# Did you choose your cats or did they choose you?



## cdj1975 (Feb 28, 2012)

Did you pick you cat our from a litter, shelter, breeder, or so on or did you cat come to you.

example. Alex was brought home by my ex-wife, he is still here she is gone so I'd chalk that up as he chose me since I didn't pick him out. Snickers showed up under the porch so again she chose us I'd say.

I'm not saying one is better than the other nor that if you picked yours out from a box of kittens that they didn't also choose you. I just want to know if you picked your out or if like me you just all of a sudden had a kitten or cat.

Just out of curiosity if you picked yours out what did you base your choice on?


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I picked Murphy out from a list of 300 cats for adoption at my local SPCA for two reasons -- they said he was affectionate and declawed. I would never have a cat declawed, but at least at that point wanted a declawed cat. They deserve a home too, right?? When we went to meet him, he was purring like a steam engine and was all over us, so we knew the affectionate part was true.


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Bob chose my husband. He was sitting on the floor in the shelter's office and Bob kept crawling intothe computer he was working on. Hubby decided that he just had to come home.

Simba, Missy and Miss Baby were dumped at the shelter when they were about 3 weeks old. Hubby was at the shelter and called me to see if we could foster them. They are still here almost 9 years later, so I think they chose us.

Gracie chose my hubby by coming up and sitting on his foot. We had stopped at a friend's house who was fostering him and his siblings when Gracie did this. He is only about 1 month younger than the Simba and the others.

Molly Brown chose my hubby. One evening he was at the shelter meeting with one of the Board members (have you noticed a trend of hubby with the shelter and bringing cats home? that is why he is banned from the shelter) and she showed him a new litter that had come in. When I got there to look at the litter I saw one that was just staring up at Hubby and seemed so fixated on him. So...here she is 4 years later.


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## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

I went to the APL to look at cats last July and I just knew I was going home with one. I didnt know it would be a 7 week old kitten though.

I looked around the cat room. I had a 3 legged black cat jump on me and try to whoo me off my feet. He was quite charming. I liked him alot but he was male. I wanted a female if at all possible. I looked around and saw a pile of 3 kitten sleeping. They were so cute. I was drawn to the orange and white one. I picked her up and she stretched and yawned then buried herself into me. She was uch a lovey little girl. I was hooked. I looked no further. I brought my Mia home that day.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

I chose Blaze even though he was feral... nine year olds make impulsive decisions, haha. Blacky choose me, she was a semi-feral outside that we began feeding, it took a year before she'd even let me pet her and even longer before she could stand being inside a house at all... it took a lot of effort to win her over, but as I type this she's sleeping on my lap.


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## yingying (Jul 19, 2011)

I chose both my girls. Both were chosen before I even met them in person. My criteria is mainly on the coloring, and gender would be a factor if I have options. I didn't worry about their temperment at all, since both breeds are known to be very affectionate, and their breeders have good reputation on socializing their kittens


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Oscar: Pure bred Alley Cat, of the tuxedo variety. We sorta chose each other, and stuck with it.

Alice: Pure bred Farm Cat, Tortie with the tortitude. My wife picked her out of a cardboard box.

Truman: Pure bred and registered Ragdoll. We saw his brother on a website, called the breeder and ended up (happily, of course) with Truman.


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## orrymain (Dec 9, 2011)

I say Orry picked me. He was about 8 weeks old when someone found him starving in a laundry chute and took him to our local Humane Society. He was turned in on my birthday. The next day as a birthday gift my husband took me there to pick up a kitty. As I was walking down the hall they were all sleeping except for one. As soon as he saw me he meowed. I was hooked. When I held him he felt so thin but he was purring away and immediately started making his biscuits. Hard part was I had to wait 5 days for him to come home. 
Lucy:blackcat


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Maggie was a 12 week old kitten that had been adopted by another family and turned back into the shelter the day before I went there because she kept jumping into the baby's crib. In the meantime, they had her for 2 weeks and never noticed the severe ear mite infestation that she had....it was so bad that it took 3 months to get all the crud out of her ear canal, they had to do a final cleaning while she was knocked out to get spayed. So, while I can't really say that Maggie picked me, I like to think that she knew there was something better out there for her and acted out so they'd take her back (not that I really think that she can reason that way...but it sounds good :lol

Kobi definitely picked me. I was in the shelter working an adoption day with absolutely no intentions of bringing home a kitten. But he grabbed my arm as I walked by his cage and it was over.

Since Holly came from a breeder, I picked her from photos...with the caveat that I had to meet her and she needed an outgoing, brave personality (to deal with Kobi)....which she did.


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## LadyMiseryAli (Jan 22, 2012)

My fiance chose his elder cat TC(RIP) from a shelter. She kind of chose him because she jumped up on the gate to the enclosure that the kittens were kept in and reached out to him. He got his other cat, Chinchilla from a crazy cat lady. She was the smallest kitten from a litter. With Peanut, we saw him about a week or two after we had to put TC to sleep, at the local Petsmart. We kept visiting him after that, put in the application to adopt him and then got him towards the end of December.


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## Marshel (Dec 22, 2010)

Both of my cats chose me.
My first one: Is looking out the window and the most beautiful blue eyed cat was staring back at me. 
The second cat: I was leaving for midnight shift work on a cold cold night. When I went out the door I tripped over her, Fortunantly I was leaving early. I scooped her up and came inside smiling ear to ear. "Looky what I just found. She was purring loudly and shivering. I quickly set up a saferoom. It was a long night at work. Couldn't wait to get home and play with her.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

I chose them. I didn't want any pets at home, I just took home the 3 strays that seemed most miserable in the colony I feed. I just couldn't live with the image of these 3 in my mind all the time, their lonely, scared, love-hungry looks. I now live happy to see them safe, warm and loved all day at home, and they don't waste all my free hours each day having to sit in the street with them to hold and pet them. They're humble, grateful former street cats - with the occasional exception when they'll complain bitterly because how dare I get up from bed to go to work and stop scratching their chins, hehe.


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## Dicesmom (Feb 28, 2012)

Fat Albert- He picked me. I found him on my birthday in this little trap door kinda thing in a shed I have.

Thunder-Found him in my shed. 

Dice and Yoda- My friends cat had kittens and I wanted one. They were going to go to a mean person and I didnt want that to happen. I went to just get dice since I wanted a fluffy black and white kitten. Well yoda wouldnt shut up and kept coming over to me so she came to


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## asrowley (Dec 17, 2011)

Pinky chose me, she may be a shelter cat but I had no intentions of adopting a cat at all when I went to look at the cats in the MGM that day. But, she knew I was her owner!


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I had both ends of the spectrum. We got Azalia from the ASPCA. We looked at about 30 cats and chose her for her beauty and gentle nature. Egypt we also got from the ASPCA, but she definitely chose us. She marched right up to me and sat on my lap and started head-butting me. She did not jump off my lap until we agreed to take her home.

Lacey I bought from a breeder. I wanted to get a specific breed. Sasha I got from a woman on Craig's List. He had fleas all over him, was super skinny, and kept in a basement with minimal socialization. It was very sad! With him, I think it was just fated that he came to live with us.


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

We chose Timmy and Pixie. Timmy had been in foster for a while so his foster-mammy made a video about him, we saw it and fell in love! With Pixie we saw a picture of her and my OH loved her but at this point we said we had enough. After 2 months the poor thing was still at the sanctuary, all the other cats around her were rehomed in a few days or weeks but poor Pixie was always left behind, we decided to take her and I'm so glad we did, she's amazing, she seems to bring out the best in the other cats Puss was our first and she kind of picked us, she was hanging around our house when we moved in, the neighbours were feeding her on and off but when she met my OH she decided to move in with us 
I like to think Gordon picked me We were looking to get another kittie as company for Timmy (who was, at the time, our only inside cat, Puss being semi-feral). We went to see 2 beautiful tabby kittens that Timmy's foster-mammy was fostering, they were fabulous and while we were playing with them we heard a really insistent meowing coming from the bathroom. She explained that she was working in the vets office and someone handed in a kitten really sick with cat flu and she was looking after him, he was quarantined as he was still quite sick. She brought him out to see us and I immediately knew he was 'my' cat. She put him on my lap, he curled up under my chin and kneaded me and purred for about a half hour. I gave him to my OH to cuddle a few times but he kept climbing back to me and purring. He's still my behbeh 
(BTW the 2 tabby girls we were originally there to see found a lovely home together shortly afterwards )


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## koneko_otaku (Jul 22, 2010)

Seems that a majority of cats I have chooses me.

Starting from my first cat in 1977:
Sam: came to us at the door as a kitten. Went missing and is presumed dead
Boots: came to the door as a kitten. Lived to just shy of 20 years old
Cupcake: (Boots' son) didn't want to leave us when other kittens were given away. Died a few years later 
Tiger: came to my relative's house but she had dogs and couldn't keep them together so I took her. Put down at 13 years old due to cancer
Monster: orphaned at 4 weeks old, didn't want to leave us. Died at 12 years old
Marshmallow: he (and his mother) were moved into the house because kitten rarely survives late fall and he was born in November. Was put down last year.
Gateway: orphaned, we kept him. Still have him.
Cuddles: Came to us meowing after her mother moved her and her siblings out of the garage. She won't leave me for long.
Nermal: same as Tiger but he prefers to live in the barn
Socks: adopted her on a whim because she looked cute.
basement kitty (unnamed) moved into my house without my knowledge.

So just a few cats that I got from elsewhere. The rest came to us and stayed with us. I've also had many barn cats that were not named, most were feral but comes when I put the food out. They probably came to live in the barn because of easy food for them. And I get cheap pest control =)


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

yingying said:


> I chose both my girls. Both were chosen before I even met them in person. My criteria is mainly on the coloring, and gender would be a factor if I have options. I didn't worry about their temperment at all, since both breeds are known to be very affectionate, and their breeders have good reputation on socializing their kittens


Similar here, mine were chosen for breed, colour and sex. Breeding cats are still chosen the same way, with the added requirement of being from the right lines. 

6 of them I didn't meet until picking up from the airport, the breeds personality is quite predictable so no disappointments at all.

Most of my kittens go to other states too, chosen by their owners for colour and sex.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

*i think our first beloved kitty chose us for each other*

can a kitty who's waiting at the rainbow bridge be the one to do the matchmaking? if so, then that's my answer. 

we had to say goodbye to her on a Thursday and went to the Humane Society on Friday. we couldn't bear to be without someone to cuddle to remind us of Kitty for another night. we actually went to a petsmart first to see if a kitty we'd seen there a month ago might still be there, because she definitely was a cutie but we weren't ready for another cat at the time. when we got there, she was no longer there but we did meet @7 other kitties. it was a huge disappointment when niether my husband or i felt any connection to any of them, though.

we then braved rush hour traffic on a friday night to go to another shelter. after petsmart, i wasn't expecting to find a match either, but the very first room we went to we found our Angel. she was a little matted and sad looking and had a bad URI, but she crept out of her hole to greet us immediately. headbutted us and purred and gave us love bites. when one of the volunteers walked in Angel scurried back into her hole to hide. as soon as the volunteer left and i came back in, Angel crept back out and continued purring for us. how can you say No to that???? i was in total love. and to top it off the staff told us as we were signing paperwork that she was their longest time resident at the time. she'd waited 2 1/2 years for us to walk through that door! i have no doubt it was meant to be, and i think our first kitty was responsible for us finding each other.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

My previous cat Meme choose me, the girls in the office discovered her hanging around and rescued her.
But even though I didn't come into the office but a couple times a day I named her because of her squeaky meow and she choose me to be her person and she taught me about unconditional love.
Chiquita choose my ex Mercedes, when we moved to our home in 2000 Chiquita was hanging around, at first Mercedes tried to shoo her out of the yard but when that didn't work, she figured she was a stay or a feral and started feeding her and finally got her to come close enough to pet.
We finally brought her into the house, we didn't know the proper introduction techniques so we blew that and as a result her and Samantha were never friends they just tolerated each other.


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## littlesushi (Jun 8, 2011)

aster came up to play with me when i first met the kittens at the breeders. my hubby picked cody from the pile of sleeping kittens. his reasoning for picking cody was he was the one snuggling up with aster before she woke up to play with me. =)


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## Binkers (Mar 8, 2012)

With my last two boys, one chose me and the other was by mutual agreement. I came into the shelter to see Spock and had petted him for a couple of minutes while he was on a kitty tree. I then spied Yoda and walked over to pet him (5'+ away). I intended to come back since he was the reason I was there. Not 2min. had passed when there was a thump on the middle of my back (I was bent over to pet Yoda), Spock had made a flying leap landing on me and proceeded to give me a verbal lecture on why I should choose him. Yoda had already been spoken for and I explained this to Spock. I went back the day before Thanksgiving to get Spock and the shelter told me they had lost Yoda's adoption paperwork and I could have him as well. When I walked into the kitty room they both charged me so how could I only take one home? Really I'm only human (lol).:razz:


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

Mine both chose me. I got mine both from a rescue at petsmart. The plan was to get a cat the day my dog was being spayed since she would be out of it. I found a great 6 month old kitten that I loved but wasn't really interested in. I went home to think about it and came back. She was gone. There were two new kittens there, I went to see them and Sophie immediately wrapped her little paw around my finger and was purring me hard. She wouldn't let go, I knew it was fate. The rescue woman kept pointing out a black and white tuxedo, Anna, but she was sleeping and I didn't get to see her much. As she was processing my paper work Anna woke up. Her and sophie were the only two playing with me. Anna wouldn't leave me alone.

I kept thinking about her after I left with sophie. 2 weeks went by and I kept going back to see her. She would rub back and forth against the cage. As soon as I left she reached out and cried for me until I came back to see her. She only did this to me, no one else that I saw. I came back to get her finally and she jumped right into my arms.


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## Krista2882 (Jan 26, 2012)

I picked out Sylvester from my friend's cat's litter when I was 5. I liked him the best because he was the only cat in the litter that was black and white. The others were all completely black. And I noticed that he had a unique personality from the others.
We got another black and white cat a few years later. I think my parents saw an ad in the paper for a cat who needed a new home, so we adopted her. But she didn't get along with Sylvester at all and he tried to keep her from the food and the litter box and stuff so after a few months we had to rehome her.
We chose Callie and Puffy from a litter of kittens born to a cat who belonged to someone my grandma worked with. There were two calicos, a tabby, and a solid gray one. The solid gray one was a boy and he was s cute and fat and sweet. But he was already spoken for. I think I kind of wanted him first. But we ended up taking one of the calicos and the tabby. Aww, I'm so glad I picked them. I don't know what made me pick Callie over the other calico. I think her face looked cuter. And Puffy... I think I liked her coloring and markings and her cute face. hehe. I only planned on getting one, but I couldn't decide between Callie and Puffy so I got them both.


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## aniela (Jun 27, 2011)

Ozark picked me. He was a stray running around in a rural section around Lake of the Ozarks. He kept coming around the cabin and visiting my boyfriend and I in the evenings. We brought him inside the cabin when the weather was bad and woke up with him in our bedroom. Because the cabin is incomplete the wall for the bathroom we stuck him in doesn't go to the ceiling. He scaled the bathroom wall, hopped across the hall onto the bedroom wall that also didn't go to the ceiling, and jumped down to our bed. Ozark also came running to our car the day we were leaving. We called for him and he came running down the dirt road meowing and yawning all the way. 

I chose Indy at the animal shelter when I took a chance on him and pre-adopted him with very little interaction with him. He chose me too since he was affectionate towards me when I visited him. It was mutual.


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## catcrazy4ever (Aug 6, 2009)

Except for Sneakers, one special kitten I picked out at a shelter many years ago, my cats always pick me/us. They all have stories...
Slippers - Her mom was a barn cat where I boarded my cat. She just showed up on day. I joked that if one of her kittens was a tuxedo I’d take it... and there she was. She lived until 18, even with diabetes.
Secret - A neglected, dumped off barn cat at another barn. The “owner” would sometimes feed her. She was young and pregnant and it was a cold winter. I “snuck” her home just in time for her to have 3 kittens. 2 I found homes for and 1 I kept. Sadly, Secret needed an operation for bladder stones when she was only about 3 and died on the table. 
Splash - Secret’s baby, The only cat I’ve had from birth until her passing (from cancer at 12). Such a precious, beautiful calico girl. 
Keishka - was a friend of a friend’s cat with an extreme urinating problem. She’d been checked over many times by many vets and all tests run - nothing. Since I had 3 in the house at that time I agreed to take her as a barn cat rather than seeing her go to the SPCA. She flourished with the outdoor life. 
M - My ex begged me to take this kitten when he split with his nutty girlfriend and her wild children. My problem child, (perhaps from where he came from?) but oh so special. 
Tiggy - He was a skinny young guy hanging around the house, and when we got a closer look discovered he had a nylon collar embedded in his neck after he’d got a leg through it (stretching it under his “arm pit”). We caught him and brought him to the vet. The collar had to be surgically removed. He did have a tattoo, and some searching lead us to his story. He’d been brought home from the shelter for a friend who’d lost a cat, then escaped out a window. He’d been on the streets for 3 months! They had given up and no longer wanted him. My friend’s senior mom took him and had a wonderful year, but when she passed he needed a home again. We took him. He took to my husband right away while I was wrapped up with Splash dying of cancer. Now he’s my hubby’s “dog” and follows him everywhere. 
Scribbles - our “crazy lady” (you have no idea what a nut job she is) neighbour decided to throw her 3 cats outside and leave them out without food or water. We didn’t want to interfere, but when we realized how long they had been out there, and when this poor little guy was out there crying all the time for food and attention it broke our hearts. There’s no talking to her, believe me. The last straw was when he was cornered one night by a mama raccoon teaching her babies to hunt. A neighbour friend saw it and rescued him using a broom to chase away the raccoons. But she’s allergic and couldn’t keep him. That was it. We took him in. He was all nervous and would pee himself, and he’d licked all the hair off the inside of his legs. Now he does neither and is the most cuddly, affectionate cat you ever want to meet  BTW... she never even missed him. We couldn’t catch the other two, as they wouldn’t come close enough. We were going to call the SPCA but then they disappeared. Maybe back into the depths of her home. So sad. I mean, this woman had addiction problems, her children taken away, and was locked up for some time. She shouldn’t have pets. So I don’t feel bad except that I didn’t get to save the others. 
I wish I could take them all in... every stray and every cat needing a new home... but we can’t  
I can’t imagine I’ll ever actually go and PICK out a cat ever again, since they always find us.


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## GhostTown (Jan 12, 2012)

Since my first post in this thread, I just chose another. It didn't chose me.


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## bkitty (Aug 17, 2009)

They all chose us. Except for Punkin who deserted us to own our granddaughter as the queen of all she surveys. 4 out of the 6 came to me as bottlebabies & didn't find any adopters they liked. Bentley was the only adult cat & turned into our alpha. Sasquatch was the last of a litter our daughter had & ended up coming home with us rather than being sent to a shelter but since he fit in so well with the rest of the crew I think he likes it here.


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## crazyismycat (Feb 7, 2012)

Fifi the Legend was a kitten that was born from an SPCA foster mommy cat that my mother's coworker had at his house. We found out which cat was the most affectionate and then the hour the litter was brought back to the SPCA we snagged him. (2003) 

Crazy was a feral 8 week old kitten that some of my college friends met on their way to class, as they were bringing her to security I happened to drive by and see them. I told them GIVE IT TO ME. She has been with me ever since. (2008) A little insane, hence her name.

The only thing is I am moving to an apartment soon and my cats are family pets so I will have to leave them here with them 

I am planning on getting a Bengal and Raggdoll for my new apartment. My boyfriend reaaallly wants a bengal and I realllyyyyyy want a ragdoll. They will be each other's company for when I am at work.

Funny story--> Tonight during my evening shift (im an RN) one of my Demented patients had three stuffed kitties and kept checking on them all night and talking about them constantly. I bet he would fit in here just fine.

RIP Wolfey Chosen by my grandmother while she was babysitting our other cat and lost him. (she decided to replace him with a similar looking kitty) When we got ack from our trip she said she had just shrinked him.


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## kittykittykitty (Dec 26, 2011)

I chose all of my cats because nobody else would, but I'd like to think they would all have chosen me anyway :luv


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## BoBear (Sep 8, 2011)

Well Mischief met me on my door step one summer day and lived with me for 20 years after that. Sport was a kitten that a friend's dog picked up and nobody claimed it. It was going to be euthanized when I met him and he cuddled up to my neck and gave kisses so I took him home. He lived with me for 17 years. And Keena came up to the porch where I was sitting with my folks and looked at me with pleading eyes. She was in sad shape so my nephew and I fed her and gained her trust so I guess there was a bit of effort on both sides for that one. She also brought me her five kittens which I had not expected so she chose me for her kittens I guess. 

Must admit, the best kitty was the one that sat on my doorstep and waited for me. He was an amazing companion for the 20 years he was with me.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

*happy long lives*

i just love reading these stories of wonderful kitties living in loving households to age 19 or 20 or even longer. our fist kitty died with cancer at only 5 or 6, so i thank my lucky stars every single day we have with our Angel now and hope she gets to live just as long, happy lives as some of the others i've seen in this thread.


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