“Freyja, formerly Bubbles, is my partner’s and my second kitty,” says Kestrel.

“When I saw Freyja’s photos on the Furry Friends website and read about her personality, I felt in my gut that she was the kitty for us! We did an in-person meeting at the shelter to see if she liked us. It took her a few minutes to become accustomed to having us in the room, but after that, she was giving us head boops and cuddles. It was instant love!

“We wanted a female Calico breed,” Kalil says. “We also fell in love with Spice’s adorable face and soft fur.

“We adopted her about a month before moving from our apartment into a house, and Spice, along with our two other cats, Leo and Pickles, had to gradually adjust to living in our – and their -- new home.

“We have two older cats from other non-profits in the area: Winston from the Oregon Humane Society (the oldest) and Ellie from Meow Village,” explains Cristin. “And although his name was originally Garfield, after trying out various names, we settled happily on Marlow.

“Lucy’s original name was Delorean,” says Megan. “We changed it to Lucille but we call her Lucy. Sometimes we call her ‘Scoops’ because she’s so easy to scoop up in your arms. And ‘Rumble Duchess’ because she has a mighty purr.

“My husband and I have had cats our whole lives, but when we moved cross-country to Vancouver, we took a break from pets due to the trouble we had finding housing,” Clarissa explains.

“Jelli came into my life last October after I’d lost both my cat and my dog that summer,” Deborah says. “I wanted an older cat that was a little harder to adopt. A friend of mine who volunteers at Furry Friends suggested Caspian as he was known then. My decision to adopt him took minutes because he immediately lay down on my foot and looked at me with those beautiful green eyes, and I couldn’t imagine not coming home with him. There was one small problem: he was way too big for my carrier!

“Although this is our third cat, I had cats growing up,” explains Dylan. “His name at the shelter was Jaspurr, but we named him Mochi since he’s soft and fluffy, and because we have a personal connection to Japan.

“We were looking for ‘the right match’ for our cat Finley (formerly Plum whom we adopted from Furry Friends four years ago), who became very lonely after the passing of our other cat last April,” explains Krista. “The description of Leo said that he followed the older cats around, so we thought that this little guy would make friends with our Finley.

“When we adopted Luci, her original name was Mouse,” says Rena. “And this name suits her perfectly,

“We chose her because she was so sweet and so pliable. She liked to play, sit on my lap and let me rub her any way I wanted, including rubbing her belly! Her adjustment to our home was gradual. It took 2.5 months to fully integrate Luci into the life of our resident kitty, but now they get along wonderfully together, are excellent playmates, and are truly the best of friends.

“Previously called Bruno, Henry was part of a litter of black kittens who weighed 11 ounces when they were found and bottle fed,” Megan explains. “Although I’ve wanted a black cat for a very long time, I’ve never owned one. My 15-year-old kitty Lena (formerly Ivana) I adopted from Furry Friends is tired now and I wanted a playmate for 3-year-old Stanley (formerly Mouse) I also adopted from Furry Friends. I could tell he was bored, and adopting Henry was the best decision I ever made.

“My wife Danielle and I have cared for a lot of cats over the years, mainly strays we’ve rescued from our neighborhood, but this is the first time we’ve officially adopted one,” explains Dan. “Although her name was originally Jovi, we started calling her Josie, after my great grandmother. A week after adopting her, we gave her the name Thora because she made it through her first thunderstorm without the slightest fuss. Such a brave little kitten! Also, her big brother’s name is Loki, so it seemed fitting.

“Cheese and Rice are my second and third cats,” says Bethany. “I adopted them with the names Cheese and Ricearoni, but Ricearoni commonly gets shortened to Rice.

“I felt that my late cat of 14 years, Trouble, was always a bit of a loner, so this time I wanted a bonded pair who could play with each other and keep each other occupied whenever I was out of the house. When I met them at Furry Friends, I was handed Rice first. She immediately hugged me and nuzzled into me and Cheese did the same. I saw how sweet and playful they were, and I just had to have them!

“‘Tucker Romeo’ aka Tucker, whose original name was Romeo, is the FOURTH fabulous feline my husband Dick and I have adopted from Furry Friends,” says Brenda.

“I’ve just had one cat before, and that was many years ago,” says Lance. “Baby is the name she had when I adopted her. It seemed like a good idea to keep her name the same. For one thing, when I post a picture of her on the Furry Friends Volunteer Facebook page’s comments thread, it should help other volunteers who knew her to remember her.

“Nala (formerly known as Porkchop) is the latest of the kitties we’ve had through the years,” Shanna says. “My daughter picked her because of her playful, loving nature and adorable face.

“She was immediately comfortable in her home base room and was introduced to the rest of the house and family within a week. Nala is like an infant and has caused some loss of sleep on our part, but she’s also brought us so much laughter with her goofy antics. She’s truly a character!

“Willy is the 11th cat I’ve had since I was nine,” Madeline explains.

“I adopted him as Uno and renamed him Willy after the pirate captain One-eyed Willy from ‘The Goonies.’ “My best friend, Milosh, passed away suddenly over Memorial Day weekend last year. He was a petite black and white former street cat that rescued me during a very chaotic time in my life. It wasn’t long before I realized that I couldn’t function without him.

“We have had several cats, including one we adopted from Furry Friends 15 years ago,” says Tina. “And although Cindy was Azula’s original name, we changed it to Azula aka ‘Fire Lord’ for the orange streak on her head.

“I saw her picture on the Furry Friends Facebook page and she looked so sweet. She looks as though she has Maine Coon in her and we were extremely interested. She has HUGE paws, and while she’s not quite 10 months old, she’s already much bigger than our other cat!

“I love seeing the stories of adoption,” Barb exclaims. “I was good friends with Julie Reamer who passed away years ago, but she volunteered for Furry Friends. I took two kittens from her and raised them.

“I am friends with and follow my kitten’s foster mom, Kate. I noticed this particular batch of kittens, and one was a calico. The last thing I needed in my life right then was a kitten. But I talked with Kate, who’s incredible with cats, about Sweet Dee’s personality, adopted her at the end of July, and changed her name to Livia, a common Swiss name.

“Zoe is our current five-year-old Tortie whom we adopted from another shelter when she was approximately six months old,” Maria says. “They said she was two years old, but she was more of a playful kitten! It wasn’t long before my husband Jeff and I thought Zoe could benefit from having a playmate. We attended the Furry Friends’ adoption weekends over the next month, and as soon as we held Cleo, whose name at the time was Yoshi, we knew this was our new kitto! (My dad nicknamed me Cleo when I was growing up).

“I grew up with cats my entire life,” says Malena. “When we lost our Colbie, my partner Stuart and I were both so devastated that it took us three years before we agreed to give our hearts to another kitty. I started looking, found Furry Friends, and, ultimately, our new babies who were originally named Goldie and Clover.