of course, and became indoor-only Kitties of Leisure.

Annabelle passed from cancer a couple years later. Meeting Leo and Annabelle was extra serendipitous because we had recently lost two within a month of each other (Sammy, cancer and Bob, CKD), who were similar in both personalities and looks to Leo and Annabelle. It was a bit uncanny.

There has only been one time I’ve gone out and intentionally gotten a cat. My second, Wheezie, was from the shelter. I got her as a companion for my first cat, Frannie. There have been several others along the way, all have been strays or abandoned.

[Karadeniz]

14. When we retired from the city to a very small town, it was my intention to also retire from animal

Rescue. Having begun and administered the foster program at the humane society years before moving, I'd acquired about a dozen unadoptables. Knowing absolutely nothing about how tiny towns function, I was surprised that somehow everyone knew about all the cats... Plus we'd adopted 4 dogs...we'd moved in with. I didn't know that tiny towns didn't have humane societies! There was a city pound, but they were primarily a holding tank. Soon, everyone was calling or abandoning kittens at my place. If the animal control officer saw a dog worth saving, he'd call. Right away, I renewed my relationship with the humane society and over the years, I got about 500 mostly kittens into my old city for adoption. It was hugely expensive, because I didn't want to cause problems for my adoption source. I paid to vet for fatal health problems, vaccinated so mine wouldn't end up in their isolation unit, even paid a surrender fee on every animal, whatever it took. In return, the HS allowed me to funnel a huge number of rescues every few weeks. You can't rescue without an adoption channel.

Then the HS changed personnel. I was allowed 1 or 2 cages there per month, if they had space. No one there knew me anymore. My bottle babies were growing up while my appointments were being delayed.
I had to throw in the towel. So now I have an unreal pet population, ... living in 5 places throughout the house. It takes me about 3 hours for my morning chores, but the old body gave out so I pay for someone to come in every day for litter boxes and vacuuming. Then an hour at night.

But I have to say, I get a kick out of them! It makes me happy to help these guys, even if I'm not actively rescuing new ones. During all those chore hours, I'm smiling...really! They're so sweet and adorable!

[ChazInAz]

15. I've always lived with cats.

Usually two at a time.
Right now, I have just one: Her Royal Majesty, Empress of Carcosa, Queen Shadowskiddyboomboom The Pitiless. "Shadow" for short. Naturally she's black, my favorite color feline. She was adopted at the age of six or so from a cat shelter just over a year ago. I have the honor of being her third human, her first one having died and her second having moved away. More than likely, she'll be my last cat, as I'm seventy-one.
My previous two beasts were special. Natasha Krospina I, Empress of All The Cats, was a black Maine Coon with the Munchkin mutation. With her thick, long hair and short legs she looked like a self-propelled mop roaming about the house.
Her partner in crime was The King In Yellow, Hastur The Unspeakable. That big goof was a Savannah cat, also a rescue. (Savannahs are not for the faint of heart!) With his stilt-walker legs, enormous ears and cheetah spots, he was a beauty. Eerily intelligent, I could tell when he was planning some oddball mischief. One of his favorite activities was stopping my clock's pendulum, then later returning to start it going again.
Both of them rejoined Bastet within a year of one another. Natasha had a stroke at the age of seventeen. Hastur developed some mysterious wasting sickness that we could never identify, and went to play on the Isle of Reeds last July.
I can remember fondly all of the cats who have graced my life, even Bodri from my childhood in Budapest. (An orange tiger.)

[OregonBlue]

16. We were considering a dog for our two grandkids who came to live with us. We went to the

animal shelter and put in our application. A few weeks later I got a call asking if I would be willing to "foster" a tiny puppy who was too small and too young to be left in the shelter. The kids and I went into the shelter and lo and behold there were two very tiny rat terrier/chihuahua cross puppies who had been given over and they could not be separated since they were too young. Boy did they have our number. Of course we would take both puppies to "foster". After fostering them until they reached 10 weeks or 2 lbs, we could never give them up. My husband, who was skeptical of getting a dog, now sleeps with both of them and takes them everywhere he goes.

[tblue37]

19. I am disappointed that there are not many pictures in this thread.

[Freddie]

20. Had a bad experience with a rescue

A month or so after we lost our beloved Freddie I needed to get another cat(s). For some reason the great rescue we’d gotten him and my daughter’s cat from had decided to start rescuing dogs too, so they had a number of pit bulls for adoption and no cats. (Around here 95% of the rescue dogs are pits and pit mixes). Another nearby rescue had a pair of cute orange and white kittens in their site. I applied. They checked my vet records and decided I wasn’t good enough because, despite having spent about $2000 trying to save Freddie’s life, he got “inadequate vet care” because he hadn’t had an annual well check every year. Does a healthy indoor cat really need a checkup every year? The lady was a real nasty bitch about it too.
So I found 2 kittens on Craigslist from a couple who couldn’t take them to their new apartment. They chose me over others who wanted them because I wanted both. Andy (tuxedo) and Charlie (a Russian Blue type) are happy, healthy and loving. And they get a checkup every year. Rescues are great but I would never go back to that one again.

[iscooterliberally]

24. I had a dog that ran a cat rescue out of the back of my house.

[woodsprite]

25. Seven rescues.

1 through the DE SPCA
1 through the DE Humane Society
5 through private rescues/fosters in DE and MD