How Did You Know You'd Found the Right Cat?

Melissa Houle wrote:
Hello fellow cat lovers,

I am a relatively new poster, here. However my cat loving credentials
are sound.
(snip)
So what are some other stories of finding the perfect cat?

Melissa

Hi Melissa! You have more cat credentials that I do I've only been
owned by one cat in my life (so far) for the last 5 years. Persia. And I
didn't go find her; like so many others here, she found *me*. Here's the
abbreviated story:

On a cold afternoon in early January, 2001, a cat (adult) came crying at my
back door. What are you doing here? Go away! (I know, silly of me.) But
ask dusk fell and the temps dropped into the mid-20's and she wouldn't go
away, I started to worry. Gosh it's cold out there.

So I made a decision. I'll run to the store, pick up a litter box, litter
and cat food. If she's still there when I come back, I'll invite her
inside. She was and I did.

She hesitated when I opened the door, then realized she was, after all, a
cat. She strolled in and took a look around. In hindsight, I can hear the
wheels turning - yes, this looks like a nice place. I think I'll stay
And that night when I went to bed, I was completely surprised to find she'd
jumped up next to me on the bed and settled down for a nice snooze!

I did the usual try to find her owners stuff; even considered giving her
away. But after a couple of days of her loving antics, I was hooked. Took
her to the vet; got her checked and her shots. They told me she was about 2
years old, front declawed and spayed. She had no microchip (she does NOW!).
I've been enslaved ever since. You can see photos of my sweet Persia he

http://community.webshots.com/user/jmcquown

Jill

Melissa Houle wrote:
Hello fellow cat lovers,

I am a relatively new poster, here. However my cat loving credentials
are sound.
(snip)
So what are some other stories of finding the perfect cat?

Melissa

Hi Melissa! You have more cat credentials that I do I've only been
owned by one cat in my life (so far) for the last 5 years. Persia. And I
didn't go find her; like so many others here, she found *me*. Here's the
abbreviated story:

On a cold afternoon in early January, 2001, a cat (adult) came crying at my
back door. What are you doing here? Go away! (I know, silly of me.) But
ask dusk fell and the temps dropped into the mid-20's and she wouldn't go
away, I started to worry. Gosh it's cold out there.

So I made a decision. I'll run to the store, pick up a litter box, litter
and cat food. If she's still there when I come back, I'll invite her
inside. She was and I did.

She hesitated when I opened the door, then realized she was, after all, a
cat. She strolled in and took a look around. In hindsight, I can hear the
wheels turning - yes, this looks like a nice place. I think I'll stay
And that night when I went to bed, I was completely surprised to find she'd
jumped up next to me on the bed and settled down for a nice snooze!

I did the usual try to find her owners stuff; even considered giving her
away. But after a couple of days of her loving antics, I was hooked. Took
her to the vet; got her checked and her shots. They told me she was about 2
years old, front declawed and spayed. She had no microchip (she does NOW!).
I've been enslaved ever since. You can see photos of my sweet Persia he

http://community.webshots.com/user/jmcquown

Jill

For the record:

Baby Eyes was an orphan, hand raised by my neighbor and landlady, Gloria,
who didn't want her or the other kitten she had taken from another neighbor
who didn't want them. I "borrowed" both of these kittens when they were old
enough, because I had mice in the house. I didn't want any more cats, having
just lost 4 inside of two years (one disappeared, one was killed by a car,
and two died of cytauxzoonosis felis), and actually wanted to be able to
travel freely for a while without having to worry about leaving cats behind
or having to take them along. But I ended up keeping Baby Eyes because she
would not stay at Gloria's.

Of course then Baby Eyes was lonely for another cat, and one day I stopped
at a yard sale and there were about two dozen cats at that house. I ended up
taking one home. Tommy, who was about 4 months old, went with me.

A month or so later, I realized that if anything should happen to Tommy or
Baby Eyes, I would have a grieving cat on my hands. And since I already had
two, the travel idea was already down the tubes... So I had my eyes peeled
for another cat.

One day at a pawn shop in town, a small black kitten approached me. He was
thin. The shop owner said he's been hanging around but she would never let
him in or feed him. So he ended up going home with me. That's Eli....

Before Eli joined us, I had my name on a list for a free Maine Coon from the
local breeder, who occasionally gives away a retiring queen or defective
kitten. She called and told me she had a defective Abyssinian, and I could
not say no. Thus Abelard came into the clan.

They're all "right cats" for me. They're all perfect.

For the record:

Baby Eyes was an orphan, hand raised by my neighbor and landlady, Gloria,
who didn't want her or the other kitten she had taken from another neighbor
who didn't want them. I "borrowed" both of these kittens when they were old
enough, because I had mice in the house. I didn't want any more cats, having
just lost 4 inside of two years (one disappeared, one was killed by a car,
and two died of cytauxzoonosis felis), and actually wanted to be able to
travel freely for a while without having to worry about leaving cats behind
or having to take them along. But I ended up keeping Baby Eyes because she
would not stay at Gloria's.

Of course then Baby Eyes was lonely for another cat, and one day I stopped
at a yard sale and there were about two dozen cats at that house. I ended up
taking one home. Tommy, who was about 4 months old, went with me.

A month or so later, I realized that if anything should happen to Tommy or
Baby Eyes, I would have a grieving cat on my hands. And since I already had
two, the travel idea was already down the tubes... So I had my eyes peeled
for another cat.

One day at a pawn shop in town, a small black kitten approached me. He was
thin. The shop owner said he's been hanging around but she would never let
him in or feed him. So he ended up going home with me. That's Eli....

Before Eli joined us, I had my name on a list for a free Maine Coon from the
local breeder, who occasionally gives away a retiring queen or defective
kitten. She called and told me she had a defective Abyssinian, and I could
not say no. Thus Abelard came into the clan.

They're all "right cats" for me. They're all perfect.

For the record:

Baby Eyes was an orphan, hand raised by my neighbor and landlady, Gloria,
who didn't want her or the other kitten she had taken from another neighbor
who didn't want them. I "borrowed" both of these kittens when they were old
enough, because I had mice in the house. I didn't want any more cats, having
just lost 4 inside of two years (one disappeared, one was killed by a car,
and two died of cytauxzoonosis felis), and actually wanted to be able to
travel freely for a while without having to worry about leaving cats behind
or having to take them along. But I ended up keeping Baby Eyes because she
would not stay at Gloria's.

Of course then Baby Eyes was lonely for another cat, and one day I stopped
at a yard sale and there were about two dozen cats at that house. I ended up
taking one home. Tommy, who was about 4 months old, went with me.

A month or so later, I realized that if anything should happen to Tommy or
Baby Eyes, I would have a grieving cat on my hands. And since I already had
two, the travel idea was already down the tubes... So I had my eyes peeled
for another cat.

One day at a pawn shop in town, a small black kitten approached me. He was
thin. The shop owner said he's been hanging around but she would never let
him in or feed him. So he ended up going home with me. That's Eli....

Before Eli joined us, I had my name on a list for a free Maine Coon from the
local breeder, who occasionally gives away a retiring queen or defective
kitten. She called and told me she had a defective Abyssinian, and I could
not say no. Thus Abelard came into the clan.

They're all "right cats" for me. They're all perfect.

I've never 'found the right cat', I've just acted obediently when one of our
furry masters makes it clear that they think they've found the right slave.

Jeanette

I've never 'found the right cat', I've just acted obediently when one of our
furry masters makes it clear that they think they've found the right slave.

Jeanette

I've never 'found the right cat', I've just acted obediently when one of our
furry masters makes it clear that they think they've found the right slave.

Jeanette

"Sherry " wrote in message
...
So I've been wondering, when each of you went in search of your past
or present cats or cat family, what was it about the cat or kitten
that "clicked" the first time you met? How did you make the decision
about whom to adopt?


Most of my cats have found me. Years ago we had a dog who constantly
got out of the yard. One evening my husband went out to call the dog,
and instead, here came a scrawny, dirty, red kitten. That was Tawny.
(RB)

When I was in college, I saw a performance of "Bell, Book and Candle".
They used a black cat for the witch's familiar. I always said that if I
ever had a black cat, I'd name it Pyewacket, after the cat in the play.
When we decided to get a companion for Tawny, we looked at ads in the
paper. A family had two kittens to give away. They owned the parent
cats. The mother was a white Persian, and the father was a black
shorthair. The female kitten looked like the mother, and the male
kitten looked like the father. Naturally, we had to take the male,
because he was black. He was immediately named Pyewacket (RB).

When Pye was about a year old, he brought a kitten in through the cat
door, led the kitten to me and said, "Look, Mama! He followed me home.
Can I keep him?" After an unsuccessful search for the owner, we adopted
the kitten. There was much discussion about what to name him. He was
red, and had the loudest purr I've ever heard. He was also rather
talkative. I knew the Spanish word for "noisy" was 'ruidoso', and
'ruddy' means "red", so we named him Rudy. He became a member of the
PTA at my daughter's school. They were having a membership drive, so we
enrolled him as Rudolfo L. Gato.

When Rudy was about a year old, he brought in the cat that my daughter
said we should name "Archaeopteryx" (RB). She was taking a biology
class at the time, and said that was the name of a prehistoric creature,
and the name meant 'hopeful monster'.

There are more, but that will do for now. This is already too long.
;-)

Joy

"Sherry " wrote in message
...
So I've been wondering, when each of you went in search of your past
or present cats or cat family, what was it about the cat or kitten
that "clicked" the first time you met? How did you make the decision
about whom to adopt?


Most of my cats have found me. Years ago we had a dog who constantly
got out of the yard. One evening my husband went out to call the dog,
and instead, here came a scrawny, dirty, red kitten. That was Tawny.
(RB)

When I was in college, I saw a performance of "Bell, Book and Candle".
They used a black cat for the witch's familiar. I always said that if I
ever had a black cat, I'd name it Pyewacket, after the cat in the play.
When we decided to get a companion for Tawny, we looked at ads in the
paper. A family had two kittens to give away. They owned the parent
cats. The mother was a white Persian, and the father was a black
shorthair. The female kitten looked like the mother, and the male
kitten looked like the father. Naturally, we had to take the male,
because he was black. He was immediately named Pyewacket (RB).

When Pye was about a year old, he brought a kitten in through the cat
door, led the kitten to me and said, "Look, Mama! He followed me home.
Can I keep him?" After an unsuccessful search for the owner, we adopted
the kitten. There was much discussion about what to name him. He was
red, and had the loudest purr I've ever heard. He was also rather
talkative. I knew the Spanish word for "noisy" was 'ruidoso', and
'ruddy' means "red", so we named him Rudy. He became a member of the
PTA at my daughter's school. They were having a membership drive, so we
enrolled him as Rudolfo L. Gato.

When Rudy was about a year old, he brought in the cat that my daughter
said we should name "Archaeopteryx" (RB). She was taking a biology
class at the time, and said that was the name of a prehistoric creature,
and the name meant 'hopeful monster'.

There are more, but that will do for now. This is already too long.
;-)

Joy