15+ Wholesome pawrents share the stories of shelter cats who stole their hearts: ‘It’s like he knew I was supposed to be his’

Sometimes, feline fans, your cats find you, and other times, we have to go searching for them. We talk a lot about the Cat Distribution system here at I Can Has Cheezburger, where the universe presents you with a cat, often when you least expect it. But the CDS isn't all pawerfull, and there are lots of cats in need that fall through the cracks. That's where all you wholesome shelter heroes come in - you go and find the cats that didn't get distributed by the CDS and give them furrever homes.

Just like each CDS cat has a unique story, so does each shelter cat. How do you choose from the multitude of cats all looking for homes in the shelter? Well, some wholesome pawrents decided to share their stories of the shelter cats that stole their hearts. Each story different from the last, but they all have one thing in common: they felt a connection that was purrfectly undeniable. Get some tissues ready and enjoy these wholesome meowments below!

Author image for Blake Seidel Blake Seidel
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    My little Zodi was alone in one of the cages, making biscuits over and over on the newspaper When we got to they laid out pick her up and hold her, the biscuits didn't cease. I immediately knew she was coming home with us. A year has almost passed and she looks so much better
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    ContextGlittering 174 .7h ago My partner and I had lost our 2 month old kitten months ago to FIP, and we both missed his cute little meows so so so much (even though he wasn't a loud kitty at all), I remember telling my partner that if we ever got a kitty again, I would want one
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    that never stopped meowing. I was stressed with finals (last year of uni) and asked my partner to go to the shelter to pet the kitties so I would feel less stressed. When we got there, there was only a 4 year old nebelung kitty left and as soon as we entered he came right towards us and started
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    rubbing his face on the glass where our hands were touching it. The people at the shelter tolc us that he wasn't usually like that, he was probably feeling really lonely that day. He immediately stole my heart, anc when we inquired for adoption, the woman at the shelter started off by saying "just a warning, he's a very vocal cat,
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    he never stops meowing". I took him home the next day and never looked back. 3 years later, he's literally the love of my life and we have an amazing bond.
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  • We adopted a shelter cat once (all of the others were distributed by the CDS) and she came right up to us and basically claimed us. She got on our laps and wouldn't leave, we didn't even have the chance to see any other cats (we actually came in to adopt a kitten). She was a great cat.

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    EndOk2329 They chose us
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    Narrow-Ad-1494 • 7h ago Went in for dog, left with a cat.
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    • TheRealMasterTyvokka 7h ago
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    She ran up to me, scrambled up my arm and onto my shoulder, and purred like a freight train.
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    Cat-lover21 • 7h ago My cat gave me the saddest look when I left him after meeting him at the shelter. I had some family with me but none of them live with me. We all interacted with him when I met him yet he stared right at me. It's like he knew I was supposed to be his
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    . mooch_the_cat • 7h ago Our daughter worked at the shelter and told us that a bonded pair had come in from a hoarding situation. Because they were older (about 10) the thinking was nobody would adopt them. So we went over and met them and took them home.
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    Sheffieldsvc 7h ago . I had Pepper for 15 years before losing him to cancer in December. His brother Ozy was lonely and grieving and I went to get him a buddy on New Years eve.
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    When I got Pepper and Ozy at just a few weeks old, I went to get just one cat and that was Ozy. But then Pepper came over to me, climbed all the way up and sat on my shoulder. He claimed me right then.
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    So when I went to get a new cat, I walked in and Scooter came over to me, climbed up, and sat on my shoulder. What else could I do but take him home? And I'm so glad I did.
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    SurreptitiousSpark 7h ago • I like to adopt sad old man cats with FIV because they're "less adoptable." I lost my soul cat (who was a sad old FIV+ street cat who just walked into my house.) The scrunglier, the better. I got on Petfinder "just to look," thinking a lynx point Siamese who was old, extremely scrungly, and had FIV would be a tall order.
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    I am an idiot. It took me about three pages to find exactly what I wanted. O he had been at the shelter for a year and not one person had come to look at him. I couldn't not bring him home.
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    The other shelter cat that I got is because my ex-wife wanted to get a housewarming cat. My ex-wife has a sweet spot for sad little black cats who don't get adopted. So of course we adopted a sad shy little black cat.
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  • Our online cat community is so wholesome, isn't it? Each one of these heroes really wants to change the lives of these cats for the better. We can purractically feel the love coming out in each word. We're obsessed with you guys!

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    Little-Turnover-7103 • 7h ago We were "just looking." I had seen a beautiful gray cat online and wanted to "just look" in person. The gray cat had zero interest in us but there was a very chatty cream colored cat across from her. The cat kept trying to get our attention and put her paw out for us. I asked to
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    see her real quick and next thing I knew she was climbing all over me, bunting my face. If we left without her I would've never spoken to my ex again. Super sweet, affectionate and chill. Marley's the best $20 I've ever spent.
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    rwphx2016 .7h ago Tuxedo For several months I was looking for kittens. Went to Petsmart, the adoption center at a mall, events at farmer's markets - you name it. Then, two days before making a work trip to Southern California, I saw a litter of four nearly identical kittens on the
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    Humane Society's website. One was adopted and then a second one was adopted the day I was driving back home. I hightailed it home and was waiting at the shelter when they opened the next morning. The tech took me to the kitten room and there were dozens of kittens playing. The
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    remaining two from the litter were off to the side playing by themselves. I pointed them out and the tech got them and put us in an adoption room. He excused himself to use the restroom and left us in the room. Well...
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    One kitten crawled on my shoulder and the other curled up on my lap and they both promptly fell asleep, purring up a storm. The tech came back, stopped and said "I'll get the adoption paperwork." Nearly eight years later here we are!
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    NotAtAllExciting • 7h ago Cats choose my husband who seems to speak cat. First one was feral (had for over 20 years). Current cat came from shelter.
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    sharpeyebrows . 7h ago Never saw her in person only a photo on the shelter's website. She looked like she had 1 braincell with the goofiest face ever, the description said she was very friendly/cuddly, and I was like "perfection".
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