Pet Stuff: How We Ended Up With Four Cats, Plus Some!

Pet lovers, check today’s story out and follow along the next few days as we do a pet theme week with a Petsmart gift card giveaway drawing this weekend.  First my story.

People are amazed when I tell them that we have four cats and that our adult son and his girlfriend have two cats.  They exclaim, “That is six cats total!”  They ask how we ended up with four cats, plus some!

I know.

And I smile.

Our cats are all rescues and ending up with six Harris cats (in two different households) was not the master plan, but life worked out that way.  Our feline family members have rescued us from potential scorpion stings, lonely nights when the rest of the family is out of town, lots of laughs with their funny antics and calming moments that reduce our stress with their pleasant purrs and companionship, especially when one of us is feeling ill or sad.  All our kitties are rescues.

Our rescues.  From top to bottom, Stanley, Lucy, Tucker and Sadie

Stan and Tucker came from the pound and my son (8 years old at the time) accompanied us to the shelter to see which kitties we could save that day.  The two handsome boy cats he selected are now 13 years old.  Tucker is the most laid-back cat you will meet.

This super relaxed cat in a yoga pose.  He has several he does.  Funny guy!

He greets all at the door, which always makes the pizza guy laugh.  This cat doesn’t run and hide when the plumber comes.  Instead he walks right on up for a pet and a hello.  He likes to ride in the car and is super nice at the vet.  Unique for sure.

Sweet Stanley purrs up a storm.

This is a few years back (our son is 21 now!) and this kitty is still just as sweet and loving as can be with his people.

With our girl. Stanley loves to snuggle.

The minute you pet his head, the purr machine starts and doesn’t stop until he goes off to nap.

Our pretty black cat, Lucy (who has been good luck actually) was selected by our daughter, who was 10 years old at the time.  She told us that she wanted to adopt a black cat because “everyone walks right past the black kitties” and oh how my heart skipped.  She was right.  How was she that insightful at only 10 years old?!  She had me at “walks right past…” so off we went to the shelter that was housed in our nearby Petco store.  Once my girl spotted the playful tiny silky black kitten, she was a goner.  Lucy had a new mom and seven years later, both kitty and now teenager are the perfect pair.

They truly bonded instantly and I became, from this moment on, a huge fan of black cats. How my then 10-year-old girl saw this early on warms my heart.

Lucy even gets birthday parties thrown by her mom. My daughter will miss her when she goes off to college next year.

Lucy isn’t as relaxed around every person like the senior boy cats are, but she is beautiful and sweet on her terms when off in a quiet spot with those she trusts and loves.  The best thing about our lovely Lucy is that she and our girl have a very special bond.  Through childhood, preteen days and now, especially on the some of the rough days that come with being a teenager, Lucy is always there for her girl.  Always.

And sweet Sadie rounds out the four cool cats that reside with hubs, me and our daughter.

Sadie (the Tortie seated right in the middle) fit right in and turned the trio into four fab felines!

Just when I thought three was more than enough, my hubs spied a teeny tiny scared kitty outside of our front window.

This sweet kitten had hubs wrapped around her paw within hours of her rescue!

And me too, of course!

Seeing stray cats outside is very uncommon in our coyote-crowded neighborhood since our homes are at the foot of mountains.  We were stunned to find her and stunned she had survived out there all by her little self.  Sadie became our final kitty cat and we have discovered that having a Tortie is great fun.  Torties are known to be especially bonded to their main humans (hubs and me), smart and fun.  She is all that and more.  She does tricks as I trained her to sit and shake and she has warned us time and time again of scorpion sightings!  She even once woke me in the night to let me know that there was one lurking under the bed…on my side.  Yikes!  We were able to kill that pesky sting thing that I detest so much.  Thank you, Sadie!  My feline hero!

In between our current four cat situation and the previous trio that reside in our home, a handsome male cat, we named Oliver, ended up at our front door a few years back.  He was very calm, friendly, playful and desperate for love.

Rescue day. I put him in our guest bathroom as I figured out what to do next. He was instantly content, as I discovered later when I checked on him and found him purring in the sink. Rescues know!

His dirty paws and non-neutered body confirmed our suspicions that he had not been well cared up. With a little social media research, we were informed that he was left behind when his irresponsible human family moved away and left him in their now vacant yard to fend for himself.  Just cruel.  We fostered him and found a purrfect and extremely loving forever home for Ollie.

Saying goodbye but we still get to see him since he is living the pampered life with our niece!

He happily resides with our niece in beautiful San Diego.

Oliver giving my niece a new Mom kiss. She has had him for five loving and fun filled years now!

Lucky cat!

Like parents, like son.  Three years ago, our son and his girlfriend volunteered at Lost Our Home Pet Rescue three years ago.  I loved that these college students were giving back to society and volunteering.  Of course, when you put your heart out there, chances are it will be stolen.  Stolen it was.  Both his heart and her heart were quickly stolen by these two little munchkins who were soon adopted by guess who?  Yep, my son and his sweet girlfriend.  Benny and Cane were welcomed home by them and three years later, they are happy and healthy and are extremely friendly and gentle cats.  And I must add that their black cat, Benny is the most gentle and loving cat that I have met in years.  Hubs and I had another cat, years ago now, named Zilker.  She was loved by all.  She was the sweetest cat anyone had ever met, truly. It has been so joyful to observe that Benny is just as sweet as Zilker was. Don’t ever shy away from adopting a black cat because they absolutely rock.

The good life.  Not pictured…Sadie as she decided to nap under the bed on this day!

So that is our fab feline story and I’m sticking to it!  Our cats keep our home pest-free without needing a company to spray inside.  They give us unconditional love and support.  Their purring lowers blood pressure because it is so relaxing to listen to and it beats any sound machine, in my opinion.  Love our furry family members!  How about your pet? Share a picture and a comment in the comments section below.