Spending time in the woods was second nature to me. I grew up camping and hiking and would retreat to the leafy green coolness to escape the humid Ohio summers. I'm a naturalist and know the plants and animals by heart. This is why one day while hiking in my favorite little wooded park not far from my home, I was very confused when I heard a tiny squeeky cry coming from the path in front of me. In my head I went through the possibilities. "Mouse? Snake eating a mouse? Small rabbit? Squirrel pup?" I stopped to listen.

A tiny, pinprick of a sound was all I heard. I followed it to a patch of plants. "Hello?" I asked the curious noise.

"Mew?" was the reply. The patch of plants the tiny mew was coming from was in fact, my forest nemesis - stinging nettle. It has tiny barbs that cause an allergic reaction in almost everyone - seven minutes of really, really uncomfortable pain. And this tiny little sound was coming from the very center of a rather large patch of the stuff. I looked about for a stick. Moving back some unfriendly foliage, I discovered two brilliant green eyes staring up at me. Nothing but a black puffball with two green orbs. My heart instantly melted. Who would leave a tiny thing like that out in the woods..to get eaten by the coyotes?

I wasn't going to let that happen - so in I went.

What happened next was both amazingly wonderful and very terrible. I stood there, snuggling a tiny fluffy black poofball while covered in painful stinging from my waist up - and after that seven minutes were over, we had bonded forever.

We did some research, and discovered that the tiny poofball was most likely a Norwegian forest cat. My mother, who I was currently (temporarily) living with at the time, named her Aspen. After a week of halfheartedly trying to find her owner, we had fallen so head-over-heels for her that we we took down the posters. She's been with us ever since!

Last year, right about this time, I got a litter of 3 very feral kittens, about 8 weeks old to foster through Animal Love Foundation.

Two of them were a lovely creamy orange colour, almost identical, a boy and a girl. The 3rd was a gorgeous fluffy ginger, and was the wildest of the three, always trying to protect his brother and sister.

I was able to get the 'twins' tamed and adopted in about a month and a half, and one, Molly, was adopted by my friend and now roommate. But that fluffy orange boy, who I had named Cinnamon, was just too wild! It was more than 2 months before I could touch him without wearing several thick layers and oven mitts. He had a strange pointy face, and looked like a fox. Luckily, I have Monty, one of my permanent cats, a former foster himself. Monty has always ended up being the 'Nanny' to my foster litters, and Cinnamon became extremely attached to Monty. Slowly, by following Monty's lead, he began to let me touch him, and would sleep with me at night.

He was still much too scared of everyone other than me though and looked to be unadoptable. I'd recently lost my 3rd cat, Samson, unexpectedly at only 4 years old, and decided I only wanted to stick with the 2 cats I already had, Monty and Lexy. It seemed to be fated though.

Cinnamon had bonded to me, and I to him. I admitted to another 'foster failure' and Cinny became officially mine.

This past year, he has come SO far! From a terrified little kitten who looked like a wild fox and acted even wilder, to a sweet boy who now comes to meet new people, though few have gotten to pet him. He's still Monty's biggest fan, and I'm sure that he will always love Monty a bit more than me, but thats fine!

I now live with my friend who adopted his sister Molly, and we have 5 silly cats all together. I am so proud of my once 'unadoptable' boy.

My sister and her husband ended up fostering two tiny baby kittens, less than a week old. They came from a family that had killed the mother. They had pried the tiny ones eyes open, way before they were ready, and they were feeding them puppy formula. My sister, like myself, could not bear to not do something. So.. they adopted these two needy fluff balls, hoping to find them homes later.

They took the two with them everywhere! One boy, one girl, as the song goes. They named them Bugsy, and Bullet. Silvery grey, long silky hair... happy, well loved, well taken care of, and spoiled rotten. A few months later, the kittens accompanied my sister to our home, for a family wedding.

My husband had sworn he had always hated cats. A confirmed dog lover. However, a few weeks previously, we had rescued a kitten from where we both work. Soon, he was eating those words.

When my sister arrived, with Bugsy and Bullet, it was best friends at first sight! Bugsy and Diablo (our rescued baby) were inseparable. Bugsy moved in with us.

Bugsy was my best friend. He loved to cuddle, be held, and would talk your ear off. I had never been around a cat with such personality. And I have had at least one cat, my entire life. He was loving to everyone. He was a "mom" to other kittens we ended up rescuing. Every day, he would make the rounds of our rural neighborhood. Neighbors kept noms in grabbing distance of their doors, for when Bugs came to say hi. They would tell me how much they enjoyed him. No one loved him like I did though.

Last February he was acting odd. My husband took him to the vet. He was dying. Bleeding internally they said. Vitamin K shots, and getting his body temp up were our only weapons. He died, at 1:18 am. Not alone. I was holding him. Telling him I loved him, For 7 years, he gave me everything. I miss him every single day. I will never forget.

Meet Amber. Amber was brought into a shelter in Western New York with a litter of kittens, her own kittens. They were adopted quickly but Amber took some time to find a kind soul looking for a lovely adult cat.

A family member of mine did adopt Amber, but due to Amber not being around young kids before, it was less than ideal and I was asked if I could maybe take Amber in and keep her from going back to the shelter with a strike against her. I was living in Virginia, but couldn't see letting a perfectly lovely cat be returned to the shelter with that kind of stigma on her. I drove from Virginia to New York to meet Amber and see what kind of trouble I was in for. I was very surprised to meet this lovely, grey tiger cat just full of love to give but in the wrong home setting. She's not good with lots of chaos and kids, at the time I had no children so it was perfect.

During the drive back from New York to Virginia, Amber was a gem. So quiet and content just to be with me.

Six years later, Amber is now my son's best friend. She sleeps in his bed nightly and adores him, has from the first day he came home from the hospital. She's a part of our family and just needed the right amount of time to adjust to the entire situation.

During her 6 years with us, Amber has moved with us from Virginia to Japan and Japan to Maryland. She's part of our family, where we go our pets go. Moving 2 cats to Japan (and back) wasn't easy, but leaving them behind was never an option.

We may not have intended to be a 2 cat family, but as soon as Amber entered our home she made it hers and we made her ours.

It was a Saturday afternoon when my boyfriend and I wandered into our local SPCA. We already had adopted one cat and weren't looking for another, but we did enjoy visiting the animals that were up for adoption. I went into the cat area and was walking around petting them through the cages, when all of a sudden I heard a very distinct meow from across the room. I looked over and saw Trinity (her name at the time), pressed up against the cage, looking at me. I walked over to her and we couldn't get enough of each other. She rubbed her head against my fingers and gave me kisses. I must have stood there with her for at least ten minutes. Finally my boyfriend told me it was time to go and that no, we weren't ready for another cat. It hurt to leave her there, but it was a decision he and I both had to agree on. So with a heavy heart, I left.

The following week was a busy one for me, as that was the week I graduated college. But all week, I thought about her. I begged my boyfriend to let Trinity into our home. I couldn't bear the thought of such a sweet cat not having a family. But he kept saying no. We had decided to go to New Smyrna Beach for the weekend to celebrate my graduation. After celebrating, he dropped me off at work that Sunday, and when he came to pick me up, I could tell he was up to something. We arrived home and as I was standing at the kitchen sink getting ready to cook dinner, he said "Wow, how did she get in here?" As soon as he said that, I felt a furry head bump my leg. And there she was. He wanted to wait to get her for me as a graduation gift. Two years later, Twitch (we named her that because she twitches her tail whenever she's excited) is happy, healthy, and very much loved.

The photo is of our cat Bungie, who recently passed away. We got her 20 years ago. She was not a planned family member, but she was always a loved family member!

When I was 17 years old, I was riding my bike in an area of Buffalo, NY called Skwa Island. As I was riding the trail, I heard an odd sound from the bushes, so I stopped to check it out. What I found was really disturbing. There was a box, duck taped closed, with what looked like a hole in one corner, made from the inside. The box was moving, and I was a bit nervous to get closer, but then I heard the most dreadful, saddest mews. I immediately tore the box open (gently as not to rattle the kitten inside) and there, instead of the one kitten I expected, were two baby kittens hog tied and left in the box. It looked like more kittens were in there, too, but they had escaped their bonds and opened a corner, they were no where to be found. I immediately emptied my backpack, put the kittens gently inside and rode to the nearest convenience store. I told the clerk I only had about 75 cents and needed milk and kitten food and I explained what I had found. A crowd gathered very quickly and they all put money towards the milk and food. We cut a cardboard cup down to a manageable kitten drinking size and the clerk gave me a plate for the food. It was very endearing to see strangers pull together for these kittens! I asked if any one wanted either kitten, they were happy to help but not too keen on taking either home. But I found a home for one kitten with a friend and brought the other home. My folks said she could stay until we found her a home, but I knew that we already had. And Bungie brightened every day for the next 20 years to come! She was a lovely cat and is missed every day!

My husband Bill and I were in our vet's office for an appointment with our dog when we saw a litter of five kittens in their waiting room looking for homes. We already had two cats and decided to take two of the kittens. When I returned for the follow-up visit, there was one beautiful black and red kitten left and she was running around the office. I went home and told Bill but he thought we had enough with four cats and two dogs. When I came home from work the next day, there were five cats and two dogs! He went back to the vet's office and knew we had to have her. We named her Daphne and she's been a joy in our lives for 15+ years. Sadly, we had to let her go on Father's Day 2013 because of the effects of hyperthyroidism. While our grief is overwhelming, Daphne provided us with so much love, affection and amusement for so many years, we'd do it all over again. We still have her 15+ year old sister Suzie who is in great health. It's a privilege to adopt or take in strays or rescues. We now have five cats, all rescues, and one dog, also a rescue. We wouldn't have it any other way.

That was the title of the adoption ad that led me to my beautiful girl. I had had flatmates with cats for a few years, and suddenly found myself without constant feline company, so I started considering adopting one of my own. Living in a college town, there were always animals needing adoption, because some people would rather get rid of their family members than go through the trouble of moving with them or finding pet-friendly living accommodations. There were countless cats looking for homes, but then I happened upon this and was instantly sold.

Angel was rescued from an abusive home by a courageous and concerned neighbour. Said neighbour could not keep her as she already had a dog, a kitten, and a child, all of whom terrified the newly rescued bundle of fluff. After a month of emailing back and forth, I was deemed a good fit for her. I was in school, but I had little class time and spent my days reading and writing papers, so I would be home most of the time to give her the attention she would require. I excitedly went to the pet store to pick up all the essentials and a bunch of new toys, ready to spoil my new arrival.

When she was brought into my room, she immediately ran and hid under the bed. In a few short months, my not-so-well-adjusted cat went from fleeing and hiding from every noise outside the door, to running towards it and insisting on investigating. She became comfortable with people, and will even chase other cats when I take her out on her harness. She's an old lady now, but that doesn't stop her from maintaining her status as boss-of-everything and protector of the home.

Hungry, abandoned and needs a family!

Late last night a man showed up at my door holding this kitty. He says,"Ms. Paula, I knows you like-ed the cats, help this one, Please."

After a lengthy conversation and everything in my "power" to refuse........ these are the photos of the kitty drinking, eating and being loved. Now in about a week this kitty will need a Real Home.

Everyone, please help me find the right home for this baby. share the story and maybe the kitty can answer some ones prayers as I already know this one is special.

This is the first time in my history of rescuing cats, that one has come to me with a "bit of magic".....the magic word!

Happy was abandoned at my vet's when she was about a month old. She was brought in sick and almost dying, and the original owner refused to pay for treatment and medication, and decided to abandon her there. My vet who was treating her asked me if I wanted to add another member to my family, and gave me a week to think about it.

I already had 3 dogs at the time, one of which was a sickly senior (the reason I'm at the vet's all the time), and I wasn't sure I had the time to care for a new puppy. My husband was also starting to get fed up with the rescues I keep on bringing home. I was already leaning towards declining.

It might have been fate, or merely a coincidence, but that week, I rescued a stray kitten. I was able to find an adopter for little kitty, and promised the adopter I would clear kitty at the vet's. So off to the vet I went again, which happened to be the week's deadline. I took another peek at Happy, and suddenly, it just felt right. I went home with a puppy and a kitten, crossing my fingers that all will be well.

Happy is now a healthy bundle of energy :) She gets along great with my other dogs, and keeps everyone in the house young. I am so glad I brought her home. (Kitty, now named Mickey, has a happy ever after too with her new fur-mommy!)