“Although this is my second cat, it’s the first time I’ve adopted a senior,” Tonya says. “And while his original name was Joe, I now call him Joe Black.

“I chose him because at the shelter he was friendly and not at all shy. His quirky little tail, due to an injury earlier in his life, was constantly wagging in obvious friendliness. He ‘spoke’ to me with little meows, and hearing them, I knew that he would be coming home with me.

“We had lost our senior cat earlier that month, and my husband was desperate to get a cat back in the house,” Raina says. “We had originally come to the shelter to meet a pair of bonded kittens, but I wanted my husband to meet Zeppy, because I just had a feeling. Although Zeppelin was clearly overwhelmed, he came over to us, climbed onto my husband’s shoulder and refused to get off! Then and there, he became our toothless wonder, and to this day, my husband remains his best friend.  

“When I adopted this sweet, saucy kitty, I renamed her Princess Honeycomb,” says Caleigh.

“My best friend, Caitlin, volunteers at Furry Friends. After losing my beloved one-year-old cat Loki, my seven-year-old cat Moon needed a sibling. Caitlin sent me a photo and we both knew instantly that she was the one. Her adjustment to living here was immediate. In fact, she walked around as if she owned the place!een at the shelter for six months.

“We adopted Zinnia, who was formerly called Clover, because we wanted an affectionate cat,” says Kelly. “At the time she was still in her affectionate phase.

“Newton is the latest kitty to enter my life,” says Michelle. “I was drawn to his picture on the Furry Friends website and felt badly that he had been at the shelter for six months.

“We had an outdoor cat named Callie who passed away a few years ago,” Anna says. “Lucky, whose original name was Sully, is our first indoor kitty.

“Imagine this! My mom rescued a poor wet kitten from the middle of a busy road. We gave him to a friend who fosters with Furry Friends to care for, and when he was ready, we adopted him. Not only was he a very ‘lucky’ kitty to have been rescued, we’re very ‘lucky’ to have him in our lives.

“Freyja, formerly Bubbles, is my partner’s and my second kitty,” says Kestrel.

“When I saw Freyja’s photos on the Furry Friends website and read about her personality, I felt in my gut that she was the kitty for us! We did an in-person meeting at the shelter to see if she liked us. It took her a few minutes to become accustomed to having us in the room, but after that, she was giving us head boops and cuddles. It was instant love!

“We wanted a female Calico breed,” Kalil says. “We also fell in love with Spice’s adorable face and soft fur.

“We adopted her about a month before moving from our apartment into a house, and Spice, along with our two other cats, Leo and Pickles, had to gradually adjust to living in our – and their -- new home.

“We have two older cats from other non-profits in the area: Winston from the Oregon Humane Society (the oldest) and Ellie from Meow Village,” explains Cristin. “And although his name was originally Garfield, after trying out various names, we settled happily on Marlow.

“Lucy’s original name was Delorean,” says Megan. “We changed it to Lucille but we call her Lucy. Sometimes we call her ‘Scoops’ because she’s so easy to scoop up in your arms. And ‘Rumble Duchess’ because she has a mighty purr.

“My husband and I have had cats our whole lives, but when we moved cross-country to Vancouver, we took a break from pets due to the trouble we had finding housing,” Clarissa explains.

“Jelli came into my life last October after I’d lost both my cat and my dog that summer,” Deborah says. “I wanted an older cat that was a little harder to adopt. A friend of mine who volunteers at Furry Friends suggested Caspian as he was known then. My decision to adopt him took minutes because he immediately lay down on my foot and looked at me with those beautiful green eyes, and I couldn’t imagine not coming home with him. There was one small problem: he was way too big for my carrier!

“Although this is our third cat, I had cats growing up,” explains Dylan. “His name at the shelter was Jaspurr, but we named him Mochi since he’s soft and fluffy, and because we have a personal connection to Japan.

“We were looking for ‘the right match’ for our cat Finley (formerly Plum whom we adopted from Furry Friends four years ago), who became very lonely after the passing of our other cat last April,” explains Krista. “The description of Leo said that he followed the older cats around, so we thought that this little guy would make friends with our Finley.

“When we adopted Luci, her original name was Mouse,” says Rena. “And this name suits her perfectly,

“We chose her because she was so sweet and so pliable. She liked to play, sit on my lap and let me rub her any way I wanted, including rubbing her belly! Her adjustment to our home was gradual. It took 2.5 months to fully integrate Luci into the life of our resident kitty, but now they get along wonderfully together, are excellent playmates, and are truly the best of friends.

“Previously called Bruno, Henry was part of a litter of black kittens who weighed 11 ounces when they were found and bottle fed,” Megan explains. “Although I’ve wanted a black cat for a very long time, I’ve never owned one. My 15-year-old kitty Lena (formerly Ivana) I adopted from Furry Friends is tired now and I wanted a playmate for 3-year-old Stanley (formerly Mouse) I also adopted from Furry Friends. I could tell he was bored, and adopting Henry was the best decision I ever made.

“My wife Danielle and I have cared for a lot of cats over the years, mainly strays we’ve rescued from our neighborhood, but this is the first time we’ve officially adopted one,” explains Dan. “Although her name was originally Jovi, we started calling her Josie, after my great grandmother. A week after adopting her, we gave her the name Thora because she made it through her first thunderstorm without the slightest fuss. Such a brave little kitten! Also, her big brother’s name is Loki, so it seemed fitting.

“Cheese and Rice are my second and third cats,” says Bethany. “I adopted them with the names Cheese and Ricearoni, but Ricearoni commonly gets shortened to Rice.

“I felt that my late cat of 14 years, Trouble, was always a bit of a loner, so this time I wanted a bonded pair who could play with each other and keep each other occupied whenever I was out of the house. When I met them at Furry Friends, I was handed Rice first. She immediately hugged me and nuzzled into me and Cheese did the same. I saw how sweet and playful they were, and I just had to have them!

“‘Tucker Romeo’ aka Tucker, whose original name was Romeo, is the FOURTH fabulous feline my husband Dick and I have adopted from Furry Friends,” says Brenda.

“I’ve just had one cat before, and that was many years ago,” says Lance. “Baby is the name she had when I adopted her. It seemed like a good idea to keep her name the same. For one thing, when I post a picture of her on the Furry Friends Volunteer Facebook page’s comments thread, it should help other volunteers who knew her to remember her.