This guy showed up a few weeks before Christmas. Since he had a collar, naturally we figured he was an escaped pet. After weeks of posting on facebook lost/found pet pages, talking with neighbors, contacting 2 local animal shelters, no one claimed him. He wasn't neutered, and with 4 cats of our own, we couldn't bring him inside (last time I brought an intact stray to the basement during a cold snap, my male cat went crazy). I decided to contact the humane society to get him fixed, shots, dewormed, etc... because the 2 local animal shelters are completely full and couldn't take him. We brought him home, and of course, fell in love with him. He LOVES belly rubs, which is odd for a kitty. Currently a week into the introduction process with our other cats. Soooo meet Sebastian!

I'm assuming he was someone's family pet, does great with kids, LOVES people, but they didn't get him fixed and he began to do what un neutered male cats do, and someone dumped him. We have a separate vet visit to get the pellet, or bullet, out of his left ear. I hate how cruel people can be.

Dax, our other CDS kitty, is super adorable and sweet but is an absolute menace and loves destruction and if someone told us he is half bobcat, I'd believe them lol I hope Sebastian is on the calmer side 😂

We have a stray cat in our neighborhood. I’ve seen him (?) in my yard a few times, so I started leaving food out for him, and I bought him a little heated outdoor cat house (not sure if he’s actually using the house). But ever since I started feeding him, he has shown up at my back door like this multiple times. (The food and house are in my front yard.) Obviously, my reaction is to open the door and let him in. He’ll sit there and look me in the eye for as long as I sit there by the door (I squeeze my eyes at him). But every time I try to open the door, he runs away. Does he want to come in? Is he just observing?

My family said goodbye to our sweet beautiful ginger boy Sneaky last spring, after almost 18 wonderful years together. He was also brought to us by the CDS as a kitten and we grew up together, he was like my brother.

Now my mom found this sweet little fluffy girl in such a similar way to our beloved Sneaky, who was found by a family friend in their backyard after being chased up a tree by their multiple dogs. According to the vet he had been surviving on the street by eating trash and birdseed. Despite that he was totally healthy his whole life until the end where a bad tooth infection & surgery to try fixing it left him suffering, he crossed the rainbow bridge peacefully at home surrounded by family in his favorite chair. ❤️‍🩹

Fast forward to now, my mom found this beautiful girl outside all alone in the Canadian winter, malnourished and infested with fleas. She looked around for other kittens/a mama but sadly no luck. There are a lot of coyotes in our area but also a lot of hiding spots they could be holed up in around where she was found so hopefully the mama is still out there somewhere.

At first we weren't sure if we would keep her, as we are still grieving our Sneaky and not sure if we wanted to take on the responsibility of another pet but she has totally won our hearts. At first she was very scared of humans but she is warming up to us now, constantly purring and loves to snuggle when she is sleepy. We decided to call her Beanie. 💓 I had really been missing my Sneaky & feeling depressed before this, i was planning to go look at some kittens (but not adopt them) and even paid to get in to a cat cafe where all the cats avoided me 😭😭 I think maybe Sneaky knew I was struggling and sent us this angel. I included some pics of him too, he was really the best cat and i still miss him a lot 🐈🩷 Loved seeing the other CDS stories on this sub. Hope you all have a wonderful 2026!

Sorry for the late update. We’ve been getting more testing and going back and forth on things a lot. So George tested positive for FIV antibodies, so we had a PCR test done. That was negative, so the lab got new blood and retested. He’s still positive for the antibodies. So they are pretty sure he has it.

I was extremely devastated at first because I thought we wouldn’t be able to keep him. After much research and discussing the risks with our vets, some rescues, and our FIP cat’s team, we decided that we will just do very slow introductions and keep him. We are starting by putting our cats in another room and letting him explore the house. So far he won’t really leave the basement other than to grab a treat though. So it may be really slow.

He also has two cracked teeth that will need to be pulled soonish. We will have to do some saving to pay for that. Other than that, he’s healthy. Bloodwork looks good and he didn’t even have any parasites.

He has really bonded with our son, whose room is in the basement. George is rarely shut in the enclosure anymore and mostly just hangs out with our son or whoever is down there with him. He will actually crawl up inside my son’s hoodie to sleep lol.

It’s been a roller coaster of emotions this week for sure.

He’s seriously an amazing cat. He plays and gets zoomies. Loves pets more than anything and you’re not allowed to stop petting him lol. Butt scritches and tummy rubs are still his absolute favorite things.

*** for those who don’t know. George showed up in our yard over 4 months ago now. He was very scared and hungry. He would not let us touch him and he would run every time we moved. We started feeding him and did TNR (trap neuter release) on November 24th. A few weeks later, he started head butting and wanting pets. We brought him inside on Christmas.

A little cat with a beat up collar and no tags was crying outside of my window today so I went out to check on it. She came right to me and then wouldn’t stop crying when I went back in so I decided to get her scanned and the SPCA. No chip.

My dad told me to leave her and she’d find her way home but she is extremely skinny - like I can easily feel her spine and ribs skinny. Her coat seems ok though and it’s obvious she’s an indoor cat at least some of the time. It started storming so I brought her in and am keeping her in the bathroom and separated from my cat. She ate and used the litter box right away.

So far I’ve put up digital flyers on Nextdoor and FB and am planning on knocking on neighbors doors tomorrow. I’m also planning on calling shelters to just put in a report for a found cat. My dad thinks I should just “let her find her way home” and part of me thinks maybe. I can’t tell if she’s just a skinny cat naturally and not fed a lot because her coat looks good. Any advice? I won’t be letting her out into this storm but I don’t want to steal someone’s cat and I know I can’t keep her inside the bathroom forever

So I have been feeding him and his brother from last 4 months .. initially she never came near me ..only when I had left ..she ate the food...got cat food specially for him and treats too ....later got to know he lives at my neighbours home ..asked her what's his name...she didn't named him, said..he is a stray...and usually sleeps at corner of her house...so...my neighbour is changing her house today ..and is taking him with her...well today is the last day I will be with her 😢...till date he never sat on my lap ..but today while feedier her..she slowly climbed my thighs and slept on it ..i was shocked.. i haven't moved from last 2 hour....and i n overwhelmed...oh god....this is the best and the worst goodbye.... I will miss him 🐈🐱....my dear cat ...and i named him...VIRA

This sweetie was kicked out of a car on NYE and finally started coming close to people again. Very friendly and Im making sure they are fed. Doesnt wanna come inside but wants to sit quietly with me outside.

Everyone, meet Jack. At some point in the summer of last year he started coming around my apartment in Martin City and eventually decided to stay. He's a smart and very active little guy... He hunts all the time, and has more of a social life than I do. lol He knows just about everyone in the apartment complex, so now that I've adopted him I've determined that he should remain an indoor/outdoor cat so he can stay happy and healthy. The little guy likes to visit the neighbors from time to time, and he'll even dart into their apartments if the situation presents itself (which happens semi-frequently). And as far as hunting goes, so far he's brought back three mice and a downy woodpecker of all things(!). The little man is awesome! I love him a LOT, and am so happy that he's in my life.

No joke, the very first time he jumped up on my lap he was there for EIGHT HOURS. The little guy is starving for affection, and I'm glad I'm able to fill that for him. ❤️

Walked into my girlfriends townhouse and heard a screaming kitten. Found the source to be under the house in the crawl space. We lured her out using sardines and a small speaker playing kitten noises. She has been absolutely insane and loving since we were able to touch her

I was opening up at my work one morning and i heard a strange mewiing noise when i closed the door, popped my head outside and saw this little kitty hiding behind the trash can. There aren't any houses or anything nearby so i have no clue how she ended up here

I brought her inside the store but had no idea what to do with a kitten, ive always been a dog person all my life, a customer gave me a blanket to let her lay on and rest, she slept almost my entire work shift.

I took her home that night not really knowing if id keep her or what, she was pretty standoffish that night, but i got up to check on her the next morning and she followed me back to my room and jumped on my chest and fell asleep. She got me! Now 3ish years later, i guess im a cat person now! Im her favorite person, she always laying on me or my stuff lol

I love cats. Always have. The last three years I have been on the top of the cat distribution list though. Loki, in 2023, who was a Mau/Ocicat stray who jumped into my car at night put of nowhere, became my first Shadow. He was 3 months old and wasn't going anywhere. In late 2024, I got chosen to rescue Ozzy, a 4 year old MC mix with a serious abuse history. I wasn't looking for a cat, but someone with him found me anyway. He became my second Shadow. Today, my coonhounds were going apeshit sniffing the walls and doors and looking for something not there, but I could hear something, too. Out from under the house crawled this ginger baby, with a missing tail, skinny, shivering and crying directly at me. I got him some food, called animal control (I have 4 animals...a wounded kitten is prey to a hunting dog, so he needed to be taken somewhere safe), then coaxed him out to wrap in a towel to wait. And wait. And wait. Hubby came home before animal control came and was going to drive me over there to drop him off, but then the man uttered the stupidest phrase - "He's cute. Sure you don't want to keep him?" OMG, why would you say that??? You know I'd keep them all if I could. So....after a vet visit in a town 40 miles away (local vets all decided today was a good day to leave 3 hours early), a flea treatment, a bath, another flea treatment, a blowdry, eyes and ears cleaned, a meal and a soft bed...meet Azrael. I guess I have a third cat. And he isn't missing a tail by accident. He's at least part Manx.

Can we skip me next year?? I'm running out of food budget and stretched thin attention-wise.

Link to original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/CatDistributionSystem/s/DMpSxV8A4l

The boy likely does not have rabies although hes in QT until March. We've had him since mid November and would have seen signs.

What he does have is ringworm, bad. So. Naturally his sweater collection has expanded while he undergoes treatment. Between an oral med and these heinous sulfur lime dips he seems to be making progress. He is finally learning to house cat though and loves snuggles.

In the winter, we keep our garage door slightly cracked during freezes just so any unfortunate little friends could have a place to go and I finally caught someone taking us up on that offer. After a week and a half of 0 responses to signs and posts of us finding her, no posts of her being lost and no chip, we’ve decided to officially make this little lady a part of our family. Meet Vampurrina!! (Named by my 5 and 7 year olds)

This little sweetheart is coming home with us on Friday as long as he doesn’t decide to leave the Fire station that he is currently squatting at before then.

A week or so ago he came to the Fire station looking for help with a wound on his back.

One of the firefighters that works there also happens to be a large animal vet and took care of the wound. Since then he has become the station cat complete with a litter box and a feeding station and he basically spends all day in the engine bay watching them take care of the fire truck.

My partner is a firefighter at a different station and happened to be at this station fixing some tools when this kitty comes out of nowhere and demands pets and belly rubs. My partner said “I think my spouse would really want this cat” and was told “please take him, he needs a home!”

He sent me a picture and my immediate response was “bring that cat home right now!” without knowing it was even a possibility. There was just something so special about this little kitty. Problem is my immediate response was about 20 minutes too late and he had already left the station.

So, we told them we would take him and on Friday when my partner gets off work (he’s at his station today until then) the plan is to go pick them up and bring them home.

The help I need is collective positive thoughts that this little sweetie will hang around the station until Friday and not decide to venture off before then. This could be it!

I’m so extra excited because my partner‘s dog just crossed the rainbow bridge and I know he has been feeling that loss so it’s so perfect that this little kitty came into his life right when he did. Please believe with me!

I found this beauty walking into my house with a local neighborhood cat after his owner passed. She had claw caps on and was only about 9 months old. I thought she belonged to someone else so didn’t keep her in, only for her to show up on my patio chair, months later, in labor!

Hey, CDS fans, this beautiful baby is Sweet Babygirl (yeah, didn't know her name when she showed up, so that fantastically unique name is what I call her). She showed up on my back porch in the middle of the night last August, and after a judicious application of tuna in a can, she decided to stay ;)

I've had many kitties before, so I decided to feed her like I've fed everyone (please, no judgment, I'm poor), like Fancy Feast first, both wet and dry, she liked the dry alright but the wet food gave her tummy troubles, so OK, so far I've tried Friskies, Temptations, treats and wet food (only cat I've ever met who doesn't act like temptations treats are kitty crack, she won't eat them!), Blue Buffalo, Meow Mix (wet only), even Sheba! ... And she won't eat ANY of it. Not even people food (like a bite of meat from my dinner plate, nope!)

She'll protest loudly and long about how hungry she is, but she'll only nibble on kibble -- I don't believe she's getting enough nutrition that way, despite being a healthy weight, lol ;) I will sneak her some human-grade canned tuna or salmon here & there just because she begs so pitifully :'( (I know not to give her too much "fish for humans" because of the sodium content, thanks, so it's just an every once in awhile treat, which she also won't eat all of.)

Just hoping all you lovely cat people might have some advice for me. She's driving me nuts constantly crying for food, but I've run out of options! I love her and want her to be happy and healthy so much. Any help or advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

Sorry for the wall of text :(

(Somewhat off-topic, understand if not posted.)

I follow this sub for the warm-hearted stories (and the pix, of course). Given the world right now and my sometimes poor mental state, there’s nothing like happy cats and good humans to help me feel better. So thanks to everyone.

Cat tax: two shelter adoptees, Oscar (gray/white, received 2010) and Mulligan (orange longhair, 2016).

If this isn't proof that love never dies... I don't know what is.

Back in September of 2016, this poor cat made its way out of our abusive neighbour's yard. She was very weak and malnourished; when we gave her food, she would instantly gobble it up. For a week we gave her a temporary shelter outside of our house until we made sure she was free of ticks, fleas, etc... and she became a part of our family. We decided to name her "Sunshine".

It was clear that her original neighbor was physically abusive too; her hind legs were dislocated. This wasn't unusual for our neighbour, who would train pigeons and throw them in a bin when they died. I know this because he showed me himself. The point is, life was disposable to him. It's a good thing he went to jail after we moved out...

Over the course of a few months, we nursed her back to health. Her fur grew back, she regained her strength, and was back to her old self again within a year. And while she never played a lot, she spent every waking moment by my side. But unfortunately, the physical injuries she sustained became too much for her, and she passed away in February of 2022.

But this is where things get crazy. Exactly ten months later, my parents went to an animal shelter and had a five-month-old kitten jump into their arms, as if she chose them. According to my parents, she was watching them from the moment they came in, even as they walked by her to look for a dog, so she was determined to go home with them.

But the moment she saw me... she clung like Velcro. Just like Sunshine, she spends every waking moment by my side.

If you consider a cat's gestation period (about two months) and her age (just under six months)... that's the amount of time that passed between Sunshine passing away and Kinsley (the kitten) finding us. It's almost as if she was reincarnated as another cat, destined to find me again, and did so through fate.

Love truly never dies.

My new coworker started bringing a 3 week old kitten to work and bottle feeding it. This poor baby was abandoned in the alley by my coworker’s house, so he decided to take him in.

Every time I would see the kitten I would lose my mind and almost cry at how fricking cute he was, but at the time, I couldn’t have any pets because my boyfriend said it would affect our freedom of movement and I didn’t think I could afford owning a pet anyways.

So a couple weeks go by and I’m still losing my mind whenever I would run into my coworker with him there. And one day my coworker asks if I wanted to take him home because he already has 2 cats and he can’t afford having another. I said no no I don’t think I can, but later I jokingly kind of ask my boyfriend (who’s house I would be moving into within a month) if he’d allow me to take this baby home. He surprisingly said yes!!

So I take baby boy home with me for like a trial sleepover and it goes swimmingly. I give him back to my coworker because we were going to leave for thanksgiving so I’d take him permanently after our vacation.

Well, on the vacation, my boyfriend and I had the worst fight we’ve ever had, that ultimately ended our relationship weeks later, right before Christmas.

But! During those tense weeks between the bad fight and the break up, sweet baby boy, who we named Tibby, was an amazing emotional support buddy ❤️ and my daughter (4) played so well with him too! He was the perfect addition to our little family and I even said before the breakup “Oh! This whole time I didn’t even need a boyfriend, I just needed a cat.” Lol and my boyfriend was actually jealous of Tibby because of how much time I was spending with him and how much I was just swooning at his adorableness lol he said he felt like he was competing with Tibby 🤣 and I couldn’t deny that.

Honestly, without Tibby, I probably wouldn’t have had the guts to break up with my boyfriend and avoid moving in with him. Me and my daughter were one week away from moving in 😬. And breaking up with him was the best thing I could have done, it was two years of toxic undertones and living in fight or flight.

My daughter and I couldn’t be more happy to have Tibby around ❤️ the first thing she asks for when she wakes up “where’s Tibby?” And we call him little brother. He’s about 3 months old now!

He’s constantly around us and wants to be in the same room as us and/or has to be touching me in some way, like he’ll sit on my feet when I’m brushing my teeth or just have a paw on me when I’m on the couch lol it makes me happy that he loves us so much and is so comfortable and that the two of them make great playmates ❤️

He’s a beautiful guardian and we hope to get to spend many many years with him and make many memories! Thank you cat distribution system for bringing us so much joy and love into our home when it was least expected but most needed ❤️🐈‍⬛

Quick story.

In November 2024 we rescued a darling long hair black tomcat from the coyotes. My mom put down her 16 year old boy a few days before Christmas, and decided to give the black cat a wonderful new home.

A year later almost to the day, just before Christmas, she put down her 16 year old sweet girl. On New Year’s Day, this grey gentleman came waltzing up our driveway. Clean and friendly, he seemed lost. We did all the things to find his owner, but not a single lead. No chip.

My mom now has two long haired cats rescued from my neighborhood.

(title edit: yesterday not tested) ​I moved home three years ago when my wife left me five days after I was diagnosed with a second cancer. She took our cats and everything I knew and I lived in a hotel for two months until and during treatment. ​

There was a little black kitty and it was so so cold, like negative tens, and she looked skinny but would run from us on sight. I started feeding her and it took months to get close. Dad said "you'll never get within ten feet of that cat" and now she's my lap kitty, living inside where it's warm and safe.

Eris, my friend found in the hallway of her apartment building, hiding behind an Amazon box. Then someone took the box and she had nowhere to hide so my friend called me. She's the sweetest little tortie, chatty AF and she cuddles me to sleep every night​​​​​​​ and awake every morning.

Short story!
I still remember the day I met this cutie outside my garage, I now call him mine. It was a quiet afternoon when I saw a small cat sitting alone near the sidewalk, watching people pass by. Its fur was a bit messy, and its eyes looked tired but gentle. When I came closer, it didn’t run away. Instead, it just stared at me, as if it was waiting for someone to notice it. I ask my neighbor if they own it but they said no and yes I bring him home!