Joe and I moved to NY with three cats, adopting a fourth in 2002. Having a big house with plenty of space, the addition of another cat was a no-brainer, especially since all of our cats had basically come to us - either rescued or abandoned. After the rough patch of late 2007 / early 2008 where we lost both Milo and Cosmo, we spent a little while with only two cats, then realized that Otis and Dobby hate each other too much to be on their own. So we adopted Willow.
This didn't work out so well...now we had three cats that pretty much hated each other. There was some playing between Dobby and Willow, but it frequently escalated into hissing. I thought another younger cat would help Willow with her playfulness, so I'd had my eye out for an addition for a while - I just didn't know how it would materialize.
One afternoon, while searching Petfinder, I came across a small rescue organization with one picture, a little marmie-white kitten named "Liam." They would be at PetSmart over the weekend, and I stopped by to check them out. There were several kitties, all of which were beautiful and fun. But I was so unsure about "Liam" - was I just getting another cat on impulse, or was this the cat for us?
I brought him home in early December, and he soon became Elwood. After one day of being quarantined and shy, he quickly owned the house.
The other cats hissed at him, but he just went on his merry way with a 'tude of a king. Within a week, he was cuddling with his surrogate mom, Willow.
The older boys still don't care for him much, but I never could have imagined how positive this would have been with Willow. She's grown up, become a "Mom," and has a play buddy.
We might have four cats, but it's certainly not too much - it's the perfect number for us right now.
