I need a distraction as I have to work today AND it’s gloomy outside, so no gardening and maybe just a short walk for the pups. I could use a fun thread.
How about we talk about our pets. Who lives with you now? How did they come to you? Are they in the calendar and if so, what month?
Right now, sharing my house are:
Scout
She is everyone’s friend. Some dogs are food-motivated, she’s people motivated. She’ll do anything for attention
Trixie
Snuggling with her favorite stuffy, a $2 thrift store find. She is all heart, cares for everyone, loves on everyone and loves to snuggle.
Bixby was my very first puppy after years and years of rescuing Danes. Scout and Trixie also arrived as puppies. A friend of mine breeds Danes and her puppies are so well bred and health tested, not to mention she breeds for temperament. These dogs (and I keep up with most of her other families) are all sweet, heart-centered, and good-natured. And so easy to train…which is why…
Jasper
…when 6-year-old Jasper needed a family, ASAP, being only 100lbs with possible health issues, and required companion dogs (horrible separation anxiety) it seemed like a no-brainer. I mean, what’s another (now) 137 lbs in the house?
This boy does not stay still long enough to get good photos by himself. I did my best. He’s usually snuggled with one of the girls or a cat. I noticed today, at 7 1/2, he is getting a bit grayer around the muzzle and he has cute little gray eyebrows coming in.
Sully
Sully was a pandemic rescue. He was all alone at Petsmart (one of the humane society adoption sites), was four years old, in a cage on the bottom row of the cat area. He is a Bombay, which was kind of fun, but that wasn’t why he came to live here. He’s here because it was kitten season, he was black, older, and not many people were actually going into stores yet, so who was going to see him? Of course, all those were just an excuse for me to bring a house Panther home.
Willow
Willodene broke my rule of NO MORE KITTENS, as she picked me out at the shelter. Saw me and came right over to the glass and gave me that stare that said, “You’re here for me, right?” She was 7 months old at the time…sometimes rules are just meant to be broken.
and of course, Nick (right) and Nora (left)
They came as ducklings – my thinking being Mabel and Maddie (who were rescued after someone dumped them in a local park pond) were getting older and if I lost one, the other wouldn’t do good without other ducks around. I wasn’t wrong about M&M, but one only outlasted the other by a week. They were that bonded. Ducks, BTW are assholes, but are super cute, so it balances out. Nick is still in love with Trixie and I have to run interference a lot because his idea of love is to nip at her ankles or bite her tail, and chasing her all around the yard. Which definitely makes me giggle … Trixie, not so much.
Now it’s your turn! Tell us about your pet(s), past or present, how they came to live with you, and fun stories. I wish I had the ability to have you post photos, but post links to your photos if you have them.
sab
Sully looks exactly like the cat I stole from the neighbors.
I didn’t steal her. 0We opened our doors, she strolled in and does not want to leave.
eclare
That face on Jasper, how could anyone say no to him?
I currently have one dog, Lucy, and one cat, Jacy. I adopted Lucy from a shelter, and she is very sweet, but wow she is the most destructive dog I’ve ever had. And one of my prior dogs chewed my curtains! I inherited Jacy from my parents, and she is not very affectionate, unfortunately, but she is mine for good.
sab
We have five cats and one dog. Cats are happy but I would prefer the cat/dog stats reversed.
But our pitbull hates new dogs. I have never before had a dog that wasn’t recruiting new pack members.
WaterGirl
I love Trixie snuggling with her baby.
Baud
I like being petted.
ETA: Oh, I misunderstood the post topic. Nevermind.
Snarki, child of Loki
Ducks, BTW are assholes, but are super cute
Cute = bad/asshole. It’s a universal law.
Just ask any cat.
Scout211
What a sweet pet family you have, TaMara.
We just have one cat and about 15 chickens who free range during the day . Our cat Rocky is an older guy who hangs out most of the day with the chickens like he’s one of them but comes indoors at night. He is very protective of his sister hens and I once witnessed him attacking a hawk who had a chicken in its grasp and he chased the hawk all the way to our fence line. I was shocked that he had that much energy and he was rewarded with some yummy treats for saving one of his sister hens.
Rocky is really my husband’s cat. They are super close and he means everything to my husband, who is in the early stages of dementia. Every night Rocky sits on his lap and it brings my husband so much comfort. It’s like he finally feels some peace after an often confusing day.
Baud
Those photos are excellent.
TaMara
@Scout211: Everything about that story is so touching. Thanks for sharing.
Chief Oshkosh
We adopted a specific kitten once because when my wife picked her up, she struggled free, scampered up my wife’s sweater, and thoroughly entangled herself in my wife’s hair. We “checked out at the counter” with the kitten still firmly attached to tangles and buried in the coif (this was a almost 40 years ago, with shelters not all that picky about gettin’ ’em out the door).
That kitten turned into a cat with more personality than any other pet we’ve ever had.
PaulWartenberg
My current pets are Ocean the Wiggle Cat and Mal the Krazy Kat.
Ocean came to me on Halloween Night back in 2013, just a week after my poor cat Tehya had to be put to sleep for lung cancer. She was this tiny little thing mewing for food at the base of the apartment stairs, and since I wasn’t getting any trick-or-treaters, I went and got some cat food and put it out on a plate for her… whereupon three more older cats jumped out of the bushes and ate it before she could.
I had extra plates and food, so I put an extra one out especially for her.
She kept showing up over the days, and proved fearless and friendly. She would come up the stairs to greet me at the door, and after some time I would let her inside to sniff things out. By Thanksgiving, I determined to take her as a pet, but I needed to make sure she wasn’t anyone’s outdoor kitten in the apartment complex, so I asked around as best I could, and found she was from a colony that lived in the woods behind the complex.
So I took her in, closed the door, and she didn’t mind it. I named her Wiggles because she would wiggle on her back for rubs (not the belly, obviously).
Took her to the vet, where the nurses told me Wiggles wasn’t a proper name, so I gave her Ocean from the recent Neil Gaiman book (which has cats as a prominent theme). But her nickname remains Wiggles.
The vet also told me “oh she might be pregnant” but didn’t elaborate further.
Found that out on Super Bowl evening during the Seahawks blowout of the Broncos, from whence Mal the Krazy Kat – her son from a litter of six – begat.
brantl
We’ve got a dog named Speckles, she’s a Dalmatian-Labrador mix, Lab body shape and Dalmatian coloring, if she’s laying down and looking at you sadly, she looks just like the Greenpeace baby harp seal ad. If she rolls over and begs forgiveness, she could get away with anything.
trollhattan
Our Rocco as a young lunatic, 1+ year old at the time. Now nearing 8 and has quite the sugar face, still a lunatic when birds or cats or squirrels are involved, but no longer steals and consumes clothing, especially new clothing, for a considerable cost-savings.
We had previously adopted but the kiddo wanted “her puppy” so we found our terrorist at a qualified breeder and I must say, house and crate training were sooo easy. Plus, puppeh! (I don’t miss the shredded hands.)
HumboldtBlue
I don’t have anything but to say I think Salad is gone for good. He had been splitting time between my place and the neighbor in the yellow house last summer and fall, but when the winter weather started in January, he decided that my place was warmer and drier than the back deck two houses down. We got back into rhythm, which amounted to me playing doorman, petting place and food machine, and he was chili, like he always was.
Last Sunday he was on my arm on the desk, having won the fight for desk space once again, when I went out to run an errand. When I got back, he was up and at it and ready to go outside. I let him out and that’s the last I’ve seen him. Lady in the yellow house has been asking for him as well, and I have come to the sad conclusion he found a space and crossed over.
Damn it.
kalakal
3 cats, all of whom turned who as strays/feral in the back yard(s)
In order of age
Cobweb tiny kitten ( fit in my hand) found sheltering in garden shed. Far too young to survive. Now the ultimate cuddlebug to me and mrs kalakal – not keen on anyone else
Virgil. A runaway from nearby. Terrified of children – I don’t like to think about what he ran away from – and perhaps the most jealous and needy cat I’ve ever known. When he’s good he’s very, very good and when he’s bad he’s awful
Peaseblossom ex feral. totally sane and well adjusted, loves everybody and everything
Cobweb & Peaseblossom are small cats, probably infant malnutrition, Virgil is pretty large and superfit.
The fly in the ointment is Virgil can be a complete git towards Peaseblossom and a real bully. I love him but he can be a real jerk
twbrandt
I unexpectedly, and sadly, now have an elderly toy poodle named (I kid you not) Fido. Fido belonged to my brother, who died of colon cancer this past January.
Fido is (probably) 14 years old. He’s a rescue who was clearly abused as a puppy. He’s extremely suspicious of men, and it took me quite a while to gain his trust. When he first came to live with me, he was very anxious, clearly missed my brother and his old surroundings. But he’s settled in and now seems pretty happy. And I’m learning how to live with a dog after not having one for over 15 years.
suzcamoo
I no longer have pets, and miss them!
Perhaps that’s why I knew your dogs’ names before looking at the pictures. And it’s much more than recognition, of course. I’m living vicariously each time.
Scout211
@twbrandt: I’m so sorry about your brother.
Mel
We have two cats (Leonard and CoCo) who are siblings. Leonard is all flash (spots, stripes, big blue eyes) but CoCo is the brains of the operation.
They are such sweet boys.
TBone
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in a cold 3 day rain, I was driving down a country road in the middle of nowhere. My cell phone rang so I pulled over (I never phone and drive, it’s just too distracting). I spoke to my friends who were calling to let me know they were on their way to visit me in the country and, after we hung up, I heard a very loud, very pitiful wailing, mewling, howl for HELP. I got out and looked under my car, thinking I’d run over a cat. Nada. Then I heard it again, even more plaintive. I looked down into a ravine by the roadside and saw an old pillowcase. It was covered with disgusting old motor oil. It was moving. I rushed to it and discovered two of the teensiest, tiniest kittens, both covered in that disgusting, smelly, black gunk, and soaked to the skin with the cold rain in that black bag of death. I don’t know how so something so small could make such a loud noise. I put them on the passenger seat and rushed back to the cabin, exclaiming “Honey, I found a bag!” He said, hopefully, “Money?” I said “Kittens!” I left them in a box on a clean blanket in front of a heater and drove back out to the store to get an eyedropper, kitten milk, and Aveeno baby wash. It took three baths to get the stinky oil off of them. I forgot all about the extra supplies I was on my way to pick up for guests, but they didn’t care. We all took turns nursing and cleaning our two new mascots, Katrina and Noah. All these years later, they are still the lights of our lives. Noah is the mellowest, good-natured, lappiest of lap cats; snuggle time never ends with him. Katrina is my tiny tornado, exactly the opposite of her brother, but she has mellowed a lot. She also has a voracious appetite for attention and affection. Our existing cat from that time, calico Einstein, tolerated the newbies very well (I miss her so much still) and taught them everything she knew about being the Best Cat Ever. Currently, we have another addition named Josey. He’s a dark brown tortoise tiger stripe that was a semi feral, neighborhood alley cat. Josey observed us from a distance for an entire year (he watched Noah sitting in my lap every day) before he decided we were his new family. Josey lives in the finished basement at night mostly because Noah and Katrina are very jealous. He comes and goes all day long, meowing when he wants in or out. Everyone is happy to share our outdoor seating area together and no one ventures more than twenty yards from the door, ever. Even Josey stays within that tight radius despite his former roaming. Josey was very close to death when he decided to own us but he is now fat and happy. The end (for now).
MagdaInBlack
La Gordita came to me thru a work friend, who had “rescued” her from a pet store, where she saw her being teased by some of the staff. 7 years later under the name “Fluffy” she came to me. She had been a mom-cat and was ready to retire. Fluffy”” did not do her justice, as she is a stocky bodied, languid Siamese with a dash of tabby M on her forehead so she became La Gordita She is now 18-ish years old and snoring happily in HER current chair, a wing-back by the patio door.
Gordita is a wee bit deaf, and screechy when she wants something, but otherwise healthy and happy and a great room-mate.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I’m glad your husband has that comfort. Have you considered cloning Rocky? :-)
Raoul Paste
Jasper is a great name for a dog. He somehow reminds me of Professor T
Captain C
I’m currently catless since my wonderful pair, Misty and Kashmir, shuffled off this mortal coil about 6ish years ago; some of you may remember the memorial facebook albums I posted then. Eventually, I will get another pair, but in the meantime I will make do with cat cafes and bodega cats, especially the bodega kitty who lives at the spot across from where I work. I think they named her “Laura,” but I call her “Spudlet” due to her liking to use the potatoes as a kitty bed from time to time
ETA: Misty and Kashmir came to me when their very preggo mother begged her way into my friends’ place, and gave birth the next day. Two months later, they were living with me!
Chat Noir
We still refer to our black cat, Hobbes, as “the kitten” since we had two older cats when he came to live with us in June 2008. He was part of a feral cat colony behind my office in Livonia, Michigan. One of the guys mowing the lawn saw me waiting for my ride home, rolled up to me, and said, “Do you want a kitten?” Hobbes was the tiniest kitten I ever saw. Even though I had two cats at home, I said, “OK,” and took him. Our vet estimated that he was no older than four weeks. Hobbes is now an only and quite happy being so (I would love another cat). He is very sweet and loving but turns feral when I need to clip his toenails.
Tinare
I have two dogs, Kenleigh, a pitbull/boxer mix and Shamus, a labra/golden/doodle mix. Both are rescues, Kenleigh from a local shelter, Shamus from a rescue that I now volunteer with as a foster. My current foster, Koala, is a small pitty mix and I’m picking up another foster tomorrow, Dena, who is a lab/husky mix or so they think. My poor dog hating cats, Jackson and Callie — who were trapped with their mother and siblings by friends of mine a few years ago — have not been fans of this hobby and have taken up residence in my basement. Dog rescue was not something they signed up for when they came to live with me.
Don K
Buttons is a 12 yo orange tabby girl who came to us at 6 when her previous human moved in with a roommate who is allergic to cats. For her first month here she hid under the bed in the spare bedroom. We knew she was alive because every morning we would see she had eaten and used the litter box. Then one evening as we watched TV she emerged from hiding and announced her presence. Since then she’s become very cuddly and demanding of snacks.
Eddie is a boy tuxedo kitty we found at PetSmart at 4 months and is now 6 yo. He’s cuddly when he feels like it, but sleeps at the foot of our bed every night. Unlike Buttons he never demands snacks but when she gets a snack he lets it be known that he’ll be really disappointed if he doesn’t also get one.
They tolerate each other’s presence, but are by no means best buddies at all.
Joey Maloney
I have cats. I was raised with dogs, but I am nowhere near organized and responsible enough to take care of a dog in the city. When I was just out of college a friend asked me if I would care for this little kitten she had found – and so it’s been cats for the last 40 years.
My senior right now is Streak, who looks like a Russian Blue if you squint a bit. She was unaccountably on the balcony of my third floor apartment when I got home from vacation 11 years ago. There’s no way she could have gotten there on her own and my neighbors all disclaimed knowledge. At first I thought she was a rat as I only caught glances of a gray streak (see?) scuttling among the furniture (it was a large balcony). When I finally caught her, I found a feral kitten just a little too old to be successfully socialized, with one eye damaged by natal herpes. For eleven years she has hated me and everyone around her, though she will condescend to lie down with me in bed as long as I don’t try to touch her below the neck.
Next is Elvira, a gift from my vet. After I had recovered from havingt two cats die within a year I told my vet I was starting to think about getting another one and within a week she had a foundling kitten for me. Elvira is 5 now, a gray-brown tabby, extremely opinionated about everything.
After her is Houdini. He was a rescue kitten blind from birth; I saw the rescue group on Facebook looking for a home for him. I really wasn’t thinking about getting another cat but I couldn’t get him out of my mind and after a couple of weeks I called to see if he was still available, and he was. He is named Houdini because he is tireless at trying to escape out of our house into the outside world for which he is utterly unequipped. He cannot be left unsupervised in our garden; the 8-foot wall is nothing to him. In the past we have pulled him down from that wall any number of times, climbed up on the roof to get him, rescued him from the neighbor’s courtyard across the alley, found him crouched under a parked car, and – the first time he escaped – only found him hiding 18 feet up a tree after calling in a group of Russian ladies who specialize in finding lost cats. He has never learned to meow properly. He just kind of whines. He’s gray and white and has a perfect gray soul patch on his chin.
And the newest member of the menagerie is Charlemagne, a long-haired tuxie. He showed up in our garden a year ago, ragged, half starved, covered in fleas, with huge open sores on his neck and back from sctaching at his mite-filled, infected ears. After feeding him for a couple of days I was able to catch him and get him to a vet where, honestly, I thought there would be nothing for it but to help him across the bridge. But he looked worse than he was and now, a year later, he is sleek and sassy and over 7 kg. He is FIV+ so he can’t mix with the other three; he’s our barn cat. He sleeps on the patio furniture and hangs out with me in my office during the day.
And we are now officially full up.
HinTN
Our two are in the calendar (A – B, who can remember?) in the month of June. Both are 2015 vintage, although I’m guessing Phantom just turned 9 whereas Franklin has a few months left at 8. We had sent across the Rainbow Bridge the last of the three tuxedos (mom and two of her six kittens) that Mrs H found in a box beside the road, when Phantom came out of the night and took us on. That was around Thanksgiving and by January I was convinced that a slightly younger male would be a good addition. I went to the local Animal Harbor and was adopted by Franklin. They are good overlords.
Elma
Whiskers, upper right on the July calendar page, is the only pet I have now. All the cats barged in and “adopted” us. We went looking for the dogs, except for the one visited upon us by our daughter who decided that we needed this cute puppy from her friend’s farm.
Whiskers had been an urban house cat, who was dumped out in the country. She showed up at our house in February, while I was in South America. Jim didn’t want another pet, so he was trying to get her to move on before I got home. She had no idea how to hunt and was starving. She still thinks she is all these years later, so I have to ration the food or she would eat until she exploded. She was still hanging around on the deck when I got back from Rio. Our grandson named her. I might have picked out something more interesting, but when a then 5 year old tells you the cat’s name is Whiskers, that is what it is.
CaseyL
My first heart cat was Shayna, a Siamese my family got as a kitten when I was in… high school? She didn’t become “my cat,” much less my heart cat, until many years later, when I had to go back to the family home for a few years in the 1980s. My mother loved her, but didn’t go out of her way for her: Shayna was allowed out of the house as she pleased, but I realized Mom didn’t put a waterdish outside for her (in South Florida!). So when I was able to move out of Mom’s house and get my own place, I took Shayna with me.
She had a dreadful health crisis at age 16. Quick and near-total kidney failure. Her vet – Dr. McCoy, believe it or not, and he lived up to the name! – put her on kitty dialysis and rehydrated her, but sent her home with the port still in place, convinced as he was that I would need to bring her back in for euthanasia in a few days. She was like a rug: no strength, no interest, completely limp.
I spent those few days with her in my bed, on my pillow, hand-feeding her the very favorite foods like albacore tuna, crab meat and cooked chicken breast. I pre-chewed the food for her; squirted water into her mouth, and carried her back and forth from the litter pan.
By the first night she was able to lift her head, and had started purring again.
By the second night she was able to go to the litter pan on her own.
I took her back to the vet on the 3rd day. He looked so sad when he saw us, said something like “I know you tried your best.”
I said, “No, you don’t understand; I’m not here to have Shay Shay put to sleep…” as I opened the carrier and Shayna came out, under her own power, took one look at Dr. McCoy, and began hissing, spitting, and raring for a fight.”…you can take out the port; I think she’s going to live.”
She lived another 3 years, moving across the country with me when I returned to Seattle in 1988.
I have had other cats who touched my heart – well, all my cats touch my heart; some more deeply than others. But I think Shayna touched my soul the deepest. Which is all the stranger because she wasn’t part of my life until my Exile to Florida, when I essentially stole her from my Mom.
Barbara
So many great pets! I have two dogs, an elderly Min Pin-Dachsund mix who has always been anxious. We adopted her at three and she is now 16 and “frail.” We do our best to make her comfortable in her own little world, now that she is deaf and disoriented a lot of the time. We also have a younger chihuahua mixed with some kind of terrier who always matches your energy level — want to walk, he’s all in — want to lie around, he will snuggle and happily get lots of pets.
@HumboldtBlue: I had a kitty who walked out and never came back. She had lived with us for more than 10 years but was always a little wild. I’m sorry about Salad.
CliosFanboy
We have Jazz, a doubledapple 3/4s dachshund who is deaf and mostly blind. Very unfriendly to strangers, but a cuddle bug with extra doggie kisses with my wife and me. We’d love to add another fullsized weenie dog, but suspect she’s best as an only dog. We adopted her as companion our elderly mini weenie, Candy. Jazz was very respectful to Candy, but she knew Candy had seniority. Candy passed away last June, and we’re not sure Jazz would be willing to share since she’s used to being an only. Jazz was in March on one of the 2024 Balloon Juice calanders
cope
Jesse is a terrier mix adopted from a group of dogs flown to Central Florida from St. Croix in the plague year. Our daughter and her family got to the shelter 4 hours early to wait in line to get her for us. She is by far the smartest dog I have ever known. Everybody loves her.
She has adapted well to life in Western Colorado. We have no other pets at the time.
HinTN
@Joey Maloney:
Therein lies a tale.
MomSense
@twbrandt:
I’m so sorry to hear about your brother. I hope you and Fido help each other to heal.
Josie
After the passing of Teddi the Akbash (140 lbs), the best dog ever, I told my middle son that I was too old now for another big dog. I wanted big dog personality in a small dog body. He recommended a corgi. My youngest boy found a corgi puppy for sale only a one hour drive from our home. He took me to check it out. I picked up the little tricolor who promptly licked my nose and that was that. Duncan is the second best dog ever, sheds to the max, poops on commands every morning and evening, and listens to all our conversations. He knew his name, so we had to start saying “the dog” when speaking about him. Then we had to graduate to spelling d-o-g. Once he learns to spell, we will be in real trouble. He is absolutely the smartest, most intuitive dog I have ever known.
PaulB
I no longer have a dog, but my neighbor’s dog seems to have adopted me. She’s a black Labrador mix, with boundless energy and a playful disposition. When she sees me out in the yard, she comes over to the fence and barks at me until I come play with her, even if it’s just to give her a scratch behind the ears.
She’s an escape artist, routinely digging under the fence or slipping out the door or the gate, but rarely goes far from home. I still marvel at how small she can make herself as I look at a hole she had just dug under the fence and realize that was how she had gotten free. Often, upon escape, she’ll run over to my porch, scratch at the door, bark, and put her nose up against the window, hoping to spot me and insisting that I come out to give her some attention.
When I come out, as I always do when I see her, she’ll run away, laughing and bouncing, but mostly just running in circles around me. Once she’s had her fun, she’ll come up to me for hugs and scritches, and will then follow me as I open the gate and return her to her yard, as I text my neighbor that Houdini has gotten out again.
twbrandt
@Scout211: Thanks. I’m glad Rocky is able to provide comfort to your husband.
ETtheLibrarian
My cat’s name is Bean. He is a non meowing snowshoe Siamese. He is a lap sitter, but does not like to be held. He only sleeps with me when the weather is cold because mom is made of warms. He loves looking out the window and hates the sound of footsteps coming up the front steps.
Memory Pallas
We have one cat, called BunBun, Bun, or The Bun. None of these are her “official” name. Leslie was the name given to her by my stepson who found her in an alley in Chinatown next to the Dim Sum place he had eaten at with his friends. He entered the alley because he heard mewing and was met half way down by a tiny kitten. When he picked her up, the kitchen door flew open and someone called out, “that cat’s yours now!” And so she was. She came to our home in his coat pocket, and grew up to be a magnificent cat that resembles a Russian Blue.
She became the fourth cat in our household. Later this number went up to six – which was perhaps too much. But a lot of time has passed, and only Bun is still with us. She is eighteen years old.
Though Bun sounds kind of dim sum-y, it’s actually because she has huge back legs like you would see on a rabbit.
trollhattan
I forget the koi pond, which is both a lot of work and no work at all. Tweetie, in the center here, is >20 years old.
realbtl
At 73 I realized my lifetime of medium sized breeds (mostly German Shorthairs and Weims) was over when I had to have my son load Jada for her last ride. Checked the pound and finally got a lead who I met. That night the previous owner wanted him back so I was offered a “Chihuahua” that I almost turned down as they are my least favorite. I ended up with a #12 Pom mix that has the alertness I liked in my hunting breeds. Pound name of Pipsqueak which I immediately changed to Bear as his is a big personality.
eclare
@HumboldtBlue:
I’m so sorry to hear about Salad.
randy khan
Up until about a minute ago, I had three cats on the bed, something that almost certainly wouldn’t have been possible unless I was sitting to deter carnage between two of them. Ultimately, the one who feels his territory has been violated by the existence of the other couldn’t stand it and made a move, but it was nice while it lasted. (Somewhat amusingly, the object of this aggression is meaningfully larger than the aggressor, yet always seems to come out as the loser in these encounters.) The third cat, who just wants to be friends with everyone, watched with a wary eye as this unfolded, but didn’t move, and now she’s the only one on the bed with me.
xephyr
Three indoor cats here: Pooj given to me by my niece seven years ago, Tara adopted a year after that for a playmate, and Rommy who showed up on my porch two winters ago nothing but skin and bones. They are all doing well, as are my family of four once-upon-a-time ferals (Momma, two boys, and their sister) who I TNR’d six years ago. Now they are semi-tame and have a cat door going into my back room where it’s always warm and dry. So that’s seven cats… Also have strays showing up now and then who are always given full stomachs, as well as access to outdoor shelters. That’s enough to keep me hopping…
BruceJ
Currently we have three dogs. Our elderly Tikka, who we THINK may be a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, but whose shelter papers labeled her as a ‘sheep’ on the intake form :-) She’s 13, but still rules the roost.
In 2022, we got a new pup from the shelter, named Chinle (at our vets insistence…we’d originally named her ‘Chinley’ for her habit of resting her chin on my wife’s shoulder, but it turned out our vet had done his residence after vet school in Chinle, Arizona on the Navajo reservation. She’s a heinz 57 with a beautiful short coat with coloring exactly like a seal-point siamese.
Then last November on Thanksgiving weekend we corraled a stray in our neighborhood; a beautiful white Husky or Husky mix, that we named Yetty White, after taking her to the local shelter to get her checked for a chip, whereupon the former owner surrendered her over the phone then and there. She’s the same age as Chinle so they have a lot of fun running around and wrestling with each other.
She’s slowly coming around to living with us; it’s been a process…she’s very independent-minded (we nicknamed her ‘House Wolf’ right away, and she must have had some bad times with men in the past because she’s much more amenable to doing what my wife asks than me, and getting her leashed up to go somewhere is a much more arduous task than it should be.
I won’t complain but 3 dogs are a lot more work than 2, especially this dog #3, whom, I hasten to add both of us are besotted with.
BellaPea
We had two cats for 17 years, Bella and P’Nut. I got Bella first, she was a sweet gray-and-white kitty my mom took in as a stray. She was very loving and well-behaved. I thought she needed a companion (silly me!) So I adopted P’Nut, a striped tabby, from my vet’s office. All hell broke loose when I brought her home, but they finally adapted to one another. Bella passed three years ago at almost 18 years old; we had to put P’Nut down in February when she was 19 years old. I thought we were done with cats but SURPRISE! My mom had this beautiful pure calico female she had rescued six years ago. Since my Mom is almost 90 years old and has signs of dementia, we took this kitty in and as I write this she is finding hiding places in our downstairs area. I named her Callie, we had a first vet visit with our regular clinic yesterday and she is about 7 years old and is healthy, thank goodness. Hopefully, she will adjust, as most cats seem to eventually, and will be more settled.
FastEdD
De Dawg’s name is Logan, a 12 year old large Aussie, about 70 pounds. Born in a puppy mill in Nebraska, shipped in a truck to a mall puppy store. Went through 3 homes in the first 10 months, bit all of his owners, probably abused and never spent a day indoors. Wound up in a high kill shelter was about a day away from being put to sleep. My partner Ginger fell in love with him because of his piercing blue eyes, so we rescued him. It took us only one day to house train him. He never warmed to her and he firmly attached himself to me, mostly because I pulled a burr out of his paw on a hike, and it occurred to him that there was someone who would make pain go away. We lived out in the forest and his tasks were to guard the chickens, kill mice and rats, and never run away, which he did with great skill. Ginger grew ill with cancer and the month before she died, he was actually nice to her-I think he knew. Now I hold on to him, because he’s the only part of my family that’s left. He was going blind with cataracts, but I got him an eye operation and it worked! Every day he looks at the world around him with new eyes, and I try to do that too. He’s an old guy for a big dog, but he’s been acting like a two year old lately. Hugs to all the dog owners out there. It takes a special kind of person to love a critter you know won’t be around long.
cckids
Sadly, right now I have no pets in my home. I lost the last of my gang of four last summer. My beautiful little bitchy Empress Hermione left us at 21, and between dealing with her loss and my son’s October wedding in Reno, we put off finding another pet until after the new year.
So I’m on the hunt; my local shelter’s policy is that you look at the pics of animals online, choose one, fill out all paperwork, THEN get to meet him or her. (but what if that one doesn’t like me??) And they don’t have good personality descriptions online. So I’m looking more at rescues in Seattle proper, I’m hoping for an older kitty who will hopefully like us, and at least tolerate my grandpup’s occasional visits.
trollhattan
@FastEdD: That is a lovely story all around. Mutual-rescue trope comes to life.
Very sorry you lost Ginger.
emjayay
@sab: Pitbulls are chosen for breeding generation after generation based on how much they hate other dogs.
FastEdD
@trollhattan: Thanks, we fought cancer for many years. Fuck cancer!
trollhattan
@cckids:
What a bother–suppose it weeds out some inappropriate pairings but still.
Our shelters intermittently have “OVERSTOCK!” free adoption sales when they’re simply stuffed with critters. Kitten season the biggest culprit I think, but there are also the intermittent pitbull and chihuahua airdrops.
emjayay
@cckids: I’ve checked out city pet rescue places (you know, dog pounds) many times in San Francisco and NYC (living there) and Los Angeles (visiting) and never heard of such a policy unless it was started during the pandemic and they haven’t changed back to normalcy. Sounds cumbersome.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Sam The Sort Of Beagle and Tanya The Invisible Cat.
We were down to one 17-year-old cat when we went on a vacation out west (Vancouver-Seattle-Portland-San Francisco) in 2018. We heard from the pet sitter that they had found Goblin passed away in the back yard a couple of days after we left.
We agreed that we were going to take a break on pets for awhile till we figured out whether our lifestyle was going to fit with them, whether for instance we were going to start doing a lot more traveling. I’ve had dogs around almost all of my life but we hadn’t in years because my work schedule (up at 4:30 am) was just not conducive.
Ha! Again I say, Ha!
In every city we visited, we found and dropped in on a cat cafe and visited with the local kitties up for adoption. When we got home, we went to a shelter “just to see” and bonded with Sammy (we kept his shelter name, Samwise Gamgee). A couple of days later in the pet store, my wife fell in love with a kitten from a shelter that displayed cats for adoption at the PetSmart. They told us this kitten had been fostered with dogs and they wanted a home with a dog. Which all of a sudden we were. And I retired in 2017 so I suddenly had a lot more pet-care time.
So about a week after getting back and promising ourselves no pets for awhile, we had two. They sort of get along, but he plays rough and she tends to keep her distance much of the day.
Sammy looks like a classic beagle in coloring, is scent-obsessed like a beagle, barks like a beagle, and in general has all of the beagle behaviors. But he is taller than a beagle, bottom half looks more like a foxhound. So he’s some sort of mix. Hence, “Sort Of Beagle”.
Tanya is very affectionate with my wife, somewhat distant with me though at times she’ll tolerate a bit of attention, but the pet sitter has never seen her. Hence “The Invisible Cat”.
They were both featured in last year’s calendar at a moment in 2018 when you’d still see them sharing a bed.
emjayay
@Scout211: This blog needs a thumbs up function. Thumbs up.
It would also be nice if replies weren’t sent down to Siberia and instead landed below the comment replied to, and there was more than a couple minutes to edit.
cckids
@trollhattan:
@emjayay:
It was a pandemic policy; it’s been continued for a good reason – they say the animals are much calmer and less stressed without people trooping through all the time. So I get it, but it does make adoption harder. So maybe not a complete win.
Kim Walker
Our girl is a tortie and we love her so much. My belle-mere felt it was time to get a new cat after the sad demise of Dorothy Parker (also tortie) from kidney failure. This was to be an international adoption as Arundhati was at the Humane Society in Harrisburg, while we were near Ottawa. We drove down and went to visit her – she had been in the shelter for 14 months. I picked her up out of her cage and she just went limp and purred. So it was a done deal. What I love about (one thing anyway) is her ability to observe and learn. She knows several commands (yes, I say things like “do you want to go outside” (on the balcony) or “do you want up” and she responds to indicate “yes please” or “no, thank you”. Arundhati would get us up in the morning (slightly before the alarm), herd us to bed at 10:30 and tuck us in (pets for her) until we looked settled, and then she would trot off to the office and sleep on the desk chair. Now that she is older, she has discovered TV. She has always joined us when we watch a movie or episode, but she never paid any attention. Then in the last few months, she started really watching. She loved some Kevin Hart limited series and an old people in love movie. I put on a bird video (Youtube) for her and she was hooked. My girl will ask for a show 2 or 3 times a day for about 10 minutes and then hop down and find something else to do. At a vet appointment a couple of years ago, she was diagnosed with renal failure. We’ve been doing hydration therapy (now twice a day) for the last couple of years and she is doing very well – good appetite, beautiful coat, perfect weight and good muscle mass. She purrs when we shoot her up. My husband and I haven’t had a trip or holiday together since her diagnosis, but we have years to do that. As long as she feels well enough, we’ll continue until she says we’re done.
FastEdD
And two water turtles who are at least 35 years old. Big Bitch (Big Momma in polite company) and Skittles. They will probably outlive me, and I put in a provision in my will about them. Turtles are cool-they like to watch me wrestling with the dog. We go swimming in the pool, I put them in a bucket and take them for rides in the car sometimes.
cckids
@Kim Walker: She sounds lovely! My Hermione was a tortie as well, they are just so smart and full of personality.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@cckids: I just mentioned Seattle and cat cafes in my post. These are places that have a cafe up front, they’ll make all the usual espresso drinks, and then a room for visiting with kitties. Their main purpose is to provide visiting time with cats that are up for adoption. I’m about 90% sure we went to one in Seattle as we did elsewhere on our western trip, but I don’t remember the name.
If you go that route, it’s advisable to go early in the day. By afternoon the cats are worn out from visiting and likely to be hiding or asleep.
emjayay
@cckids: Yeah, I was thinking that it might reduce the insane barking when a dog shopper enters the room. In the Los Angeles facility in Van Nuys (they have about five locations) the smaller dogs are behind glass and don’t react much to visitors.
TaMara
This thread was just what I needed. Thanks
beckya57
@Scout211: We have a Rocky also, a half Maine Coon. Very floofy and adorable, knows it and takes full advantage. Scribbles is our ginger Manx, Rocky’s best bud and the most talkative cat I’ve ever met (0530 every morning: “Feed me! FEED ME!!!!”). Chicago is our older female tuxedo, thinks the 2 boys are SO immature, and loves my husband, like your Rocky with yours.
cckids
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I’ll look, thank you! Seattle Humane has excellent pictures and descriptions of their cats online, with good notations about whether the cat likes/dislikes other cats and/or dogs. I always appreciate that heads-up. My spouse would be content to not have another pet; he and our much-loved Pomeranian Pix were soulmates, but I really never want to live again without a pet in the house. So I want one that likes us!
emjayay
@Raoul Paste:
“He somehow reminds me of Professor T”
The original Belgian Professor T, not the pale British copy I assume. The original is one of the best series I’ve ever seen. Like with Seaside Hotel after a minute I forgot I was reading the dialog.
trollhattan
@FastEdD:
It cannot be said too often. Fuck cancer.
JoyceH
Pets! I have four, two cats and two dogs.
Cats – both 15-ish. Liam is a black long-haired, adopted from a local rescue, and Abby is a Siamese, inherited from my sister.
Dogs – both Samoyeds, from the same breeder. Jazzy is almost 11, and Whimsy (The Disruptor!) is six months.
Trying to develop a new equilibrium, but this is the first time I’ve had two dogs at once, so it’s been… challenging. Jazzy had surgery in January – she had a growth between a couple toes and wound up having half of her foot removed. She can still walk and run, but sometimes she limps, not sure if that’s due to the foot issue or if it’s arthritis. I give her joint supplements.
Whimsy is boisterous. All puppies are, but she seems more so, and I wonder if it’s the second dog issue. She seems to have more ‘permission’ to be a dog, since she doesn’t have to adjust to an all-human-and-cat household. There’s a lot of squabbling. It gets noisy.
I’ve started training with Whimsy, and I’m retrospectively feeling guilty about the way I sort of neglected Jazzy. The pandemic hit right after my sister died, and for about a year I sort of… shut down. Got the estate managed and kept us all fed, but we weren’t really doing activities. Jazzy always used to love having little training sessions in the house, and we just didn’t do that anymore. So now I’ve started Whimsy in class. I was giving her little training sessions in the house and eventually realized I was REALLY hurting Jazzy’s feelings! I was ignoring her and having Whimsy do the stuff we always used to do together. I had my back to Jazzy and was having Whimsy do her sits and downs and stays. Later I noticed that Jazzy was lying on the floor with such a TRAGIC look on her face. I could practically read her mind – ‘I’m old and useless and I’ve been replaced’. Anyway, now I wind up doing joint training sessions – have them both sit and wait and then call one or the other. It might be a little more confusing for Whimsy, but it’s worth it to have Jazzy all shiny-eyed again.
K488
At this point we have two older cats, Simon and Paul, living with us. Simon is 14, and we have had him since he was a kitten in a box at the side of the road. Paul, we think, is 18, having come to us fully grown thirteen years ago. He was living in our barn in Michigan, and I remember him running to me in slow motion, to the big romantic tune from Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet (I say I remember it, not that it actually happened). Anyway, Simon and Paul were amongst the six cats we transported to Indiana over a decade ago when I took up a new Job relatively late in life. The other four have one by one passed away, most recently Martha, who was an astonishing 23 years old, and the absolute despotic ruler of our feline crowd. We miss her very much, but she owed us nothing, having been her complete and total self (scrounging treats, hogging laps, purring very loudly) right up to her very last day. That morning she’d decided she’d had enough, and went to hide. We found her remains in a quiet spot in my workroom the next morning. The remaining two took some time to recover, but are back to their old lives, pestering for treats and scritches. We love them very much, and understand that we are only here to give them their best lives. And beyond that that, who could ask for anything more?
Matt McIrvin
We’ve had many cats over the years. Currently we have two: a small, gentle gray-and-white cat named Jess who likes nothing better than to sit on Sam’s lap while she watches TV, and a big black cat named Luna who we adopted as a kitten and who is a complete chaos gremlin.
John Revolta
Our pooch Otis is “going through some things”……………. about a month ago he started licking and chewing his paws to where he got one pad basically chewed off before we figured out what was going on. He also scratches himself a lot, his ears and esp. his front elbows to the point that they start to bleed. Well, we’ve got his paws bandaged up and they’re getting better, and he’s wearing the Cone of Shame pretty much all the time now because as soon as we take it off he starts licking and chewing again. We’ve got an appointment this Tuesday and we’re hoping they can tell us if there’s an actual physical cause for this or if he’s developing some kind of tic……?
The poor old guy is 13 years old but other than this he’s perfectly normal and does everything the same as he ever has…….. has anybody ever encountered something like this?
CaseyL
All these wonderful stories make me misty-eyed.
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I wonder if that will happen to me.
Oscar – son of Jeannie, who got cancer and died in late 2022 – is my only cat right now. When he leaves me – Bastet, please, not for many years yet! – I will be catless for the first time in 40 years.
My vague plan at that point is to take a year off (for traveling) and then adopt a senior cat or two. I’m too old to adopt a youngster and worry about rehoming them after my death (I worry about that enough already with Oscar, who in human years is older than me).
But I have never had to go to a shelter to adopt a cat*: they just seem to show up. The universe seems to know when there is a vacancy.
*Wait, I have to take that back: Michael and I adopted a cat from PAWS back in the mid 1990s after Copper died. But other than that…
Scout211
@John Revolta: That happened to our dog, now gone for many years. The vet kept treating for allergies and skin conditions. But then we went to a new vet who ran more tests. It turns out she had a thyroid condition. We started her on thyroid meds and it slowly got much better. So my advice, ask the vet for complete blood tests.
Scout211
@emjayay: Thank you. I usually see replies to my nym, even in Siberia. 😉
JoyceH
@John Revolta:
In the past year, Jazzy has licked herself into two hot spots. The vet thought maybe allergies, but tests to determine allergy to what would be ruinously expensive. He gave her antibiotics and an anti-itch powder. There are also good anti-itch sprays, can find on Amazon or Chewy.
Have you tried a donut collar? I used that with Jazzy’s hot spots, and it seems much more comfortable than the cone. With her foot surgery, though, I had to use a cone, and eventually get an extra-large because when she’s determined enough, she can reach that back foot with the donut or the regular collar.
Mrs Ragbag
@John Revolta: Our pup had those symptoms. Turned out it was allergies. The vet prescribed Apoquel and it has worked well. Not cheap though.
Ksmiami
My Husky Kemba is over 13 and still hugely active. I cook for him and while he’s slowed down a little, he’s just an older puppy:)
Villago Delenda Est
I have two 9 month old kittens/teencats named Reebo and Zooty (after the comedy team from Babylon 5). They are littermates and brothers, and they’re both black, with a few white hairs here and there. I call them the Wakandan Terrors. Reebo, who has enough personality for an entire litter of kittens, is the real troublemaker. Zooty is a bit more laid back and likes to cuddle up. Reebo is really into pouncing, on me (while laying in bed) and Zooty (while curled up next to me). So I’ve taken to calling him Ser Pounce.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
🎶Let’s talk about pets bay-by
Let’s talk about gnus and bees
Let’s talk about all the good girls and the bad boys that may be🎶🎶
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
That was King Tommen’s cat in Game of Thrones, I believe.
emjayay
@trollhattan: I get why shelters are full of pit bull type dogs – they are bred over and over with the ones that are less hostile to other dogs all sent to the pound. But I have no idea why chihuahuas also often show up there .
raven
This was Pepper, she was a stray I picked up along the highway way back when my truck was blue. She could leap into the back of the truck on command and she would stalk oncoming cars through the windshield and bite at them as they drove past. I had her for about three months and one day in the grocery store parking lot a kid said “hey that’s my dog”. It was obvious from her reaction that it was so I let her go. Sweet pup she was,
A Ghost to Most
My son’s 15 year old cat, found as a tiny kitten wandering the streets of Denver, won’t go out because of the dangerous gusting winds, has been on my lap all day. Smart cat.
raven
@John Revolta: We did Atopica and it really helped. %$$$$$
Miki
I’ve had poodles for 27 years now – two standard poodles (one a rescue), and two miniature poodles (also one a rescue).
My current bed-buddy is a 2 1/2 year old mini I got from a conformation breeder when he was a little over 5 months old. He’s beautiful, healthy, and, best of all, has a rock solid temperament. He came with a fully functional off switch and an amazing ability to entertain himself (which was very helpful these past several months as I recover from knee replacement surgery). He will bring balls and toys to me so I don’t have to move. He loves to drag the blanket from his bed and hide a particular green ball under it then dig around until he liberates the ball from its floofy cover.
He’s perfect, actually.
Mousebumples
No pets now. Had Springer Spaniels growing up, as Outdoor Dogs… That worked their way into the house their first winters without fail.
Before marriage and kids, my work and travel plans didn’t lend themselves to a dog (and I prefer dogs over cats), but maybe when the kids are older and better able to help with walking and training.
Someday. 😊
Old Dan and Little Ann
We just got home from Florida. I had the fortune of having 3 separate neighbors that took turns taking care of our hound. I had used a kennel several different times but realized they were overcrowded and understaffed. Fuck that noise. I love knowing my dog is home and getting attention. As long as the neighbors don’t steal anything.
Big R
So first there was Titus, 2007-2024. I got him from the animal shelter in Tuscaloosa as I got ready to start my 2L year. I got to be his best friend for his whole entire life and now I’m ugly crying again. We let him go three weeks ago. He was nasty to everyone except me, my wife, and my mom and I would crawl for miles over broken glass to have him back.
But he gave me a big scare in 2020 because he lost a ton of weight precipitously. After a lot of tests we put him on steroids to do anti inflammatory work and he was fat and sassy for four more years
Our other two chose me off the streets while I was practicing law in Northwest Mississippi. Vinnie literally marched up to my front door in 2011 at four months old and meowed until I opened up, at which point she said “I live here now.” She adored Titus and is still looking for him. But she’s never met a stranger and will gladly accept pets from anybody.
Albie came up to me in a courthouse parking lot in 2013 when he was three months old. I decided then and there that I had “sucker” tattooed on my forehead in invisible ink. He’s our sweetest boy and the smartest. He actually just stepped off my lap as I’m typing this because he’d had enough lap time but he’s not done with his human so he’s laying next to me now.
Finally, there’s Robin, who is NOT permanent and just arrived today. We’re fostering her because she was exhibiting shelter stress. She’s 3 years old and eight pounds of anxiety. Right now she’s on the slats of the guest bed, terrified. We spent some time around her having lunch and ignoring her, and now we’re leaving her alone for a bit. We hope she comes out of her shell and shows us a bit of her personality; it’ll help her get adopted if we can report on her socialization.
John Revolta
@Scout211: Interesting……… how old was she when it started?
@JoyceH: We thought about the donut but we think that he’d still be able to get to his paws with it……
@Mrs Ragbag: @raven: Mrs. Revolta thinks it could be allergies- it seemed to come on about the time that pollen season started. We’ll see what the vet has to say.
TaMara
@John Revolta: So common allergies that can happen all of a sudden: corn, chicken, sometimes lamb.
Bixby had and Scout developed a chicken allergy. Scout’s is manageable – which can be tough because most foods contain chicken fat. Bixby, if a spoon touched chicken he was a mess. Probably because he had it from a young age and we didn’t catch it until it had become quite severe.
I also had a dog who was, I swear to dog, allergic to everything – including grass. I had to grow a section of lawn as clover for her to have somewhere comfy to lay.
Scout211
I really don’t remember for sure, but I think she was about 5 maybe?
NotMax
No pets to speak of. Unless geckos count.
Funny, in all the years here cannot recall anyone mentioning they kept fish (tropical or otherwise).
John Revolta
@TaMara: We moved to Florida a couple years ago so he’s likely being exposed to stuff he’s not used to (although this didn’t start until fairly recently)…….
@Scout211: Thanks
MagdaInBlack
@NotMax: I can tell you of a past relationship: he kept 2 huge saltwater tanks, with live rock, soft corals and of course, fish. The Trigger ( Mr Trigger) would take shrimp from your finger. I loved the yellow Tang best. The whole thing was beautiful and fun to watch but DEAR LORD the time and money involved. No TY
Eta: The bubble coral was really cool but extra temperamental.
trollhattan
@NotMax:
My koi pond is mentioned upthread and while I have a couple tropical tanks, our fish stores all went bye-bye and I’m reticent about buying on line or from a big box pet store, so they may be coming out.
Fish were the ONE thing I was not allergic to as a kid.
sab
Ponyo, our Pitbull American Staffordshire Terrier. I am amazed by how many plumbers and furnace guys recognize why we call our orange dog Ponyo. She has never met a cat she doesn’t love. She has never met a dog she doesn’t hate.
Cats: Our new girl Sadie looks just like your Sully except she has a ring tail like a husky dog, which totally confuses the other cats (what does she mean with her tail saying that?)
Dobby who used to be a cat demon and is now a cat doll.
Shadow our feral rescue who is beautiful except for her cranky bad attitude.
Megatron ( Meg for short) who is delicate, gentle and shy and does not does not deserve her name.
Mouf, our oldest cat. He looks like Cole’s Steve, thinks he is everyone’s favorite, and despises all rhe other cats and tries to make their lives miserable when he isn’t sleeping.
trollhattan
@MagdaInBlack: Saltwater are gorgeous and yes, vast investment in money and time. Never dared, myself.
eclare
@Big R:
So sorry about Titus.
NutmegAgain
I love your menagerie!
Right now I am super happy to say I’ve adopted a Newfy from rescue. He’s 3 y.o., on the big side (even for a Newf; he was underweight when he came into rescue, and I haven’t had him weighed.) He has the most luxurious chocolate brown coat. He loves being brushed! He has that stellar sweet temperament that Newfs are famous for. The only drawback so far is keeping up with washing towels–he’s a world class loogie-hocker: he drools like he’s trying to put out a fire. Such a good boy. I feel really lucky to have him in my life. In time, when he’s good and settled, I hope to go back to being a foster home.
raven
@NutmegAgain: My friend has a Newfie and they come to the dog park. The big dude slow walks and scratches his side on the fence!
HinTN
@raven: Long ago I got the runt of a friend’s litter. Carlotta had some Russian Wolfhound to go with the mom’s German Shepherd. She was a dog of many colors and could run like the wind. I took her with me to Florida and she was so bonded she crashed into the surf at Fernandina and swam in the ocean. Later in the Keys we swam off our host’s deck and she followed me up the ladder, looking much like your friend, hooking her paws over the rungs. She made the calendar a few years back sitting on the roof of my car. The.Best.Dog
Jay C
D*mn! A whole long essay about our cats vanished! So I’ll keep it short”
Casa C is back to 2 cats; Jessica the purebred Himalayan (2), and Alison the tuxedo adoptee (6 mos.). Jessie had been brought up with another (and related) Himmy (who sadly passed in 2/23), and we were worried she might not accept her new sibling. We were, thankfully, dead wrong: they absolutely LOVE each other.
We had actually wanted a Ragdoll (Mrs. Jay is, unfortunately, severely mobility-impaired, and wanted a cat who would like to just drape around): but – disgracefully, we got scammed out of a bucket of money by ripoff artists peddling “kittens” which, we realized too late, were mostly all the same pictures from the Internet.
So, in December, the Mrs. saw a pic of a B&W kitten from a reputable shelter org. here in NYC. And when I went to inspect, it was an immediate choice: I did NOT bring the carrier back empty….
trollhattan
@HinTN:
A running borzoi is a thing to behold.
Step 1: locate ginormous open space conveniently fenced.
Step 2: ladder, binoculars, bullhorn.
Do not know how sight hound folks manage, but appreciate the many breeds under the category. Although, Afghans be dumb as rocks.
NutmegAgain
@trollhattan: I took a dog to a trainer who had a Borzoi. I figured if she could train that dog, she must have skills! Very pretty, but about as dumb a dog as I’ve ever met.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
I’ve noticed a lot of comments about the total eclipse that is occurring this Monday, I won’t be shooting it here in LA(only about 58%, so meh). Some tips:
Preparation: Good solar viewing glasses for when the Sun is not COMPLETELY covered by the Moon, get an app(they are available for iOS and Android) that will announce when totality begins and ends. Looking at the Sun when it is not TOTALLY eclipsed will cause blindness and if you are photographing it will fry your camera’s sensor. During totality, you can view the Sun without eye protection and you will not need a solar filter for a camera.
Try to get to the center line of totality, that is where totality will last the longest
Do not obsess about taking lots of photos of totality, take one shot or two with your phone. For photographers, take a timelapse, there are plenty of YouTube videos(Nico at Nebula Photos has a good serries). Really, just enjoy the experience.
Again, get an app that will tell you when you can view the eclipsed Sun safely and wear good solar eye protection when the Sun is not TOTALLY eclipsed.
Villago Delenda Est
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Indeed it was, and I don’t know if Tommen’s cat was as pouncy as Reebo, but I can well imagine.
raven
@HinTN: Awesome, our Bohdi loved to crash through the surf after the ball!
TaMara
@Big R: I’m so sorry about Titus. sending you hugs.
@trollhattan: Generally our greyhound would eventually come back after chasing a squirrel or rabbit – until the day he spotted a a very quick rabbit and chased it well out of our sight. We (me, my husband and our Dane) went back home to get the car to see if we could find him. The phone rang (# from his tags, pre-cell phone) it was neighbors at least a mile from where we were walking. He’d showed up in their garage.
When we went to get him, their kids were feeding him peanut butter cookies and he gave us a look like, “this is how life is supposed to be” and reluctantly climbed in the car.
NotMax
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA
There’s cameras and then there’s cameras.
;)
mrmoshpotato
Porno for Pyros – Pets (lyrics)
A Good Woman
In the ’23 calendar, in November, you will find Tabitha, my 4 yr old Tuxedo. I got her from a rescue where she was sharing space with a bunch of boys. She was 2 months old and frantic to eat everytime I fed her and WIllie, my 15 y.o. black mix. Overtime she has come to understand that the food will come and she doesn’t have to share. I use SureFlap feeders because Willie is actually a feline Hoover vac when it comes to food. Tabitha was intended to be a companion for him, and so far so good although they are not best buds.
Willie was acquired from the Anti-Cruelty Society in 2016 for HellBoy! who passed in 2018. Willie came from an IN rescue who claimed to know nothing about him and had no info to share, but he was clearly an older cat (about 7) with what looked like a botched declaw given the way he walked on his front feet. He and HB never really got on. When HB died Willie turned into a lap cat, and still is.
HellBoy! was also an acquisition from Anti-Cruelty. He was a kitten (2-3mos) alone in a cage batting a ball on a string. He saw me, stood up on his hind legs gripping the bars and the look was obvious “whatcha waiting on woman?!” The attendant brought him out and he turned into a purr machine and it was love at once. He was possibly the smartest cat I ever had, and there were 4 before him, all passed. He knocked stuff around in the AM to get me up and then escorted (!) me to the food bowl. He was glued to me when I was sitting, and decided a chair on the porch was his preferred location when I went outside. If I went inside he was at the door, pawing it. He had a buddy, Sako, a grey tabby I got from a friend whose daughters GF had to give him up when she moved. HB and Sako got along great. Unfortunately, Sako had a heart issue and threw a blood clot into his pelvis overnight, He couldn’t walk, but he had dragged himself to a radiator in the DR. The ER clinic wanted a fortune to treat him (which I didn’t have) and they didn’t know if any treatment would work. We said goodbye in the clinic.
After Willie joined us HB started having issues with weight and blood values indicating a liver problem. The vet tried everything she could think of, nothing was working. Exploratory surgery came up empty. After the surgery his values returned to normal, but a few months later we were in trouble again. When he was down to 50% of his weight it was clear I had to let him go. The vet did a necropsy because she was flabbergasted that nothing was working. Turned out his liver was fine, his pancreas was covered in tumors and nothing in the bloodwork indicated that was a problem. She was horrified because she is very thorough and relies on the various diagnostic tools. The tumors were not present at the time of surgery. I ugly cry when I think of him. Someone mentioned a ‘heart cat’ he was one of at least 2 in my life.
When Willie and Tabitha pass on I will probably sign up for senior cat fosters that a local rescue does. You provide the home, affection and basic care, they take care of the vet bills, and the cat has a home instead of a shelter. Seniors looking after seniors. Works for me!
kalakal
@NotMax: I used to keep Cichlids. There’s an incredible variety of them
Haven’t kept fish since i crossed the pond
NutmegAgain
@raven: Sounds about right. We had a small earthquake here, and I just figured the dog was leaning against the wall when he was scratching!
Quiltingfool
Tamara – Would you mind if I made a quilted appliqué block of Zander and one of Zander and Gabe? I saved the photos you posted. I’m trying a new quilt thing (for me) of making an appliqué pattern from photos.
I don’t want to step on toes, as some folks wouldn’t care for a quilted cat picture. I think your kitties are so lovely.
Big R
@TaMara: when I saw the post about Z my heart broke for you because I knew just how broken I am.
BigJimSlade
@NotMax: Lol, wait until they release the 300M zoom.
Dr Daniel Price (Saint Vincent)
Here, from oldest to youngest, are brown tabby Kabo, age 15; Toto-look-alike Callista, age 11; ginger cat Topaxi, age 6, who was clearly mistreated in previous homes but is becoming ever more gregarious with each passing month; fat “Daniel-doesn’t-have-cancer-cat” Cathulhu, age 4; and “fucking Malinois” Kananaskis, age toddler.
mardam
My boy is Percy. He’s a seven year old rescue Pittie. We got him as a puppy, about six months old. Someone had abandoned him on the street. Has issues that showed up well after we got him. Reactive to other dogs, and animals in general. And suspicious of people. But we got him because our other dog, Cece was getting older and had horrible hip issues, and laid on the bed most of the time. She was a Pittie, as well. We got Percy because it looked like it was time for Cece to cross the bridge. And I thought it would be good for my girlfriend if we already had another dog to keep her company after, rather than go looking for a dog while mourning.
Turns out, once Cece got a whiff of Percy everything changed. She got active. Played. Went for walks with Percy and me. And lived two more good years.
We’ll always love Percy for that. And besides, he really is a good dog. Just needs to be protected from himself sometimes. He’s an excellent snuggler, and loves his Daddy hugs. And I’ll do anything for him.