“After losing my 14-year-old brother and sister cats within two months of each other, I was hesitant to adopt because I’m a senior and didn’t want an active kitten. Then, on the Furry Friends website, I saw photos of Bailey, a 6-year-old female tuxedo.

“Frankie, formerly Anubis, is the first cat of my own although I’ve lived with cats my whole life,” Ahnna says. “I went to the shelter looking for a black cat, and when one of your volunteers and my close friend Jazmynn placed him in my arms, he purred and seemed safe and content there. Seeing him so relaxed that way made him the one for me!

“Gideon (formerly Scarlett) and Piranesi (formerly Sammy) are my eighth and ninth kitties,” Freya says. “I’ve been fortunate in that most of my cats have lived long lives. And since they each preferred being the only cat in my home, I haven’t had that many.

“Our last kitty ran away in December of 2021,” explains Farrah. “We are still heartbroken, but being kittyless was pure agony.
“We were originally looking at another cat, but we weren’t her humans. Then they showed us Cleopatra and it was instant love! And although we kept her original name, we call her Cleo most of the time. Her adjustment to our home was so very fast. It only took about four days for her to be completely adjusted because we also have a dog. Other than that, she’s the Queen and we’re her loyal staff. I still can’t believe she was returned for not being able to adjust to someone else’s home. She acts as if she’s lived here all of her life!

“We recently adopted Cleo from Furry Friends,” says Bethany. “We’ve had pets before, a Beagle named Baxter and a cat named Lucky, both of whom have since passed. After that, we went without a pet for many years — until our daughter asked us to cat sit for her and we fell in love with her cat! Of course we had to give her cat back, but we sure missed having him around.

“After the death of our 17-year-old cat in January, we looked at the Furry Friends’ adoption website,” explains Alison.
“Darrell and I were immediately attracted to the photos of Ghost, a young Russian Blue, but he was bonded to an orange tabby kitten named Cheese. We talked it through and decided we could easily expand from a one-cat household to a two-cat household.

“I adopted Lucifee from Furry Friends in October 2021,” Madison says, “and although I haven’t technically changed her name, I honestly call her Lucy for short.

“Having grown up with cats, this isn’t my first experience living with them, but Lucy is the first one of my own. In looking for a companion pet, I knew that I wanted one who was friendly and snuggly. And when I read that Lucy really liked people, I felt that I should meet her. I visited her at the shelter and she was immediately very friendly and wanted pets. She also looked so cute and had such an adorable demeanor that I promptly adopted her.

“Several months after making herself happily at home in my home, I decided to move to another location, and Lucy’s had to re-adjust both to a new environment and to the presence of other cats. They’re more than welcoming and only want to be friends with her but she’s not yet that friendly towards them. Given her naturally outgoing personality, though, and a little more time, I’m sure she’ll feel the same way they do.

“Lucy is the best companion pet. I always look forward to spending time with her. We sit on the couch and she comes and cuddles up with me. When I’m working at home she comes and sits on a stool next to my desk and chills with me. I’m very happy to have her as a pet, and my family and friends love her too.

“Lucy likes to play with a toy on a string and also likes the laser pointer and her scratching stations. But most of all she likes exploring our new home. She was used to carpeting in our previous place and now, with hardwood floors, she slips and slides about in the cutest way. She also loves to flop, and since she’s heavy, she makes a ‘thudding’ sound. When she wants to rub against you, it’s more ‘ramming’ than rubbing, and when she tries to scratch herself, she often ends up scratching the air. In short, my Lucy is as funny as she is endearing.

“I’m very grateful to Furry Friends for taking Lucy in and for allowing me to adopt her. Thank you!”

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA. She lives with her adopted Maltese named Mini.

“Bruce, boasting a Batman cape as befits a cat with his name, is the first kitty I’ve had on my own,” says Mike. “And Bruce is and always will be his name!
“As someone living alone, and needing an indoor kitty, the fact that Bruce was FIV+ made him an ideal fit. When I met him, it was love at first sight. His adjustment to living with me was almost immediate. It only took him about 30 minutes to explore his new environment and start making himself at home.

“These are the first cats we’ve adopted since having cats as kids,” Lori says. “And although we’d come up with some new names, we decided to keep the names Salem and Sabrina.

“I’ve had cats my whole life,” Alexis says, “and as soon as I got my first solo apartment I knew I wanted to adopt a cat. Although she was called Dove when I adopted her, I changed her name to Boo and it suits her personality purr-fectly. I chose her because she needed to be an only pet in a quiet home and I knew I could provide that environment for her.

“I adopted Maizie first,” explains Jaimie, “and when she came home to meet the rest of the family, she sat and growled at everyone. Our resident cats wanted to sniff her, of course, and follow after her, and amazingly, a few hours later, I found Maizie sitting in the middle of the living room with the other cats around her as if she were holding a meeting! After that, they all got along fine.

“I adopted Mouse now called Stanley Hudson from ‘The Office’ on January 24th, 2022. I named him that because he had a grumpy looking face. Lol!

“He is the best decision I ever made. I lost my ginger baby Duke of 16 years on December 5th, 2021. The pain, honestly, was unbearable, and my remaining cat Lena, also adopted from Furry Friends, was devastated. Although I knew it was too soon to adopt another cat, hearing Lena cry and cry and call for him was breaking my heart. They were bonded.

“My boyfriend and I had talked about getting a kitten for a long time,” says Ashley. “I’ve always been a dog person and had never really lived around a cat. I wanted a chill cat, one who was independent, so we ultimately decided to go with an adult.

“This is the first pet my husband and I have had together,” explains Addie. “Originally, his name was Keenan, but we decided to change it because, strangely enough, my sister once had a beloved cat named Keenan and we thought it would be too confusing. Our kitty is now known as Mustache (nickname Moose). He has cute little black markings above his mouth that reminded us of a gentlemanly mustache, so we went with it.

“These are my second and third kitties of my very own,” Emily explains. “Bailey, my cat of 17 years, a Calico and the best cat ever, passed away in April 2021. And because the house was too empty, we adopted Oliver and Isabelle in August of 2021.

“I gravitated toward Cheshire because he was one of the longest residents at the shelter and because he matched my lifestyle. I knew I would be away much of the day for school and eventually for work, and the fact that he’s content to spend most of his time simply watching the birds from my window is ideal. Also, when I first met him, I apparently stayed with him longer than other visitors did, allowing him to work up the courage to play with me.

“I’m a cat lover and have had cats ever since I was a young girl,” Marion says. “I adopted Surri after losing my cat Precious two months before, and because I’m an older woman living alone, I looked at six different cats at Furry Friends who were between the ages of 10 and 11.
“I chose her because she was beautiful, with these marvelous marbled markings, and because she seemed very affectionate. I didn’t change her name since Surri seemed to suit her so well.
“It wasn’t evident in the shelter that she was Miss Personality Plus with plenty of energy! She’s 11 years old but she still thinks she’s a kitten and LOVES to play. She also loves classical music, especially Beethoven. We’ve bonded utterly and completely and she follows me into whichever room I happen to be in. She needs plenty of attention and enjoys being petted, makes the most wonderful companion, and is relatively friendly with visiting guests.
“She also has a sense of humor: she knows the best way to get my attention is by sitting or lying down in the middle of my computer keyboard at the most inconvenient times!”
______________________
Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA. She lives with her adopted Maltese named Mini.

“Although she was originally called Sweetheart when we adopted her, we chose to re-name her Bonnie instead,” Erica Lee explains.

“While she entered our home as an extremely shy and scared kitty, she opened up quickly and blossomed. We have two other cats and two small children, and not only did Bonnie promptly begin interacting with the cats, she instantly fell in love with our children.

“I’ve had cats as pets for close to forty years,” Claire says. “My new cat, Cow-Cow, is number four. My last cat, Mink, died in December of 2020, at the ripe old age of nineteen. I was heartbroken at her passing and wasn’t sure I would ever get another one. But ten months later, I started looking at shelter websites for a new kitty, although not whole-heartedly.

“Valkyrie is my third kitty,” says Jerry. “However, my wife Faith has had cats all her adult life and throughout her youth at her family’s farm. And although we kept her original name, we lovingly refer to her as our gal Val.

“My family always had critters trotting around,” admits Jazz (Jacqueline). “As an introvert, I’ve naturally gravitated towards cats as companions, but I’m also an especially enthusiastic kitty cuddler. And so, when I excitedly broached the subject of adopting one, my partner Mike agreed that we were ready to provide a kitty with a fur-ever home.

“When we added Cocomelon to our family, he was our third kitty,” says Delaney. “At our two-year-old daughter’s insistence, we changed his name from Argo to Cocomelon.

“Dazzler (formerly Jellybean) and Ela (formerly Jupiter) came into a home that already had three cats,” says Sharyn. “Their names are Addie, Barlow and Cortana, hence, A B C … D and E! Dazzler is named after the comic book hero Disco Dazzler and Ela is named after a video game character in Tom Clancy’s ‘Rainbow Six.’

As volunteers for Furry Friends for seven years, Tanika and Mike have been fosters for three of them. And so, several months after their beloved Torti unexpectedly passed, they were ready to adopt not one kitty but siblings this time.