Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Libby]

I just saw on the news that Barbara Streisand spent $50,000 apiece to have her dog cloned twice. I think that this is disgraceful. First, because there are so many dogs that need homes. Second, it's unfair to the two little puppies that she created. So what? If they act a little different from her original dog, she won't like them? I think the whole thing is just wrong.

[bilgistic]

I just saw the headline and didn't read the article because I'm already angry enough at the general state of things. I agree that it's appalling. Per the Humane Society of the United States:

Quote

About 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 13 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year.

Think of how far a $50,000 donation to several shelters would go. There's no sane reason why she couldn't have adopted a houseful of animals and donated the price of cloning. I'm disgusted.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Updates to the dog food recall - 

http://wsbt.com/news/nation-world/fda-investigation-continues-into-dog-food-contaminated-with-euthanasia-drug

[SuprSuprElevated]

7 hours ago, Libby said:

I just saw on the news that Barbara Streisand spent $50,000 apiece to have her dog cloned twice. I think that this is disgraceful. First, because there are so many dogs that need homes. Second, it's unfair to the two little puppies that she created. So what? If they act a little different from her original dog, she won't like them? I think the whole thing is just wrong.

I agree.  Beyond indulgent.  

[Bastet]

I love the similarities between current pets and those who've died - it's fun to watch a behavior and think, "She/he is so totally channeling [pet] right now" and to see a pet take equal joy in a toy or activity enjoyed by one from the past - but the best part is each one's unique set of characteristics, from markings to personality.  I still love and miss every cat I've had to say good-bye to, but I cannot imagine trying to replicate them rather than simply enjoying other cats for who they are. 

And, yeah, with MILLIONS of pets being euthanized in U.S. shelters each year simply because there are more of them than there are homes, I have major issues with breeding, and those apply to cloning -- general principle objections before we get to the creepy "replacement" factor.

[DeLurker]

Sir Robin normally sleeps on my bed at night and Kokuma on the floor (well, I bought him a bed and he's on it for part of the night).  Sir Robin scurries upstairs when I am going to bed and gets settled in right away.  Kook doesn't always come up then - his guard instinct tells him he needs to stay downstairs until my son goes to bed.  And sometimes he just stays downstairs all night, but not usually.

Last night he stayed downstairs.  About 2 AM, the cat starts meowing and pacing back and forth to the landing.  He wanted me to make the dog come to bed.  So I did.  We know who is the boss.

[Qoass]

I suspect Streisand donates plenty to causes important to her so I won't begrudge her the cost of a really nice car. It's her money and she worked hard for it.

[EighteenTwelve]

Last night I had a chorus committee meeting until 10:00 (the meetings start after rehearsal, which ended at 9:00) and didn't get home until 10:45ish, and wanted to read email.  Since I usually go to bed at 11:00ish after taking a bath, the cats were extremely confused.  Snip planted herself on my laptop keyboard so I would get up, and then she went and sat on the bathmat to wait for me, but I went straight to bed.  That set Lily's This Ain't Right alarm off, so I ended up with Lily at the head of the bed and Snip at the foot and both of them purring their heads off.  I think they thought I was sick and were trying to make me feel better.

[ABay]

If I stayed up past my normal bedtime, one of my cats would sit and stare at me until I went to bed. The fact that I was usually in "his" chair was purely coincidental.

[EighteenTwelve]

Snip stares at me if I'm watching TV and not going to bed when she thinks it's bedtime, but if I'm on the computer she finds it more efficient to sit on the keyboard.

[theredhead77]

I only have one blanket cat bed on my bed now. Typically the kitten-cat claims it and the cat-cat sleeps at the other corner and eventually curls up next to me. Or he'll settle right at the foot where my feet go. This morning I woke up with the kitten-cat nestled in to my knees and the cat-cat in the bed.

They also both look at me like I'm doing something wrong if I stay up past "bedtime" or come home late on a weekend.

[Bastet]

Maddie always met me at the door, and if I'd had a late night, she'd give me a look that was the equivalent of holding up one's watch and pointing to it.

Riley does something Baxter used to do -- if I have company, and they stay late, she gets out of bed, sits on the doorway between the hall and living room, and stares at my guest(s) as if to say, "She was supposed to be in bed with me hours ago; you need to go home now."  That one reminds me of my mother appearing in the doorway when I was having a slumber party with my friends and she wanted us to shut up and go to sleep.

[ABay]

Bird update! To keep the squirrels from monopolizing the tray feeder and scaring away the birds, I got a tall pole with multiple hooks and a squirrel baffle and moved the tray there. The only problem is that it's exposed to the weather now so the seed is going to get soaked tomorrow. The squirrels discovered that the buffet was closed on Sunday and were climbing all over the front of the house looking for it. Every now and then, one would try to reach one of the tube feeders. Haha! Foiled again, you little demons!

I mean, they can access all of the fruit I stick in the suet feeder on the tree, and I put out a lot of seed on the ground, and my neighbor feeds them, so they're aren't going to starve. And aren't they supposed to store nuts for the winter anyway? The allegedly squirrel proof feeder I started with is broken although I don't think it's the squirrels' fault. It has a spring so the outer cage sinks down if anything too heavy lands on the perches, thus hiding the food, and then springs back up when the critter leaves. But it has stopped springing back into position so once it goes down, the birds can't feed. I wired the cage to the pole hook this morning and that should hold, but I have to remove the cage to refill the feeder so it's going to be a pain in the ass.

The pole is pretty good--it has the tray, a suet cage, a little water bowl, and right now I have a suet block hanging from one of the hooks. There are two open hooks at the moment. It's very tall and I can't actually see into the tray without tipping it. But the main issue is that it isn't straight and sways. We're having a storm tomorrow with high wind so I stopped at Home Depot and got a rebar pole and clamp to secure it a little better. The rebar went a lot further into the ground than the pole did, so even though the pole is still tilting a little, I think it will survive the storm.

[Sandman87]

I've found out why Mom's Cat frequently has a cold wet paw when she jumps up on my lap. Her cat-type water dish got broken a couple of months ago, so I've been giving her water in a cereal bowl. I've learned that she prefers to drink from the far edge of the bowl for some reason, so she's been standing in her water bowl whenever she wants to get a drink. And it's always the left paw that gets wet.

In honor of the fact that this is approximately the second anniversary of my Big Guy getting killed (I say approximately, because he managed to arrange for it to happen on leap day), here's a picture of the two cats hogging the bed back in the day:

Didn't leave much room for me. He was a big kitty.

[bosawks]

Every time, like today, that I'm stuck at work while it's snowing I envision my dog with her nose pressed to the window pining for me to take her out for a walk.

[MargeGunderson]

I work from home on Fridays and senior kitty is stuck to me like glue. I finally gave in and brought my laptop to the couch so she could sit with me. She was very interested in my conference call and patted my external phone speaker a couple of times. I like to think she was trying to hang up on my coworker!

[Sandman87]

Learned a valuable lesson today: Never leave the door to the wood stove open unless I want to find the cat sitting there in the ashes.

 

8 hours ago, bosawks said:

Every time, like today, that I'm stuck at work while it's snowing I envision my dog with her nose pressed to the window pining for me to take her out for a walk.

For a second I read that as "window paneing for me..."

[MargeGunderson]

10 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Learned a valuable lesson today: Never leave the door to the wood stove open unless I want to find the cat sitting there in the ashes.

 

For a second I read that as "window paneing for me..."

Oh no! Does kitty need a bath now, or just a dusting? 

[DeLurker]

On 12/11/2016 at 1:54 PM, DeLurker said:

My cat exploring the fireplace that has been blocked for several months because he kept going in it and getting covered with soot.

Apparently, an actual fire is not much of a deterrent. 

In other news, I went to a place to get new silica sand and embers to replace what I do have in the gas fireplace.  And based on what the woman who worked there told me, I probably have the wrong sized logs for my fireplace since mine basically go end to end with little clearance.

 

I feel your pain @Sandman87

[theredhead77]

Tis the season for fireplace exploration. The kitten-cat figured out how to open the doors in front of the fireplace.

[Sandman87]

3 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

Oh no! Does kitty need a bath now, or just a dusting? 

Kitty got a quick bath in a couple of inches of warm water. No point in bathing the whole cat when it's just the lower surfaces that need attention.

[bilgistic]

My late cats were never interested in the fireplace at my old condo. The cat we had when I was growing up was VERY enthralled with the kerosene heater that we used in the living room. As soon as Mom would light it, our cat would lay on her side, inches away from it and purr her little heart out. She would be so hot to the touch, but so happy.

We had baseboard heat in the house, but Mom wouldn't let us use it because of the expense and fire risk (shag carpeting), as if a kerosene heater in a carpeted room with no ventilation wasn't a fire risk.

Edited March 4, 2018 by bilgistic

[MargeGunderson]

In my last apartment, the landlord installed a small wood stove on the hearth, leaving the fire box open (is that the right term? The place where you burn the logs). When we used the wood stove, the cats would lay behind the stove on the warm bricks in the fire box. Now they sleep in their cuddle cups right in front of the fireplace. 

[DeLurker]

Well back from the vet with Kokuma.  In the last few days he has started to drink a whole lot of water at once (he usually takes a few laps throughout the day), his jaw has started to tremble off and on and he's been burpy.

The vet hopes a change in diet and an OTC version of Prilosec will address  things if he has suddenly developed a gastrointestinal problem to his normal diet.  We also had a senior lab panel done because it checks for more things and will let her know if there are any irregular reads from kidneys, liver, etc...  I'm hoping it is just that because my brain automatically went to some scary neurological problem.

I'll go get the prescription food and the OTC meds as soon as I resettle my brain.  Also, after I use a lint brush to clean off the dog hair I acquired as getting him into the car was more work than normal and getting him to come out from underneath the bench in the examining room required full body persuasion.  There will not be enough caffeine in the world for me today.

[Mindthinkr]

I hope Kokuma’s blood panel comes back normal. That’s interesting that it takes all you’ve got to get him out from under the examining table. I take it that’s before he sees the vet? Please just don’t drink so much caffeine that you get heart palpitations. 

For all the cat lovers (and those of us with black kitties) 

[JTMacc99]

I'm pretty sure it's my black cat who plays with me and not the other way around. Or at the very least, arms, fingers, feet, my poor slippers are just toys for her.

[Mindthinkr]

7 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

I'm pretty sure it's my black cat who plays with me and not the other way around. Or at the very least, arms, fingers, feet, my poor slippers are just toys for her.

I was watching some funny cat videos earlier today and saw some cats playing with slippers or flip flops. My kitties have never had an interest in my shoes. I didn’t know that it was a thing. My cats idea of toys is a small rug that I pour a bit of organic catnip on and the boy likes to beat the crap out of it, my feet under the covers when I move them, a laser light, a fishing pole toy with a bell (boy cat hates bells) and unfortunately jigsaw puzzle pieces. Last time I couldn’t find the three remaining pieces only to find out that they were beneath a couch after having been pawed and chased over. 

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

My kitties have never had an interest in my shoes. I didn’t know that it was a thing.

Well, Carl never destroyed any of my stuff. Luna, on the other hand...

In the case of my slippers, it's because I treated myself to $70 LL Bean Wicked Good slippers a couple years ago, and they have some fuzzy lining that she likes to attack and sometimes pull out. It is what it is. She's a killer. 

[Mindthinkr]

@JTMacc99 I guess I’m lucky that my Uggs haven’t been a target. 

[Bastet]

I've never had a cat attack my shoes, but almost all of them have liked to roll around with shoes, stick their paws in them, etc.  I don't wear shoes in the house, and (most of the time) I carry them directly to my closet and put them away, but I have a pair of flip flops by each door (to wear outside), so those are always available. 

[Sandman87]

Cold Wet Paws Update: I replaced the cereal bowl with one of those small bowls that you serve pudding or a single scoop of ice cream in. Mom's cat still managed to get her left paw wet. Either she scrunches up in a very cramped position to drink now, or else she's using the water dish as a foot bath separate from drinking activities. I don't know which.

Now I'm going to see if elevating the bowl a couple of inches will change things. With my luck she'll just knock it over and get all four paws wet.

[ratgirlagogo]

12 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I'm pretty sure it's my black cat who plays with me and not the other way around

 Quand je joue avec mon chat, qui sait s’il ne s’amuse pas plus de moi que je le fais de lui ?

[Mindthinkr]

4 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

 Quand je joue avec mon chat, qui sait s’il ne s’amuse pas plus de moi que je le fais de lui ?

Mrs chats ont été vénérés dans leur denière vie. Ils n’ont pas oublié cela. Leur amusement est sans conséquence tant qu’ils don’t nourris à temps. 

[bosawks]

Snow Day part one, the “sleeping” in....

[DeLurker]

6 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Now I'm going to see if elevating the bowl a couple of inches will change things. With my luck she'll just knock it over and get all four paws wet.

The dog's bowls sit on the fire place surround which is raised about 18" or so.  The cat's downstairs food dish sits on the lower open shelf of the kitchen island (I gave up the idea of separate water bowls because the dog would drink out of the cat's and the cat would drink out of the dog's anyway).  Not everyone may be a fan of the idea of the dog's bowls so open and visible, but I've got very little floor space where I wouldn't constantly be hitting them with my foot.  Plus, I figure seeing his water bowl is like seeing my coffee mug or water glass out - it happens everyday.

 

21 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

That’s interesting that it takes all you’ve got to get him out from under the examining table.

He isn't afraid normally - a bit spooked after I got him fixed and he had to stay there most of the day.

In any event, he likes his new food quite a bit and seems a bit less burpy since I started him on it yesterday.  Very fond of the new pill pocket idea the vet gave me -  use the canned version of the same food - just make a little meatball with the caplet in the center.  The actual pill pockets I had bought in the past did not interest him at all.

[MargeGunderson]

Senior kitty was back to the vet at 6am yesterday with what appears to be a recurrence of her UTI. Puddles and dribbles everywhere! She's back in kitty quarantine (e.g. the kitchen closed off by baby gates). The good news is that she stopped peeing outside the box once I brought her back home. She has to be accident free for 48 hours before release, so for now she just peers out sadly from behind bars. 

[riley702]

Poor baby. Crossing my fingers she's on the mend.

[bosawks]

Snow Day, part two, here’s snow in your eye...

[MargeGunderson]

@bosawks, does your dog like the snow? Hard to tell from the expression!

Senior kitty is feeling better. I’m working from home today and suddenly she let out a huge meow/howl that startled me, since she doesn’t typically make any noise except a purr. I went to see what was wrong and she was playing with a stuffed mouse. She was carrying it around in her mouth and making her weird hunting sounds. I watched her for a few minutes before she realized I was standing there and dropped her mouse to meow at me. She really wants out of kitty jail but she gets 1 more day in confinement.

[Mindthinkr]

7 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

@bosawks, does your dog like the snow? Hard to tell from the expression!

Senior kitty is feeling better. I’m working from home today and suddenly she let out a huge meow/howl that startled me, since she doesn’t typically make any noise except a purr. I went to see what was wrong and she was playing with a stuffed mouse. She was carrying it around in her mouth and making her weird hunting sounds. I watched her for a few minutes before she realized I was standing there and dropped her mouse to meow at me. She really wants out of kitty jail but she gets 1 more day in confinement.

At least you were nice and gave her a toy(s) to play with. I hope she makes it through this last day with no relapse. 

My kitties just got their flea treatment. Why is it they want to rub that stuff off on me by snuggling and wiggling against my sweater? Cat people problems. 

[JTMacc99]

I find it terribly entertaining to watch how my dogs deal with a backyard with two feet of snow on it. Danny and his double coat and 98 pounds of force just walks around as if it isn't even there. He makes trails, wanders into the shrubs and under the trees and comes back on to the porch with a whole bunch of snow on top of him. (Need to get the towel on him ASAP, or he just starts melting all over the house.) Neo is then the beneficiary of the paths. He looks like a rat in a maze from my perspective. It's great.  And he wants almost no part of cold as it is, so Danny's paths make it so much better for him to go do his business and get back into the warm house.

[emma675]

JTMacc99, pics or it didn't happen. I love doggos in the snow, it's so rare here in Texas. 

Edited March 8, 2018 by emma675d

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

I went to see what was wrong and she was playing with a stuffed mouse. She was carrying it around in her mouth and making her weird hunting sounds. I watched her for a few minutes before she realized I was standing there and dropped her mouse to meow at me.

~sniff~

[riley702]

4 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

My kitties just got their flea treatment. Why is it they want to rub that stuff off on me by snuggling and wiggling against my sweater? Cat people problems. 

Ha! I just did this yesterday and they're doing this to me today, too!

[ABay]

Well, they don't want you to get fleas, either.

[bosawks]

7 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

@bosawks, does your dog like the snow? Hard to tell from the expression!

Alli loves the snow, rain, sleet, fog, mist and wind.

There isn’t much Alli doesn’t love.

[Mindthinkr]

Happy dog (Alli) Happy owner (Bosawks)

[AgentRXS]

It's unusually cool weather for March here, and Ella wants you all to know that I'm the worst pet parent ever because I will not let her outside to frolic in my front yard. Somehow its my fault that she lost her privileges due to the fact that she decided that she was going to experiment with playing chicken with cars the last time I let her out (she used to just sunbathe on my porch). She has been meowing at me in protest every 5 minutes for the last 5 hours.  My usual "go to bed Ella" routine when she gets worked up like this isn't working. I have a cat harness and leash for her, but just didn't feel up to sitting outside with her tonight. The windows are open but she's not satisfied with window watching tonight. Cats are such divas, smh.

[ABay]

Ooh! Ooh! Goldfinch at the finch feeder! And a pair of grackles have discovered the feeders. It makes me ridiculously happy that both the big and small woodpeckers have shown up and the cardinals come to the feeder by the window now. You know, I started this for the cat but she's sleeping by a window that faces a different direction and I'm sitting here with binoculars. Ungrateful beast!

[Mindthinkr]

Oh @ABay I’m so happy that the bird feeders have worked out for you. I have seen Bluebirds lately and need to get moving on putting up a birdhouse for them. Isn’t it nice to hear them singing? 

I’ve had a noticeable change around here. I told you all about the local deer Rosie that used to empty my bird feeder every day. She used to live (sleep) in an empty lot at the beginning of our street. The plot sold and someone is building a house and since construction has begun my bird feeder isn’t emptied every day and there has been no sign of Rosie. Here’s a picture for those of you that haven’t seen her. Sorry for you others whom are seeing it again. I miss seeing her.