How did you get your pet(s)? 🐈‍⬛🐇🦮🦜

[Xara]

There have been many threads dedicated to the beloved pets of TBT over the years, but you can never have too many of them imo! I love seeing and hearing about everyone’s beautiful fur (or feathery, scaly etc) babies!

For those of you with pets, how did you get them? Did you adopt them from a shelter? Get them from a breeder? Get them from a relative or friend? Were they a stray that you took in? Something else?

My family and I adopted Bonk from our city’s animal shelter in August 2022! We first met her on August 6th, when we had actually gone to the shelter to meet and inquire about a different cat. Bonk was the first cat that we saw though, as she was chilling outside in the shelter’s outdoor cat enclosure when we got there!

The cat we were there to meet was a kitten, and the kitten room at the shelter is… very overwhelming. I used to think that being in a room full of kittens would be a dream, but I’m definitely not so sure now LOL. There’s kittens running around everywhere, meowing and playing, and you have to watch where your feet are at all times or else you risk stepping on someone. The kitten we were inquiring about was very adorable and sweet, but we knew within just a couple of minutes that getting a kitten would be too overwhelming for us. Especially since we had just said goodbye to our 11-month-old kitten, Alize, less than a month before.

We went into the adult cat room after that, which is where we officially met Bonk (who was called Tina at the time)! She was the sweetest, silliest little cat, and the only cat we’d met thus far that felt right. She would look up at us with her silly little face, and kept bonking her head into our hands, feet, literally any part of us she could reach for pets, which is where her name came from! We fell in love with her almost immediately, and decided we wanted to bring her home.

She’d only been at the shelter for less than a week, so the shelter workers didn’t know much about her yet. She also hadn’t been spayed yet, and the shelter doesn’t allow animals to be adopted until they’ve been spayed/neutered, even if the adopter offers to get it done themself, so we couldn’t bring her home for a while longer. That didn’t stop us from visiting her at the shelter as often as we could though, until finally, she was spayed and ready to come home with us on August 15th, 2022!

Bonk’s been with us for almost 2 years now, and while she isn’t at all the kind of cat we expected she’d be, she is still the sweetest, silliest little girl. She’s my best friend, and I would honestly do anything for her. The way she looks up at me and blinks slowly at me fills me with so much love and warmth. I love how excited she is to see me when I wake up every day. I love playing with her. I love cuddling with her. I love how she practically busts down the bathroom door whenever I dare go without her LOL. I love her purr, and how she still bonks her head into me for pets. I love how she puts her foot in my hand for some reason whenever I try to pet her belly. I love how she kicks her toys.

She is my silly, annoying, clingy, sweet, loveable little baby, and I’m so grateful for her every day. I’m so grateful that she’s here, happy and healthy. She is my sweet little love, and I’m so happy that so many of you guys know and love her as well. I regret not sharing more of my late kitties with you guys while they were here, but I’m so happy that it’s different with Bonk.

Spoiler: Bonk’s first few photos!

at the shelter

at home!!

 

[LadyDestani]

Awww, I'm so happy you found Bonk and she found you!

I adopted my dog, Tanuki, from a shelter. I had just lost my 16 year old pug the previous month and I knew I couldn't go long without an animal. They are my reason for getting up in the morning, going to work, and putting up with everything life throws at me. They give me purpose. So I had been scanning the pictures of all the nearby rescue sites waiting for the right dog to come along when I saw his photo. He looked so scared and I just wanted to hold him and make everything better.

I contacted the shelter and found out he'd been sent out to a temporary foster home. So I contacted his foster mom and arranged a meeting. We met at a nearby park and he hid behind his foster mom's legs. He didn't want anything to do with the scary strangers. We talked a while to let him get more comfortable and I found out he was around 6 months old. He had been dumped at the shelter with his mom, a chihuahua, and his dad, a pomeranian only about a week prior. After a few minutes had passed, the lady gave me the leash and I walked him over to a grassy area where the two of us could get to know each other. He let me pet him, but was still very wary. However, I was in love.

After talking to my husband, I put in the application to adopt him and we got that whole process going. I had to wait several days while they reached out to my references and also had him neutered.

On July 1, 2016, we brought our baby home. He was still scared of us at first and hid under the coffee table, but we picked up some fast food and he came out to beg for fries. Later that evening, he passed out next to my husband on the couch. He's still got separation anxiety and fear issues, but I love him dearly and I'm glad we were able to give him a loving and patient home.

Spoiler: Early Pictures

 

[Gabby]

I saved my first cat, Molly, from an undesirable living situation that involved bringing her on a plane when she was just 6 weeks old across the country. She did great, and she is my little baby girl. Ponyo I adopted from PetSmart. I worked there for 2 months and she was the only good thing that came out of my tenure there. Dale, my third girl, adopted us and showed up at our door step.

 

[Zerous]

About 9 years ago, we found a kitten in my grandmas chicken coop. (There was a continual problem with one of the neighbours chucking away kittens sadly). But my little sister was the one who found him, and wanted to keep him. My mum knew how much I loved cats at the time, and told me we could get a friend for the cat, which could me mine to take care of! So we went to the vet, my sister named the cat Stripy, and we inquired about other cats that had been brought in. Only one pair of tiny white kittens were in at the time, and it just didn’t feel right to split them up, as well as just not clicking with them. Just as we turned and we’re leaving the door of the vet, one of the staff chased us to let us know that four little kittens had literally just been found and brought in after being dumped in the bush! One of those, a little black and white kitten, is now my Silky
He was very cautious around us at first, hissing and scratching, but after a couple weeks he began to settle down. Nowadays, over 9 years later, he is the most cuddly, skittish cat, and I hope he’s around for many more years

Sadly, the other cat, Stripy hasn’t been around for many years now, and since then we’ve had two other cats, one of which is our current second cat Meery.

 

[themysterybidder]

Some of you may know that my Mum passed very suddenly in October 2022. After that I felt very empty, as I helped her with everything as she was housebound. I had never had the urge to get a pet even in my childhood. So, I asked my Dad if I could get a pet. I really wanted a dog, but I would have settled for a few pet rats if he had put his foot down for a dog. Eventually he agreed. He suggested some smaller breeds, but I always said no, if I couldn’t have a Basset Hound, I wasn’t interested.

After searching, we found a licensed breeder in Wales. We live in Scotland, it would have taken 8-9 hours to travel. However, my Dad is disabled and there is no way I could do the journey with my health conditions, so everything was done remotely. I researched the breeder and everything was in order.

We arranged a pet transport taxi service to bring her up from Wales to Scotland. They stopped every so often to let her out for a comfort break, food and water. When I saw her being carried up the path, my heart melted and the rest they say is history!

I choose the name Blossom in honour of my Mum as she used to be a florist.

Spoiler: Photo from her very first day!

 

[daringred_]

our first two cats we bought or were given (i can't remember, since i was young) from people semi-local to us. our very first cat was given to us from a woman across the street after her cat had kittens, and the second was from the mom of someone else who lives on our street! we also had a third cat around that time, but i don't remember where we got her from. the next two, a pair of brothers, i also don't really remember the specifics of, my mom just came home with them one day lol, but we had them when they were already a year or two old, i think, since they originally had different names. our oldest cat, fish, who i've posted around the forums a couple of times, i think also came from the same neighbor our first cat did? sam, i believe we bought from someone after seeing an ad in a pet-shop, and timmy we brought for, like, £20 from someone a short drive away after looking online. (they weren't a breeder, just someone whose cat had kittens.)

our two youngest cats, sisters, we brought from someone in our local area for also, i think, £20 each. now they might've been a breeder? i'm really not sure. when we went to pick them up, they had a lot of cats in their house, so my mom thinks they were one, but i didn't really get that vibe when we were there. regardless, they seemed to really care about all the cats they had, including some strays they'd taken in, and none of them looked neglected. originally, we wanted to adopt instead of buying from someone random, but there are only a few animal shelters around us, and literally none of them had any cats let alone kittens up for adoption even after a month, so in the end my mom just went to look on facebook.

the only other pet we've had is a little dwarf hamster when i was in highschool, but we just bought him from a petshop.

 

[Croconaw]

Keagan was a rescue. My first dog, a beagle named Cupcake, was from a store. I walked right over to her when I was younger. I thought she was adorable.

 

[oath2order]

Local dog shelter.

 

[BetsySundrop]

This is the best thread...I don't even care about the silver.

We have 2 cats right now. One we got from a shelter a little over18 years ago - Taffy. She was a bit feral, and they gave us the option to bring her back if it didn't work out. It took some time, but eventually, she turned into a fluffy lap cat. She's a grumpy old thing now, but still kicking.

Then we have Mr. Peaches. He started showing up one day, which did not thrill Taffy. He'd follow us around the yard and sit outside the house when we went in. Eventually we found out his actual owner was a neighbor. Sometimes we didn't see him for a while, then he'd show up again.

Then I went out one morning and he was really hurt (eye injury, some cuts), no idea what happened. Looked like maybe a fight with another cat or other animal? I got permission from the owner to take him to the vet (they weren't going to), and they said if we wanted we could keep him. So we took him to the vet - had his eye treated, (he still can't use it to see), got him fixed and all of his shots and basic vet care. And then pretty much let him live wherever he wanted, and he's been hanging out with us ever since. He's a bit wild, but extremely friendly.

Spoiler

Taffy

Mr. Peaches
Before his injury, when he just followed us around (yep, he's sitting in poison ivy)

After we took him to the vet.

 

[.: Meri :.]

We adopted Boo from a local rescue when she was two years old! She'd been adopted and sent back to the rescue several times, and to this day I can't imagine why, because she's so incredibly gentle and good-natured. She's also very vocal and will absolutely have whole conversations with you.

Spoiler: Boo

Rat chose us, and by that I mean he ran out in front of my mom's car as a four-week-old kitten as she was leaving my aunt's house. He was clearly feral, so my mom borrowed a carrier from my aunt and brought him home. He's been absolutely unhinged from day one and gave us all ringworm.

Spoiler: Rat

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

I bought my cockatiel from a friend's family for literally an apple and an onion. it's a South African saying but we actually paid with an apple, and an onion. the cockatiel is now very happy in my house with his girlfriend, and it's a funny story to tell.

 

[Stalfie]

I found them and kept them and now they are mine all mine

 

[Snek]

We adopted our dog from a couple going through a divorce. Our dog is a Saint Bernard and he was so thin when we first got him. Now he is happy with lots of space to run around in.

 

[pottercrossing]

We adopted our cat, Orangey (guess what colour he is lol), from a local shelter in August of 2019. He was about 1 year old when we got him, and he'll be 6 in July. He was a tiny little thing originally, but he now makes Garfield look like he's in good shape. He loves cauliflower soup, tricking us into giving him multiple meals, lying on us right as we're about to get up, and getting the zoomies at the most ungodly hours of the night. He's unhinged as hell but we love him

 

[Firesquids]

For my current pets:
Moxxi (brown/white German Sheppard/Australian sheppard mix, nickname Mox): adopted her as a puppy from the humane society. I remember seeing a listing for German Sheppard puppies go up, and my then boyfriend (now husband)'s family German Sheppard had just died. We were already thinking about getting a puppy so it seemed perfect. We went to go see her and then we're told we had to wait a little while and that would be first come first serve to pick a puppy. My boyfriend went there at like 5:00 a.m. to wait in line and there was already another person in front of him. The person in front of him didn't end up getting a puppy and he got the first pick. Picked Moxxi, because she was quiet and sweet. (Her name was originally Wanda lol)
She never grew to be as large as we expected. She is a medium sized dog.
Magnus (Orange American shorthair tabby cat, nickname Boy): adopted him from a kitten rescue. Was originally going to get a younger gray kitten, but had to find an older one to appease my landlord. He was the oldest one at the rescue and seemed very sweet at the time. He's kind of a maniac. I didn't know about orange cats before I got him. Lol (his name was originally Jynx)
Milo (brown American short hair tabby cat, nickname Nugget): was hit by the car in front of us (as a 6 week old kitten) took him to the vet and they said he was going to make it so I adopted him. He is happy and healthy now, just sits like a weirdo and has a notch out of his tongue.

Past pets:
Keiko (black tortoiseshell calico cat, nick name kitty-ko, Ba'gao, Ma'nao, Bababada'goa'mao) One day she came up to my mom as a kitten while she was sitting outside. Took her around the neighborhood asking if she was lost, found out that she was released into the woods by some kids who weren't able to keep her and that some teenagers were shooting BB guns at the animals outside in that area. Finally convinced my parents to let me keep her! She was my soul animal. The best cat I've ever met. She passed at 16 in 2019.

Lil'bit (brown medium hair miniature dachshund nickname Bitters/Itchy itchiford) My parents got her and another puppy, Scrimp, from our neighbors when I was a kid.
Scrimp unfortunately died as a puppy of parvo.
Lil'bit was the runt of the litter, and was the only puppy of that litter who made it to adulthood. She passed in 2013 at around 17 years old.

Annie: (brown short hair miniature dachshund nickname AnnieBanannie)
Annie my parents got some time after Lil'bit,
I heard she originally came from a puppy farm and that's why she had behavioral issues. I'm not sure where my parents got her from, but I don't think they got her from the puppy farm. She was given to my grandma at some point because Annie loved her, and then my grandma gave her away. It still doesn't still well with me. But, the last I heard she was happy and in charge of the pups where she moved to so hopefully the rest of her life was comfortable.

Mortisha: (black American shorthair, formerly fat, now she just has a lot of extra skin, nickname Tisha/Tish/Morty) One of two litter mate kittens my Mom got from some of their friends. She is old and unfortunately is in kidney failure, but still happy and living with my mom.

Razputin: ( black ragdoll cat, nickname Raz/Razzy)
The kitten I chose from the aforementioned litter. He's very sweet. Kind of dumb, loves to bonk, very cute. Same age as Tisha obviously (I think they are 14-15?) but still seems to be in good health, also lives with mom.

Edit: sorry I keep editing this post to add more context, I could talk about my pets all day. Lol

 

[digimon]

i got my kitties from a local animal shelter! i never had a cat or a dog before, and i've always wanted a black cat for as long as i can remember! i was only supposed to pick one cat from the local animal shelter, but i ended up getting two sisters from the same litter! even though they don't really act really sisterly sometimes..... i brought them both home in july but we're going to be celebrating their first birthday in april c: it's been a lot of fun seeing their personalities come out as they've gotten more and more comfortable.

 

[rocketspruggs]

I adopted Pumpkin, an orange tabby-like cat, at a parking lot at my local animal shelter, when he was only 4-months-old at the time. I left the animal shelter, after looking for a new cat, and then I found him there.

He was clearly thirsty and exhausted, and the guy who worked at the animal shelter told me and my mom that there's a river around for Pumpkin to drink at...the guy never got fired, to my knowledge.

After I adopted Pumpkin, I provided plenty of food and water for him, and he ate and drank quite a lot after that, and he slept in for days, until he felt much better.

He is almost a year old now.

 

[Roxxy]

My darling furbaby Brandy came from a local animal rescue. We had enquired about a cat and they called and said they had 3 kittens who desperately needed a home. Two found homes and I naturally said yes to the third. He was delivered as it was all very quick and they had to make sure he would have a good home and be cared for.

This is one of my first pics, he stole my heart

 

[nightglow]

Two of my dogs were adopted. One from a shelter and one from a foster. The other two dogs were from the last litters of hobby breeders (not profit breeders).
My fish are from mom and pop stores.

 

[August]

I used to work at a 7-11 and had my managers daughter come up to me and ask me if I was interested in adopting a cat. They had a house of 6 dogs and 4 cats and were desperately needing to downsize.

I'd never had a cat before, but I said yes and he came.home to me. He hid under the bed for three weeks straight and wouldn't come out for anything. I had to setup his food, water and litter box near there because he was so scared.

Eventually he came around and became my lil best bud. I love him so much, I just wish he was a bit more snuggly sometimes more of a lay at your feet kinda guy. Only wants to cuddle when it's absolutely freezing.