Ivan was abandoned in a state forest as a kitten. He hungrily nipped my finger as I lured him into a crate with tuna to rescue him. During the following 10-day rabies-prevention quarantine, he stole my heart and has been the king of my household for 16 years. Ivan even has his own “catio” so he can safely enjoy the out-of-doors without wandering.

–Susan

Homer is a very playful and active 3 year old cat. Every night when we finally get to relax on the couch for a little bit, Homer is right there with us enjoying the time together.

–Sharon

This is my most recent (and recently adopted!) foster cat, Peyton. Peyton was my longest foster kitty and was waiting for a family for nearly a year before she got adopted. She has moderate cerebellar hypoplasia https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R0EdO3fno6M, and many people overlooked her because of her special needs. Thank goodness, her new “mom” Mandy saw her on Petfinder and fell in love. Peyton’s favorite activity is burrowing under the covers and kneading your belly with her soft paws.

–Jane

Four-year old Splinter enjoys wearing an apple as a hat.  When she’s not trying on the latest granny smith, she’s smelling the warm spring air and daydreaming of dancing with the squirrels outside.

–Brent

This funny guy showed up in my backyard feral cat colony just before last winter.  He must have been someone’s cat as he was already neutered and, once past his initial shyness, a complete sweetheart who loves people (and a good sense of humor to boot).  Gerald turned up FIV+ at his first vet visit, so we decided to permanently adopt him as our other cat, Mr. Pickwick also has FIV.  He got his name when I texted my husband about the “new feral cat” in the yard, and my iPhone’s autocorrect changed “feral” to “Gerald!”

–Sara

Jezebel is the newest addition to our household.  After being left behind due to litter box issues when her family moved, Jezebel moved in with us at the age of 9.  While it took a bit of a transition period to make her a successful litter box user, she now uses her box consistently and has even taken to telling me when the kitty litter isn’t up to her satisfaction!  She is a funny cat with a big personality who is very talkative, affectionate and has extra toes on her front paws.  This photo is Jezebel perching on the top level of an amazing cat tree built by my husband for my birthday.

–Sara

Mr. Pickwick is one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever met.  He was adopted as an FIV+, two year old stray cat, but loves living inside and stealing the dog’s bed.  Being toothless doesn’t stop Mr. Pickwick from begging for food and he’s as convivial (and chubby) as his Dickens’ character namesake.

–Sara

While they don’t sleep on my bed like my indoor cats, being a feral cat caretaker counts as being a cat parent!  There was an existing colony of feral cats when we bought our house several years ago.  In fact, the feral cats in the yard are one of the reasons we bought the house we did!  We have three regulars who we’ve been taking care of for more than three years.  My husband built them cat houses to give them a safe, dry place to rest and feeding/watering stations on either side of our fence.  I can’t pet them, but they love to follow me around the yard while I feed the birds and play with our dog.

–Sara

Toby is six years old but still loves to play like a kitten. He will happily sit and high five if he thinks you have a treat. When not trying to get more food than he needs, Toby enjoys watching science fiction television shows, chasing beams of light and attempting to start games of fetch whenever his mom is on a conference call.

–Bethany

This is Zarha. She’s adopted from the Tri-County Animal Shelter in MD and is a 4 year old mixed breed of uncertain origins. We call her ‘good-kitty/bad-kitty’  because her face is perfectly divided into a red half and a black half. She’s a bit of a scaredy-cat but very sweet.
–Iain

This is Beatrice – or Bea for short. Her real name is ‘Heavenly Tiger-Lily’, because she is a pure breed Birman. She’s nearly 17 years old and definitely the old lady of the house. And like a lot if old lady’s she doesn’t have much patience and can be a bit grumpy. She’s also deaf and slowly going blind, but she gets a lot of love and helping hands wherever she goes.
— Iain

This is Finn. Finn is a 5 year old grey tabby and he’s a big bad bruiser. He was adopted from the Tri-County Animal Shelter in MD, and nearly died from coelasis virus before we could get him home. After weeks of care at a local vet and then in isolation at home he’s flourished. Though he still has a significant snot problem, he’s got the softest fur and is very loving.
–Iain

Betsy loves her cat, Charlie.