“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.

“While these aren’t my first kitties, they’re my husband’s,” says Lena. “Their names were originally Plinko and Persia and now they’re called Simba and Nala.

“I met Plinko at PetSmart and I met his sister Persia through the young lady who was with Furry Friends at PetSmart that day. I didn’t choose Simba, he chose me. When I walked in to look at all of the kitties, Simba woke up from his nap with a meow, crawled onto me, started rubbing all over my face and licking my nose. I instantly looked at my husband and said, ‘yep, this is our son.’

“When my wife Rachel and I met Bongo Blaze (Blaze for short) in his foster home, he was called Tang,” Brian says. “We chose him because we were searching for a playful, orange longhair Maine Coon mix to be a companion to our tuxedo Maine Coon mix.

“Opal, who was originally named Olive, is far from being our first kitty,” says Cara.

“We met her at a Furry Friends adoption event at PetSmart. And the reasons we chose her were her age, her breed mix and her high-spirited spunkiness. Opal’s adjustment to living in our home was a gradual one, over a period of five to seven days. And to say that she adds smiles to our days is truly an understatement.

“Once known simply as Wickett, our newly adopted kitten now sports the grand name of Tundra Borealis Hyatt-Destree!” Amanda says.

“Tundra isn’t our first kitten, though. We adopted him because we had rescued a young kitten from a life on the street and he needed a friend. We saw him online and met him at PetSmart, and while he wasn’t our first choice, he came to us out of the kennel and we loved his personality.

“Kiki (formerly Aurora) and Gimli (formerly Jupiter) are not our first kitties,” says Jeni. “We previously had a family cat who passed away at the age of 13.

“We met Kiki and Gimli at our local PetSmart that was hosting a Furry Friends adoption event. We were hoping to find more than one kitten so that they would have a friend, and these two just happened to be available when we stopped in. Their adjustment to our home was surprisingly immediate. Both kittens were very well adjusted, weren’t afraid of anything and were very affectionate. We have four dogs and five humans, and the kittens easily adjusted to all of that!

“We met Gary at PetSmart,” Amy says. “I asked specifically for a male kitty with a chill temperament, and when she handed me Gary, I was smitten. And he’s gorgeous to boot!

“We kept his original name because it went so well with Gus, our slightly older rescue cat. As soon as we brought Gary home he not only adjusted immediately, he immediately bonded with Gus. Gus took on the role of ‘single dad’ and doted on ‘baby’ Gary, while Gary, for his part, never hid or acted like a new cat.  

“When we met Pickles at PetSmart, it was truly love at first sight,” admits Tara. “My husband and I chose him because of his remarkable energy and because he had a smaller eye that needed attention.

“Polly is the fourth female cat we’ve adopted,” says Britni. “Our others are from different feral cat rescues.

“We saw Polly’s photo posted on Facebook and thought she was particularly cute and sweet looking. We chose her, really, because of that photo and her name, and then went to a Furry Friends’ adoption event to meet her and pick her up. She had the name of my stuffed bear from childhood, and it felt like a sign that she was meant for us. And to top it off, we learned that her foster mom was a friend of my husband’s mom!

“We adopted Snickers (formerly Willow) from Furry Friends last June, about a year after our first and much beloved cat, 17-year-old Smudge, died,” says Ellen. “Smudge was a Siamese mix and a real talker!

“I’d been trying to meet kittens at the Oregon Humane Society, but it was difficult. Whenever I’d go over, there were always two or three people who had signed up ahead of me to meet the kitten I was interested in -- and then one of them would invariably adopt that particular kitten.

“I met Monty, my new roommate, cuddlebug, ‘landlord’ and wild cat at PetSmart 5 months ago,” says Andrew. “I had recently moved and had discussed adopting a cat with my girlfriend -- although we don’t live together.

“While we were at PetSmart buying some supplies for her pets, we looked at the various cats there from Furry Friends. I grew up in a house with cats and consider myself a cat lover. (In fact, when I walk around the neighborhood, cats are constantly running over to say ‘hi’ or to get some love). Unfortunately, four of the kitties I wanted to meet and potentially adopt were only being adopted out as pairs, and the only other one that wasn’t hidden from view was Monty.