My First Cat

First Cats. We all have that special very first cat—the one that we had as a child, or perhaps the first one when we had a home of our own. Maybe one found us, and we hadn’t realized that we needed a cat until then. Or perhaps this special cat was a first rescue, first pedigreed cat or first show cat. These are the stories of some of those special cats.

- Laurie Coughlan

Opie

From Favor to Favorite

Joanne Hardeman

I met my first cat doing a favor for a friend. In 2007, I met Connie Wardlaw on an African safari. We became friends so I was introduced to her cats and then, cat shows. I have always loved animals so fell for the cats and found the shows intriguing. At that time, I had a Lhasa Apso, but lost her in September 2008. I was feeling lonely and intended to get another dog. About that same time, Connie’s national winner Lola gave birth to three adorable kittens. Over Thanksgiving weekend, Connie and Bob were taking two of the kittens to a breeder in Virginia, but they needed someone to take care of the third. She asked if she could bring that kitten, Opie, to stay with me. I informed her I knew nothing about keeping cats inside, as I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and all my pet cats lived outside in the barn. I finally agreed to keep him for the weekend after she assured me that she would bring everything needed.