How did you meet your feline overlords?

[Utterbunkum]

I am loving reading about all the lovely cats. I know I am new here, and this has probably been done, but I would love to know how you came to share your lives with your current friends with fur?
My DH and I met Oliver at a rescue centre, aged 3 (him, not us). The poor little man was found living rough on the streets, covered in ticks and fleas and with a nasty leg infection. They called him Oliver after Oliver Twist because of his ragged state.

When we first saw him, he had lost most of one of his back trouser legs due to infection. His little bare leg looked like raw chicken. One toe had been amputated. His fur was patchy following extensive tick removal, but his tail was an enormous brush of soft fur. His eyes were bright yellow, and he paced around us like a lord after a bit of a hiss for greeting.
We fell in love and took him home, where he spent 24 hours under a chair, before clinging to us like a limpet, moving from lap to lap (we both WFH then).
10 years later, he lives like a king, cheeky, demanding, cuddly when he wants. He will steal your seat if you move for a minute, but loves a warm lap. We wouldn't be without him.

Lovely outcome for Oliver and though it’s sad to think how rough his early life was ,,he’s making up for lost time 😃

Our Overlords are from CPL.
Dh made it known that he wanted cat/cats again once our Guinea pig herd crossed The Rainbow Bridge. DD and I were the piggy keepers we had a 8 over 8 years, they keep rollling on as you get a new one or two when one dies. Then we got to three oldies who popped their clogs over a six month period.

We knew we didn’t want kittens. DH gave me the task of searching for our cats. One at least had to be a black cat.
I narrowed it down to 2 pairs.. local rescues.
one pair was a bonded but not related m/f. Female was shy
other pair were m/f siblings.. jet black pair,he was extremely shy and still is to a degree.
we have a quiet road, got a cat door put in the French door and a decent garden. Our Dc were late teens at the time so no small children.
We met them and reckoned we could give them what they needed.What I wouldn’t want for this pair would’ve been to be homed to someone and returned.
They prowl about giving us the impression that we are lucky that they honour us to live here and at anytime they could abandon us.
They sail out the cat door that opens by their magic necks (microchips) and survey their domain thinking “ yeah,this’ll do for now”

Even though I chose them,, they totally ignore or disregard me. They adore DH and Dd ,, tolerate DS and like his bedroom. And they are happy to share his roast chicken on a Sunday .

I was swayed by the photo of the female with her beautiful giraffe like neck.

Cannot imagine the house without the panthers they absolutely make a house a Home

A local vet surgery posted about an injured cat found wondering the streets. No one came forward to claim her and due to her leg injuries it didn’t look like she would get adopted as no one would want to take her on. She only has three legs now, picture is before surgery.

I told DH the story and he immediately said ‘she needs us!’

Aww, cutie-pie. How does she get on with only 3 legs?

@70isaLimitNotaTarget Funny, isn't it, where they bestow affection. I used to like to think Oliver, who definitely wasn't feral, had a lovely elderly owner who sadly died. Where we lived at the time, there were a lot of season workers who got cats, then just left them behind when their contract ended. I suspect that is closer to the truth, but hated to think about people doing that. He wasn't neutered or anything when found. I did worry for a while that someone would call up and say they had been looking for him for months, but it obviously never happened.
Sounds like your two have landed on their feet.

Our previous overlord we decided to get when we bought our house.
She was 2. Had three litters and the time she was spayed by the eye rescue was pregnant with litter four.
We got a companion cat at the same time but they didn’t get on so on advice form the rescue we returned him .
The FemaleCat was with us till she was 17 yo.

She coped with DS and Dd when they came along but liked to jump through the bannister railing to give little Dd an almighty fright .Then waltz off doing that cackle that cats do.

Whhen we met she was striding along the windowsill and gave DH a toothy kiss . Her previous owners gave her up because they got dogs and didn’t want the cat.
CBA having her spayed either 😢

@@Utterbunkum I honestly feel like the fourth leg was holding her back! She had nerve damage before and so she couldn’t really use it and was on metacam. Now, the weight of it is gone and she doesn’t have the pain she zooms around the house!

Some people, honestly! What's the betting they did the same to the dogs later.

@Isitisit amazing how they adapt.

Aww such sweet stories. Our overlord was one of five kittens born to a colleague's cat. I'd never been bothered about having a cat but DD who was 1 at the time loved them. The neighbourhood cats used to come round and she shout catsssss catsssss. Think it was her first word! Any way I went to work saying I'd seen a mouse and someone said talk to Chris he's giving away kittens. A few weeks later when she was 10 weeks we picked her up. She spent two days hiding under a dresser but she's living her best life now. Although this minion keeps threatening to get a kitten 🐱

Cats 1 and 2. Neighbours of my parents had kittens to give away, I had two.

Eventually only Cat 2 was left. So trip to rescue centre for a pair of kittens. Took cats 3 and 4, only 2 available

Sadly one of the kittens only lasted a year, was hit by a car.

So we had an elderly cat and a young one

Elderly cat died in lock down. Rang round rescue centres, everyone had gone animal mad, nothing doing.

Found an older rescue cat on line, lots of chats, got committed, then found out he was in Dubai.

So first met him after he arrived at Heathrow. He thanked me by getting stuck under a radiator at home and then giving me a serious bite and scratch injury on my hand.

He's been here 2 years now and I luffs him. Other cat loves him too which is great.

My overmistress was relinquished to a sanctuary because her previous people got a dog. This was after having her for 5 years! She was delivered to me in June 2020, arriving with her paperwork and a couple tins of food. Her worldly possessions. 😢 I’d organised a cat nip toy and a shallow box for her as welcome gifts. Later that night I could hear her having a little party with the nip and the box, and she’s made me smile every day since.

Everyone in the family wanted a cat - except for dh. I'd been keeping half an eye on the CPL website for ages, but all suitable cats would be snapped up before I had a chance to work on dh. I know him well, and I know he could be a cat person if he gave himself the chance, but the first cat he had would have to be an unchallenging one. Which of course are the ones rehomed easily.

Over one of the lockdowns I spotted a middle aged white cat on the website. No apparent issues, so I thought he'd also go quickly. I had a long phone chat with the fosterer and just knew he was right for us. She said she'd give us first refusal for a few days.

Dh agreed, very reluctantly. The cat would be my responsibility. He would not have anything to do with feeding it or dealing with its litter tray etc. Dc - various degrees of enthusiasm, all the way from Yes! to being fully with dh. (Lots of neurodiversity here, so this sudden change without any warning over-rode their desire for a pet.)

MrCat arrived within days, obese, and covered with poo from the trauma of his car journey. (He still doesn't travel well and poos himself every time he travels.)

Within 2 weeks everyone had lost their hearts to him. Dh was calling the cat "darling" more often than he calls me "darling"! He has gone from complaining about the expense when I buy branded cat food instead of shop's-own, to buying premium cat food. He refuses to move if the cat is comfortable on or next to him.

Dh still claims he is not a cat person, he just loves this one cat. I'm not so sure 😁

I have a big ginger Tom cat, he’s 12/13 years old now.

I went to collect my step dc one day from Dh’s ex wife, got invited in and they had a ginger kitten, he got on my lap and then became mine, dh wasn’t to pleased when I brought him home. Dh is now ex dh (not due to the cat) and I still have my big ginger boy who takes up half my bed at night.

Ahh yes they are fickle little creatures with their affection .
Our boy loves the bones of Dd and goes into a dribbly trance when sShe strokes him. He likes to walk right round her. But attacks her feet.
Female sits beside DH when he WFH. Pesters when she wants attention. Photo bombs zoom meetings

I said to DH what would happen if MaleCat and. I were locked in a room. Would he talk to me? DH said Male Cat would chew his way out 😏

My old boy went to sleep and I knew I wanted another black male cat
The woman who fostered my old boy now has her own charity and on contacting her, a black male cat had come into rescue on the day my old boy went
I visited, he mashed his head into me, drooled everywhere and I asked when I could take him home. They didn't even want to home check me, just told me he was mine when I wanted
He never even made it to the rescue website and he's perfect

Fatty cat came from Cats Protection. She was born there, got adopted, then came back 3 years later when her owner went to prison 🙁

Scruffy cat was the product of a kitten bought for a friend's daughter. The kitten escaped on the day she arrived and didn't show up until months later when they found her in their barn with a litter. I didn't take much convincing to have one of the kittens.

Awwww he has little tufted ears like our boy has

I forgot photos.

I have 3 kitty overlords.

George was sold by a woman who claimed he was 8 weeks (I was not the one to view, my ex was and believed her). He was not. He was 4 weeks. So I took in this tiny scrap of a kitten, that needed a mummy and he adopted my oldest son. They've been inseparable ever since. They're best friends. He knows when DS1 is due home from school and will wait by the window for him.

A couple of years later Anakin was given to us at 12 weeks by someone who just wanted rid of him. He came to.us riddled with fleas and worms. He's my baby. We snuggle and have headbutts every night.

A couple of years after that I rescued panther Lily. He was 8 months old and already blind in his right eye. He's recently had the blind eye removed as it was causing him nothing but problems

George is the ginger and white, anakin is tuxedo, and Panther Lily is the black cat. They're all indoor cats and are as pampered as can be. They're currently all snoozing in a line in the windowbsoaking up the October sun.

DH is "not a cat person". I'm the sort that feels a house is not a home without a cat. We compromised on a cat. I brought home 2
They were a non-related pair whose owner had gone into a women's refuge. Sadly daft cat met his end on the road a couple of years later but smart cat is now 12! DH loves him really but still won't admit it.

Previously:
First cat: no idea but I suspect rescue centre. I was too little at the time.
Second cat: just walked in one day and stayed.
Third/fourth cat: kittens bought for hardly anything at little pet shop
Fifth: rescue cat
Sixth: rescue cat
Seventh: rescue cat
Eighth: overlapped seventh, friend who had a litter
Ninth and tenth (current): kittens from a hobby breeder

Our cat came from a school gate mum, they weren't v responsible cat owners and one of their cats had a litter. I ended up taking the one kitten nobody else wanted as a surprise for my then 7yo dd.

We've been v lucky with her, she's 9yo now (the cat not dd!) and she's v a easy going and gentle soul. When dd was younger she was like a therapy cat for her and seemed to instinctively know if she was anxious or upset and would sit with her.

My first belonged to an old lady who had a fall and went into hospital but wasn't well enough to go home as she had dementia. Some friends were going into the house to take care of her, but after several months of this were getting pretty desperate to re-home her. I had a mouse problem, so I took her on. She was skittish at first but we got on in the end. She was like living with an old lady. Her original owner suddenly had a moment just before she be died and remembered she'd had a cat and was afraid for her. We were able to reassure her that the cat was safe and VERY loved.

My current two came from Celia Hammond. As it was the end of lockdown, I chose them from a photo. Minouche had been dumped in a sealed cardboard box with another cat while Kishmish was found as a kitten crying for food. Minouche was the Cat In Charge of a group of kittens and took Kishmish under her wing.

They have their issues - Kishmish will eat anything and I have had to pull string out of her mouth. Minouche doesn't like sticks, I think she has been hit. But they both love a bit of ham. Kishmish will take scritches any time. Minouche comes for a cuddle at about 10pm.

I luffs them.

🤣🤣 That's how it went in our house too. DH claims not to be a cat person and I feel like a house is incomplete without a cat. We've had 5 so far over our 30yr relationship and he's softer than I am where they're concerned.

Mine came from Wisconsin at the grand old age of approximately 8 weeks in a cardboard box with a girl DD2 was in history class with. She had adopted this girl's family when they were on vacation and they decided they could neither leave her behind nor keep her, so they contacted everyone they knew who might be interested in her as they drove home, with Dcat sitting on the dashboard, swiping at oncoming traffic with her tiny little paws.