it's 16mths since i lost my 18yr old cat and said i'd never have another one but the house wasnt the same. i randomly asked a family member to keep their ears open for a kitten or cat. that was on the tuesday and on the friday i had the rspca turn up with a bundle of fur - a bit soon for my liking as i'd only just decided but anyway Suki was about 14wks old and had been abandoned in a catbox with grass cuttings.

that was 2wks ago and oh my word she has turned my world upside down. very friendly, full of fun and turned my house into a home. she really is beautiful and now my baby.

here's to the next 18 yrs. thank you suki for finding me

how did other posters come to own their pets - was it meticulously planned or just a random thing that happened?

We've always had cats but finally got a dog three years ago after much nagging from youngest child. We had promised him a dog if he promised to walk her everyday which he does. We did tell him we'd get one in time but we actually surprised him a couple of days before his 10th birthday (he thought we'd gone out for a curry but we actually drove across London to get a puppy). She chose us when we looked at the litter...she came and sat on my feet and when I picked her up she just snuggled in and went to sleep. Looking back now if she was the calmest puppy I wonder what the rest are like now cos she is nutty at times!

My two boys Thomas and Charlie were planned, I got them when I got my first place of my own as I'd always wanted cats.

A couple of years later I accidentally acquired Rocky, who was always hanging round the back of the flats. He was filthy, frightened and had fleas. Then he got a horrible cold so I managed to catch him and get him to the vet. I put a 'found' ad in the local paper but got no response so I took him in.

I discovered a few months later that he wasn't a stray as I'd thought but had owners in the next street, only they didn't give a stuff. They'd seen my ad but hadn't even bothered to pick the phone up. I heard the wife's response on being told he'd found a new home was 'well, if someone else wants him they can have him, he's more bother than he's worth.'

He died last year at the age of about 14 but I like to think I rescued him and gave him a better life than he had there.

Fate.

Mates cat had kittens and wanted rid of em, he picked the cutest one and gave it to me for my 18th birthday. He turned out to be the greatest cat in existance.

The Mrs and I both weren't cat people, but when we moved in together we had a beautiful black cat who came round more and more often. Eventually she started sleeping occasionally in the garage. She belonged to a family 2 doors down, who offered her to us as they were moving away and no longer wanted her. It was the best present ever. We since have rescued 2 more cats and neither of us could imagine our lives without cats in it anymore.

I have bought a tortoise and hamster though.

awh that's lovely

i think there is some truth that to a certain degree pets choose their owners. some lovely stories thanks for sharing. My daughter trying to brush our Suki and she's not too impressed lol

Kind of planned and kind of fate.

I had been planning on getting a dog for 2 years - it took me a while to find a good reputable show breeder. I had planned on getting a girl but the breeder sent me pics of the available girl and 2 available boys - I knew the second I saw "Boy #2" that he was meant to be mine

If I believed in such a thing - I'd probably call it fate...
(Though I don't, and just call it coincidence), but...

My previous dog had to be PTS aged 16 (general 'old-dog' stuff), and a few months later a neighbour's dog became pregnant.
Mother dog is black, father is brindle - I semi-jokingly said that if there were any male brindles in the litter, to put me down for one.
I happened to go round their house on the night the mother dog gave birth, and a male brindle had just been born - turned out to be the only male brindle in the litter.
Then I noticed the date - 30th May - Exactly the same as my previous dog's birthday.

None of mine were really planned. My dog was born the day my previous dog died. (His Mum was being fostered by a friend) I had sworn never to get another dog after losing Taz, but after I met the pups, Barney wormed his way into my affections and ended up coming home with me 8 weeks later.

One of my cats was 'planned' but the other 2 came to me by accident. Arwyn was a stray who we found in our wheelie bin! We agreed to foster him till Cat Protection could find him a home and 2 years later hes still here. Shadow was meant to be going to live with a friend of mine after being passed between various homes but she changed her mind after I'd collected him for her Of course he ended up staying too.

Fate here.

16 years ago a black female cat turned up on my door, decided she liked it, and stayed. She's still with me .

Planned,.. we got our cat Charlie just over 3 years ago, he was a present from my GF when I moved into a new place,
I spent the first 6 months of his life living on my own with him and we struck up a tight bond,
he was MY cat, when I eventually moved in with the O/H Charlie was still a one person cat, I was the only one he would ever come to for a cuddle etc,
then we got our dog Floyd, without a shred of a doubt THE best dog in the world, he is very smart and has the most fantastic temperament, he and Charlie were soon firm friends,

Sadly in May this year Charlie was hit by a car in our street, and had to be PTS, I am not ashamed to say I was devastated he was my buddy, we live in a very quiet street in a very quiet rural village, it was a one in a million chance,

A month ago we decided there was a huge cat shaped hole in our lives so we got Jimi an 8 weeks old black and white kitten, we were cautious at first with him around the dog, we had no need to worry, they are already the best of friends and have us laughing our heads off with their antics as they run around the place playing with each other, the only problem is we think Floyd thinks the cat is HIS pet,

there are pictures of them in the mad cat owners thread,

Bit of both - we'd decided to get a kitty and went to the petshop to stock up on bits.

I honestly didn't think petshops were even allowed to sell kittens any more but there was our little Amber.

She was one of 4, the rest were all pure white and had already been homed . I was handed a little ginger, black and white ball fo fluff and that was it.

Luckily we took her to the vets within days, she had cat flu and we were able to succesfully treat her.

3.5 years down the line and I could not be without her...

Planned, I had one of my cats for my birthday one year, and it took me years to find my dog, I had been searching for a female pug forever and one day I just got lucky and happened to ring the advert in time to get the last one (4 hours after the advert had been posted!). Gathered up the rest through various means - have a lurcher that my sister got and decided she didn't want, a cat my old housemate got and decided she didn't want, a poodle of my mums and a random stray cat my mum brought home from work one day.

Half hearted planned/dreamed of having a dog. My childhood dog who I grew up with had, had to be PTS 9 Months before and it broke my heart and left a hole, a family member mentioned a litter of the same breed, I decided to go and see, this little one with beautiful markings would not move from my feet and was rather cheeky and that was it. Hes been my baby since nearly 8 years later.

Fate here too. Nearly 5 years ago a black female cat turned up on the end of my bed. Been hogging it ever since

I might go in for some cat napping though. Today I heard a meow which didn't sound like mine, went into the kitchen to find two of the most beautiful ginger kittens which had come in through the back door. Both had gorgeous ginger/brown eyes (and were wearing collars). Someone must have let them out for the first time and they were having a good explore of my garden. I had to hold mine back to stop her attacking them. Bless her, she sat down next to me growling and then walked off in a hump because I wouldn't let her chase them.

Mostly fate I like to think

I was never allowed a cat as my Mum was allergic and just plain didn't like them! My parents separated in 2007 though and for no particular reason I went to live with my Dad, and a cat was now an option, one plus during a pretty horrible time!

I was actively looking for a kitten and actually had my name down for a 4 week old at a local shelter, obviously waiting a few more weeks before I was actually due to take him! He was very small and sickly though, a runt, and when they had a cat flu outbreak he unfortunately didn't make it

One afternoon I had off work due to a show I was doing, I randomly remembered a different shelter I'd heard of and just rang them on the off chance. 2 hours later I was home with my baby Ruby I just cannot imagine life without my Ruby doobs, she's a constant, my rock, got me through one of the worst periods of my life and she'll always be my first and most special little girl.

My Elphie smelph was similar, meant to be etc, I live in a terrace and so my fluffs are kept in and safe when I'm at work during the day, so whereas Ruby used to wander round all the gardens in my Dad's cul de sac before I got my own place I was now worried she may be bored, she hates other cats but I thought it might help, and dispell some of those princess tendencies I put the feelers out and my friend had some 8 week old kittens. I arrived at her house and her boyfriend put this little black and white ball into my hands and I fell in love an hour later we were home and I had my own little family.

I love my two little girls more than anything, I don't remember a time I didn't have cats now!!

My first dog was planned, but my second dog was fate.

One sunday morning i was eating my brekkie when i saw all these puppies running around loose outside. I ran out barefooted, and the breeder who lives 2 doors away wasn't around, and somehow the puppies had escaped.

Two other neighbours ran out and we scouped them up, but this one little girl jumped into my arms and put her paws around my neck. I fell instantly in love with her, and i bought her that afternoon. We have been inseparable ever since. She is my poppet.

Well, I'd been on at my parents for months about getting a dog (a cocker spaniel, I'd already named him Jasper ) but they didn't budge. My brother suggested getting a kitten to which I replied "all cats do is sleep. They're boring"

A few days later we got a little grey kitten from somebody in North London, not realising that she was ill. I got attached to her very quickly, and though mum tried to prepare me for it, Misty died in the night. I cried myself to sleep. The following day (yes, I know...very soon!) we got Winnie from a lovely lady locally.

Winnie had kittens and we kept Bungle.

Ahhh that is so sweet

i was really a bit of both we were orinaly going to get a dog but the dogs we saw oer at the Battersea home at Old Windsor were all staffs and we didn't want one of those. We had a look in the cats sections and although we didn't get any thing the daughter of a friend of my mums was moving house and had to give up one of her 3 cats they asked us if we'd like to take Murphy and we agreed so cetainly with him it was fate. My other 2 cats were by choice as I got them both from re-homing centres.

that seems to be a common theme with cats - just turning up uninvited and turning into one of the family

i'm glad i never had to pick a cat from a home as i think it'd upset me. my first cat we got from a neighbour who lived a few doors down, i didnt know her very well but it was summer and we were all out on the front and she said she had kittens and i just spontaneously said - oh i'll have one!! this time my neice knew i wanted one so asked a friend who works for the rspca and they just turned up with one - she's v v pretty and looks like sylvester only trouble is she's growning far too fast - she wont be a kitten for much longer

...and here's my story:

a stray cat had kittens in a sofa in next doors garden that was left when she moved out and we called some one who rescues cats and they came to collect the kittens so they could be homed but one escaped and she left it behined and asked us to call her if we found it. we searched allnight but coudn't find it and it got too dark to keep looking. then the next day i looked in the garden and found it and me my dad and sister caught it after a few attempts. my mum decided we could keep it, that was five years ago and hes still with us now. hes massive and really heavy and mainly stays outside only comming inside for food and if its a cold night which is handy because he dosn't get along with my other 14 year old cat.

My friend had decided to look after a budgie from a friend of his who had rescued it from someone else who didn't know how to treat it properly. Their previous bird had been eaten by their dog!

Anyway, I visited my friend and met the budgie. That was it. Love at 1st sight!

She was in her cage chirping loudly and clawed to the side wanting me to let her out. I opened the cage and she flew straight onto me, despite never being let out of a cage. Needless to say she came to live with me. I hate seeing birds in cages. She flies free in my living room and has several perches and a home-made play gym to keep her amused. Oh yes, and a little blue male friend from a rescue centre to keep her company...but no romance...two are enough!