Did you get your cat second-hand?

Question

Where from, and what was their story? Share!

My two came from Battersea dogs and cats home, they were just under a year old I think. The tale was that they had been dumped on a doorstep and the people who lived in the house had taken them in, but got tired of looking after them. However I'm sceptical about this. Whoever had handed them in would have got them as kittens around Christmas, they hadn't been neutered, so I suspected they simply realised the cats were going to cost a lot of money to look after.

They must have been real Doh! people. The big cat is the nicest cat I have ever known in my life, a real personality with a sense of humour who deliberately winds me up waits till I come after him, then dashes out into the garden. I'd never seen a cat laugh at a human before I had him. He also kisses me, a rare privilege. The little one is a sweetie too, a real cuddler though a bit timid, and an expert mouser.

Answer 1

got my one kitten named Baby from a construction site where my dad found him all covered in dirt. he didnt even have his eyes open and couldn't walk, he fed him milk in a syringe for weeks and evenually, one year later, hes strong, very happy, and still the cutest kitty i've ever seen :P

Answer 2

There is no such thing as a free kitty.  Thank goodness you're responsible.

My oldest cat used to belong to my college roommates.  They grabbed him up from the outdoors but the one came up with that plan got a dog and moved out, leaving him behind and primarily in the care of the most responsible one. But she got a kitten basically dumped on her because it was abandoned then a dog showed up abandoned too.  I moved in just before the dog showed up. The poor dog was apparently abused and it took a lot of work for us to just get him to be friendly - he let us pet him but would flinch like he thought we would hit him.  Poor guy.  The dog trusted her the most and I was getting closer with the cat.  So I asked if I could keep him.  She was thrilled.  She knew she'd be in apartments for awhile after graduation and 2 cats and a dog would be tough, especially since my cat terrorized the dog.

So ever since 2001 he's been my kitty. It was just the two of us for years.  Now it's him, me, my bf, and 5 other kitties. He's completely wonderful and has helped me through so much.

Of the other kitties - 1 was adopted from a foster organization, 1 was born here to a stray who came in, and 3 were strays.  I'm quite sure one of the strays was someone's pet once.  When we got her she was pregnant and when we brought her inside she camped out next to the fridge even before we opened it.  Whoever her old owners were, they didn't bother to get her spayed.  The vet estimated her to be about 4 years old so I guess she's had quite a few litters and we believe most of them died.  She seems a bit mentally unbalanced from the whole mess but she's a total sweetheart.  One stray is her one surviving kitten who grew up outside and had to be captured, but he's adjusted well. And the kitten who was born here is hers, we had to give away the other three to friends and family.  Poor girl. She's also adopted the tiny one we found, she spoils him rotten. She's a great mother (of course she's spayed now) and an adorable lap cat. It makes me so angry that someone didn't treat her right.  

Answer 3

Oh a pleasure to meet a true cat lover!! 6 years ago I got my 2 sister kitties as rescues, they were found under a house in the Valley at a very young age, I got them at 8 weeks and were already fixed. I have an 11 year old diabetic kitty has been since I got the kittens 6 years ago... she gets 2 shots a day I have to check her blood sugar before the shots now since she had a food change, wanted to go with the higher protein better for kitties I have read.. GOOD LUCK! HAPPY YOU KEPT THEM!

Answer 4

I got two one-year old male persian cats from Cats Protection.  They were third hand.  There was the larger one Murray who is cream and the smaller one Wesley who is blue.  They were third-hand.  Not sure why they went into Cats Protection the first time but the family they were re-homed to only kept them for six-months.  They said they never used the litter tray and had ruined the carpets and one bed need re-placing.  Cats Protection didn't think they could re-home them with these issues and were going to send them to a persian recue centre but I said I had always wanted two persians and would train them (I have no carpet downstairs so could contain the problem).  They came in with bad eyes and ear-mites that the owners hadn't noticed and had no problems using the litter tray!  They have behaved ever so well since they moved in with this.  Cats Protection think the last owners must have let the litter tray get too dirty to be used and the cats must have been scared to go on the bed; they decided this as how could the family not have noticed the state of their eyes and ears especially when they are supposed to be groomed daily.  A classic example that it is rarely the animal's fault they are in that kind of situation; always the humans.  

Answer 5

Two of my cats are second-hand, I took them from shelter, so their stories  remain unknown.

Other Siamese:I took her from mother of her ex-owner. She(ex-owner)moved to other city, in rented apartment where could not keep a cat.Her mother posted advertising in newspaper about giving away cat.She was very picky and didn't give a cat for people who were going to keep her partially outside.Finally, after long phone conversations, my cat was driven to me like princess.Next week this woman was calling me in case I decide to return cat.After ensuring that everything is OK, she calmed down. So I have my Simona    

Answer 6

My first official cat I got from someone at work.  I had just moved into my first apartment and really wanted a cat.  There was an ad at work for a cat who loves to be held like a baby.  I went into her office and said "I'll take her!"  She was startled and asked if I wanted to know anything more.  "Nope.  Just bring her to me!"

She was 4 years old and lived to be 20.  Martha was quite a character and although she started life with just me, she turned into a real daddy's girl - once I got her a daddy.  LOL

My current two came from the Humane Society.  They are characters in their own right but nothing like Martha was.  They're either too independent or too shy to want to be held like babies.

I really miss that!

The moral of the story - don't select your cat based on looks.  Go by personality.

Answer 7

one was born here. didnt get mom fixed in time.

the other was moved from home to home, many times. only a year old when my then girlfriends son took her in. now, 15 years later, he left and the cat stayed.

both are mousers, do a good job of keeping the mice out, but i wish the other one wouldnt drag dead bunnies in through the cat door.

Answer 8

I got Katie from a friend of mine who lived in my apartment building - he'd been having financial issues for a long time, so he wound up having to move out (it wasn't so much an eviction as a mutual agreement with our landlords).  Trouble was, he had two cats - Layla and Katie - and he could only take one of them.  Layla was extremely attached to him, so he asked me if I'd be willing to take care of Katie.  As it happened, my now-fiance and I had been thinking about getting a cat, so we agreed - our friend gave us everything we would need for her (litterbox, food and water dishes, carrier).

We quickly figured out poor Katie was in dire need of TLC.  When we let her out of the carrier, she dashed to the kitchen and hunkered down in a corner away from everyone.  I was the first one to try petting her, and she happily (if tentatively) accepted.  Over the next couple weeks, though, we saw just how badly her previous lifestyle had affected her.  Our friend had frequently had drinking parties in his apartment, with LOTS of people there 24/7.  Thus, Katie would run and hide (usually in the cabinet under our bathroom sink) at any sounds related to visitors - loud vehicles pulling into the parking lot, the doorbell ringing, knocking on the door, or even the front doors opening.  She's MUCH better now (we've had her for close to a year) and while she still doesn't like loud noises or raised voices, she is nowhere near as much of a scaredy-cat as she was before.  Plus, she is VERY attached to me now, as well as a couple of our friends.  What a turnaround! :)