“I had several mostly outdoor kitties growing up in a rural area, and didn’t have any until 2020,” Samantha says. “Now I have seven ... whoops!

“I foster failed two Furry Friends’ brothers, Critter (formerly Ditto) and Creature (formerly Domino). Fortunately, they both got along well with my other cats, especially my male kitties, and nowadays they all play happily together.

“We had recently lost our senior kitty to cancer, had a lot of love left to give, and another young cat at home named Maizie who still needed a companion,” Samantha says.

“After viewing the various photos on the Furry Friends website, we attended one of their adoption events at PetSmart on Valentine’s Day this year. How fitting was that?

“Being a cat person, I’ve always had cats in the past,” says Dawn.
“After seeing Lil Bit’s photo on the Furry Friends website, I inquired about her and was told that she was at PetSmart. So, of course, I went there to meet her. The reason I chose her was because she kept trying to leave with me! We just connected.

“When Bob and I picked up our kitties from Furry Friends, none of them had been named yet, says Kim. “Having come from two different feral colonies, they couldn’t have been more different, and yet they love each other as if they were biological brothers, and we love them all equally. We gave them Hawaiian names: Mali’e (calm/peaceful), Kolohe (rascal) and Kanani (precious one).

“We had a tabby named Margo whom we adopted from a Humane Society in Michigan and who was with us for over 10 years before passing from cancer/diabetes,” says Nataliia.

“Since we’re often away for work and school, we were looking for a pair of bonded kittens to make certain they were never lonely. I fortunately found just such a pair on the Furry Friends website. I fell in love with the pictures of Jovi and her much adored, bonded brother, who was then called Buddy.

“I have had cats my whole life,” Stefan says. “My wife and I read the profiles of various cats on the Furry Friends website and decided to attend one of their adoption events at PetSmart.

“We’ve always had cats in the past and currently have two,” says Nicole. “While one is a very loving fluffy Tuxedo named Hamilton, our other one is a former barn cat and spends a good deal of time outdoors.

“After viewing numerous kitties on the Furry Friends’ website, we attended an adoption event at PetSmart, where our daughter fell in love with a kitten named Gimlet. She was fairly shy, and because her sister had just been adopted that morning, she was left all alone.

“I have had cats ever since I was born!” Heather says.

“We had recently lost one of our two senior cats and wanted some new, younger friends for our other senior cat and our five-year-old daughter. After visiting the Furry Friends’ website, we attended an adoption event at PetSmart and came across a pair of bonded kitten sisters called Strawberry Shortcake and Blackberry Tart.

“I have been fostering with Furry Friends for the past year,” Michelle says. “When I worked at the Humane Society, I fostered hospice seniors. To say it was my thing is putting it mildly.

“Brittni and I have both had several cats in the past,” says Nolan. “We had our last one for 16 years before we sadly said goodbye last fall. After three months of mourning, we felt ready to welcome a new kitty into our home.

“Being cat lovers, my wife and I have always had cats,” says Mike. “After viewing the profiles of various kitties on the Furry Friends’ website, we attended an adoption event at PetSmart to meet some of them.

“I have had several cats in the past,” says Stan. “The only ones who lived very long were strictly indoors, either by my choice or theirs. My adopted cat’s original name was Tommy, but I changed it to Boris since it seemed more fitting (he’s a bruiser, jet black with bright yellow eyes -- almost panther-like). My younger sister Annie Kiely, who volunteers at Furry Friends, told me about him, and when I saw him at the shelter, I knew that he was the right cat for me: alert, friendly, confident and easygoing.

“I adopted Ziggy to hopefully bond with my other cat, a Siamese named Bella, whom I unfortunately and abruptly lost to kidney disease in October 2025,” Linda says. “Ziggy seemed lost, so I decided it was time for a new kitten.

“I’ve had cats in the past and my last cat, Ramone, died in October, 2025,” Victoria says. “He was sick for a long time with diabetes and failing organs. A feral tabby rescue on Maui, and a wonderful cat, he moved back with us to the mainland in 2021. He first helped my husband in his fight against cancer and then became my comfort companion when my husband passed away. It was very hard to lose him.

“Having always had cats in the past, I knew it was time to welcome another one into my home,” says Jenny. “I was looking for a black cat with a fluffy tail, and when I saw then named Coolio on the Furry Friends website, he seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

“I drove to Vancouver from Portland to meet him during Furry Friends’ adoption event at PetSmart. He came right up to me and started rubbing against my hand, and it was love at first sight. Scallywag seemed right at home pretty much immediately. He was and still is a very curious boy, so once he had a look around, he decided he was happy with his new home.

“While I came from a dog family, Nat came from a cat family,” Julianna says.

“Together we had an elderly cat, Charles, a former street cat, before deciding that he would do well with a friend. I had always wanted a black cat growing up, and when I found Lucretia on the Furry Friends website, I was enamored by how sweet and shy she looked in her photo. I especially loved her eyes and truly felt that she was ‘my’ cat. We met her at her foster home and promptly adopted her.

“We currently have three small dogs and one sassy cat named Misty, who’s three,” says Nicole.

“Mike volunteers at Furry Friends and we’ve fostered several cats,” says Jim. “The last two, however, never went back. Both cats had entropion correction surgery six months apart and we took care of them afterward, adopted them and named them Orion and Cassiopeia.

“In mid-October, I said goodbye to my 14.5-year-old cat, Dooly,” says Miranda. “She was an extremely clingy all black beauty.

“I used to be a dog person … until two orange cats emotionally manipulated me into switching teams,” laughs Renee.