Where did you get your cat(s)? Did you buy from a breeder,adopt from a shelter, or rescue them?

Question

My Tika was adopted from a local shelter. I had always wanted a 'Tortie' colored cat because most of the ones I met were pretty friendly and intelligent. And the local shelter had a Tortie kitten who was not shy...That's Tika. My first cat, Sylvester(rest in peace), was given to me as a kitten in 1986, I had him until he died in 1999.
How did you get your cats?

Answer 1

I got my first two kittens from an ad in the paper. They were not littermates and had been fostered together since weaning from their mothers. One was an orange tabby and one was a Siamese. Everyone wanted the Siamese kitten and not the orange tabby. I thought it would be wonderful to have both such different kitties and they were great buddies. The orange tabby was a couple of weeks older and the leader. So the people let me have them both.

Then I started volunteering in shelters in my area. At the first place I found my Sylvie who had an upper respiratory infection. She was located in "warm cats" and I cleaned her cage daily before adopting her. She turned out to be a bossy dominant female and the "boys" didn't like her at all.

Then I was volunteering at another shelter (I wanted to see what was going on in various places in my area) and little Mincho came in, found on a street corner in a very small town. He was only five weeks old. I fell in love immediately - he was so darling. I cleaned the cages every day and saved his for last so I could spend more time with him. He would wait patiently with his little paws crossed in front of him. He first tested positive for feline leukemia and then subsequently tested negative. I was able to take him home when he was about eight weeks old.

At another shelter I adopted Amber. She had been abandoned at an apartment building. She had been adopted out twice and returned as she was very scared (still is) and not what people wanted in a kitten, purring and cuddly. I knew she would be euthanised as it was kitten "season" and she would not compete with the little ones.

Then I rescued a 15 yr old cat from my neighborhood. She was dying of hyperthyroidism and was not being treated by her owners. She also lived totally outside in the rain and cold and she was very sick. She is 22 yrs old now and still hanging in there.

Answer 2

Boogie was a farm kitten - would have otherwise been an outdoor cat - the only one of his litter to survive more than a year - the others either got hit by a car or eaten by wild animals.

Hobbs was a stray in the street. None of the neighbors knew where she came from and she was too little to be away from her mama kitty so even had to teach her how to drink from a bowl.

Earl Gray was a local shelter (Hope for the Animals) and we located him via Petfinder.com. We were told he was abused by a previous owner, based on his behavior, and then dumped at the Petsmart where the shelter holds its adoption days.

General was purchased from a breeder. He's the first cat I've ever bought but my husband really wanted a ragdoll kitten.

Co-Pilot was a local shelter (Spay and Save) and we found him on an adoption day at a local Petco.

Our previous two cats, now in kitty heaven, came to use after their former owners didn't want or couldn't keep them anymore. One was a senior when she came to us but we still had her for another 10 years. The other was with us about 7 years and we lost her this spring to a brain tumor.

Growing up my cats were mostly farm kittens or ones people advertised in the paper. One was a "donation" from a family friend because she was the runt of the litter and wouldn't have survived with their other cats.

Answer 3

Well I got my youngest cat (now 7 yrs), when she was 2 days old, someone found her on a path in front of a house a few towns away. My middle cat (8yrs), I adopted from a local shelter at 8 wks. old. My oldest cat (16 yrs) I adopted from a client @13 yrs old, when she could no longer keep him and was going to bring him to a local shelter. I call him my most expensive cat, as I knew when I adopted him that he had a chronic ear problem and eventually needed a very expensive surgery to correct the problem, he is worth every penny I have spent on him, he is my sweet old gentleman.

Answer 4

It sepends on the variety of shelter/rescue. An no-kill shelter or rescue many times will carry onto an animal perpetually, yet maximum shelters will euthanize in approximately 10 days. they provide 3 days for the owner to ensue and reclaim and then one extra 7 days to locate it a house. some animals with an extremely outstanding temperment are stored longer or if a shelter worker gets truly related they might "cover" the animal for longer besides.

Answer 5

Whew so many cats and all rescued! In order that I got them:

Boo (F) - Found in a tree by some friends so we gave her a home.

Hershey (M) - Many stray cats in my old neighborhood and one that hung around a lot we called Miss E Tongue because her tongue was always sticking out. She had 3 kittens and one by one brought them to our porch. Hershey, Baby Ruth, and Snickers. We got the other two homes and kept Hershey (he's my baby).

Piper, Salem, and Chiquita (Ms) – Feral stray cat had 4 kittens we found them under an empty home and managed to get them all out, not fun. The 4th kitty, Spook, got a home. Couldn't find homes for the other 3 so they became part of the family.

Hocus Pocus (M) – More stray kittens I have no idea how many, could never catch them. However Hocus and his brother Candy Corn started mooching off the cat food outside. Gained the trust of Candy Corn but he went missing. Took me 3 patient months to gain Hocus's trust. Just in time for us moving to a new home.

The Orange Cat (M) – All though we were to have no more cats my dad made the mistake of feeding a stray orange cat. My mom claims it's not our cat and were not to name it. However we do feed it every day! He's old cat and has cataracts but he's a sweet talkative cat. My dad taught him to stay on the other side of the yard because Hocus doesn't like him.

Answer 6

My first cat Sable I received from a friend... My second cat Peaches I bought at a pet store he almost died because apparently the pet store was not feeding there animals right. He looked like a 5 week old kitten but the vet told me that he was really 5 months old. Peaches is now 4 years old and still looks like a kitten. The pet store is no longer in business... My third cat Oily I found in a garbage can covered in oil hence the name... My fourth cat Princess she found us she was skin and bones but is now healthy and fat... My fifth cat Gabriel we called on a ad from the newspaper and my son and his cat had a very deep connection Gabriel's nick name is the kisser...I like helping animals out when needed...

Answer 7

My first Cat was a grey she died in 2001 she was 17 years old.
I wanted to adopt from the spca but they wanted a $100 I got
lucky my sister had a friend who's Moma Cat had a litter and
they needed homes so I got Rusty Male, Church (female) Mr.Whiskers he's a lean and mean trim grey, Bailey he's a black cat with green eyes, Daffeny she's mixed white and black and snowy she's a white cat.

I love them all :)

Answer 8

My dad used to work across the street from Animal Control, and stupid people dropped off a littler of 4-week-old kittens in his parking lot. He brought one home - the poor thing wasn't even weaned yet, so we had to hand-feed him a for a few weeks. I think he got the other cat the same way.

Answer 9

I adopted all my cats from the rescue centre...i'd always do it this way.... Some shops breed then sell kittens which i don't agree with,there are so many cats out there in need of a home.

Answer 10

I got 3 cats, my oldest is 17yrs. old, I got her from a friend of mine. I rescued my 6 yr.old cat when he was abandoned by his mom at 1 week old. I also rescued my 3 yr. old cat when she was about 1 week old. I had to feed the 2 that I rescued with an eyedropper. It was sort of hard but I'm glad I did.I love my 3 cats very much!