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When You First Fell In Love With A Cat

8.8K views 30 replies 31 participants last post by  Justteri1000  
#1 ·
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#5 ·
When I was very young, my grandma had a haggard old calico named 'Cat' who was an outdoor cat. My gosh, I loved that cat. I would set on the porch and just talk to her and pet her.
 
#6 ·
My first experience with a cat was traumatic. I tried petting an indoor/outdoor cat and it rolled over on its tummy for me to pet. It tried grabbing my arm (now I know it was in play) and I got scared and jerked my hand away. I got cut though in the process and my mom scared me about getting 18 shots in my stomach if it had rabies. I became a dog person after that :)

However, a 4 years ago I met a couple of strays behind my house, which me and my gf fed and that started my appreciation of cats. It wasn't until Cuddles walked into our house 1.5 years ago that I started to LOVE cats. Thank you Cuddles :)
 
#7 ·
Our next door neighbor had a bunch of cats that were allowed to go in and out of their laundry room. There were polydactyly cats in the mix and I loved them most of all. I loved to go over there and spend time with them and then Mrs. Healy would make me pastini. They are cozy memories that I will hold with me forever.
 
#8 ·
I was 5 years old when I first saw a real cat. My mother and I were taking out the trash and found two kittens in a box placed on top of our trash can. They were tiny. My mother immediately bought them into the house and gave them some milk. She sent my dad out for cat food hoping they were old enough to eat it. They devoured the food. My parents decided to keep them. Those kitties lived to be 21 (Leah)and 22 (Leo). My mom would often joke they would probably outlive her. My parents were crushed when they passed but to this day remember how wonderful their kitties were. I fell in love with cats the moment my mother opened that box.
 
#9 ·
We found Casie when I was two. I was probably five by the time I realized we had a cat. As I got older, she became closer and closer to me. I guess my love of cats just sorta developed over those years. All I know is that now I'm crazy about them! :crazy
 
#10 ·
When I was really little I was taking swimming lessons and the instructors cat had kittens. I just fell in love with the kittens and eventually my Mom let me have one. It was white with a few black spots. I named him Tabby.
 
#11 ·
I had a cat when I was 2, but I don't think I ever fell in love with a cat until I got my third cat as an adult, he's an orange tabby kitten. He could do no wrong, I absolutely adore him. He's a cuddly, medium haired, orange male. He loves to lick my face and neck with his rough tongue (sometimes it hurts), but it's all out of love <3

I love my other 2 adult cats of course, but I think there's a special bond when you raise something from a young animal to a healthy thriving adult.
 
#12 ·
I had virtually no experience with cats until my ripe old age of 48, when my then-new husband wanted one and I decided to disregard all the voices of my mother ("they'll shed!" "you won't keep up with feeding them!" "they cost money!") and go for it. That was Rookie, our beautiful gray long-haired cat who we adopted from the shelter. I was in love with her from minute one, of course.
 
#13 ·
When we moved into our first house there was an unclaimed but well fed neighborhood that came around to greet me. She was old, fat, tumerous and drooled when she purred. She was the sweetest thing I had ever met. That was my introduction to cats and I fell in love, but we soon received orders overseas and had to move. I later learned she died of cancer, but that first love cemented my love of all felines.
 
#14 ·
I barely remember getting my first cat, I was probably 3 years old. I was at the grocery store with my mother and there was a lady giving away kittens in a box. We left with a cream colored one that my mom named Josie. I too have tiny scars on my hands from Josie. I remember thinking she was mean...she would hide under my bed and jump out and "attack" my feet. I didn't love cats until cat #2, Snowball, who was given to us by an elderly neighbor. I don't think I've ever been without a cat since.
 
#15 ·
I don't remember a time when I wasn't in love with cats - and most other animals for that matter. My childhood was heavily influenced by the presence of animals - both our domestic ones and wild ones passing through during rehabilitation. I would ahte being without animals around.
 
#16 ·
Too little to remember my age. I had a tuxedo named "Tuffy" who was an indoor-outdoor cat. He was followed by Begum, an indoor Shaded silver Persian, and now three indoor Himalayans - Yeti, Kabuki, and Mishka. I'd have more if I could handle it but three seems enough for now!
 
#17 ·
Ohhh...my dear dear Bentley boy. I was 20 yrs old. my ex bf and I had decided to get a cat. We were going to the pet store to get supplies before we went to the shelter. To my surprise, there were cats from the shelter that were there (so they had a little more publicity). There was a large tuxedo boy with tuffs of lose fur all over him (I was so upset no one had been brushing this sleek short haired cat), it was love at first sight and he was rubbing all over me. I had intended on an orange cat...funny how these things happen. I pouted N fussed to my ex "well shouldn't we go to the shelter to give the other cats a chance?" He looked at me and chucked and said "why? you know you're just gonna come back for him." I smiled and said "you're right". We called a cab and gathered our cat supplies and our new family member! i lost him almost 2 years ago, I miss every day.
 
#18 ·
I fell in love with cats when I was about four years old. We went to my Uncle John's dairy farm in the spring when the new kittens were just starting to toddle about. I sat down in the barn straw and allowed a legion of little cats to walk all over me. From that time I bugged my dad for a cat and he got me Fluffy when I was about five. But Fluffy and dad did not get along well and we had to take Fluffy to my Uncle's farm and let him be a barn cat.

But that did not keep me from being a cat magnet. No matter where I went cats found me; they seemed to seek me out and sometimes the cat owners were surprised at how gentle their usually aloof cats were with me. But I could not have any cats because of dad's allergies; any other pet I wanted, but no cats.

Then I moved out of my parent's house and I immediately got my first cat. That was 1983 and I have never been cat free since.
 
#19 ·
I fell in love with them when I was 9 and a stray approached me on the street while on my way to school. I petted her and she began following me. Needless to say, I was late for school and the cat went home with me. My mom hated cats and she was beside herself, but my grandma talked her into letting me keep the cat. We became best friends from then on.
 
#21 ·
My dad had an older cat named Tinkerbell when I was born. She was a stray that wandered up years before and had been an indoor / outdoor cat from when my dad was a bachelor. Apparently she took a liking to me as soon as I was home and it worried my mom and grandma... but Tinker was always very gentle and spent hours with while I was a baby. I'm told she often slept in my crib and we'd spend a lot of time hanging out on a blanket on the floor.

She died when I was 6 or 7 but I still remember her well. She was great with my younger siblings when they came along but from what I'm told she completely adopted me and if I started crying the cat would usually be the first to come see what was wrong.
 
#22 ·
That picture is too sweet for words - they're the same size!

I'm like October; I didn't discover cats until much later.

As a child, I had a friend who had 2 cats, a Siamese and a brown tabby. But I discovered I was allergic to them, and they weren't particularly friendly, so I wasn't particularly interested in getting to know them.

At 16, I stayed with a family in France who had a very friendly, but mostly outdoor cat. I don't think I ever even touched him.

In my late 20s, a friend left her cat with me for a few days. I couldn't let him in my bedroom because of my allergies. Every night when I closed the door, he'd run full tilt down the hallway and bodyslam the door, then howl to be let in. And yet...somehow, when she came and picked him up, the apartment felt empty. So I took care of him a couple of other times.

In my early 30s, I took care of another friend's supremely ornery cat for a few days. He hissed, wanted nothing to do with me, scratched and drew blood, and killed my ficus tree (I woke up one night to a strange noise, opened my eyes and saw the top of my tree shaking. He shook all the leaves off the tree). And yet, once again, my apartment seemed so empty when he was gone.

So I finally got my own cat, at the age of 35. :)
 
#23 ·
I'm pretty much that girl in the photo. She kind of looks like me when I was that age, too. :p

I was essentially raised around family members with dogs and cats, I spent just about every day around my grandparents and they had two dogs... my aunt had a cat as well, although I would've only spent time around him in summer months & Christmas.

In my own household we didn't get a cat until I was 5. I guess with a little kid it wasn't something my dad wanted to rush into. When we got one it was the one my dad found abandoned at his job site.

My dad was raised around lots of cats and dogs; thinking on it now it's sort of odd that my grandparents only had two dogs and no cats my entire life. That only changed after I tammed Blacky from their neighborhood when I was about 15. Their old unused cat door came in handy.
 
#24 ·
My first love of cats was 4 years ago when a lady in work advertised her cat's litter over our work email. I took one look of the jet black kitty with big cuddle me eyes and instantly fell in love.. this was on a Tuesday, I arrange a visit after work on the Thursday evening and took him home that night. Jasper has been my black panther ever since and I wouldn't be without in for anything or anyone in the world...
Back last year my boyfriend sent me a photo of his mates mothers kittens - which were 4 months by now - and the same thing happened when i saw the picture of Bella... visited her on a weekday evening and returned on a Saturday to collect her...

Strange this is - when i lived with my folks we were always dog people it wasn't until i got my own place i became a cat lady...
 
#25 ·
When I was a little kid, my parents owned a toy Manchester terrier, Barfy. She was little, fragile and snappy. Not good with little kids. (She actually snapped at me at one point, course my folks blamed me.......) Why they chose that dog, I have no idea. But, in grade school, my sister and I got two kittens. Hers was Peachy Tiger, mine Dusty Lion. That was love at first sight.

I've had several kitties since then. I loved them all. Currently, I am owned by Katerina and Ivan, our blue british shorthair kittens. They are lively and funny, much loved and spoiled!

Mylita