Is there anything better than adopted cat love?

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Back in lockdown off sick from work with stress I announced to my partner we needed a cat.

I was scared of adopting a cat and then losing them to the roads so I wanted an indoor only cat, in particular a rescue as I didn't want to take a chance on a kitten who might grow up to be a roamer!

We found that our best bet was FIV+ cats and found a huuuuge ginger boy that we fell in love with a few hours away at Cotswold's Dogs and Cats Home. Due to lockdown we met him and got assessed on Zoom and the first day we met him was when they carried him out to us in the car park of the centre on collection day. He had been a roaming stray for all his life in a certain neighbourhood and they only realised he didn't have an owner when he was bitten and it got infected, which is what caused him to be picked up by the rescue. We were told that if he didn't settle in to being a house cat, he would need to be returned to the RSPCA to be PTS.

We got him home and he fell asleep on my partner's lap that night. After a few sleepless nights with constant meowing and a few weeks learning that he needs a LOT of play time and LOVES attention he has just settled more and more. He spends most days asleep in his doughnut on my partner's desk whilst I am out at work! If we have a cuddle when I get in from work, he will come and stand at our feet until we pay him attention!

Today I have the day off work and he has meowed at me until I sat on the sofa and is now cuddling me whilst he sleeps and it rains outside, where he used to live! I am sat here getting emotional at feeling the gratitude from 6kgs of ginger cat!

This is my boy Flynn; please share your happy adoption stories so I can sit here underneath him feeling the love!

Aww, Flynn is so lovely! 💕 I have always had either strays or adopted cats. Can’t have any now due to DP allergies but always stop to pet any cat I see.

Aww bless him!

This is Poppy who was a stray 'teen' mum. We have her kitten, too, and they are now 4 and 3 years old.

She's still not fond of most humans but she has completely attached herself to me. Not technically an indoor cat but she basically stays home at all times unless it is sunny and I've gone to sit outside!

Ahhhh Poppy looks like a gorgeous girl! We definitely haven't reached the belly rubs stage yet- he's still learning that biting is not good manners so I'd probably lose a finger!

I totally love how all cats have such unique personalities!

Name changed, because my rescue is known locally! He used to live in the local Ikea carpark. DP started taking in biscuits for him (he was obviously stray) and when he started getting a little bolder, he called Cat's Protection, who came and caught him, and got him to the vets. He was 4, had been missing for 2 years, and from a good few miles away. He had been an indoor cat, but managed to get out, and we think he probably freaked out, hid in a lorry, and ended up in the Ikea warehouse.

Previous owners couldn't have him back, so we asked if I could keep him. He's been with me since day one of the first lockdown. He was terrified of everything to start with, but he's settled so well, loves my DDs, idolises DPs cat, and is the fluffiest, daftest cuddlebug I've ever met. He will herd you to the sofa for cuddles, or off to bed if he thinks it's too late and I'm tired. He absolutely loves having belly rubs, and purrs like freight train when you do.

Awww what a lovely thread and what a handsome ginger boy.

This is Pokey, we adopted him and his sister from a rescue aged 15 weeks. They had been separated from their mum too early, and along with the rest of their litter they were being given away on the side of the road before the rescue picked them up.

Pokey was the smallest of the litter, he weighed 20% less than his sister the day we got him. He was the most pitiful thing, he clearly missed his mum as he kept trying to suckle on his sister the first few months. He would meow every time he couldn't see her, and as a kitten he would just trail around after her while she got into mischief.

He has always been skittish and nervous, even around DP (his human dad who lives here and loves cats!). If we have visitors he will always scarper.

However from day 1 he really took a shine to me. Every time he comes in the house he yells for me and comes to look for me to check I'm still there. Every evening, he insists on sitting on me and falling asleep while I hold his paws, then spends the whole night curled up with me. He is always thrilled to see me, wants loads of affection and is very trusting of me. He is definitely a one-person kind of cat, and I am his person!

Aww. He's lovely. I fell in love with a photo on Facebook of two black Persians in a rescue. They were from a kitten farm and in terrible condition. It took lots of time and patience but they are the most wonderful and bossiest cats. Sadly Maia died aged 8. But her sister has really blossomed. After Maia died I adopted Cheddar from the same rescue. She's an absolute poppet!

Aww @violetbunny my girl does the same, she wanders the house howling for me and trying to deliver her cuddly penguin toy to me as a present when I go out! She is scared of DH despite him loving her to bits and is only vaguely keen on DD. I reckon a man was cruel to her early in life and she's decided that all men are to be avoided, even if they've been her human dad for the last three years.

She's a clever girl, brought me a real 'present' once and once only - a live bird that she delivered to me and then murdered swiftly right in front of DD. She obviously read my horrified reaction correctly and has never done it again! Just the cuddly toy ever since.

Her son is adorable but less fussed about which human is petting him (as long as it's DD or DH) and mostly interested in me when there is fresh tuna or Dreamies to be had. He's not the snugglebug that his mother has become with me.

@PossiblePoodleParent Oh that's so adorable! I have also wondered if Pokey had some kind of incident with a man (possibly not abuse but something that spooked him). He is definitely more afraid of men, the larger and louder they are the worse it is. I am female, petite and soft spoken and I think that's partly why he prefers me. Well, that and I spoil him rotten

@violetbunny yes I think being the one who spoils them rotten helps a lot! I'm the one up at 6am every day to give them a bit of fresh tuna for breakfast (human grade - so I can hide boycat's anti-anxiety pill in his portion). But despite that our little furry boy is probably just as keen on DD as me, they have a lovely relationship. She is his bestie. I am his servant.

What a lovely thread.

Our new adopter arrives on Thursday 😍 her name is Zelda 🎉💕🐱

Adoptee!!!!

Lovely to see so many people giving rescue animals a chance instead of breeding another one into the world. It is true that strays can be capable of so much love. We took a stray dog from Romania through a rehoming charity. She arrived traumatized, with fleas and a skin condition. She could hardly walk from being in a cage and was afraid of almost everyone. it took her several hours to emerge from her transporter box. A few months on and she has transformed and thanks us everyday and always looks for cuddles.

This is Basil. He was rescued from the streets in Romania and he is hands down the silliest and soppiest cat ever. He lets my toddler lie on him and is constantly trying to trip us up by collapsing in euphoria on the floor for a tickle.

Lovely stories.

Our cat is a rescue. Well I say our cat but DH had her for 5 years before she met and to say she adores dh is a total understatement.

She always seems to know when he is due home and wherever he is in the house, she will be close by. One of my favourite things is watching her fly up the stairs when DH comes home.

DH is a grumpy sod in the morning so she will never wake him up because she knows what he's like. She patiently waits until he wakes up then goes in to see him. In the early days I put her on our bed whilst he was still asleep and she hissed at me because she knew she shouldn't be there.

Her loyalty to him is just incredible and their bond is magical. I wouldn't have believed a cat could be so loyal before seeing them together.

That's so lovely! He adapted very quickly! We've only ever had rescues, here is our current rescue channelling his inner snail...he was rescued as a tiny kitten with his 3 siblings when his mother was clever enough to bring them all to someone's house in the middle of a storm to get help. All were adopted, including the mum and will have much better and safer lives than they would have in 'the wild'.

1st photo is Maxi, who we got from a rescue aged 4. He loves me & Ds, adores DH but is infatuated with DD!

2nd one is Bobo. We got him from a rescue aged one. He was supposed to be shy but turned into a snuggly gorgeous little adventurer. Sadly knocked over 6 months after we had him but never forgotten.

3rd photo is Tonks. She came from the Blue Cross as a stray. She wholeheartedly believes I am her Mum and is my little shadow. She loves the other family members if sitting down - she hates feet. We think she must have been kicked at some point.

All so loved and brought such joy into our lives x

This is our rescue, 4 years old. She is just a joy. She is a soppy cat who loves to be near people but not too close, about 5 feet is her usual comfort zone. She’ll tolerate closer for a head scratch but she likes to sleep alone😍

We just adore her. It’s such a pleasure to be able to give a cat a really good home. We think she was used for kittens and given away when she wasn’t any use anymore. Although the rescue thought she had access to outside she hadn’t used a cat flap before and certainly seems unsure of herself outside. She loves going out though, sitting in the garden and watching the birds until something startles her. She likes to think she is a master hunter but she would be lucky to catch a leaf🤣🤣 She’s normally 5 minutes max before she scuttles back in to check we are still here, rinse and repeat all morning and sleep all afternoon😍🤩 It’s a cats life.

This is Ciam, who's pushing 20, so an old lady now. She came to me from a local rescue for what I thought would be her twilight years. Nearly 9 years on she's still going strong, although she doesn't go out any longer now as her sight is v poor. However she always knows where I am and at night usually is asleep on my back.

Oh he is absolutely gorgeous!! Defo landed on his paws with you!!

We have Ivy (aged 4), thrown out of a car in a cat box with her mum and 3 siblings, she was the last one awaiting adoption as she is black and white and the rest were tabby

Betsy, our little fur explosion, was found under a hedge in someone's garden at approx 1 week old. She was handreared and we adopted from rescue at 10 weeks. She's not socialised at all and has a very quirky personality. The first time I held her she sank her teeth into me 😂

Ivy adopted her as her baby immediately and would pin her down and wash behind her ears. They still do this to each other now 18 months earlier.

Rescues are rewarding, loving, sometimes challenging and THE BEST CATS IN THE WORLD!

Thank you so much for all sharing your lovely stories, I’ve got something in my eye…

Our cattery had Flynn for his first visit whilst we attended a friend’s wedding and when we collected him she said to us “I’m sure they feel gratitude when you’ve taken them home from a rescue” and you are all proving her very right.

Extra Flynn photo because he is GORGEOUS

We have had Rosie (B&W) for11 years . We adopted her from CPL after she had kittens and was almost a kitten herself.
Sadly she has been to vet today and it appears she has a lump round her intestine and in her lymph nodes. Just waiting results of biopsy
Cwtch turned up on our doorstep 2 christmas ago and hasnt left since.

Mine were the longest residents of the rescue centre as nobody even expressed any interest in them. They were aloof and hissy to everyone, including us, but I felt so sorry for them and fell in love with them so adopted them expecting them to keep themselves to themselves, but within days they were sleeping on my bed, running to the door whenever any of us came in and happily welcoming fuss. We have had to move house three times in as many years but they have settled easily and even when the plumber accidentally let them out the day after our latest move, they went out to explore the garden and then came straight back in.

They both often sleep with their eyes covered by their paws.

This is Isla, a hand reared kitten after she was rejected by her mum. We got her after 2 chest infections and cat protection telling us no one wants black cats. She was skinny and covered in scabs (allergic to most flea treatments). She is the sweetest girl, very chatty, loves cuddles and happiest on someone’s knee!

Ollie
Lived in a broken greenhouse with two other cats for around 4 years. The elderly woman fed them and had them neutered, she died and they were taken into rescue
He came to me as FIV and cat flu, he doesn't have FIV and the flu was a tooth embedded in his nose
He adores me, totally, to the point cats protection said he was absolutely ridiculous as he was asleep on me within 20 mins of adopting him
Pics before and now