“I was not only Remi’s foster and chose her name, I ended up adopting her as well,” says Shaylene.

“While I was fostering her, she was SO, SO sweet. She would snuggle up on me and brush up against me whenever I was close to her. Eventually, she was adopted and when that didn’t work out, I took it as a sign that she was meant to be with me. When Remi returned, she was surprisingly skittish at first and settled back in gradually. She wouldn’t let me pick her up. She would just run away, but now she tolerates it … lol. She’s still easily startled and yet she’s definitely more comfortable here. 

“I have had several pets in my adult life, and each time the animal has chosen me,” Doc says. “And so it was at the Furry Friends shelter when I entered one of the larger rooms on a Saturday morning several months ago. I sat down and was soon approached by various feline residents: some were curious and wanted a sniff, others wanted a pet, and one wanted in my lap.

“In February 2023, we were searching for a cat with a sweet and quiet temperament to complement our older female cat,” says Mara. “Our other cat had died prematurely from a fast-growing tumor in her throat.

“Formerly called Garfield and Yams, Scout and Tex are our first kitties together as a couple,” says Hannah. “Although we were originally looking for a female cat with a black coat, when we saw these two orange boys at the shelter, we fell in love and couldn’t resist taking them home. We loved the idea of two brothers being ‘fur-ever partners in crime.’”

“We’ve owned cats before adopting Leroy and Jethro,” says Deborah. “We adopted Leroy first, and the reason I chose him was because his story brought me to tears. He had been shot with a paintball gun, and seeing his sweet face and his small purple leg tugged at my heartstrings!

“I have had many kitties in my life, but Niko is only my second orange one,” explains Evelyn. “I felt Niko was a great name for him, so I didn’t change it.

“When I saw his photos on the Furry Friends Facebook page, I immediately fell in love with him. And he not only immediately adjusted to living in our home, he became a wonderful addition to our family. Niko constantly makes me laugh with his cute quirkiness and he’s been faithfully following me around since day one.

“My husband actually chose Tansy!” exclaims Mary. “He thought she was adorable, and he was drawn to her because she’s a mama cat and was ready for her own fur-ever home after all of her kittens had been adopted out. And so, we adopted her in June of 2024.

“A few months later, I began volunteering at Furry Friends. My husband and I realized that Tansy needed a friend, and I remembered seeing Hera at the shelter and how easygoing she was even when her roommate was spicy. I loved how, like Tansy, she was also a mama cat, and I knew she would be a wonderful fit for our family. We took Hera home in February of 2025.

“She came to us as Sweet Dumpling,” says Michelle. “Very aptly named, we tweaked it slightly, calling her Sweetie D  (Sweet Potato Dumpling when she’s in trouble).

“Although she had been on my radar, we actually visited the shelter to meet her brother. Of all her littermates, she was introduced as the quiet one who sits back and observes. And she did. She sat in the cat condo watching us play with her siblings before coming out to sniff my partner and me. After assessing us, she climbed into his lap. We had been chosen.

“Sean and I adopted Tippi from Furry Friends to join our two male cats, Batman, a black Turkish Angora and Thursday, a Tuxedo Norwegian Forest,” Mandy explains. “In fact, Tippi’s entire litter was named after Hitchcock actors!

“We know the people who have Tippi’s sister. When Tippi was returned to the shelter, our friend told us that she was available, and we promptly made her ours. Her adjustment to living with us has been a gradual one, but she’s been coming out of her shell more each day and has been making friends with Batman and Thursday.

“We are beyond grateful to Furry Friends and the amazing foster families who rescued, treated and provided refuge for River and Chip.” 

“We first saw River at PetSmart and thought she was beautiful. We were looking for another cat and we believed she would be a perfect fit. Although she was quite shy at first, she quickly won all of our hearts with her sweet and independent personality.

And now, for a feline twist on a Furry Friends Fur-ever Tail: “Meow, all. My name is Yuki, formerly Sequoia, which I use as my middle name. I recently adopted William who has a special fondness for Japan. He told me that Yuki means ‘snow’ and ‘happiness’ in Japanese. How awesome paw-some is that!

“My husband and I adopted George (previously Beckett) in October of 2024,” Meghann says. “I was searching for a special needs kitty or one having difficulty finding a home. George instantly stuck out because he was listed as a senior (age 13) who was FIV positive. We were concerned about this since we have two other cats at home, but after extensive research and serious consideration, we decided to adopt George.

“While this isn’t my first kitty, it’s one of the most meaningful additions to my life,” admits Jamie. “I adopted a sweet little gray cat named King Kong from Furry Friends at the end of September last year. I later changed his name to Graby: it felt more like him. He came at a time when my heart was still healing from the loss of my beloved cat, Goyangi, who had passed away earlier that year, leaving me devastated.

“We have adopted two kitties from Furry Friends,” Sierra says. 
“We adopted River (formerly Anthony) in July of 2023 because we had just moved into a new home and had wanted to get our daughter a kitten for quite some time. We already had one cat, Little Kitty, whom we had adopted sight unseen in 2020. And although she turned out to be a beautiful and loving middle-aged cat, she didn’t fulfill our daughter’s hopes of having her own baby kitten.

“I lost my comfort animal, Aussie, early in November,” Annie explains. “He had suffered from several complicated medical issues the last few years, and we had to say goodbye at a time when I needed him most. Soon after, a fluffy boy at Furry Friends caught my eye. He looked a lot like Aussie, only larger, with blue eyes instead of orange. Since I volunteer at Furry Friends, I brought my husband and sister in to meet him.

“My husband Kent and I, as well as both of our grown sons, have been lifelong cat lovers,” Lori says. “In 2016, we adopted a rescue from a friend who was the ‘cat love of our lives.’ We named him Griffey because our second love is baseball. We later adopted Jeter from Kent’s cousin, and Griffey and Jeter became fast friends. Sadly, Griffey had an underlying heart issue that went undetected, and we lost him to a saddle thrombosis in March of 2023. While Kent and I grieved for Griffey, Jeter grieved more. He lost his purr, wouldn’t eat or play and went into a deep depression. We weren’t ready for a new kitty but Jeter was.

“Furry Friends helped my partner Mark and I save a seriously injured pregnant momma cat we named Sabrina,” explains Gail.

 “We not only fostered her, we were overjoyed and awed to actually assist in the birth of her six beautiful babies! We both knew, from the moment we rescued her, that we wanted Sabrina for our own. After several successful surgeries due to her significant injuries and months of healing, she’s finally ours.

“Since we were his foster family and he came from a litter of “C” names, we named him and kept it: Oreo with a “C,” and certainly as sweet. My kiddos and I fell in love with him on the same day. First, my oldest said that she loved him and wanted to keep him, and then my second one said the same thing. I already loved him because he would stare at me intensely with his big blue eyes. I joked that we could keep him on the condition that his eyes didn’t change color. (I knew they would since he was so small). On adoption day, every kitten was pre-adopted except for Choreo. We took it as a sign that he was ours, and we couldn’t have been more delighted!

“Our 18-year-old cat Stardust passed away the month before we adopted Gnochi and Mr. Meowgi,” explains Autumn.  

“My husband Caleb and I changed Ziti’s name to Gnocchi because he’s a chunky potato dumpling, and Dewy to Mr. Meowgi because I’d said I wanted to name my next cat that. Just as with our Stardust, we wanted the cat(s) to pick us. These two loved our attention, and that’s also something we wanted. They adjusted to living with us fairly quickly. I had taken the following two days off to be with them, and so they seemed right at home -- especially when Gnocchi stole a whole chicken nugget from my husband!

When asked what made her choose this particular kitty, Christina laughed and said, “Because Taz is a spaz taz!”

“We were thrilled that Taz’s adjustment to living in our home was immediate. Not only has he brought so much happiness to our children, he’s a wonderful companion for our dog, and they are truly the best of friends.