"Hai! I am Cameron!"

Written by ©Jeff Presnail.

Unlike Cameron Diaz, our Cameron is actually a boy. He lives with my girlfriend Anouk and I in Laval, Quebec.

My mom, dad and sister live in St. Albert, Ontario, Canada. It’s a rural area with lots of farms and therefore – lots of barn cats. Our family had trouble discriminating against barn cats, so to us they were just like the cats we had living inside the house, and with time the first two (a mother cat and her son) were brought in to live in the huge, heated garage.

Spring brought more visitors, and the visitors had kittens. My mom ordered a shed from a Mennonite village in the USA and installed it in the backyard. She had an electrician run power to it so we could heat it in winter and light it at night. Inside, my sister helped build a whole labyrinth of carpeted passageways and landings so the cats could each have their own space. The cats can of course come and go as they please, and during the day the shed is normally empty.

Once the house was built my mom started removing the kittens from the mothers and raising them indoors. Several attempts to catch the moms and have them spayed were unsuccessful, so this was the only option for the time being. She began to adopt out the babies as they became “ready”, and any medical attention they required (this applies to the catch-able feral cats as well) was taken care of.

Cameron was a kitten from my mom’s final batch. She ended up catching both females outside and they will not be giving birth anymore. He is quite calm – except when he’s not. I’m afraid he’s in his “twos” right now and is always either sleeping or biting. I have to admit though that I don’t really help when I play with him as though I’m one of his little brothers, egging him on and making him crazier.

My mom still has all his brothers and sisters from the last litter to find homes for.

Photos courtesy of ©Jeff Presnail.

"Comfy....."

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"Hai my name is Phoenix."

Written by ©Chris Oh (flickr: biskitsorange).

My wife’s friend Sarah takes her 13 month old daughter to the same park every morning and she noticed a familiar kitten meow’s nearby the bench she was sitting. At first, she thought it was coming from a trash can near the bench so she got up to find out. Upon getting there, she realized the meow’s were coming from a box right next to the trash can. She opened the box and there were four kittens dehydrated and crying for help. With her kind personality, she just could not leave them there. She took them home, gave them a bath and fed them.

My wife and I did not know she had them until we got there to pick up something from her house. She told us what happened and we could not believe that someone could’ve just abandoned them. They were still a little wet from the bath and slowly coming alive from water and food they got. There were two darker ones and two orange ones. Liger was the most energetic one out of the bunch. He was not shaking but walking around us fearlessly. I knew he’d be the one I’d take. Phoenix wasn’t as energetic at the time, but her fluffy face with her big eyes were just so adorable! I’ve not had many cats in my life, but my wife has always had cats so she informed me that cats are social animals and we should get them in pairs.

Our family have been wanting to have another cat since we moved into our new home. We looked around but after finding out that most shelters ask for $150 for an adoption fee, we just could not afford one at the time, so we told our daughter, “maybe for Christmas.” Well, after seeing Phoenix and Liger, we just had to take them home. The first two photos were taken the very same day we brought them home and although they were sweet, they weren’t moving around as much. Next day though, when we combed them for fleas and gave them more food and water (little by little, didn’t want to upset their stomach), they were jumping around and exploring their new house as happy as they could be. Our daughter came up with the names on the third day and they kind of make sense. Liger has stripes on his back, but spots on his belly. Phoenix has that orange stripe on her head.

We were also pleasantly surprised that they knew where to go potty after we put their new litter box on the floor. We are so glad that they found home with us.

Photos courtesy of ©Chris Oh (flickr: biskitsorange).

"Hai I am Liger and I am the very active one ."

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"Hai I am Maizy aka Beepy. I just turned 15 recently."

Written by ©Brook Simpson (flickr: brook ashley)

I’d always lived in a house full of cats, but I was looking for that one special kitty that would be my feline soul mate. I checked our local humane society for a few weeks, and although I found many cats that I wanted to take home with me, my mom convinced me to wait for a kitten. She knew it would be easier to integrate a kitten into the household that currently had two adult cats. So one day, there she was. she was in a litter with two other kittens. As soon as I scooped up that little ball of fur she started purring, and I knew that was it. She had chosen me as much as I had chosen her. She purred the entire time we checked out, and the entire car ride home. There was never any anxiety from her – I think she knew that she was right where she was supposed to be.

So we brought home this tiny, lanky kitten, and she became the ball of sass that united all of the other creatures in the house. The two adult cats that already lived there did not get along, but maizy was friends with everyone. They both taught her all the cat skills she needed, and she reminded them how fun it is to have a kitten around. We got to see their playful sides again and it was a wonderful environment for all of our animals.

I’ve neglected to mention how strongly Beepy and I bonded (we actually call her Beepy, because of the adorable chirping/beeping sound she makes when she talks to us). From the start she was mine and I was hers. She was attached to me, always with me. When I came home from school she’d run up to greet me, and if I was ever away she became quite depressed. Eventually I got married and moved to be with my husband, who was in the Army.

"I adopted Maizy from an animal shelter in my first month of high school. As soon as i picked her up from the tumble of kittens she started purring, and she purred the entire car ride home. She's the fuzzy, purry, volatile, light of my life." - Brook

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"Hai I am Riza!"

Riza and Mei are two sisters from a shelter in Washington state. They found their forever together home a month ago.

Riza and Mei are very playful. They love their cardboard boxes besides the regular toys their mom got them. When they saw their new cat condo the first time, they weren’t so interested. “After a couple days of ignoring their cat condo, Riza and Mei have taken quite a shine to it.”

The two little rascals play hard, but they sleep even harder. When the weather gets hot, they will lie on the floor, sprawl out and doze off for hours. “That’s the best way to while away those hot summer days.”

As sweet as they can be, sometimes they wrestle and fight to show each other dominance. “Even the sweetest sisters have their scraps. Plus, Mei would try the patience of a saint.”

Photos courtesy of J.K. (flickr: jk079).

"Hai I am Mei."

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"Hai. I am a little rescue."

This little kitten was found by a rescue group where Yang volunteers. She was rescued from a family who could not take care of her. She was only a month old at the time.

“She is a very gentle little girl, but always curious about things around her. When I brought her into our office the first day, everyone turned their head when they saw her. She was a little star in the office,” said Yang.

“I hope she grows into a strong, healthy and beautiful girl. We will take care of her and make sure she gets all the love and care she deserves.”

Photos courtesy of ©Yang (ycxt).

"I like to sit upright so I can help my daddy with his paper work."

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Our little fur friend Mimo (a rescued kitty from France) got a present from his mom – a cardboard car cat toy. Mimo has an obsession with cardboard boxes, so when he saw his new toy, he just hopped right in and ready to take off. I am not sure if Mimo really sees it as a car or rather just another cardboard box that he owns. The smaller the box is the more he likes it .

Photos courtesy of ©ooppssyy.

"No mom, this is not a car, this is a cardboard box. Can't you tell?"

"but I like it here. It fits me purrfectly!"

Cumin is a 11 year old therapy cat

Cumin, aka Ytti Bitty, Little Doll, etc., is an eleven-year-old (born 4/99 in a no-kill shelter). Jean and her husband adopted her when she was two. Cumin is a remarkable girl who loves visitors and attention, and because of her friendly personality and wonderful heart, she’s become a therapy cat for nursing homes.

“Our church had a pet therapy group, and I knew I wanted a cat that could comfortably visit nursing homes. I e-mailed a cat rescue with 226 cats available for adoption and expressed my desire for a pet therapy cat. They chose two of their cats that grew up in the shelter (both born there to rescued pregnant strays) and participated in their own nursing home visits. I met the two cats, one a gorgeous black girl named Velvet and the other a beautiful tabby with white named Bootsie. Instead of making a decision, I deferred to their caretaker. She chose Bootsie for me,” said Jean.

“In faith, I took that cat home trusting we would bond. . . I renamed her Cumin. She fit in beautifully with our existing cat and comfortably visited nursing homes as I had desired. I had not known a cat to run to the door to greet visitors, but Cumin saw that as her duty. She especially loved when we lived where kids came by on Halloween. . . so much petting!”

Cumin has not only brought a lot of love and laughter to the people at the nursing homes, she shares a special bond with Jean.

“Cumin and I bonded closely. Night after night we now have a variety of cats in our bed, but Cumin is always there without fail. She plasters herself up against me to sleep whether it is hot or cold. I love this girl so dearly. Out of all my older cats (Cumin is eleven), Cumin acts the most like a kitten. She never lost her desire to jump and run and play. . . what a precious doll she is to me!”

“Words can’t describe how dear Cumin is to me,” said Jean.

Photos courtesy of ©Jean (flickr: wee3beasties).

"I am posing for mommy!"

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Sweet Dreamie "This is MY blankie!"

Written by ©Sam.

Crystal & Dreamie are sisters and they came to live with us in September 2001. I wasn’t intending on getting anymore cats, although I love cats and want a house full of them! But my mum had recently taken in a stray kitten (Molly) and she wanted a friend for Molly so she went to the rescue centre and she fell in love with Ragnar – who happened to be sharing his cage with these two tiny kittens, Crytal & Dreamie.

These two little kittens had had a very bad start. They were rescued from a flat that had been set of fire with them in it. They were the only two who survived. And thankfully someone took them to the rescue shelter. My mum could not pick up Ragnar that day and asked would I go back the next day to pick him up. She told me about these two little kittens and my heart broke! I never expected I would be taking them home the next day.

When we arrived at the shelter I obviously saw these little kittens and they were so tiny and clingy! I asked my boyfriend could I have them (we lived with his mum at the time so had to get the ok from her, which we did!). So we took the 3 kittens home! Ka-Sa (my tabby cat) did not take to the new kittens I would say about 12-18 months before she stopped hissing at them! They have had some health problems due to the fire. Dreamie especially with her eyes. Crystal would also not eat when we first got her. She was so weak and fragile. I had to hand feed her special food to get her strength up. Once they had lived with us for a few weeks meal times were terrible – for us!! They would climb your legs to get food. Ka-Sa had to be fed high up so they wouldn’t pinch her food. Crystal took a year before she found her voice and she has the strangest meow!

Beautiful Crystal

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Birdie and Mulligan - "The bottle is MINE," said Mulligan.

Kat brought home two lovely kittens after she lost her beloved cat a few weeks before. They are called Birdie and Mulligan. “These two little additions… are about as sweet and cuddly as can be,” said Kat.

Birdie and Mulligan love to hang out in the bathroom. They love to explore the bath tub and chill on the porcelain throne. Sometimes they spend hours trying to figure out how the bath tub works and what the drain hole is for. They will play with whatever is available such as a drain stopper in a bath tub, the window screen which seems so fun to climb on and each other’s tail.

Mulligan loves to get into things whether it is a pot or a cardboard box. Birdie on the other hand likes to lie on whatever feels comfortable. When mommy is on the computer, they will go and offer her some help or advice.

When it comes to nap time, they are always curled up on a chair together.

Photos courtesy of Kat Stan (check out her link for more photos of Birdie & Mulligan).

Mulligan

Birdie

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