We aren't 8 Cats Cincinnati without the Cats!
You'll hear us often say, "we weren't those (cat) people, until we were". It's true, we were once normal pet owners. Nicole grew up with all sorts of animals, her father brought home a big derpy puppy he found abandoned on the side of the road on her first birthday and there hasn't been many times since then where she hasn't had a pet of some sort. Jeff, on the other hand wasn't allowed to have pets growing up, but had a deep love for animals and joined the Cincinnati Zoo as a junior zookeeper when he was a teenager. It prepared him for all these litter boxes!
Meet Storm- "The Old Girl"
When Jeff and Nicole met, Nicole had two kitties, Storm and Shalley. She had adopted both of them when they were babies. It was 2007 and a friend of a friend had kittens. Nicole's daughter got her pick of the litter and she wanted this little solid gray kitten who was hiding behind the sofa. She went to extremes to pull that little kitten out and take her home. She appropriately named her Storm, who as it turns out, truly hates thunderstorms. We always know if weather is brewing because she is no where to be found.
Storm is our old girl around here. She is the boss cat, and all the other cats know it. When she isn't napping, demanding food or ignoring the chaos of the others, She is looking for pets and snuggles. She is super friendly and loves pets from anyone who will give them.
Our sweet Shalley Cat sadly passed away in 2023 at 19 years old. She was a loving and sassy old broad, but lived a good, long life.
Enter Sofie- "Miss Priss"
It was 2018, Jeff and Nicole had recently moved in together. Jeff being deprived of childhood pets wanted to get another cat, so Nicole obliged. We picked Sofie out from our local Ohio Alleycat Rescue.
Sofie was Jeff's baby, his first real pet that he picked out, she was also basically an only child because Storm and Shalley were so much older. She had run of the place until a little black "nugget" came along and ruined it all.
Sofie is our torbie girl, she is a bit shy and is the least likely to come around new people or big groups. She is, however most likely to keep her siblings in line at breakfast. Everyone gets a waap if they are aren't waiting patiently enough for her taste.
If Sophie graces you with her presence, she'll be all in for the pets. She LOVES to have the top of her head and her back scratched. She will likely give you a silent meow of gratitude as she saunters off to find her next hiding spot.
*It's important to note, we were still normal cat people at this point.
Then Came Salem a.k.a "Nugget"
Jeff and Nicole had originally planned to get married in June of 2020, but the pandemic had other plans and the wedding was postponed. As a minor consolation, they decided to take a road trip to visit family in Wilmington, NC during what would've been their wedding week. Then the universe gave them Salem as an un-wedding present.
A good kitty Samaritan was driving down a very busy road in Wilmington and saw this little black flash of a kitten run across the street, nearly getting hit. They pulled over to go save her, when they found her, they put her in a cooler they had in their car and drove to the nearest Vet's office. It happened to be the veterinarian where Nicole's sister worked.

When Jeff and Nicole saw a photo of this little spunky black kitten, they couldn't not take her home. So back to Cincinnati she went!
Nugget is the quintessential black cat. She is highly intelligent, loving on her terms, jealous, loyal and will pretend she doesn't like being pet until you stop petting her. She doesn't mind new people if they suit her and whatever master plan she is scheming that day. She often shows up in the afternoon while the others are napping to ask for a tube treat all to herself.
If you see this girl around the house, (she's the one wearing a purple collar with a skinny tail), she will likely let you pet her if she's in the mood for humans that day. Otherwise, she'll ignore you like one of our friendly house ghosts.
*We were teetering on the edge of crazy cat people with the adoption of Nugget bringing out kitty crew to 4.
The Foster-Fail...
The story of Lakshmi & Tux (The Fluff Family)
Nicole and Jeff were perfectly happy with 4 cats, then kitten season 2022 happened and they were lured (it was not difficult) into fostering a few kittens. Nicole brought home a bonded pair, Lakshmi, a white fluffy blue eyed girl, along with her littermate Tux, the most perfect fluffy tuxedo kitten to ever exist, and a third single black kitty that they named Shadow. These guys were only about 3 weeks old when they came to them. While Tux and Lakshmi were in fairly good health, little Shadow was a sickly kitten. Despite their best attempts at caring for him around the clock, he did not survive. They were so devastated over his loss, they absolutely could not to let Lakshmi and Tux go anywhere but home with them.
So then there were 6.
We often call Lakshmi the ugly duck kitty, she was a scrawny, wiry kitten, but she grew up to be quite a showstopper... And she knows it. Her bright blue eyes will stop you in your tracks. She is as sweet as she is pretty. She can be a bit skittish around bigger groups or small children, but if you get a chance to hang out with her while you are here, she will gladly accept your pets, purr instantly when you look at her, give you love blinks and even say "bless you" if you sneeze around her. She can usually be found snuggled up with her brothers, getting white fur on anything it will stick to or hanging out with her humans. She is happy to come meet new people, but will run away if it's too loud or chaotic.
Tux, on the other hand, will happily take pets from just about any stranger if they are over 3ft tall. He has the softest fur of any kitty we know, and loves to talk. He is the stereotypical tuxedo cat, if you have food, he is your best friend. If you have a tube treat, he will give you his heart. If you see him around, call his name and he'll likely come over and give you a kitty bump for some pets and a chat. While Tux is a super loving and friendly kitty, he like to stay on the ground and does not like to be picked up, even by his humans.
*We were now on a slippery slope headed straight for crazy cat town, a place where 50% of your conversations are about your cats as though they are humans and the words "litter and robot" are frequently in the same sentence.
When Your Friends Have Kittens...
Why Leo & Ferdinand (Ferdi) are the 8 Cats Ambassadors
The same friend from Asheville who facilitated Storm's adoption several years earlier, had a pregnant mama kitty named Phoebe. Jeff and Nicole told her if she had an orange boy and another black kitten, they would adopt them. As fate would have it, they did have an orange boy, two of them in fact! Our Leo was one of them. Leo was named after Leonardo DiCaprio because they were listening to the Titanic soundtrack when he was born. Phoebe also had a gray tabby kitten, who was later named Ferdinand, like the bull. Leo and Ferdi were born into a home with kids, and people holding and carting them around from the moment they crashed into this world. They have never known that feral kitty life. No matter what Ferdi tells you, he is a soft, mushy ball of fluff.
There is 90% percent chance that Leo will greet you upon your arrival at 8 Cats Cincinnati. He loves new people and takes his ambassador job very seriously. He does not stop talking when guests are around. We can only assume that he is not only greeting you, but telling you everything you need to know, where to go and who everyone is. He will even give you a guided tour from comfort of your shoulder.
The Appalachian Brothers (as they are referred) were born May 1, 2023. Our sweet Shalley Cat died in June, before we met Leo or Ferdi. Ferdinand is a near carbon copy of Shalley, in both looks and personality. There are so many things that he does that Shalley would do, it's wild. In many ways, it's like she is still with us through Ferdinand.
Ferdi loves people almost as much as Leo. Well, he prefers to stretch out before them, usually right where they are walking and demands belly rubs. Then he will happily roll over and give head bumps and snuggles. When he is not snuggling and getting pets, he lives up to his bullish name. He is the destroyer of all fragile things in this house. If it moves or even slightly resembles a cat toy, he is going to conquer it. Like Shalley, who was the ultimate alpha mama kitty, he is vying for the alpha spot amongst our crew. Sophie likes to remind him on a daily basis that he is #7 on the pecking order.
It's almost certain that these brothers will make an appearance during your visit. They hear the door open and come running!
These two came as our second set of bonded pair kittens, and quickly became a bonded quad with Lakshmi and Tux. All four of them can often be found sleeping snuggled up in a pile together. Lakshmi and Leo have an especially tight bond and are usually not far from each other.
*The crazy cat people ship had sailed and there was no turning back. We were far past the normal cat people and accepted our fate of being "those people".
Can You Ever Have Too Many House Panthers?
Void (A.k.a Void Void) came crashing in...
Jeff and Nicole had said many times that the next kitty they would get would be another black cat. They felt that way for a few reasons; Black cats have such dynamic personalities, you always know where you stand with them. They are loyal, independent, jealous, intelligent, and don't care what anyone thinks.
Shalley was Nuggets best friend, they were inseparable. After Shalley was gone, Nugget grieved for a long time, she missed her mama friend and wanted nothing to do with the other cats. They thought that she MIGHT be OK with a new kitten friend, and they weren't wrong.
They knew the right kitten would find them, and in July of 2024 he did. Someone found a sweet little black kitten by a dumpster and posted in a local Facebook group if anyone could take him in. Enter Void Void (yes, he will come when you call Void Void). The sweetest house panther ever.
Ferdi has the role of "New Kitten Trainer", he has taken it upon himself to teach all new kittens how to be cats. Void might believe he is a gray tabby, but the black cat in him is strong. He will stretch out for belly rubs like Ferdi, but unlike Ferdi, it's a trap and he will wrap his paws around your hand to go in for the kill. He was raised by a lover kitty so he doesn't use his claws and knows how to play gently. Like a true house panther, he is ALWAYS hunting. He hunts his siblings, he sits at the garden door and hunts lizards, he will hunt anything the might even look like it could move.
As for he and Nugget, she likes him better then the others and will let him be close to her. Void, despite being a single kitty has been adopted into the bonded quad. Although, he doesn't care about sleeping in the cat pile with them. He is usually found sleeping just far enough away from Nugget, but close enough to her that she is not alone. The more time that goes by, the closer he moves toward her.
If you see Void around, he is the black kitty without a collar, and has a crooked, super fluffy tail. His tail must have been broken when he was a baby, if you feel his tail, it may feel alarming, but he is perfectly fine and does well with his imperfect- perfect tail. He may stay at a distance at first, as he is still learning about new people and likes to watch before he'll accept pets from strangers. Once this sweet boy deems you worthy, he won't let you stop petting him though!
*full blown cat people who were in full renovations of a giant house and decided they should use a portion of it for a B&B and event space. Instead of deciding another path because they had 8 cats, they just created business around them instead.
