“We’ve been blessed to have had cats in the past,” says John. “We spotted Dahlia and Louie, then called Aster, on the Furry Friends website and met them shortly thereafter at an adoption event at PetSmart.

“My 6-month-old ragdoll kitten, Crumble, is very needy and I could tell that she needed a friend,” says Ruby. “After an appointment with Furry Friends didn’t work out, I followed their suggestion and attended the adoption event at PetSmart. I told the volunteer there that I wanted a cat-friendly kitten, and she handed me this small black one. The second I picked her up, she nestled her head into my arms, and I was instantly in love!

“We saw Moon’s brother in the window of PetSmart and we were interested in meeting him,” says Jasmine. “But because he had already been adopted, we were told about another kitten in the back along with his beautiful mother. That was Luigi, now Moon Child! He had the sweetest temperament, and we fell in love with him.

“At the end of July, we worried that our current cat Georgiana (nicknamed George), who’s quite skittish, would get used to being the only cat after our other cat passed,” says Hannah. “Although we were still grieving, we searched PetFinder.com, and when we saw Kimber, we were drawn to her markings and to how calm and centered she looked. We met her at PetSmart, adopted her several days later, and renamed her Minnie (Mouse) because she reminded us of a character from an old cartoon.

“I have always had cats for as long as I can remember,” Kim says. “My last set were brothers I had raised since they were babies. I lost the second brother after 18.5 years with him a little over a year ago.

“I notified Furry Friends that I was looking for a bonded pair of cats, met Pete and RePete at PetSmart on a Saturday afternoon and promptly adopted them,” says Jennifer

“Now answering to Pete and Re-Re, their adjustment to my home was fairly immediate. They settled in well, but it took awhile for their personalities to come out. Re-Re seems to spend much of his days either on the bed, in the bedroom cat tree looking out the window or on the heating vent under a dresser. Pete is either on the bed, in a cat bed by my desk, flopped in the middle of the floor where I’ll step on him, or begging for love while I’m on the computer. They both seem to enjoy the wood stove, and as it gets colder, I’m sure they’ll spend lots of time in front of it in the chairs – with or without me.

“We currently have a 6-year-old female tortie,” says Kathryn, “and we wanted two male kittens to keep her company.”

“We met Cinnamon (Cinny for short) and Mackenzie (Kenzie for short) at PetSmart and promptly adopted them because they were so stinkin’ cute! Their adjustment to living here was fairly quick. We kept them in one bedroom until they seemed more comfortable being in the whole house. Now they love to fly up and down the stairs.

“I’ve had cats all my life,” says Christi. “They’re a constant source of love and support.

“They’ve always been a mixture of indoor and indoor/outdoor cats. But when I lost two indoor/outdoor cats in two years, which traumatized my 15-year-old son, I knew that my next cats would stay safely inside. After taking some time to heal, I reached out to Jenn and told her that we wanted to adopt two siblings. She immediately sent me the pictures of Angel and Luna (then called Lucia), and I met the sisters at PetSmart.

“I moved here from Walla Walla, WA in July of 2021,” says ToniLynn. “My cat Gracie had just crossed the Rainbow Bridge and I began adjusting to life without a pet.  

“Then last fall, my son visited me, bringing a kitten that friends of his had saved after seeing him thrown from a car! His name was CJ, and he was so happy in my home that my son asked if I’d take him. Needless to say, I fell in love with him and took him to a local vet to receive his shots. The vet heard a heart murmur and we were going to keep track of it. CJ was growing and thriving. Then in February, during what seemed like a normal morning, he suddenly passed and I was devastated. He had touched my heart so much that I knew I wanted another cat companion.  

“My husband Andrew and I met Jasmine at a Furry Friends adoption event held in PetSmart,” Leilani says. “We chose her because she was incredibly affectionate and loving. She purred up a kitty cat storm and really loved belly scratches.

“I went to a PetSmart adoption event after seeing a posting on Furry Friends FB page -- mainly because I’d had a rough day, and with my boyfriend out of town, it felt like the perfect time to make big decisions without any ‘adult supervision,’ says Jessie. "I told myself that I might come home with a kitten for emotional support.

“Although I had cats growing up, Onyx is my first cat as an adult,” Janaye says. “Her original name, by the way, was Shamrock because she was born on St. Patrick’s day!

“We met Onyx at the home of her foster parent. When I first saw her picture on the Furry Friends website, I was drawn to her beautiful blue eyes. But after meeting her and seeing how exceptionally she did (she was perfect) with our 1-year-old son sealed the deal.

“I originally went to the Humane Society because they were having a free adoption event, but it was so crowded that I decided to leave,” says Angela. “I went to the PetSmart down the street because I needed cat food, and discovered that Furry Friends was also having a free adoption event with NO crowd! I felt more at ease there and knew the cats would be less anxious too.

“It’s been almost twenty years since I last had a kitty,” says Krista. “I met Luna, then called Nuttie, at a Furry Friends adoption event at PetSmart and chose her because of her beautiful and interesting coloring.

“We had a Lynx Point Siamese who lived to be 16 and we were devastated when he died,” Michelle says. “I wanted another Siamese, but it was winter, and I wanted a kitten. I found Coco on Craig's List and he was a beautiful kitten. Unfortunately, however, he had a horrible accident when he was seven months old and was killed. I was so traumatized by that!

“I adopted two other kittens, Winnie and Dolly (formerly Chips and Fish) from Furry Friends in March,” explains Stephanie.

“I had recently lost my soul dog after 12 years and felt ready to open my heart again. I also thought that Winnie and Dolly could use a friend to play with. I went to PetSmart on a random Thursday and happened to see a litter of kittens with their foster mom. I went to meet them, picked up Petrie, who is now Leo, and the rest is history.

“In my almost 50 years, I’ve seldom lived without a cat,” says Ashley. “I found Archie (formerly Stardust) and Hazel (formerly Nocturne) online and then arranged to meet them at an adoption event. Originally, I’d hoped to bring home their mother and a sibling, but the chemistry with these two was so good that I knew they were the ones.

“Joining my current cats are kittens Neko and Nola, formerly known as Charlie and Leslie,” Teresa says. “As soon as I saw them on the Furry Friends website, I immediately put in an adoption request.
“I chose these particular kittens because both of them are very unique looking. Neko has a completely brown coat with golden eyes while Nola is a Calico kitten with funny face patterns. When I brought them home, they both adjusted so well, becoming instant playmates. Although Neko can get rough at times, Nola just gives it right back to him!

“My boyfriend Tim and I met Faye at her foster family’s house,” Linda says. “It’s no surprise that she was originally named Licorice because of her gorgeous black fur.

“She was so shy and so sweet and, to tell you the truth, I just fell in love with her extremely long and plentiful white whiskers! Her tabby bother Jinx, previously known as Habanero, was at the same foster home, and although we hadn’t really planned on adopting both of them, Jinx boldly picked my boyfriend. They fell in love with each other, and it truly was the sweetest sight to see.

“In 2022, my husband, Sal, and I lost our two beloved senior cats, Mr. Whiskers and Mrs. Furr to cancer and diabetes, leaving us devastated,” says    . “Mr. Whiskers was my cat, a total snuggle baby and biscuit-maker, while Mrs. Furr was my husband’s quiet companion. Our remaining cat, Felix, preferred solitude over snuggles, and so, we decided to adopt again.