Conference misery::feline

    Michelle, I'm glad you asked this.  I only have three and often times
    want another after reading some notes in here.  Then I go home and the
    three mogs will be hanging around all close by and I think "this place
    is infested".  
    
    Actually, some people in here are in competition for the award given
    out at the end of the year to the person who rescues the most cats. 
    Oh, there isn't such an award?  Perhaps there should be one!  
    
    We should give Sandy Merritt the honors to arrange for one.  :^)

    Sandy definitely deserves such an award.  She has what... 10 or 11 or
    13 cats, and I'm sure she's rescued many more than that!
    
    Michelle

	As a likely winner of the "most cats adopted through the FELINE 
	notesfile" award, here's my answer:

	I found that reading a description of the cat and/or seeing a
	photo posted is what motivates me to add another cat; I guess I'm 
	just a sucker for a furface.  I don't really just look around one 
	day and say, "hmmmm, think I'll drop by the Pat Brody Shelter for 
	Cats and see if they have someone I'd like to adopt".  I've even
	been there about five or six times and only adopted two!  But I
	had already read about one of the two in FELINE (thanks to Sandy),
	it wasn't a spur of the moment thing [for the other one, we had
	had a cat die and really needed a 'replacement' so we went to the
	shelter looking for a certain personality type].  Something in
	the description just says "this cat needs me" or "this cat would
	love our house" or "oh good, a big affectionate male, just what
	I like in cats".  Sometimes it is mostly sympathy for their plight,
	sometimes they just sound NEAT; sometimes it's been a while since
	we added somebody new and I've decided my NEXT cat has to be a
	certain color and then there he is.

	I've never, knock wood, had a cat dropped off at our barn/house/
	doorstep -- FELINE is responsible for 9 of our current 13.  I'd
	also have to say that at this point we have just about reached
	saturation, I'm finding it easy to say "no more, the kids just
	don't want any new brothers or sisters".  Mine are indoor only
	and 13 (plus 4 dogs) take up the available space!

	Looking forward to hearing other peoples' views, I'm sure we all 
	have different explanations -- and maybe some of the same.


	Jan  who_wants_llamas_next_but_they_are_$$$$$$$

    I went looking for Bailey at Miller's Pet Adoption Center.  From then 
    on, the rest of the cats found me.  Amelia came to me at a cat show.
    She was a rescue and needed a home.  Carrie showed up in my parking
    lot screaming her lungs out at 4:00am.  And, Onyx was born under the
    patio of my current apartment.  I guess I'm just a sucker for a good
    rescue.
    
    I'm afraid I shy away from our local humane society.  Each time I've
    had to go there it has something to do with an animal that has been
    killed on the road that I've transported (I can't bear to see them 
    lying there) or in one case to identify the body of my younger sister's 
    dog who had been missing for a couple of weeks.  None of these were good 
    experiences.
    
    Just today I had the pleasure of particating in a rescue that turned
    out to be an adoption.  Two women from my office were walking out by
    Mission College and found a 3-4 month old kitten playing in the
    traffic.  They grabbed him and brought him to the office and gave him
    to my friend Scot who is quickly getting a similar reputation to mine
    of being the resident cat person.  He and I went out and bought some
    food and litter for the little guy and set him up in the small
    conference room next to my desk for the afternoon.  I offered to split
    the cost of his required vet visit and leuk test with Scot who is,
    it turns out, so captivated with the little guy that he is taking him
    home.  I've also received and extremely generous donation from a 
    co-worker to reimburse Scot and I for most of what we've put into kitty
    care on this baby.  Marius is his name and he is a polydactyl, black
    and white, shorthair.
    
    I've been telling Scot that cats came in pairs and that since he only
    had 3 he was due to even out the household.  He didn't believe me.  I
    think he's a believer now.
    
    Jan

    Jan, Your comment about uneven numbers is so true.  I told my husband
    that we needed one more, a redhead, but he didn't buy it.  :^(  I'm
    still lucky to have been able to keep both Chubs and Zelda, especially
    since the initial deal was that I could get one cat as long as it was
    shorthair.  Ha, we fooled him. :^)

    Believe it or not...I have been involved in the PB shelter for almost 
    two years...and have yet to adopt a cat from the shelter.   I do help
    the shelter in some rescue missions...but mostly I have my own
    rescue mission going on in my own backyard!!  
    
    It's not that I haven't wanted to adopt...but I also feel that those
    shelter cats are much better off then the cats in my neighborhood that
    spend the winter out in the cold, barely get enough food to survive,
    and normally end up getting sick.   Those guys are my priority...
    they need my help more then the shelter kitties.
    
    The funny part is every Sat our local paper has a Pet Adoption Column
    which they sponsor a few of our Shelter Kitties.  Last Sat I opened
    the paper to find a picture of my sweetheart kitty at the shelter...
    RALPH!!  Ralph and me are very good buddies!!!  Well I immediately
    started to cry...knowing Ralph will probably be adopted soon because
    we have avery good success rate when the kitties are sponser through
    the paper.   My hubby's immediate response to the tears was...well
    go get him...what's one more!!!!  Even though I want Ralph with all
    my heart....I know I haven't completed my own rescue mission which
    means more cats will be added to the household.   I'm sure Ralph will
    find a wonderful home....but boy am I going to miss him terribly.  It
    hurts to see him go!!
    
    My current number of cats is ONLY 9...and out of the 9....6 have come
    from my own neighborhood.  My only problem is that most of them have been
    either petrified strays or ferals...so I work with them, fall in love,
    and end up keeping them so I can spoil them rotten!!    I haven't
    taken any new ones in since January (amazing huh!!) but I know I still
    have two outside that will probably use my cellar this winter....and
    that will be the start of new additions! 
    
    I know of zillions of places in our city that you can go find yourself
    a stray/feral that needs help.....it is so sad!!  So in my opinion the
    shelter kitties are the lucky ones now that they have food, shelter.
    wonderful volunteers who give them lots of love and a very good chance 
    of being adopted.
    
    Sandy   (who truly don't deserve the rescue award because I know of
             many feliners who have made many more rescue attempts.  There
             just much more quiter about it then me!!)
                      

    I went looking for my first cat, Honey, cause I wanted a Himalayan.  I
    went looking for my second cat, Chauncey, cause I wanted another
    Himalayan.  My third (and fourth cat), Meggie, found me.  They four
    kittens she had in my lap all found homes, except for Julie.  Meggie
    went to a new home and Julie was promoted to #3.  Then Robin, a feral
    kitten, found me, followed by Biff, also feral, then Mikey, also feral,
    and baby Beth, also feral.  So 2 I sought, 5 sought me....
    
    I'm convinced I have too many cats.  There's fur everywhere.  A cat on
    every surface.  Little is scattered--even with sweeping twice a day.
    But I love 'em all and they seem to think I'm OK (nah, Beth
    absolutely loves me).
    
    Mary

    Quite a few years ago, I lost two absolutely wonderful and young cats
    who were viciously killed in their own back yard by roaming dogs.  I
    took this (as I do any of my pets deaths) loss very hard and it was
    quite awhile before I decided to go to the local shelter/pound to adopt
    a kitten.  I had to make up my mind before going on what color & sex
    kitten I would adopt becaue I knew how hard it would be to leave the
    others behind knowing what would happen to them if nobody adopted them.
    I decided on a Morris type male and that was Buffy, and I still have
    this old man.
    
    My second addition was abandoned as a sickly, starving kitten behind a
    church across the street from where I lived in Nashua.  This is D.P.
    Gremlin, my very special boy (not that all my boys aren't special but
    D.P. is that kind of cat).
    
    The third to join us was Holly.  My brother had taken in her abandoned
    mom who gave birth to 5 kittens.  The 3 male kittens he had no problem
    finding good homes for but the 2 females (the only long haired in
    litter) were more difficult to place.  My brother had decided to keep
    and spay the mom cat and already had 2 other cats he took in.  He
    didn't want to take the two female kittens to the shelter so who did he
    bring both kittens to?  Right, me.  What I did was make a bargain with
    him - I'd keep one of the girls if he kept the other.  He agreed and we
    never regreted it.
    
    #4 was Thai and he and his sister were part of a litter another
    abandoned mom had that a friend of my brother took in who lived in an
    apt. complex where no pets were allowed.  She kept them until they were
    old enough to be weaned and find homes for.  She placed the mom cat
    and 2 of the 4 kittens except for Thai and his look-alike sister (look
    like Siamese but are mixed breed).  I was very fortunate to place his
    sister with a former DECie feline notes reader who fell in love with
    that kitten.  She had just lost her own 18 yr.old Siamese cat so this
    new kitten helped to fill that void.  I had Thai (& his sister) at my 
    home while I put a note in Feline.  His sister was only with me a few
    days.  Unfortunately, Thai was with me almost 2 weeks before I received
    a response of possible interest to adopt him.  By that time I had
    become too attached to this lovable and high strung kitten, and it
    seems so did D.P. Gremlin as they formed a very close bond always
    curled up and embracing eachother on the bed.
    
    By this time I had started showing Holly at age 5 in hhp classes at
    shows so I was hooked on shows.  Then I found out thru another feliner
    about some straightearred Scottish Fold kittens up for adoption.  I
    went to the person's home who had these free kittens for good homes and
    that's when I found my Jamie.  He was my second hhp prospect and did
    very well for awhile until he decided he didn't enjoy the shows any
    longer and would rather stay home with his buddies, Thai and D.P. 
    Jamie is #5.
    
    Then along came #6 - abandoned, crippled shoulder and bleeding foot at
    age 10 - Middy (Midnight).  After getting him checked out at the vet's
    before bringing him in with the rest of my family (he had already been
    neutered so I didn't have that expense), I placed "found" ads in local
    papers feeling in my heart nobody lost him but hoping anyway.  After 2
    weeks and no replies to the ad, I had little alternative but to keep
    him.  Local shelters would not keep a cat his age, let alone his
    condition, and try to adopt him out.  Besides, even though he was an
    older cat, all my others accepted him almost immediately.  Middy never
    showed any hostility towards them either and he has shown his gratitude
    10 times over for my helping him; especially when he no longer had to
    wear the "special sock bootie" to protect his foot (all mentioned in
    note I wrote about this special cat).
    
    By this time I had fallen in love with a particular breed of cat, the
    Scottish Fold, and that's when I decided to make my very first purchase
    of a show quality kitten to be shown in the Alter classes at shows. 
    After being told about a little red tabby fold I went to see him.  It
    was love at first sight and every time I look at this sweet little boy
    I am so filled with emotion it's hard to describe.  He is a constant
    joy and even the rest of my Clan seem to love him too.  Every time he
    approaches one and sits down in front of them, they'll always lick the
    top of his head or his face.  This, of course, is Dandy-Lion
    (affectionately known as Meeps) and #7.
    
    My newest addition, #8, Amber, was adopted by me from this shelter
    because I was looking for a kitten to start showing in hhp classes
    again.  I also knew that the kitten would have received the proper
    medical attention by the shelter veterinarian so I wouldn't have to
    make a quick trip to a vet beforehand, and their vet will take care of
    spaying her when the time comes for less than my present vet would
    charge.  I spent a lot of time at the shelter in the kitten room
    looking for the one I felt would be a good hhp show prospect and I
    believe I've found this in Amber.  She obviously was a perfect
    selection to add to my Clan because they accepted her and she them the
    first afternoon home.  She's a sweet, playful, clean, and smart little 
    girl and enjoys being handled and groomed.  Though my Clan accepted
    Middy as an adult I was not sure about adopting an adult cat and felt a
    kitten would be accepted much quicker.  This, I think, comes from
    knowing the personalities of my cats quite well.
    
    I just want to add that although many people may not agree with my
    reasons for adopting or buying a kitten/cat, ALL are very much loved,
    well cared for, and are happy in their multi-cat home.  When people
    have betrayed my friendship, I know this will NEVER happen with my
    cats.
    
    Pat & Clan
    
    
    
     

    Casey & B.K., my Korats, I went looking for!
    
    Pepper & Rusty *chose* me!  I was boarding at barn where
    the prego females weren't getting any food.  So, I started
    bringing cheap cans of catfood to make sure they got something.
    Momcat had a litter of 4, 2 boys, 2 girls.  The 2 girls went
    to a home together.  The 2 boys were moved into the feedroom, and
    were starving (the $$^%#@ dogs would eat the dry catfood the owner
    put out for the cats, as soon as she went into the house) right
    before my eyes!  They got to know my feet (;, and would become
    clingons, crying and begging for food.  
              I took them home-they were 5 weeks old.
    Moochie came to the door one November day.  This morris-type face
    was peering through our side door.  I opened the door, she ran about
    10 feet away. I spoke to her, she came closer.  I went and got a
    handful of dry, and put it on the porch.  She came right to me and
    the food, and started gulping down the dry food, whole! (gasp!)
    I went back in, opened a can, got more dry, and fed her.  She didn't
    know what canned food was......she does now!  That was 2 yrs ago....
    Nique is from this notesfile....she needed help, and I offered it.
    She's been here almost a year now.  She's my barncat....
    There was also Bob, a stray I was feeding, who the neighbors adopted,
    and a kitten someone dumped off, that due to circumstances, I had to
    surrender to a shelter.
    
    I guess that's 2 I sought, 6 that sought me....
    
    L-
     

    These are wonderful, heart-warming stories!!  Keep 'em coming. :^)
    
    Michelle

    
    What motivates me are incidents like today, when, while walking down
    the backroads at lunchtime, you find a tiny, mewing, bundle of fur, no
    bigger than a coffee cup, half blind in one eye, and the other eye
    completely shut (from disease), standing in the middle of the road lost
    and confused....
    
    so you pick him up and start trying to find others, or a mother, or his
    home....andd finally a woman comes out and says, "Yup, he belongs in
    the barn," and you kindly mention "but his eyes are terribly infected"
    and she says "yup it's a virus, I got drops" and then you hope she will
    at least wipe the crust out of the little guy's eyes with a damp cloth 
    (but she doesn't) and as you follow her helplessly toward barn, and
    your heart aches as you see her holding him like a sack of beans in one
    hand (that swings by her side), you wish you could just rip him away
    and run down the street.......but instead you watch her dump in in a
    dark stall and shut the door, and you smile weakly as she says, "he'll
    be fine, thanks." and you walk away.....
    
    And your friend Nancy DC and you are quite as you walk away and then
    you both feel upset, and that is when I say:
    
    	"IF I SEE HIM TOMORROW -- HE'S MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
    
    And that is why you take on another cat --- every darn time!
    
    Nancy (six and counting)

    Well...I feel a need to discuss both Dewey and Abby...who were
    not rescues from my neighborhood....but boy did they need help:  
    
    Dewey is from a junkyard in Worcester.  When my hubby found him
    he was starving, sick, dirty, scared and was being chased by many people
    who were trying to get him out of the building where my husband worked.
    The wonderful husband he is.....captured Dewey, brought him outside,
    and shared half his chicken sandwich with him.   Because Ernie had
    to go back to work...he left poor Dewey...and his heart broke all
    afternoon thinking about this little kitty.   As he walked out to
    leave that night...little Dewey was sitting right by his car. (how
    Dewey knew this was his car is beyond us) and Ernie just could not
    walk away.   When he came home...Dewey was not out of the woods yet...
    the vet said he had about 50 % chance of surviving because he was
    so sick and undernourished.   But I am happy to say....he is a big
    beautiful boy who just loves us dearly for helping him.  No brains...
    but that's alright he makes up for it with his big heart!!    
    
    Abby is my DLB9 DEC kitty!!   It was pouring one day and I noticed
    this little tiny cat sitting in the bushes crying and crying.   She
    really wouldn't go to anyone...but she just cried.   If you know
    the DLB area in Marlboro...there are no houses...but a major highway
    is behind the plant. I walked in work...but truly couldn't get any 
    work done because I was worried about her.   I begged the cafateria
    for some sliced meet...and went out to give her food.  All day this
    kitty sat in the bush near the door...crying!!  Well as I was ready
    to leave for the day...this little girl literally walked with me to 
    my car...and jumped right in!! She purred and purred!!!  I picked her
    up and placed her outside the car...and she jumped back in...outside/
    inside/outside/inside.  I sat there for over an hour...debating what
    to do!!!   She won....she came home with me that night!!  After her
    first vet visit...I was in shock when the vet told me she was prego
    with about 6 kittens. (talk about shell-shock...I thought she had
    worms)   Well little Abby lost her kittens because my guess was she
    was not taken care of during her pregnancy.  Abby is my little
    sweetheart...who is still petrified of most humans....but just loves
    me and Ernie!!  My guess is the stupid owner dumped Abby when they
    found out she was pregnant....but she is a very happy kitty now!!
    
    And little Poco is my ONLY cat that I searched for...and found her
    at my vets office
    
    Sandy
    
    

    What motivates me to adopt another cat? An excellent question, Michelle, 
    and one I've asked myself many times. Sometimes I start feeling "kitty
    hunger" and then a kitty in need comes along. A big factor is that 
    there were three cats in my original cat family, so I feel like I don't 
    have enough cats unless I have at least three. My current cat family:

    I got Misty from a "for free" ad in the newspaper. At the time (October 
    1986), I had a 1 year old cat, Fuzzy Wuzzy, and a 17-year-old Siamese, 
    Junie (the last of the original family).  Misty was a 12-year-old 
    Siamese and I adopted her as a companion for Junie. 

    Cubby was a stray kitten advertised in Feline a year later. I adopted 
    him as a companion for Fuzzy but I do remember feeling a strong
    need for another kitty.

    In August 1988, Fuzzy died of feline leukemia and I was really broken 
    up about it. About this time I started reading a note in the old Feline 
    file about Sweetheart, an adult stray in need of a home. I think grief 
    and kitty hunger motivated me to offer Tweetie a foster home, and the 
    rest is history.

    Still feeling kitty hunger (it seems to be strongest in the fall), a 
    month after Tweetie's arrival I adopted Toby, another stray kitten 
    found by a Feliner. For the first time I broke my rule about adopting 
    more than one cat in a year, but it seemed like the right thing to do. 
    Toby got along well with everyone. Junie, aged 19 1/2, died in December 
    1988, so the cat headcount was back to four.

    I succumbed to kitty hunger again late the following summer when I 
    adopted Peanut, another adult Feline stray.

    In 1991 I broke my one-cat-per-year rule big time. In February, Sunny 
    came to me as a foster cat through the shelter where I volunteer. She 
    was about 2 years old and had been feral for quite a while. Once she 
    came to trust me there was no way I could make her leave, even for a 
    good home. She has this way of looking at me with such innocence and 
    devotion... 

    Last July, Wrigley, 4 months old, scruffy looking, and with a badly 
    injured eye, appeared one morning in our driveway. He went to the shelter 
    to recuperate after being fixed up, and I planned to let him be adopted. 
    Then my husband started saying how much he liked Wrigley, so... Guess I 
    can "blame" this one on Joe. :-)

    Jumper, about the same age as Wrigley, was adopted from the shelter a 
    few weeks after Wrigley, as Wrig *had* to have a companion his age 
    (and a good move it was, too). 

    The flip side of the question is, what motivates you not to adopt a cat? 

    I actually think I'm at cat max now (8). Lap space is at a premium and 
    when all the cats get on the bed it's like having a solid, 4-inch-thick 
    fur comforter. I have mohair carpets (mo' hair than carpet  :-)  and 
    I tell visitors that those little whitish "pebbles" are the latest 
    in floor fashions (would you believe "carpet diamonds"?). We are also 
    home to "the dust kitty that ate New York City." But the main reason 
    is that I think the cats feel they have enough companionship now, and 
    it's this that keeps me from bringing home a dozen or so deserving 
    kitties from the shelter or Feline. 

    Maybe if we had a bigger house...

    Linda 

    I have never had the luxury to choose a kitty -- they always choose
    me.  As happens to so many cat people, I open the door and in they come.
    
    I have been "found" in England, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
    
    Of the U.S. kitties:  I was have twice been found outside of my back door 
    in Maynard Mass., once outside of DEC, Thompson St entrance MLO.  My 
    sister was found at the hairdressers in Maynard Mass., another found us 
    via a student at the local Voc. High School, I was found two years in a 
    row half way up a New Hampshire mountain, and I was found again on my 
    back door step in Groton Mass. (Freebie*, Fingers*, Moffet*, Tigger, 
    Miss Flea*, Charlie, Robbie*, Christopher -- circa 1976 to 1992) *RIP
    
    There has been a recent vacancy in my kitty household, (Miss Moffet, 11
    years old - congestive heart failure) I wonder what St Francis is going 
    to send me this time.  I hope he comes through again, I don't think I 
    would know HOW to CHOOSE a kitty!
                

    Well,  I have 10 currently permanently residing in our 10 room home.
    Luckily,  my hubby loves cats just as much as me, so the constant
    additions to the family weren't a problem.  However, we both decided
    to draw the line at 10.  We just recently placed 7 abandoned cats in 
    our neighborhood. Most were adopted by people through this file!
    The idea was 1 cat per room = 10 cats for 10 rooms, but techically this
    doens't really work, as cats tend to be in piles, as on the bed for 
    example, where the average is 6 at a  time.  I've tried to explain to
    hubby that this means we should have 60 cats, but it didn't fly.
      Each time I've adopted, I just get an urge.  Then I go seek a perfect
    cat that will fit in with the "family".  If I meet the cat and seems
    like he/she would be happy in a multi-cat household, then it's a go.
    I've adopted everything from kittens to 14 year old cats. One cat has
    a hip that was broken early on in life and just never repaired.  By the
    time we found him, he had learned to get along just fine, but he says
    he gets arthritis some days and has to have help jumping up on things.
    Each cat is very different, a unique and special individual with tastes
    and habits uniquely their own, just like people.  One must respect
    differences.  The same thing don't go for all.  They are excellent
    together, and I could not live without a house absolutley brimming with
    cats.  What fun would life be without hairballs, stepping on puke with
    bare feet at 2am., getting fur on your velvet jacket, and sweeping up
    litter twice a day?  The rewards are obvious....a cat on your lap 
    whenever you sit.  There's always somebody to talk to.  Always someone
    to play mouse with.  Always a soft furry warm body to place your ear
    against and listen to the purrrrrrrrrrr.
      better watch it or I'll get that urge again.
    
     Denise and the gang of 10

    Since I started this note, I suppose I can put my story in as well;
    although, it's not nearly as heroic as all of yours. :^)
    
    Come to think of it, I haven't chosen my cats either (at least not in
    my independent adult life), they've chosen me.  My big baby Blaise was
    dumped in front of GTE in Mt. View where I was working at the time.  I
    was out at lunch at the time, but my coworkers rescued him and actually
    took him to the pound before trying to convince me to adopt him.  I
    went to see him, and fell in love with a pitifully dirty white cat. 
    Everyone in the office contributed money for the adoption fee, food,
    litter and box, and neutering; one of the guys even bought catnip and
    a toy for Blaise (who is named after a French mathematician noted in
    computer history).  He was a very special affectionate cat, and it
    broke my heart to have to find a new home for him; I still miss him.
    
    My current kitties were found abandoned when they were about 4 weeks
    old.  A friend took them and their 3 brothers and sister in, and we
    desparately tried to find homes for all of them.  When I first saw the
    kittens, I immediately bonded with the black and white tuxedo kitten,
    and of course my friend said that's the one she wanted me to have all
    along.  In the end, I moved out of my sister's house and into my own
    apartment in order to adopt this little cutie and his
    panther-look-alike brother.  Their big gold rimmed green eyes, their
    antics and their cuddling convinced me that I couldn't live without
    them!
    
    Actually, the only thing preventing me from adopting another special
    kitty is the fact that I've only been a resident for one week in a
    complex that has a two pet maximum.

    Re:  .13
    
    "Mo' hair than carpet", "carpet diamonds"  I love it!  Describes my
    place to a tee.
    
    Jan

    When have you reached your limit???  Or is there a limit???
    
    My sister and her son live upstairs from me...and they currently
    have six kitties. My nephew (18)  who is a wonderful animal lover is
    always begging my sister for another cat.    The three of us visited
    the shelter and of course this got my nephew on another kick saying
    " this cat needs me...".   So we all sat down to discuss.  My sister
    asked her son "what is the perfect number of cats to have".  His
    response was "three".   The look on my sisters face was great...her
    comment "well if three is the perfect number why would you want
    more."  His comment "you past the perfect number a long time ago...
    so what's one more!!"
    
    

    well, I'm in a slightly different situation now since I'm a breeder.
    However, I've had my share of rescues too and will continue.  My
    philosophy is that breeding is a "privilege" and NOT a right. 
    Therefore, I owe a debt to the Feline world.  
    
    I've been able to make good on that debt by using skills I've learned
    as a breeder to help others - Like giving shots for folks who have
    taken in pregnant strays, or taking in a little 12 day old abandoned
    kitten (GBOF).
    
    Anyway, back to the main topic -  My "adoptees" include:
    
    Bumpy-tail - age 14 1/2 from the MSPCA.  I went looking for her
    following the death of Kathryn, my first cat.
    
    Xiao-mao - age 13 from the MSPCA - my then Significant Other, John,
    picked Mao and he made an excellent choice.  John moved out 12 years
    ago, but I still have Mao.  :^)
    
    Isis - age 8 from Hopkinton Humane - Picked by Jack who has now moved
    out and left her with me.  We always thought Isis was Jack's cat, but
    now she's Mine!!  Isis is also known as "the enforcer".  SHe's all
    black and whenever I discipline another cat, she runs over and bops
    them one on the head.
    
    Bob - age 3 - rescued from a feral colony at Weymouth commons
    apartments along with three other kitties.  The minute I looked at
    Bob I wanted him.  He was marked very similarly to Kathryn and I
    firmly believe that Kathryn had something to do with Bob finding
    his way to me.  I could never let him go.
    
    Then, of course, there are Scottish Fold kittens who grab my heart
    strings very early in their little lives and refuse to let go.  One
    of them is Putiput's CC Rider and another Putiput's Tiffany
    Purrmeadows.
    
    What motivates me to take in a cat?  I firmly believe that they are
    sent to me.  I will never turn one away.  
    
    Other Rescues:
    
    Lucky, the six million dollar cat
    Jesse James II
    Jasmine
    Christie Kay
    Dusty
    GBOF (now called Oscar)
    Melinda
    Tymothee Too
    
    I've aided in rescuing -
    
    Sophie
    Lily
    Buffy
    and others....
    
    

    My husband and I always thought we'd be a one cat household.  Our first
    cat, Christabelle, was from a shelter.  She was the littlest kitten in
    the cage and we just bonded immediately.  When she was about 18 months
    old we got a call from a friend who knew someone who was moving and
    just going to leave their 7 month kitten outside when they left.  We
    immed. took Gypsy Rose.  A couple of years later we were in Doctors Pet
    shop in Hanover and we saw a siamese kitten poke their head out of a
    carpet covered barrel on display.  The girl at the store said they had
    sold the cat 6 months ago and the buyer returned her when the markings
    didn't come out the way they should have.  This was Ling Pao.  We
    thought our family was complete at 3 cats.  We lost Christabelle (18
    years old and 18 lbs heavy) and went to the Salem Animal shelter for a
    very specific kind of cat (big, furry, and very "maine cooncatish).  We
    came home with a thin, black and white cat, Freida, who kept putting
    her paw through the cage as we walked past and hooking our clothes with
    her claws.  We lost Gypsy (17 years and as small as she was when we
    first got her) and thought we'd leave the count at two (Ling Pao and
    Freida) for awhile.  We have been feeding a big black cat, Reynaldo,
    for about a year.  We think he has a home but he likes to stop by every
    day or so for a quick snack and a hug.  This summer he appeared with a
    girlfriend.  She was longhaired and had a tail like a plume.  My
    husband saw a "lost cat" poster with her picture and we were able to
    reunite her with her owner.  Reynaldo was so cute.  He showed her where
    we put the food, what the best "hiding under" bush was in the yard, and
    escorted her around for few days she was lost.  In November we got a
    call from her owner saying she had just had a litter by Reynaldo and
    would we like one.  We said yes and started visiting Angela once a week
    to get her used to us.  Angela, her sister Abigail, and her brother
    Sampson were beautiful.  Abigail and Sampson inherited their mother's
    longhair but Angela got her mother's BIG eyes.  The owners were keeping
    Sampson and giving Abigail to a family up the street.  Then the family
    couldn't take Abigail we we asked for both.  While this was going on we
    had started feeding a stray who looked very much like a maine cooncat,
    Tawney.  One day Tawney just walked into the kitchen and has stayed
    eversince.  When the kittens came to us on December 31 Tawney immed.
    became their "nanny cat" and has been like a mother to them ever
    since.  Yesterday we brought Angela and Abigail home from the vets
    after being spayed and Tawney sniffed them all over, washed them, and
    started taking dry food out of the bowl and bringing it to them on the
    bed.  The slept against her all night.  She kept waking up and washing
    them and they would make those little "woo" sounds to her.  Now that we
    are at five cats, we feel this is the max.  Then I read about others
    who have 9 and 10.
    
    Linda
       

Geez, you folks are breaking my heart!

I WANT more cats.  But my number one (after 14+ years) doesn't
like feline competition.  She's been through several - I get
weak in the face of a cat in danger.

I was driving home a few months ago - it was dark.  While passing
a semi-forested area, I saw a small black form start to cross
the road.  I knew from the size and angle of the ears it was a 
kitten - less than 6-weeks old.  I stopped immediately - with my
car blocking both lanes of traffic in that direction (on purpose).
Kitty was moving slow and I couldn't bear to see it hit.  
After ten minutes of searching - boy, did I make *friends* with
fellow motorists - I couldn't find the kitty.

Went back the next day - with daylight - thinking a litter had
been abandonned, and still no luck.   I can't drive down that
road without thinking about that kitten.

What I find amazing in that instance, is that the cat's well-being
was more compelling than my own safety.  I stopped my car in the 
middle of a busy road, blocking traffic - jumped out - to try to 
save this critter, and didn't even realize until later the implications
of what I had done.

Maybe it's time to try again.

I have successfully placed a lovely orange tabby stray with
the downstairs neighbors.  If I only had a house!  It would be
full of cats.

In answer to the question - WHY - I think part of it must be
genetic.  I've been rescuing strays since I was 8 years old - but
because I realize my emotional, financial and spatial restrictions 
for adding to my cat household - I talk others into adopting the
wonderful beasts.

Lori

Who-will-probably-have-another-cat-soon

    Well, we originally  started out with one and three months later got
    another (Pippin and Geno).  We rent and two was totally acceptable to
    the landlady.  However, about 4 years later I helped rescue some
    newborn kittens and one just happened to be a heartbreaker (Stitch) and
    after much discussion and my begging he became my Christmas present
    that year.  The landlady pitched a fit and I know that if it weren't
    the the restriction I would definitely have one more - of course if we
    had a larger place I "might" have two more, or............
    
    well, you know how it goes
    
    Giudi 

we started out with 2 - my roommate's siamese girls, Tabs and Seltzer....
as I was busy rescuing dogs at the time, I relatively quickly acquired
a doberman, my roommate acquired a lab/malamute cross - so we had 2 dogs
and 2 cats.  Then, I started rescuing cats....well, in came Sir Nicholas
Long tail and Samson - so we had 4 cats and 2 dogs.  Then, in came my
lady Tara, a GSD/lab cross that just tugged everyone's heart - her owner
was a woman dying of AIDS (undiagnosed at the time) - and I couldn't
turn Tara away.  So there we were with 3 dogs (LARGE dogs) and 4 cats....
Well, as time went on, we lost companions to cancer and age and added
another cat or two as whim or passion dictated - and we ended up with
no dog and 4 cats.  This just didn't seem right, so we took in my next
rescue-case dog....I was really gonna buy myself a dobe, but Sadie came along
and we just couldn't resist....

We now have 2 cats who were rescued from certain death - and 2 cats chosen
because we love the breeds they represent...and one dog who was rescued from
certain death.

We have a balanced household and I am finally, with sadness, retiring from
the rescue business....I just can't do it anymore.

Why do we get more?  Because they NEED us so bad...and because we need them.

    My mother likes to tell anyone who will listen that the reason I am so
    involved with cats now is because my dad wouldn't let me have one as a
    kid.  It is all his fault.  She see's it as a kind of emotional problem
    brought on by deprivation.  So, you parents out there, be forewarned.
    Better let your kids have as many cats as they want or they may end up
    like me, with a cattery!!! ;')
    
    Jo