"I’m allergic to cats but love how sassy and snuggly they are, kind of like me. Because of my allergies, I was woefully resigned to never having a kitten baby of my own, doomed to live the life of a cat auntie, and never a cat mom.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
Then, a couple of years ago when I was living with my sister and another roommate in the same apartment I’m in now, we got rats. Not just casual rats in the walls—which the apartment still has today—but big ol’ subway-style rats that left droppings in the living room and chewed through oatmeal packets. Yeah, we called an exterminator, but the reality is the best way to scare rats away is to solicit the services of a guard-kitten. Within days of the rats’ appearance, my sister adopted two-spotted calico sisters named Oprah and Queen Latifah @queenandoprahthecats. They not only held down the fort, but also won our hearts with their relaxed but assertive demeanors, and sisterly bond.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
My sister moved out about a year later and took Oprah and Queenie with her. (She didn’t move out because of any conflict between us. Actually, we wanted to try to have “boundaries,” which is pretty ironic considering how often she’s at my place.)⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
With the three sisters gone, I was faced with a pretty easy choice: Do I want uninvited pet rats, or do I want to add another cat to the family? A few days after Oprah and Queenie moved out, my new roommate and I were on the Brooklyn Animal Action site. We instantly fell in love with a tiny black cat with big eyes and a spunky personality who was found on her then foster family’s porch in a cardboard box. My roommate rushed to Brooklyn to adopt her. I wanted to name her Meowcus Garvey because she’s a feisty little black panther, but my roommate was justifiably opposed to naming black cats after Black people. (If you’re in the mood to feel unnerved, go on any cat adoption website and notice the number of black cats that white people name after Black people.) So, we agreed on Lumpy Space Princess after the Adventure Time character that has the same cute, cuddly, lumpy, powerful presence she does."

“When I first moved to New York my building did not allow pets and I was missing animal interaction, so I started volunteering with a cat rescue group once a week. A year later I moved into a new apartment and brought my 14-year-old cat from home up to live out her retirement in NYC. Sadly, one year later she passed away from heart failure and I was devastated. One evening about three months later I was volunteering and towards the end of my shift, I saw these yellow eyes peering out at me from a top cage. I have always been partial to black cats; to me, they are so special and often overlooked. Without even meeting her, I spoke to one of the adoption representatives and told them I was interested in adopting her. Something in her eyes told me we were just meant to be. I went home that night and discussed it with my roommates and the next day I went back to proceed with the adoption process.⠀ ⠀
A few days later I got the call that I had been approved. When I met Pinky’s rescuer she told me the little she knew about her past. She was estimated to be about a year and a half and had been left behind in the apartment when her former family moved out. The landlord found her two weeks later and she was taken to the city shelter where she eventually ended up on the euthanasia list. Pinky’s rescuer pulled her and fostered her until she was ready to move into the adoption center. It broke my heart when I heard what she had been through and promised to spoil her for the rest of her life."

“My partner Jeff and I had just moved in together and were fantasizing about adopting a cat, but we didn’t feel quite ready yet as we were still getting acquainted with our new space and living together. While browsing adoption sites and craigslist purely out of curiosity, we stumbled onto a post about Choi and just couldn’t resist wanting to meet him! Not only is he so handsome, but the description of his personality sounded incredibly lovely. He was about 3-4 years old and looking for a new permanent home. In a bizarre coincidence, the owners actually knew us through my work at @Refinery29 and Jeff’s work in film. They were happy to introduce us to Choi, and if we all clicked then we could adopt him. We set up a time to meet after we returned from visiting Jeff’s family (and their cats) over Thanksgiving.
However, things got stranger and more complicated from there. While visiting Jeff’s family I discovered—much to my chagrin—that I was actually allergic to cats. I had never spent that much time with them but had always loved them from afar. Looking back though, it all made sense: the irritated nose, the itchy eyes. But it was never consistent and it only happened with some cats. We told Choi’s owners about my recently discovered allergies, but they still wanted us to meet him since he is a Maine Coon and they typically produce less dander than other cats. So a few days later, we met Choi. He rolled over to expose his velveteen belly, and it was love at first sight—with very few sneezes. We’ve lived with Choi for almost two years and I feel incredibly lucky to have him in my life. He is a wonderful cat with a really sassy and sweet personality.
To my surprise, he acts more like a dog than a cat sometimes: playing fetch, wagging his tail, and breaking EVERYTHING. He comes when you call his name and he’s obsessed with chest rubs. When we get home, he literally rolls over and presents his belly and taunts you (with his eyes) to try and resist petting him. However, if you touch his ponch, he will be quick to let you know he’s not into that.”

“I was born in the Philippines, and in Tagalog, there’s a concept called “gigil” which is when someone is so cute that you’re overcome with the irresistible urge to squeeze or pinch or mush or devour them.
This rears its head whether she's melted into a little cuddle pile in my lap on the couch, or performing one of her adorable tricks (sit! up! spin! paw! pow!), or just, you know, sitting and staring and being CAT. With Audrey, I constantly have to be reminded to bite my cheeks and keep my gigil in line.”

"My partner, Jeremy, got Pogo for me as a surprise. We had just adopted our dog, Rocket, but Jeremy knew that I also wanted a cat. When some of his friends who live in Pittsburgh were passing through Philly, they secretly dropped off Pogo with him. I was working in my studio downstairs, where I do all my sewing, and Jeremy asked me to come upstairs. I saw a cat crate and some cat food but didn’t suspect anything—I was convinced that we were not going to get a cat since we already had Rocket. I didn’t even see the kitten inside the crate at first. Jeremy told me to look again, and I saw the cutest tiny kitten all the way in the back, looking a little scared. I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy I cried. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
My favorite thing about Pogo is his tail. It has a defect that makes it bend at a 90-degree angle. At first we thought it was broken and needed surgery, but we learned that he was born that way. His brother Foxbat, who still lives with his foster mom in Pittsburgh, has a zigzag tail too. My other two favorite things about Pogo: Even though his fur is mostly black, he has a little heart-shaped white spot on his belly, and he lets me teach him tricks. A friend of mine taught Pogo how to high five, and I was so stoked that I thought up more. Now he knows how to high five, sit, lie down, and roll over."

"I have the sweetest mini dachshund named Chakka who now lives with my mom in South Carolina. Since becoming a flight attendant 5 years ago, I couldn’t properly care for her with my hectic schedule and constant traveling. Although I visit Chakka and bring her to NY from time to time, I desperately missed having a furry friend to come home to.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
I tried to fill that void by walking dogs at BARC shelter whenever I could. I follow BARC on Instagram, and this past summer they posted about the ACC being slammed with animals, urging people to help clear the shelters and consider adopting. Since cats are pretty low maintenance (compared to dogs), I had been toying around with the idea of adopting one for the past year or so, and I took the post as a sign. I mean, there was no harm in looking, right?⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
It started off as “just browsing”. But when I finally saw Chai, formerly known as Luna, on the ACC’s website, I fell hard. She was so pretty to me and very unique looking, and she stared curiously into the camera- almost as if she were posing. Under her pictures, a volunteer had written a blurb about how lovely and social she was, which was the icing on the cake. I took the bait and inquired.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
She was found as a stray in some random building, super underweight and covered in fleas. They put Chai in their foster program until she was healthy enough for adoption. The foster let me visit and I was immediately smitten. She was so tiny and adorable, and very friendly! She even gave me a little smooch when I picked her up, which obviously sealed the deal for me."

“Blue and I found each other last September. Every day I’d take the subway at Union Square, and almost every day I’d see her playing in her cage. She was with a woman who was offering cats for adoption. The kittens in other cages slept peacefully. Blue, however, was a pistol. She would try to catch my eye- and she always did. Though I wasn’t a cat person, I visited her every day for a month, until I asked the woman what this little kitten’s name was. 'Her name is Blue,' the woman stated proudly. I laughed for the first time in months. How could this cute, happy, and playful kitten embody the antithesis of her name?
The fact of the matter was, living alone, and feeling discouraged, I myself was the blue one. I looked into her eyes, and she actually winked at me. It was love at first purr. Meant to be. I adopted her within a week after that. I soon learned that Blue was a 'special cat.' Aside from being a 'polydactyl cat,' or 'Hemingway cat,' and having an extra digit (she actually looks like she is wearing mittens!), I noticed that the wink she had given me was actually a problem: her face was different on one side and it didn’t move at all! After bringing her to the Vet, she was diagnosed with Horner’s Syndrome, which is paralysis of the face on one side, caused by a chronic ear infection. After three months of treatment, two different doctors, and one surgery, doctors tell me I saved her. Today she is completely healthy. Still lazy on one side, but no infection. She is the perfect, most loving, and playful little thing.
Adopting and saving Blue saved me. It taught me resilience. Throughout the entire process of her treatment, you’d have never known she was ever in pain. She was never 'blue.' And every time she winks at me, it’s always a reminder of the most important lesson throughout this process that everyone- men and women- need to hear nowadays: 'Your imperfections make you purrfect,' I tell her. Your imperfections make you purrfect.”

“I found Slipper through the powers of the internet. I was tagged several times in a post featuring 3 street kittens in need of a home. I never really considered myself a cat person, but when I saw this little ginger baby I felt him calling for me. So, I did some research and reached out about the post. After spending time with the woman who found him, she felt comfortable leaving Slipz with me.
I had just recently moved off campus and was in the middle of my senior year. So, acute companion made hours of studio work more bearable. And he wasn’t just mine. When I knew I had a long night ahead I would sneak him past the guards into the studio building. I would hide away in an empty classroom and friends would take breaks from their work to pet and play with Slips. He was like a therapy cat for stressed and overworked students.”

"Fievel and I met at the Aspca on 92nd street in June 2016. He was barely 2 months old and had tested positive for FIV (which eventually cleared) so he couldn’t share a space with other kittens. He was so playful and not shy at all. I’ve always had cats around me, but Fievel has been a different experience.
He’s overly energetic and started to show signs of play aggression early on, and I had to find ways to temper down his outbursts. My vet was really helpful and supportive and put me in touch with a behaviorist and a cat trainer. I started to implement shaping techniques to teach him tricks, I guess they use those more for dogs and dolphins. So now Fievel knows how to sit, stand, and give the paw and high five.”

“Temujin and Arya are really my step kids. My husband rescued them from his ex-girlfriend. Spending over $10,000 in Chinese bribes to get them out of Asia and into the United States during his tumultuous repatriation, he crash-landed in New York City and into my life.
The first time I met these babies I knew immediately my husband was the one. I just had to be their mom! Right after my husband and I got married, I found out my brother, a mynah bird I’ve had since I was 10, passed away and my parents had kept it a secret from me. It was a very depressing time and the kitties did everything to comfort me.
They knew what was happening to me without a word ( a lot can be said through bunting). Day after day they cuddled with me, bathed me, and licked my tears away. I wouldn’t know how to get out of my depression without their warm bellies and fluffy butts. Thanks to them, I’m now a full-on cat lady. While thanks to me, they have never been more spoiled.”

“Three cats are a lot of cats. But I couldn’t live without these little furballs. Fez was born and raised in Williamsburg. My brother and sister-in-law and I found him as we were walking through McCarren park one summer evening. This little smudge of a kitten ran up to us with his tail held high and climbed into our arms when we reached down to pet him. Fez is the friendliest cat I’ve ever met. He’s a feline ambassador. He’s also a little miracle. He fell four floors off our old balcony and we thought we had lost him.
Three days and thousands of signs later we found him in the bushes near our old house. He still climbs to the tippy top of everything so he certainly hasn’t learned his lesson. I have, however. Grendel and Inkling are Singaporean. I worked at an ad agency there and was homesick for Oregon. Then 14 years ago, during a monsoon, I heard the most pitiful kitten miaows coming from the alley behind my flat. Two tiny kittens huddled together in a soggy cardboard box, both of them drenched and scared and hungry. I scooped them up, cursed humanity for abandoning them to starve, and adopted them.
They proceeded to terrorize the geckos in my apartment until we flew to New York. They both have passports. I am the Angelina Jolie of Cat moms, I guess. When they don’t listen to me I assume it’s because I don’t speak Mandarin.”

"I was traveling for work in Mexico when I got a text from my boyfriend – he sent me a picture of a black cat and wrote “uh oh.” My boyfriend, Marty, had grown up with cats, and he always told me stories about his beloved little black cat Bison who passed before I could ever meet her. I never had a pet before, apart from a fish I accidentally froze one winter by leaving the window open, so when I received the photo, I may have been a little apprehensive.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
This cat had had enough of the harsh winter conditions, so during a memorable snowstorm, a neighbor let him into our building in Bushwick. He hung out in the hallway until Marty came home and felt bad for the little bugger. Marty offered him some warmth and food (we later discovered, he’s a big fan of cheese and ice cream). After that, Rabbit seemed to drop his suitcase, it was an upgrade from the street, and he was home.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
When I came back a week later and met him (not yet named Rabbit) I was intimidated by his size, he was a little larger than the photo suggested, and sometimes he’d run around the house like a mad man, jump in the bath and roll around on his back, or attack our feet as we walked by. But also, I was charmed. He was incredibly friendly, always greeted me at the door, and wasn’t afraid to cuddle.⁣⠀ ⁣⠀
To be good people, and since he was such a charm, Marty and I decided to plaster signs around the neighborhood asking “ANYONE MISSING BLACK FRIENDLY CAT?” Luckily, nobody called. I guess that was it – we had a new roommate, and haven’t regretted one moment of it since."

"In 2010, I was living in Brooklyn, but I would visit my mom in Harlem on occasion after work. My mom lived on the first floor and always had her window open without a screen. Sometimes random stray cats would jump through and enter her apartment. We would put them back out since my mom already had two cats of her own. One day I found Hamlet, a Birman Ragdoll mix, in my mom's closet. We thought someone was missing this beautiful cat because he looked lost and confused. My sister and I first went to the ASPCA to surrender him, but they said they couldn't take him and we should go to Animal Care and Control (ACC). ACC was the one that picked Hamlet’s name. When they receive an animal, they look in a baby name book and choose a name based on the letter in the alphabet they’re on.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
The lady at the front desk said, "Well we're up to the letter H....hmm, let's name him Hamlet." We were like, Oh ok. We were hoping someone would claim him, but 48 hours passed and no one did. ACC said I could adopt him if I wanted. I had three days to decide if I wanted to take him. I already had a cat and I wasn’t sure if I wanted two. Adoptions opened that following Monday at 10 am. I took the day off from work to travel from Brooklyn to Harlem, where ACC is located, and got there at 9 am to sign the adoption papers. He’s been with me ever since.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
As years passed and I started to travel more, I felt terrible leaving Hamlet alone in the apartment. My sister and friends would care for him while I was away, but I felt like he needed a companion. In 2017, I adopted Mozzie, a Nebelung, from a rescue in Petsmart. Grey is my favorite color, so seeing Mozzie was love at first sight. His long luxurious grey silky coat is such a sight to behold. They have two totally different personalities, but I can see a difference in Hamlet's attitude when I come home from vacation. He doesn't look sad anymore now that he has company."

"My little best friend's name is Bean. I've lived in NY my whole life except for 1.5 years I spent in New Orleans. My boyfriend, Michael, and I lived in this cute little apartment in the French quarter that opened out into a garden. I've always been super into cats but never had one because I moved so much. While living in this apartment I claimed a little calico kitten stray as my own. I called her (who I thought was a he at the time) Mr.Kitten. I would feed her and let her in my apartment during the day and then back out at night.
One day she came to my door and was pregnant! Then a good amount of time went by and I hadn't seen her at all. I got pretty upset about this, but my boyfriend tried to assure me that she was off having her kittens somewhere safe. I didn't buy it and would stress over it. A few weeks later, I found out some woman around the corner from us had the kittens. I flipped and immediately got in contact with her. I really believe she was an animal hoarder, but she would never allow me in her apartment. She said she had lots of dogs and cats and a rabbit already and couldn't keep the kittens. She was always going back and forth changing her mind by the hour telling me to help find homes for the kittens and other times she would insist on keeping all of them (which I wasn't going to let happen).
Eventually, I convinced her to give me the kittens and I made sure they all got their vaccinations and checkups. I found homes for them and kept little Bean for myself. I fell in love with him the minute I saw him. He was the cutest little bean of a cat with a huge personality. A few months later I moved back to NY, taking Bean with me. One brother is still in NOLA, one lives in Philly and another sadly passed away when he was taken in to get neutered. Bean has lived in 5 different apartments and had 4 different cat roommates in his 6 years in this world."

“I grew up with cats- our somewhat socially inept cat named Camouflage chose me to be her human when I was 5 years old- she lived in my room exclusively and I fell asleep with her on top of me every night throughout my childhood. As a young woman, I was always waiting until my life was “together” enough to get a cat. I had a long-term boyfriend who was a hoarder and we had planned to get a cat together. We talked about it for years but the environment just didn't feel right, and this was one of the warning signs that eventually led to us splitting. As a reaction to that messy breakup, I decided I was ready to be a single cat mom.
There were so many cats at the shelter but Boofy stood out- he commanded space with his wide stance, big head, and cartoon eyes. He was incorrectly marked as a girl and he had a really horrible name which I shall never speak aloud, but I held him and he just melted into my arms. I knew my life was forever changed. Apparently, he had been dumped on a farm in NJ that had a lot of outdoor cats. He would climb a tree next to the kitchen window and cry until they let him in the house. He knew he wasn't cut out for the outdoorsy lifestyle and so they put him up for adoption because he made it very clear that he was seeking that cushy indoor life."

“I have three amazing cats Gatsby, Rae, and Lola. All three of them have insanely different personalities while meshing with each other purrfectly. Having three cats is better than having one. I'm never bored and I have a special relationship with each of them.
They really balance each other out. When I’m playing with all of them at once or when we’re all just hanging out, it really feels like a little family. They also have such a strong bond with each other, and sometimes it feels like they work together to get what they want- like loads of treats. I’d say the only downside to having three cats is the mess. They are crazy messy.”

"The bond I have with Theo is so special to me. He is talkative and extremely affectionate. When one of us leaves the house, Theo cries, and when either of us returns, he will actually start meowing when we are still about a block away. When he starts meowing and running to the door that is what lets me know my husband is still about 5 minutes away, it's absolutely incredible. Theo has truly taught me the meaning of innocence, true unconditional love, and persistence. He also reminds me of my childhood.
The other night Theo came to my side of the bed in the middle of the night asking to cuddle with me (he always asks first before jumping in the bed) and I cried, because in that moment I had a flashback, and saw my best friend Socks, and realized more than anything, Theo taught me I have a best friend in him as well."

"Hayley is tiny but mighty. She is a little orange lady (only 5.5lbs) with ears that tower above her little head and huge eyes that only add to her charm. Although she’s such a tiny cat, she is the boss. Every day, Hayley makes her rounds through the apartment as she constantly meows. Just like her mom, she loves to chat. Hayley has been with me for the past five years and she’s around six years old. Before moving to Brooklyn, both of us lived with my parents and our two other cats. Hayley—obviously the smallest— somehow still seemed to run the house. I often say, “its Hayley’s house, we’re just living in it.”⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
I saw Hayley at an adoption event in Union Square when I was just passing through, and something about her really caught my eye. She was very thin, quite scared of everything, and her paws were covered in litter. I knew then that she needed to be mine. Hayley was rescued from the ACC’s euthanasia list by Social Tees Animal Rescue. At that point, she was at the tail end of an upper respiratory infection and was just gaining back her strength. We don’t exactly know what her life was like before she was rescued, but since then, she has really blossomed from a timid, scared and shy cat to a very talkative and affectionate cat. She came into my life when she was battling a lot and in need of a very loving home.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
I didn’t know it, but I needed her too. I have been battling Major Depressive Disorder for over a decade and was more recently diagnosed with PTSD. Having and caring for Hayley has been extremely instrumental in my recovery process. When I adopted her in 2014, I had just graduated from college and was struggling to find a permanent job. I was exhausted, broke and depressed, but I had Hayley. She has been a constant friend throughout my toughest years."

"I've been obsessed with cats since I was really young—I would only allow "kitty" stuffed animals in my toy arsenal. I used to doodle cats all the time and when I was around 6 or 7 my mom finally got me a cat of my own. He was a cute little orange tabby that we named Thomas O'Malley (weirdly enough, my boyfriend's name is also Thomas and he has red hair). In college, my roommates and I took in a pregnant cat from the street, so at one point we had 5 cats. I have this photo of me dressed as a cat posing with the kittens for Halloween. It was on Facebook, and a girl I went to school with reached out to see if the magazine she was interning for could use it. I didn’t ask what it was for (oops). It ended up being in Cosmo mag in an article perpetuating female stereotypes based on their Facebook profile pictures. I was the cat ladyboys should stay away from.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
In 2015, my boyfriend and I moved in together and we wanted to get a cat. We found this adorable little fluffy orange female cat on Petfinder, and we applied to adopt her. She was in Puerto Rico with @TheSatoProject, who primarily rescues dogs. There wasn't a lot of information about her, aside from one picture and a story about how she was such a good cat and had been hanging out with all these dogs. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
After applying, we hadn't heard back right away, and the laundry list of anxieties started kicking in. We assumed she had been adopted already and went a couple of weeks without giving it much thought. Then, one night I just started crying in bed. I was thinking about that cat and how perfect she seemed for us; I was so sad that we had lost our chance to bring her into our life. We decided that the next morning I would email the organization to see if she was still around. AND SHE WAS! She was flown to NYC from Puerto Rico the following week! She was a little timid around me but took to my boyfriend right away. I think she likes him more because he has orange hair like her. She will literally groom his beard sometimes like it’s her kitten."

“Atticus (see also: Fatticus; Fatty-Cakes) walked–literally–into my life spring of 2013. On the invitation of a can of tuna served on the front stoop, the bold little thing, just under a year I’d have guessed by weight and length, waltzed into my apartment, at the time shared with three other girls (all confessed “dog people”) and, as can obviously be assumed, never left. It wasn’t unusual to see strays on the streets of North Philly.
Among many other things (few cheerful, positive, or cuddly) North Philly was known for its abundance of stray cats. Atticus was one of their lots wholeheartedly; took no shit, feared no dogs, ate straight-up anything. He was the sort of cat that people who said they hated cats came to love. You could wrestle with him like a pup, cuddle with him like an old, raggedy stuffed animal, and share a midnight munchie–his favorite being 35 cent Oodles n’ Noodles. Food, it would turn out, was something Atticus really, really enjoyed. Perhaps it was those formative months spent scrounging the unforgiving and un-bountiful city streets that instilled in him the dire desire to dine. Or maybe he’s on, still, a lifelong culinary quest to satisfy those original cravings that only back alley bodega dumpster diving can sate. In any case, he quickly became a sizable companion whom I lugged–lifting from the legs, not the back–from city to city. Together, we moved back home to Pittsburgh and converted my deathly allergic childhood best friend into a roomie and, after not too long, willing cat-cuddle-buddy.
He was an outdoor cat and it wasn’t long before our backyard filled with the small femurs, skulls, and shoulder girdles of unidentifiable rodents. Atticus grew a rap on the street. Neighbors greeted him by name, invited him in for dinner, walked with him to the bus stop in the morning. One woman mentioned casually that she came home one night to find him already inside of her apartment, waiting to warmly greet her. My sister, also a roomie at the time, the road up the main drag of the neighborhood and saw him, too, strutting his way up the street, apparently headed for the Crazy Mocha.”

"Basil and I found each other when he was only 5 weeks old. A friend posted him on Facebook because his mom and siblings had been hit by a car and he needed a home fast. I offered to foster him and when he was dropped off at my place I learned he had way more medical issues than I was prepared to deal with. He had seizures and his back legs didn't really work, and once I took him to the vet I found out his liver levels were low. It was really one thing after the other.
I spent so many nights just nuzzling him, holding him under my chin, and telling him that he was going to be ok. After six intense months of vet visits, he was finally awarded a clean bill of health. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t moments I didn’t think he was going to make it. When I found out he would be fine, I was so happy that I sobbed on my car ride home."

“About a month after this photoshoot Brisco passed away. His diabetes took a turn for the worse and he was no longer responsive to insulin. It has been really hard to adjust to life without him since he was a constant companion for so long, making my apartment never feel lonely no matter what I was going through (new jobs, new cities, a divorce).
He went through a lot of life transitions with me and now I’m transitioning to life without him. I’m taking some time to honor his memory, but I eventually plan to get another cat or two so my apartment won’t feel so lonely forever.”

"I can validate the saying that being an addict and loving an addict are simply different zip codes in hell. My relationship with a heroin addict was a no-win situation: the more I tried to help Alex (a pseudonym), the more I lost my balance. Between his relapses, which would occur every 3 months, I walked on eggshells. Supported by a wonderful Al-Anon community, members of a 12-step program for friends and family of addicts, I gradually gained clarity on how unmanageable life had become and, eventually, left the relationship...but not before adopting a cat.
Alex had grown up with cats. Shortly after he moved in, he expressed disappointment that he was never greeted at the door by a slinky feline, weaving between his legs. Wanting to please him so that he’d stay off the drugs, we adopted Koda. She was the first cat we saw, a scruffy, black, 6-month-old, long-haired kitten, hiding in the corner of a crate at PS9 Pets in Williamsburg. Alex grabbed her, gave her a few soulful pets, and announced “this girl is ready to come home with us.” Koda was skittish around me but took to her dad right away.
In the process of nursing her back to health from ringworm and a terrible upper respiratory infection, I was finally able to get on her good side. In addition, I got some perspective on my own troubled relationship. I found caring for this new living creature both interesting and important. My focus shifted from my boyfriend’s fragile sobriety to Koda.
Over time she became “The Mayor” of my apartment. Koda inspected everything, was extremely independent and silly and had fur smelling like the air after a thunderstorm. Things seemed to be going well until I returned home after several months to find Alex nodding off on the couch. He had relapsed. I glanced at Koda and noticed a panicked look on her face. She had sensed that something was horribly wrong. While I was not yet ready to protect myself, Koda’s distress brought out the resolve of which I was previously incapable: This would be the last time anyone would betray my trust. I asked Alex to leave and haven’t spoken to him since."

“In 2017 I rescued Simon. He was three months old. I felt as though he picked me. I held him in my arms and he was so content, he didn't move. He just happily sat there. It felt right so from that day forward we got closer and closer. I never had a cat before, but we became inseparable. I feel like he’s my little shadow. We both really love each other's attention. He loves fetch and catching bugs outside on the porch. Friends who “don’t like cats” can’t seem to help but fall in love with his sweet demeanor and playful personality. He is so goofy and can be quite unpredictable. He loves jumping and running around, especially when he gets his nighttime zoomies. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀
Living alone, especially during the COVID19 pandemic, can be hard. Simon never fails to make me smile or calm me down just by lying near me while I work. Each night Simon cuddles close to me until I fall asleep. I feel so lucky to have such a great cat in my life. Simon has been there for me during some really pivotal moments in my life. Like moving from Chicago to North Carolina. I know reporting will take me to a lot more new places and it’s comforting to know I’ll have Simon right there with me.”⁠

“Growing up, my siblings and I enjoyed the company of geckos, turtles, a DIY backyard pond- never anything furry or snuggly. So not long into my newly independent young adult life, I decided it was time to go in on the real thing and adopt a puppy. Eleven humiliating and angsty days later, I called it quits and rehomed her. While I had determined that puppies are definitely cuter when I didn’t bring them home with me, I was still yearning for a fuzzy friend. About a year later, I volunteered at BARC in Williamsburg to see how I would do with cats. The truth is, I walked right by Phoebe that day.
She was about 12 weeks old at the time and I was really hoping to bring home something that could maybe fit into a coffee mug, so I marched straight to the teeny guys in the back. When I returned to BARC 2 weeks later, the littlest ones were being adopted, but a sweet, curious faced little girl was pointed out to me. I scooped Phoebe up like a baby, she reached up and patted my cheek with her paw, and my whole world lit up. Five years later, I still get cheek pats if she’s in the right mood."

"Sully was born in northern New Jersey, abandoned in a tiny well on a farm. He was 4 weeks old and I had to bottle feed him goats milk - now he's so huge - people are so shocked when they see him but I always think of him as a teeny Lil spotted belly guy. Cats were always a constant in my life.
My mom had a cat follow her home from a bar when she was young...she named the cat Gypsy and she lived for 20 years. My whole family has the word "gypsy" tattooed on us somewhere - she symbolized our family and how my parents always held us close but set us free - now all together our family has 4 cats. It would feel weird and unnatural not to have one around - it just makes sense to us. Where there's a home, there's a cat."