Pets & the humans who love them

[Lynn]

We have five cats and a dog. All are rescues.

Cupid is our oldest kitty. He's 14, with kidney disease and a chronic peeing problem. We are having some difficulty dealing with this, I admit. Samantha and Zoe are one sibling group, and Mickey and Miley are the other kitty sibs. We love them all. They're an endless source of enjoyment for us. All indoor cats and all from shelters.

Freeway is our old man. He's a 12 year old border collie/lab mix. Looks like a brown border collie with the utter sweetness of a soft lab. He was malnourished and neglected for years by a kindly older person who couldn't take care of him properly. He's a bit old for his time--with diabetes, arthritis, and cataracts with almost full blindness. He doesn't know how to play with toys, but he loves to ride in the car. He doesn't bark, but he smiles a lot and actually answers "yes" (I swear) when we ask if he wants to go for a ride. He still dances like a puppy when he goes in the car or when he is able to get us to let him out by staring at us.

[girl_dee]

recently went from a 5 pound chihuaha to a 7 large dog pack..

I sleep well at night...

[Glenn]

10 cats
1 Coyote
5 Racoons
Deer-?
Birds-?
1 Possum

[Melissa]

We have 3 cats with all different personalities.

Miz Kitty was willed to Rufus. Her owner died and Rufus got her because her owner knew Rufus was the only person who would not give her away or put her down.

Then we have Jilly. She was a stray that I picked up in the middle of a very icy Nebraska winter. She would come around for food, I would let her in to warm up, but after 10 minutes she would want to leave. Then, one day, she stopped by and at the end of her 10 minute visit instead of heading to the door to leave she took a left into the kitchen, curled up and went to sleep.

Then our last cat is Buddy. He showed up in the backyard one day looking for food. A neighbor had moved and we think they had abandoned him. We fed him for awhile but he was so pitiful and so obviously a former house cat with no outside skills that we took him in. He is now a 20lb monster that we love to death.

Melissa

[Miss Scarlett]

For the past 13 years I have been personal assistant to the little gray cat who showed up on my patio on one of the hottest days of August 1997. I cannot and do not want to imagine my life without her. She is very much her own cat.

I love all animals and if my lifestyle/schedule permitted would definitely have a dog too. Of course I do have a "part-time dog" as in the Shih Tzu my boss brings to work. He is a delight and I love having a dog on my desk or in my lap when working.

I would love to have a raven. They are one of the smartest birds as well as being one of my animal totems.

[Isadora]

We lost four companions in one year. All of them from age. They were our family for many many years. First there was Zeke. Zeke was the elder to everyone else that came and went. He tolerated them all with his usual cat tolerance. He was a black fluffy green eyed cat that was my last connection to Andre. Andre's cat Molly had her very last litter and Zeke was the runt. 16 years of love and devotion he died roaming the countryside he grew up in. He was the only four legged companion that was not rescued. I still miss him. We had Queen Zelda the Persian, Magic and Mic the dumped in the country lab mixes and my rescued bichon the Zigmeister. Ziggy was my lover boy and followed me everywhere and always had to be touching me. I miss him.

Now we have Bert and Ernie. Bert is a sweet butch terrorist and Ernie is a sweet femme bottom. LOL They were rescued as part of the City of Oakland Catch and Release program for stray cats. Momma was caught, had her kittehs, neutered and released back in her neighborhood. Bert and Ernie (or as Toughy calls her Ernestine) are tortoiseshell and diluted calicos. I lub them. We are considering a dog but I am torn between a rescue mastiff and a bichon. Don't laugh. I grew up with a Great Dane named Dede and a Chihuahua named Pixie. Heh. We shall see...

[AtLast]

My 15 year old cat, Luciano is in kidney failure, but doing well, actually. He gets sub-q fluids every other day and is on Rx food. He is still king of the abode (even over my French Bulldog) and keeps the neighborhood in check. Yes, he has slowed down, but is a tough cat! Now he comes in early in the evening to snooze in his heating pad adorned bed under my desk. I have a talk and ear scratch session with him every night on the floor and he purrs the best tunes!

Have another cat, an orange manx (Mario), also a rescue. He is 7 years old. Always been a nervous fellow and very sweet. I have caught him more than once cleaning Luciano's ears under my desk. He knows his big brother doesn't feel well all of the time. Fortunately, Mario loves the dog and they are pretty close. So, when we lose Luciano, he will still have a fur person he loves around.

I lost the last of my Boxers 2 years ago (Valentino) to a brain tumor at age 8 years. Had Boxers for 30 years, some rescused, others, not. I miss him and the breed, but it is best to have a small breed for me now.

That brings me to Ranocchio the Frog Dog!! He is a tiger-brindle French Bulldog and he is 5 years old. Kind of like having a short Boxer, actually. Total clown... with attitude! A great companion and friend!

I'm an introvert and although I do like people in general, I prefer home and quiet and being able to trust my fur kids. My human family is number one on the people scale. I spent my working life in fields directly dealing with people and people problems and education. Unless someone truely loves pets, I'd rather they not even visit me. This is their home, too. I'm done taking care of people in my personal as well as work life. Totally retired! The kid is raised and has his own family and is stable. The rest is for me and responsible, conscious, considerate humans ... and my pets! The only shit I am going to clean up any more is what's in the litter box!

I would like to have another pooch, but right now with my older cat's health needs and expenses, that isn't the thing to do. Probably piss him off, anyway....

[Lady Pamela]

All 5 of my animals right now are rescued animals.

Angel is 17 (Cat)
Belle my most recent rescue (cat) Still healing her from a tramatic assault and stavation..but shes doing better
Samantha (Rat) She is still having issues as well.
Ekock (boy bird) & Halo (girl bird...doing great * Peach face and black nose love birds *

YES THEY ARE ALL MY BABIES AND PART OF THE FAMILY.

[oblivia]

We have a wonderful cat, Balor, who is now just over 11 years old and a really fun and entertaining Green Cheek Conure, Jasper, who is really chatty and who we spend a lot of time with. Both are very much members of the family, right along with Sparx, me, and the man-children.

[Jude]

I didn't get my first doggy until my children were grown up, out of school and on their own.

It's wonderful. And I don't care whether my Lulu is the brightest or the dumbest in puppy class.

and, I care even less where my dog goes to college or what her grade point average is. Ivy or state school; it's irrelevant. Graduate school: forget it. You don't need it to lick your butt with any sort of proficiency.

Babysitters...No problem. Just toss her in the zip up bag and take her along. Leave her for a couple of hours with a new chew toy and she thrives.

The question of what might appeal to her for dinner is mute. It's gonna be dog food.

The most outrageous act of adolescent rebellion might be an accidental piddle in the kitchen or the insistence on taking "froggie" along on a walk.


Dogs are definitely easier to raise than children and often far more gracious and appreciative than people.

Not having any more kids. Just shih tzus!!

[SimpleAlaskanBoy]

We have cats...six of them.

Moxie was mine, adopted her from a shelter in Alaska once I got my first apartment & she's been with me ever since. Brown tabby, with gorgeous green eyes and the Queen of the Bedroom.
Romeo is daisy's..orange tabby that is just "one of the girls" and brother to Cricket.
Cricket is the Momma of the brood, eternally kitten sized and a spaz pro. She's also Zilla's Mom.
Zilla, aka Catzilla....sweet, "special" twenty lb, polydactl cat. Don't mess with her though, she's got lightning quick reflexes.
Gidget is a year old kitten of a barn cat that daisy adopted for me before I moved here to help me get over the loss of my other cat, Belly. She plays fetch & currently enjoys following the newest kitten around, grooming her and playing with her. Which leads me to Linnea, our 10 week old tabby kitten with amber eyes. She was adopted from a rescue group while they were at a local pet store, it seems that Linnea and her siblings were dropped there previously because they knew the rescue organization would be there. I approved her adoption because daisy really wanted her, and it was her birthday. She is still growing into her meow and has Daddy wrapped around her little paw. She's also into everything!

Of course...if anyone asks...we just have 4.
~SAB

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Jude

I didn't get my first doggy until my children were grown up, out of school and on their own.

It's wonderful. And I don't care whether my Lulu is the brightest or the dumbest in puppy class.

and, I care even less where my dog goes to college or what her grade point average is. Ivy or state school; it's irrelevant. Graduate school: forget it. You don't need it to lick your butt with any sort of proficiency.

Babysitters...No problem. Just toss her in the zip up bag and take her along. Leave her for a couple of hours with a new chew toy and she thrives.

The question of what might appeal to her for dinner is mute. It's gonna be dog food.

The most outrageous act of adolescent rebellion might be an accidental piddle in the kitchen or the insistence on taking "froggie" along on a walk.


Dogs are definitely easier to raise than children and often far more gracious and appreciative than people.

Not having any more kids. Just shih tzus!!

TOUCHE!! But at least kids are kids! Love my grand kids. It's the adults stuck in adolescence that make me nuts! And believe me, this occurs at any adult age! Not talking about customary passages through human development. May 20 year olds have more sense than some 50 year olds I know.

But, give me my fur kids!

[Gemme]

Can't do the poll, as I have none currently.

In the past, I've had up to 8 rescue cats at once and two dogs at once. My last dogs were Brodie and Gidget, a miniature Irish Setter and a miniature Shih Tzu. My last cats were Moby and Willow Anastacia and the 8 I mentioned were: Oreo, her kittens Picasso, Wolfgang, and Tigger and another set of siblings we rescued: Arizona, Zen, Nikki the Narcoleptic Kitty, and Virtue.

I tend to be a cat person but Organic is allergic, so no pets for us now. Maybe a beta when we move to a bigger place. My first beta was named Alpha Beta. Ha!

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Gemme

Can't do the poll, as I have none currently.

In the past, I've had up to 8 rescue cats at once and two dogs at once. My last dogs were Brodie and Gidget, a miniature Irish Setter and a miniature Shih Tzu. My last cats were Moby and Willow Anastacia and the 8 I mentioned were: Oreo, her kittens Picasso, Wolfgang, and Tigger and another set of siblings we rescued: Arizona, Zen, Nikki the Narcoleptic Kitty, and Virtue.

I tend to be a cat person but Organic is allergic, so no pets for us now. Maybe a beta when we move to a bigger place. My first beta was named Alpha Beta. Ha!

Let's all send Gemme some pets!

[Jude]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

TOUCHE!! But at least kids are kids! Love my grand kids. It's the adults stuck in adolescence that make me nuts! And believe me, this occurs at any adult age! Not talking about customary passages through human development. May 20 year olds have more sense than some 50 year olds I know.

But, give me my fur kids!

_____________________

Interesting. Of course grandchildren are a delight. Can enjoy them thoroughly and then send them home to their parents and crawl in bed and watch a good movie uninterrupted.

I have been noticing that this generation of "kids" is very different than their parents, and in a positive way. Perhaps it is just because I'm the grandparent, but I sense more maturity, more sensitivity, stronger conscience. Speaking for myself, of course, but our kids were more selfish. Wouldn't it be lovely if the "me generation" is something of the past.

To keep this in the puppy thread. Adding an addendum that my doggy is universally charming, deeply spiritual and considerate and I spare no opportunity to tell my kids that she's been far easier (and less costly) to raise than they were. (And that her estate will be somewhat more substantial than their own for that reason alone.)

[lipstixgal]

I have two very spoiled dogs so spoiled that one cries all the time about something or the other, either water or go outside to pee or poop or just something. But I love them I have no kids to love on so they are my everything!!