I never knew what happened to Lou and why he was a stray. I figure he was a stray for awhile because of the scars on his head but I never really knew until we moved. then the poor baby went nuts. he got so upset and tried to run away. thats when I figured out he must have been left when his family moved. he is a beautiful and polite cat that it is beyond me that someone would leave him beind. It was quite obvious that is what happened to him, he was so upset, I cried and comforted him the best I could.
I dont know anything else that happened to him. How do you guys know they were left or mistreated?

Some human must have tried to eat Kittibits when he was a kitten, because he still thinks all humans but me eat cats.
About the others I don´t know except that Pancho is always afraid he´ll starve.
I think Treat was a pet who was left to stray or taken to the shelter as not wanted because he was always a friendly and loving cat but also very independent, like he didn´t want to actually have to depend on humans.
Cisco was probably well treated from the time he was a baby because he has always just been a lover.

Since I got Betsey at the Humane Society, some of her early history was on the file on her that was given to me when I adopted her. What I know of her is from this file; she lived with a dog and a cat and both the dog and the cat scared her terribly. She hid from them and would only come out to eat. She didn´t play. She was shy and timid. She was easily spooked and she was rejected by the previous owner because that owner had a marked preference for the other cat and dog, which to me, knowing how Betsey is with me, seems so strange. Betsey is a sweetheart; I love her and I think she knows now that she is in her forever home and while she is still easily spooked by things; all I have to do now to reassure her that all is well is to stroke her, to brush her, to whisper sweet nothings into her ear...and then give her a treat... My reward? PURRS, PURRS AND MORE PURRS

Sophie was a year old stray with no history when I adopted her. She was so scared at first she would only hide and she ate very little. She didn´t know how to play - I had her for months and she didn´t know what to make of any of the toys I bought her. Then one day I dropped a grape in the kitchen and she chased it, and after that she seemed to realize what the toys were for. She hates loud noises - especially the oven door opening, plastic bags and tin foil rattling. My guess is she was born a stray, never socialized, and lived life near a garbage bin or dumpster where she heard those noises often while trying to cadge a meal. She probably also got chased off fairly often because it was weeks before I could approach her, months until she would come to me, and longer before she´d allow my friends near her. She still has a habit of having to sniff my hand before I can touch her head.

I have no idea what happened to Desmond with his first owner!, he´s not a scared cat BUT he´s really aggressive with other cats and dogs, he´s not afraid at them at all!... he tried to fight with all my mother in law´s pets, and never hisses, he just go running straight and show them his fluffy paw!! So I guess he might have had territorial problems with other pets before.

I also noticed Lou does not stand up for himself alot. When it is dinnertime, he sits very quietly waiting almost afraid it will go away. He was about 3 when I got him and have no history on the poor guy. teh vet says he is healthy and a lover-boy. he also seems unsure of himself to join the family. when he finally relaxes enough to hop up on the couch in the middle of us, it is great.

Maybe Lou is afraid you till get rid of him if he makes too many waves. He sure hasn´t figured YOU out yet, has he, Teri?

Maybe Lou is afraid you till get rid of him if he makes too many waves. He sure hasn´t figured YOU out yet, has he, Teri?
No, he doent know the sucker I really am.

Well, Suki and Mack were both found as little kittens. Mack, I assume, was born into being a stray as his siblings were also living on the streets with him. And Suki I think was born into it as well, because she wasn´t used to humans at first.

When I met Putti I was looking for a cat, my other cat had died few months before and I was very sad. I fuond her in a cat pound: she was skinny and alone because her owner had abandoned her.
When I entered the pund she was gazing me! She said meow, and I became hers forever!
Now she´s happy and weigh 5 KG, she´s the queen of my house and she alway sleeps in my bed!

I called about an ad I had seen about four kittens. It said, bottle fed and furballs. The lady explained to me that she took them from their mother at 5 weeks old and bottle fed them and that they looked like they had persian in them. What go tme about the ad was the furballs. I rode over and saw them. There were two with short hair and two with medium hair. Instead of just taking one I had to have two. They were all brother and sisters. After getting them home I figured out a few things. They were taken from their mother way too early. I don´t think it was 5 weeks. I think it was about 3 weeks. The mother was on the premises and I don´t understand why she took them from their mother. Anyway, they were on the small side which she had explained to me, but they were on a very small side for being 7-8 weeks old as she had told me. One of them was using his sister to try to suckle still. That told me these cats were about two weeks or so younger. I got them some kitten food and mixed it with what she had told me to use which was goats milk. She said they would not drink straight water at all. Low and behold I filled up the water bowl the next day and they were drinking it like it was going out of style without the milk in it. The male cat still tries to suckle a little bit, but he is growing out of that slowly. Now they are happy kittens running all over the house, chasing the dogs tail and eating wonderfully.

Well, I suppose - I shouldn´t be listed as a rescue cat - I rescued myself.
My first human just didn´t care about me, when he left he showed me outdoors and never looked after me when he came back. And I was forced to stay outside without any food or water or shelter in bad weather.
And then the new people came in the apt. next door and there was always someone at home. I started to visit them from time to time, then every day and one day I simply stayed.. .and I stayed till I had to go Over the Rainbow and leave them behind.
AM I not a clever cat?
Oskar III

I´d like to know what happend to my cat as well...when we took her home we realized that her tail was broken. No one had mentioned to us that the cat had a previous injury. Would be interesting to know how that happend..

I rescued Pani from one of the community houses I worked at (I work with people with Intellectual Disability) and 1 of the men at the house used to kick him in the head and he spent a lot of time hiding - I never understood why he hadn´t run away, I like to think he was waiting for me to find him. Once I got him home he never left me side, he was originally called Sam but my flatmate at the time had a brother called Sam so changed his name to Pani. (It took me a couple of days to realise it was short for company!! ).

I have cat named cocoa who was found by my dad on a street. Well, she wasn´t like laying there on the street but was walking by. My dad then decided to pick her up and take her home. I was about 5 or 6 when we found her. She probually would´ve starved because she was quiet skinny for a reqular old kitten. Coca is really kind and stuff too.

I had 2 kittens a while ago (Before Alex) They were the most beautiful cats. I do not think they were pure bred but they had long hair. I was driving down a highway and saw a car in front of us throw a box out the window. When the box hit the ground it popped open and i saw a small animal fall out. My mother knew right away to stop as i shreiked. We knew it was unwanted kittens. There were 5 in the box. One of them did not make it and i cried for a long time for him. They couldnt have been more than a few weeks old. My mom was not very fond of kittens but i made her bring them all home... The fifth i burried respectibly. I kept two and nursed the poor hungry things back to health. They werent too bad off. One i kept had a very bad paw. It was obviously crushed somehow before he was abandoned. So right place and right time, We took in a gray and black kitten. My gradmother took the two white ones. Sometimes I just cant believe anybody can be soooo cruel! Anyone who saves any kind of abandoned or abused animal should be very proud of themselves! It is the greatest deed i think anyone can do!

Nickel was adopted from a rescue group and then returned a few months later when her adopted family had to move. She was with the rescue group for over a year before we found her! We saw her on display in a condo. She was so attentive to anyone who showed her attention, and she was big and fluffy and gorgeous! It was difficult to believe anyone would give her up and that she would be unwanted for so long. Now she is litteraly (slight pun) the queen of the house. She runs the place! She sleeps and eats on the kitchen counter. She runs off the other cats if they are in her "space". Nickel has her "mom" trained to feed her every time she meows. She might have been rescued, but as far as she´s concerned, she just assumed her rightful throne!

I think you can tell by what they seem to cling to, or really freak out of. Molly we know coz he was rescued from the mad lady with he broom, my Mum! To this day he ignores Mum to the extreme.

Skitz was a stray kitten with his siblings. He freaks at change, which we learned when we moved house, and he absolutely freaks out big time in the cat cage. In the carrier he is fine, loud but fine. In the cage OMG he is like a wild thing. Poor baby. His capture, even though it saved his life and bought him to me, was the most traumatic of his life.

Queenie was surrendered to the RSPCA. The vets told us she´d had at least one litter previous to the kittens she was surrendered with AND pregnant with. She was only about 1 & half. Mum and I think she was loved at some point coz she just loves bras. We think someone held her close as a kitten under their jumper. She loves bras. Loves them. She´s also a bit on the cranky side. But after all those kittens who can blame her.

Fleabi, well she was young when she adopted the original family. But she refuses to go out when it is cold. She loves being indoors. She was only ever outdoors, living under the house. So she flatly refuses to go outdoors during the cooler months. In summer and spring she loves to play outdoors until late at night. Drives me mad, she pretends she wants to come in and then runs away. Fun and games.

Great strand! Well in the UK we have the Data Protection Act which means that no one is told much about the cat they take on from a shelter but the bare facts. You know ... ´Lived with someone who had to move ...´ or ´found as a stray´. We try to rehome cats as far away from their old homes as possible so they don´t wander back.

With Kimmy I heard that her owner had moved away and couldn´t take her. I didn´t even look at another cat at the home but weeks later when I was looking at her paperwork I found her ´intake form´ .. which I shouldn´t have seen. It told me where she used to live and various things about her .. like she hadn´t been innoculated and hadn´t been registered with a vet - which implies she had never been to a cattery but also some quite endearing things like, ´she bites´ and what she liked eating. She´d lived with this person for 10 years so I sort of wondered how and why would anyone want to part? I sort of judged this person fairly harshly although I was glad for me but one day I took myself off to find the address. A humble little house with safety railings either side ... yes, sheltered accomodation for the elderly with an old folk´s home very close. My guess is an old lady had her and had to go into the old folk´s home. It probably broke her heart to give Kimmy up. I´d love to tell her she´s OK but I´m not supposed to know ... Christine xx

I work at the same at the same animal rescue Christine was talking about.

Cassie was rescued by the Cats Protection League at the age of ten weeks along with her brother (who sadly has since died of cancer). They had had a bad time, with their owner putting them out on day one at 7am and not feeding them till he came home at 7pm. So mum and kitties had to fend for themselves. Cassie I think got away quite lightly as she was small and quiet however, Woody sadly was beaten by him as he would hide if you picked a newspaper up too quickly!!

Porsche was brought into the place I work ( we have 130+ cats, 160+ dogs plus lots of small animals). The people said she had been scrounging for two weeks and they thought she might have worms...oh for goodness sake she was 10 days off from giving birth to 4 kiities. She went onto have her kitties in my spare room as there was no room at the rescue.

Mickey was brought into the resuce home has a stray...so we don´t really now much about him. They called him Oddjob but I couldn´t call him that so Mickey he became.

Little One was rescued when he was about 12 weeks. He was found on the side of a road (hiding under a car I assume due to the grease) by an elderly woman. The woman bought him into my sisters petsop, where I just happened to be that night getting new toys for Gypsy and Varekai. When I first saw him, he was skinny as and meowing through the enclosure window at me, fell in love with him and took him home. We dont know for sure if he was born a stray or had a previous family, but my guess is he had a family. He was so affectionate to me when we were bringing him home, giving me cuddles and kisses. Although he was riddled in flees, skinny and stunk. His first bath consisted of me also sitting in the bath with him for nearly 2 hours, hand picking out the flees and scrubbing the grease off. Today you wouldnt think he was a stray, he is the most affectionate, loveable cat. Follows his mummy everywhere.

Soul and Raidin where dumped in the middle of the road (my sister saw the man do it). My sister stopped her car and picked them both up. Our guess is they were about 3 weeks old when they were dumped. They were both bought to my place where I hand raised both of them. Sadly Soul passed away at 8 months old to a deadly disease, but Raidin however has a new forever home (my partners Aunty took him in) and is a very happy and loved kitty. He always comes running upto me when I go over for a visit.