Lets share some pretty cat pics?

Right now, I have three cats

Which might not seem like a lot to some of you, but it really is to me. :shock:

It's like I'm just starting to understand the joy of being a cat lady. :cats-bed:

So, haha, it's cat story time. If you don't want to read the story it's OK, just skip to the cute kitty pics.
I do hope you guys can post some cat stories too.

First up will be my old cat, Ceylon, who's been with me longer than my children. 14 years old now.
He seems to love having these other cats around so much, I feel a little guilty that he endured the past few years without feline company.
I mean, don't get me wrong, he's always been an ill tempered animal.

It's not like he really plays with the other cats or anything, but his vitality and competitiveness are at a high point right now, and his appetite has improved immensely. :lol: That means a lot to me, because he had been getting a little too thin in his old age. I'm glad to see him finally putting some weight back on, even if it's just to spite the other cats. :roll:



The second would be my Keiko. The short version is that she simply approached me and asked to be mine.

The long version:
I was up to do some work at a homestead (processing chickens,) she climbed into my arms (me, a complete stranger) stuffed her little nose into my neck, and told me, on no uncertain terms, that I was to take her home with me that day.

It was kinda awkward, cause there I was asking these people;
"So, umm, It's OK if I take this cat home with me right"

It turned out that she actually didn't belong to the landowners, and was one of several cats that had been abandoned there.
Now, don't get me wrong, but there are farm cats and there are house cats.

There is nothing wrong with well cared for farm cats living the farm cat lifestyle, but these cats were NOT farm cats. They are cuddly house-pet cats who were left to fend for themselves. The landowners were nice enough to provide food and to not to run them off, but didn't get involved with much else due to pretty severe cat allergies.

Surprisingly, my husband didn't really question why I was clutching a cat on the ride home, even if the only answer I could give was that she had insisted on this arrangement.

Keiko was covered in ticks, and fleas.
I managed to get her cleaned up without having to bathe her, but her guts were gurgling horribly.
When the worm medicine I gave her kicked in..
Oh this poor kitty pooped STRAIT WORMS.
It's no wonder she ate like she was starving, the worms had to have been stealing her nutrition.
I honestly fear she might not have survived this unusually cold winter outside, and she knew it.



She has a chipped tooth, a TNR ear cut (not uncommon for locals to use TNR programs for cheap neutering for their pets,) and a fear of men. There isn't anything feral about her. She's the first cat I've ever had that would follow me around, and cry if she couldn't find me, even when the rest of the family is available.


I took some worm medication to the farm for the rest of the cats, and consoled myself in that I took in the one I could. Still, I was a bit haunted by a certain other cat who had been following me that day.

Somewhat over a month later, I get message from the same homestead. A cat is injured, they didn't know how, but they wanted me to come get him. Wouldn't accept any other solution. He's the same cat I'd been feeling guilty about leaving behind. :shock:
My husband says no, we already helped one and we can't save them all.
A week goes by, and I'm informed the wounds worse, and are now oozing, the farm owners claim they cannot take the cat inside, or do anything at all for him.
My partner finally relents to us taking him in to heal, and foster.


Turns out he was the only other neutered animal there, aside from Keiko, whom I'd already taken.
He also has a TNR cut on his left ear, a big ole tomcat head showing he was neutered after maturity, and a fear of men. He also loves to cuddle, like Keiko, and is extremely gentle with children.

The wounds were consistent with cat bites, and my best guess is that he was just getting beat up by all the intact toms up there. Poor guy.
(This pic isn't the best, but he's so cute, I couldn't help it)


I've been unsuccessfully trying to talk the landowners into letting me take all the rest of the cats to a shelter, where they would be neutered, and have some time for the hormones to leave their system before finding a home. Thankfully, Keiko was the only female so there won't be kittens.

Anyway, that's all my current cat stories.
Anyone else can share some here too. I'd love to see all the kitties <3 <3 <3

We have one cat. Hubby isn't a cat person (dog person all the way), but daughter begged and begged for a cat until he relented. I'm so happy we have her. We picked out a kitten from a friends litter the day she was born. She's a good mouser and is one of those cats who would probably be fine being an outside cat although she does come inside to get her snuggles.

i've got two cats and they're supermodels




kismet, three years old (i think, i'm bad at remembering their ages lol) longhair calico. she walked into my mom's house the day before thanksgiving and i took her back with me. she's very stupid and has absolutely no object permanence but at least she's pretty. unfortunately that's all her personality. she forgets entire rooms exist, if anything has changed in a room in the last 3 months since she's seen it, she'll freak out. she also doesn't seem to think about things very long because sometimes she'll just jump onto things that clearly have objects on them then panic when it makes a noise/there isn't room for her. she's a very good lap cat though and if you lay down she will Find You and lay on you.





and mirage, the good cat. i found her at about 6 weeks in a bush in a park with her brother and she was nearly dying of starvation and anemia from being covered in fleas and apparently missing a mom for a long time. it took them a little over three days to start acting like semi-normal kittens again. the brother was adopted (and we get updates often! imagine her but big and orange, they look so much alike,) and i kept her. she made national ranking in CFA's household pet show scheme when she was less than a year old, but of course none of her points counted yet. i still show her and kismet sometimes, but they're old and crotchety now so they aren't taking first in every ring the judges were split 50/50 between if she's a calico or a tortie and white - she's somewhere in between. we say tortie since kismet is clearly a calico. she has something wrong with her nose and she wheezes like a pug when she gets excited or purrs.


these are just the ones i've owned...i've also bottle raised/fostered over 100 kittens in the past 10 years but it would be a really long post to show you all of those ;P

Oh I love sharing kitty stories!

I have two cats, one is 6 and the other is turning 4 this summer.




Merlin, a solid gray long hair, was born in my grandparents woodpile to a stray mother that had shown up. My brother kept his brother, Sherlock, who is a black long hair tabby. The two girls from the litter and their mom all found good homes. He'll be six years old sometime this spring I'm not exactly sure what month we managed to catch them.

I swear he's got to have some Maine Coon in him he's so big and, especially in the winter, super fluffy. He is a permanent fixture on my bed where it seems he is always asleep. The first cat I've ever had that drools when he starts purring, and he doesn't let you stop petting him if he's not done being petted. Very vocal cat, loves to talk back. Big loud meows and mrows.



Hazel Grace is a foundling kitten who will be 4 this summer. We were driving around after a flashflood checking out damage and stuff and all of a sudden my brother stops the car in the middle of the road. My mother was in the front and I'm in the backseat. I look up into the road in front of us and spot her, a teeny kitten in the middle of the road, "I'm gonna go get it." I said and I open the door to the car, my mom at this point still hasn't identified that it's a kitten, but she says hold on and passes me a towel that my brother kept in his car because his driver's window leaked. (Wild kittens can still do some damage) So I walk over to her, and I'm talking to her, she's scared but so tired she just takes one step and then gives up trying to run from me. I scoop her soaking wet cold body up and hold her close the trip home, trying to warm her up.

She was skin and bones, had an upper respiratory infection, honestly didn't expect her to make it that first night. She was probably around 10 weeks old when we found her but she was so small from malnutrition and starvation. The original plan was get her better, find her a home, you can see how well that turned out.

She turned into a super snuggler, of course, loves to sleep with her face on yours, if you'll let her. She is also a small cat, if it's genetics or from her rough kittenhood we aren't sure, but she's not even 8 pounds. My mom likes to call her ugly because she's a diluted tortie but in the fall she blends in so well with the leaves and gray trees, she pops up out of nowhere. She also has a damaged voice or maybe that is just her voice, but she's a squeaky cat. No meows. Squeaks and screeches.

I love them.

Oh my gosh everyone's cats are so beautiful!!!

Alfforddm, she looks so naughty! :lol: The little cutie must really keep you on your toes.

Shazza, they are gorgeous, and they certainly are individual. I've helped maybe 10-12 kittens over the years, but nothing like 100. Was it part of your job, or is your area really saturated with kittens?

Ozemba, your area produces some exquisite strays. :shock: I would agree that a little maine coon in the woodpile is pretty likely in that big gorgeous cat. Merlin is remarkably handsome, but Hazel is adorable too, not ugly at all!!

This is a great thread! So many beautiful moggies!

Cats are so graceful and elegant -- except maybe when flopped for belly rubs, when they are silly and adorable -- that just seeing them is a joy. Many of you will remember my Marilla (my avatar cat) with whom we had over ten wonderful years. I'll post a few of my favourite pictures of her and some of our Jenny. I have to get Brian to take some good ones. She is jet black with just a touch of white and although she is very pretty, it's hard with black cats to get good pictures.

Keep them coming, folks! This is great!

Zass":189j75z5 said:

Shazza, they are gorgeous, and they certainly are individual. I've helped maybe 10-12 kittens over the years, but nothing like 100. Was it part of your job, or is your area really saturated with kittens?

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i worked for a local animal shelter for several years, both as a kennel cleaner/vaccine giver, and as a kitten foster. i kept my relationship with the main kitten lady after i quit and kept taking in fosters up until a couple years ago, though i've done a couple overnight and weekend stays a few times. i kinda miss it, but it's a LOT of work, and i already don't sleep good ;P the rabbits are good at giving me my spring baby-fix every year so i haven't felt tempted to bring any more cats home...yet

i make no promises when we start needing barn cats.

Here's my cat. He's a huge boy - about 20 lbs and taller than our cardigan welsh corgi. My mother works as a vet hospital, and he was a stray that came in and needed surgery to save his eye. We took him in and got him all taken care of, and now's he a happy cat.
He is super friendly; he listens to commands and follows me around. Very nice about walking beside me. He also loves to be handled and petted. He even seems to enjoy having his nail trimmed. Great cat. His name is Gunda Billi

Zass":1ieb9b1e said:

Ozemba, your area produces some exquisite strays. :shock: [ ...] Hazel is adorable too, not ugly at all!!

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I'll let Hazel know you think she's adorable, like she'll need the boost to her ego. :roll:

Over the years we've had all sorts of cats pass through, my family is one of those that helps where we can, whether it's catch-neuter-release, or foster and tame kittens to re-home. The feral cat population is pretty big here, the few low cost spay/neuter places are always booked months in advance.

One of the prettiest cats we've ever gotten some lady was giving away free in the Walmart parking lot, they looked too little, so we grabbed one and some milk replacer inside and when we did take him to the vet they said he was probably 5 weeks old. That woman was just at her wits end probably, trying to get rid of them at least so they might have good homes instead of dumping them somewhere. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:28 am __________ <br /><br />

A picture of them together and posed and looking at me. It was a miracle.

I much prefer dogs but you can't live in Iowa, like animals, and not end up with some cats. I debate some day actually picking out a cat and maybe getting bengals or something but the random ones that would otherwise die are so numerous. It does mean the pics aren't all so "pretty" but they got there. My past ones I did pick one out from a farm but the other I had the longest in only my care was a piece of "roadkill" that looked at me when I went past it in my truck. When I couldn't keep from going back to check it turned out to be a ~3week old abandoned on the centerline of the road in over 90F temps with a rock indent in her head and blood coming out her rear. She had vocal cord damage and some neurological issues that required my akita to find her every night for locking up until she matured enough she wasn't a risk to herself. Eventually several mysterious immune problems appeared, prednisone was no longer working, and her beautiful coat faded to a dull grey and started to thin with constant itching until we finally put her down.

Squeaky's life start to finish. I can't say I made it perfect and that she might not have lived longer with more expensive vet treatment but it would have ended on the highway several years earlier if I didn't stop right then.











Right now we have Miyu. Someone was failing to bottle feed this 2 week old kitten their friend's dog left on the driveway. She was so constipated it was fermenting in her intestines and they had tried so hard to get her to poop and pee she screamed about any touching of the area. It took a long time before she would groom herself properly. Luckily I was able to stop the butt baths because we picked up Misaka from a feral litter. You can't have just one cat... Misaki had a slight respiratoy infection and you could see she was a bit droopy to start with but it ran it's course with minimal vet intervention and the vet keeps asking me to foster kittens because they both turned out to have such nice personalities. He said they see so many bottle fed kittens that can't control their claws or biting. Basically they lack the same thing as the bite inhibition we work on with dogs so without thinking I apparently apply it to cats I raise.







New cat tower

but the box is always better



Heights phase Miyu luckily outgrew



Harassing feeder anoles (lizards)


My response when people say huskies or other spitz breeds *can't* get along with other animals and kill everything

I love seeing everyone's cat pictures! Has anyone else noticed how many calico or tortoiseshell we have?

We only ever had one torti show up on the farm out of all that passed through and I remember none from my grandma's broad group of half ferals when I was younger. It was nearly all blue tabby, orange tabby, and black. I got Carmel from several counties away because I'd never seen a torti or calico in our area but she was still heavily tabby marked.

We also had this male for awhile