Tell me about your pets...

[protege]

Up until now, I could only have fish. Dad was allergic, and my mom didn't want any critters. That is, until I moved out in 2006.

Kitty, my grandmother's cat, came home with me. She had moved into a tiny apartment, was selling her farm, which meant he'd be homeless. He'd been a part of the family since he was a kitten, and I wasn't about to let him fend for himself. Formerly an outside cat, after I'd brought him home...he *hated* to be outside. Too many big dogs, "strange" cars, and other scary things around. So he became an inside cat Sadly, he got very sick, and had to be put to sleep in 2007

Then Snow came along. She was 2 when I got her. Snow was totally deaf, but very sweet and playful. Even so, she had been at the shelter for months--nobody wanted her because she was deaf. She loved to play and cuddle...and do things like close the heating vents in the living room, and sleep in the bathtub Unfortunately, she had a heart attack...and died in my kitchen in April of 2008

By then, the house was too quiet. It needed some kittehs--Baxter and Sally came home from the shelter. They'll be 3.5 in April. Baxter is a very fluffy Maine Coon, but I'm not sure what Sally is...other than she has short hair. Most of their days are spent playing with their toys, napping, and chasing each other around. It's not uncommon to find one, or both, of the kittehs in bed when I wake up in the morning

[Skeen]

I have 5 cats, all rescues.

We got Ember (a DSH black named after a My Little Pony, because she was about the same size when I got her) from a lady I work with, when Em was only 4 weeks old. Her mother was a feral neighborhood cat who was killed by a dog, and Ember was the only kitten they could find. I bottle-fed her for a month and brought her to work and everywhere else I went everyday. My bosses were completely cool with it, and she never made a sound. At the time I was going to a chiropracter several times a week and she was the darling of that office. She hates everything, especially me.

Fuzzy and Slick (a DMH champagne tabby and a DSH red & white tabby named after how long their hair is, respectively) are brothers and I found them at the library. They were both really skinny and Slick was really sick. He was so ill his eyes had crusted over and he'd fallen into a storm drain. A man had to fish him out for me, and then I took them to the emergency vet (it was a Satruday) for treatment. I was afraid Slick wasn't going to make it so I tried not to get attached to him, but the little runt pulled through and now he's my baby. Fuzzy is an attention-whore and will do ANYTHING to get you to pay attention to him. He's not very bright. He got all the looks and Slick got all the brains.

Flora (a DSH silver tuxedo named after an Enya song) was running around a friend's neighborhood for a few weeks, getting progressively skinnier. She was stealing food from a neighbor's cat but she wouldn't let anyone near her. We were at lunch one day at work and stopped by my friend's house, and Flora was there, looking pathetic and cold (it was mid-December), so we got a can of cat treats and rattled it, and she ran right to me. I grabbed her and stuffed her in the car, and she sat next to me all the way back to the office, purring. She had a really odd area of missing hair under one arm that upon the vet's exam turned out to be shaved for surgery, and a nasty wound that wouldn't heal for anything. SO, she'd been someone's cat once, but she didn't get that skinny overnight and there were never any fliers out looking for her, so we kept her. 6 months and about $3k later, we had the answer to why she wouldn't heal, healed it, and her hair grew back in fine. She's the boss cat now.

Stevie (a DSH chocolate lynx colorpoint named after Stevie Nicks because of the sounds she made when hungry as a baby) was found by my best friend at a flea market last September. I would have walked right by her had my friend not said anything. She was starving, wormy, and covered with fleas. She also had ear mites. I couldn't leave her! Carrying her back to the car I stepped in a hole and tore a tendon in my ankle, so my very-allergic and mildly cat-fearing friend had to carry her. After a bath and some food Stevie perked right up, and we spent the day laying in bed, me with my ankle propped up and she passed out on my chest. A trip to the vet the following week got her illnesses under control and she's now everyone's friend. There has got to be some sort of Siamese in her pedigree somewhere, but I'm not about to try to pass her off as one. We call her the "Peepsmith" because she only says "peep" when she's not wailing the end of Gold Dust Woman.

[Diablo]

I was around 14 years old, volunterring at the local vet clinic on the weekends (basically my parents didn't want me hanging out and getting in trouble. Some people brought in this half dead African Grey parrot that was covered in just scabs except for her head. Rather than pay to care for the bird, they were just going to get it put down. I offered to take it off their hands.

I had not, at this point, realized that the bird had been kept in a dark laundry room and most likely was a illegal exotic as it was not in any way acclimated to humans. It basically shrieked in terror at the sight of anyone. The bird was so weak that she had to be hand fed for the first few weeks I had her...

I have a lot of scars on my hands and arms from her. I finally broke her of biting me. The last time she got a hold of my hand and wouldn't let go, so I put her whole head in my mouth (I didn't bite down)...she let go and starred at me for about 20 minutes like "Whoa...can't pull that crap on ya anymore"

She had no name for a while. I put a TV by her cage and kept it on so she could get used to the sound of people. She ended up learning the theme songs to Andy Griffin, Jeopardy, and Seinfeld. Interestingly, she learned all the character names on Seinfeld and did pretty good impressions of the cast except one...Kramer. She never did Kramer's voice or said his name. So she ended up with that name.

I ended up going into the navy for six years and during that time, she ended up at my parents' office. She still bit the shit out of people when they ignored the metal sign on the front of the cage warning them...but oh well. I swear, after each deployment, that bird would go ape shit when I would get back.

Fast forward to now...I am 30 and Kramer is sitting in her cage right next to my desk. I pretty much have given up and I am used to everything being two feet off the floor so she can free range like a chicken. Shit, I sleep under a Simpson comforter that I used in the navy that is paper thin yet Kramer's got a King size electric blanket over her cage so at night, she doesn't get a chill. Right now I can hear her slowing grinding her beak (just like some people grind their teeth) in her sleep. This damn bird has cost me about three relationships over the years, countless amounts of money, and pretty much has destroyed any attempts of mine to ever have a normal life. I love having to explain to people why the "towel" rack in the showing is in the wrong place.



And I wouldn't change a thing...

[JustaCashier]

Diablo you may be aware of this already, but FWIW beak grinding in parrots is a sign of contentment.

So, ya done good!


Mike

[noone]

I currently have three cats. Two are litter mates, named Max and Leo (reference to the movie, The Producers.) They're both about 13 pounds (about 6 kilos) that are sweet and spoiled buggers.

Then for a while, we had a mother and a litter of kittens, (most of which went to the shelter) but we kept one of the little girls. Before we decided to keep her, we named her "Little Bitch" because she kept trying to dominate the boys, even though they were three times bigger than her, easy.

Her name is now Ula, (also from the Producers) but she's often called 'the princess' since she's a spoiled little girl.

[drunkenwildmage]

currently I have 3 pets

Lab/Sheppard Mix: Brown...Looks like a 3/4 scale German Sheppard . VERY protective of the house, and of my wife... When every someone comes in the house that she's not comfortable with, she will stand/lie/sit in between them, and my wife.. and if they get to close, she will start to grow and bark at them. She will do that with any of the real young kids that come in the house to. Loves to jump the fence.. A couple years ago, me and my dad spent a part of summer replacing the back yard fence, so she couldn't jump it, and withing 2 weeks, she had figured out a way to get over.

Black Lab Mix: Looks like a Black Lab, except for a couple small traits the show border collie He was a "Katina rescue" dog, that we got when he was still a puppy. A local kennel brought up a plane load of lost dogs up to foster, and when me and my wife offered to foster one, instead, we ended up adopting this puppy Dumber then a box of rocks, but very lovable. and thinks he's a 80lb lap Dog. Barks with a bit of a Cajun accent

long hair tortoiseshell cat shell cat: Our "Oldist", Typical Cat.. Loves to be petted, but on her own terms.. Until recently , hated to be held. Name "Frog" after a character from the "Smokey and the Bandit" Movie, which led to some what funny incident when he first got her. We took her to the vet to get her shots updated.. and when in the waiting room, the Vet walked in.. looked at her..Stopped for a second and said "Oh.. you have a cat". My wife replied "Yah..her name is 'Frog" and he said.. "Oh..OK..i was wondering way someone would be bringing a frog to the vet" Turns out, when we made the Appointment, a tech assigned him to us because he is the "Reptile and amphibian specialist.

[evillebee]

I could say that I currently do not own any animals. Lily, the neighbors dog, does not know that. When I had huskies and a mutt, Lily started coming over and eventually became part of the pack. She was young and untrained, but had a heart of gold. I ended up training her (bad doggy manners is a pet peeve of mine) and she adopted me as her mommy. When my dogs crossed the rainbow bridge, Lily did not leave. She used to be a vistor, now she is a permant resident. I have understanding neighbors who do miss her, but there really isn't anything more I can do. I tried locking her out of the garage and the garage door frame was chewed and scratched to shreds. If she isn't inside the garage at night, she will bark until my daughter (whose bedroom window is directly above her barking) comes down and lets her in. When we are home and Lily is locked out of the garage, she will jump up looking into the window barking at us. Kinda hard to ignore.

Last week the neighbor called and said his sister had to give up her dog (Lily's mom) due to a move. Neighbor wanted to know if we would be interested in looking at her since he would be taking her in until a home could be found. We told him that we didn't think Lily would like that since two females would not get along. The next week, Lily's mom showed up at our back door and Lily wasn't happy at all. It took all the willpower I had not to take this dog in. She is a beautiful white husky with 10 year old hips. Poor baby completely ingnored Lily's insane barking and growling and wanted love from me. Neighbor called after a couple days and came down and got her. My family says these dogs are drawn to me for some reason. The neighbors are good people, so it is not as if any of the dogs are mistreated in any way. I must have a "I'm a dog person, come on over" smell. LOL

[snugglegirl05]

Spunky:
male tabby cat with grey, black, white, & tan coloring. He owns me. I adopted him from the SPCA as a 2 month old kitten in 2008. He is very energetic, affectionate, animated, loveable, rambunctious, mischevious, a good buddy to Shadow & Snuggle, curious, & a loud purrer. The biggest of all the 3 cats. Weighs around 12 pounds. I love him to pieces.

Shadow:
female black cat we adopted in 2008. 2 years older than Spunky. We received a call from the main office at the apartment complex we live at regarding if we wanted to become foster parents to a black cat. An elderly resident had died in the unit he was renting, either from a stroke or a heart attach. His neighbors had not seen him for a while, & so one of them called the main office. Someone from that office called his son, who came over. Found his father in bed...dead along with a black cat. No one knew he had a black cat. Adpoted the cat instead. Thought she was a he, but the vet determined she was a she. Loyal, used to be afraid of Snuggle, but not anymore, loves cat treats.

Snuggle:
The oldest. Female black cat who was abandoned at the apartment complex we used to live at. Will be 6 in September. Very competitve when it comes to getting her attention since she has to compete with 2 other cats. A diva. Snuggles on her own terms. Had a urinary tract infection in 2008. Cannot eat ordinary cat food. Has to eat cat food designed for urinary tract health, & so all 3 cats eat the same cat food. Looks like she was the runt of the litter. Her tail was not fully developed. Does not like being held.

[ThirdGenRetail]

In the past, we've had... A few :XD Not all at once, of course.

Shadow - The constant for the 5 years we lived in the house we rented back in Washington. He was a black cat that just... Showed up on our front doorstep, all "Ohai, yer my hoomanz nao!" He got dubbed Shadow Master, acting like the master of the house and all. We had to give him away when we moved. Last I heard, he lived up to the "Master" part

Wednesday - A dachsund/chihuahua mix. Nasty little thing, she was food-aggressive... Never really liked her, myself. We gave her away as a result, and she became such a priss princess...

Angel - A border collie/lab mix. Hyper, not Mother's best choice of dog... We put her on a lead in the yard for something once, and she howled. That was... Interesting.

Buddy - A... We have no idea. Mongrel is the best description. We got him from a Petsmart adopt-a-dog thing, as a companion for Angel. She hogged his food... When we gave Angel away for being just TOO unruly, Buddy gained weight. He was a total sweetheart, just cuddly and loving. When we'd go for walks, on the way home... I think he knew we were heading home, because I'd drop his leash and he'd trot on for home. In hindsight, that wasn't wise of me, but I was 7, and some lessons I have a hard time learning. When we moved, we had to give him away. Miss him...

Freeway - Named because she was found running down I-5. When we brought her home and gave her a bath, she did a 360 from the shy little poodle she was acting like before. We figured she was pretty old, she had cataracts and a sort of 'age pudge'. Didn't act her age, though. She had a little pink toy person-thingy(Like the AIM logo, but more rounded) that she just LOVED, it was her baby. Sadly, age got her. The one thing that has me most upset about that was that Mother wouldn't take me with her to the vet to say goodbye.

Snowball - Okay, his name was deceiving. Snowball... Was black. I think somebody abandoned him, and that's why he gravitated to us. He was a REALLY fat cat, and had a naked belly. When Mother took him to the vet, turned out he was allergic to his own fleas! Some treatment later, he was much better. A while before we left, he up and vanished, a year after he'd showed up.

Little girl - A beagle Mother picked up after we moved out here. Her previous owner was going to just DUMP her So Mother took her. Only for, a few months later, somebody to bust into our house and take her. Never found out who did it, but I dread the worst.

And now the current!

Tex - The master of the house now, he's a typical brown-ish tabby... And fat. Squishy fat(Snowball was a more solid kind of fat). He's also affectionate. I've noticed that, of our cats, he's got the biggest canines in both length and girth.. When we moved in, a neighbor gave him to us when he was just a kitten. Up to that point, we'd spent two years in an apartment down by the beach that didn't allow cats, and I was missing my fluffies. So I'd taken to feeding some local strays, and was quasi-adopted by a displaced house cat, Shea(His human, sadly, had died. But he was a sweet boy).

Bruce - We actually didn't get him(And his sister) for a couple years OURSELVES, because they were my sister's cats. SHE got them from one of her neighbors in Washington(They moved out here about 6-7 years ago) - Their mother was a feral, but they were picked up as kittens and able to be turned into regular house cats. When my sister and BIL moved to Vegas, they left the cats with us. For the last couple years, they've gotten used to our dogs and (mostly) our other cats. He's a gray and white hooded tabby, very sweet and vocal about his desire for pettings. If you stop and start to walk away, he'll actually reach out to grab you and mew at you, all, "Why'd you stop?!" Which is kind of funny to see him do, since he's got no front claws. Sister decided to get him declawed... We're not happy about that, since Mother never got Shadow or Snowball declawed(We lived in a suburb and could get away with letting the cats come and go as they pleased, and we do that now since we live in a relatively quiet trailer park), and we've no plans to get any cats declawed, due to letting them out during the day. We'd rather our cats can defend themselves... But Bruce sure loves Mother's computer chair...! I can often hear her going, "Bruce, MOVE!" When my sister left him here, Bruce was rather people-shy and petting-shy, preferring to do things on HIS terms, which was "Later." He was so afraid of the dogs... Now he'll freely lean down as the dogs walk by whatever table he's on and swat at them(One of the two things we're only marginally thankful of his lack of claws with, the other being him grabbing at us), and adores head-scratchies.

Sugar - Bruce's sister. She's, if possible, sweeter than her brother. She's also more skittish about dogs and other people, especially outside. Like her brother, if I stop petting her and pull my hand away, she'll reach to grab it to get me to keep petting... Which isn't as cute as with Bruce since Sugar DOES have her claws and they are SHARP Learned that the hard way when she managed to dig a nail into my thumb. I was literally DRIPPING blood.... She's very vocal, having a high, shrill meow, while sticking her tongue out a bit doing so. I swear she's rolling her meows, it looks like her tongue is rolling ...

And I'll have to come back and edit the rest in tomorrow, I'm falling asleep

Edit 2/19

Okay... Rest of my animals :XD:

We have another set of sibblings, affectionately referred to as the 'Wonder Twins'. Why? Both are cream tabbies, but pretty different looking... One's even a boy, the other a girl They actually came from the same litter, but we got them at different times. Sherbert(Then named Sandy under the presumption he was a she) went to a family that actually lived in the live-in motel that their mother's owner worked(And lived) at, while we got Puddin, each tiny 3-week-olds. It was actually a life-saving move, since at first we thought their mother was eating them. Turned out one of the two old dogs their mother shared an owner with was eating the kittens! They're the only two left from the litter, as a result. So, we hand-reared Puddin(The girl, and the runt), and she kind of became like Tex's baby/little sister. He'd been a rough-and-tumble cat before then, and Puddin tempered him down. We ended up bringing Sherbert home a month or so later, because... Oops... The live-in motel didn't allow pets! Their mother's owner could only have animals, I think, because they may have been grandfathered in, or it was a special rental agreement. We only found out Sherbert was a boy when he dropped... I was a bit dissapointed, having never had a female cat myself, but... Cheaper to fix!

Sherbert - We can only assume he's the older of the two. He's a long-hair, has a very pointed face. It's like... I guess a Main Coon type of face? But he's VERY loud and vocal, so maybe some sort of Siamese/Exotic. We'll never know there. But he's a cuddle-butt, and WILL put himself in my lap no matter what I'm doing. Eating dinner? Too bad, he's in my lap! Working with my tablet? He'll just lay ON the tablet! Trying to sleep? Come on, time to lay on my back! He's also the only cat I know of that will crawl UNDER the blankets and sleep there.

Puddin - The runt of what's left of their litter. She's a short-hair, and... Seems to sport 3/4 of the way to a Persian-type face. It's a bit FLAT... But she's still got a bit of a snout. She can be as cuddly as her brother, but she's not as lap-cuddle as Sherbert. She'd rather you sit there petting her for hours. She's got an affinity for turning and grooming your arm when you pet her, too. She'll also snub her nose at most canned food. When we were weaning her, I ended up making a mash out of her KMR, since she'd try to BURY the canned food Still doesn't like it much, but I'm working on it.

Tucker - A 3/4 Lab, 1/4 Border Collie... That I swear is as dumb as a brick. He's gone after the cats multiple times, and Sherbert's nailed in him the face with claws multiple times, and he STILL doesn't get that 3/5 cats don't like him. He's prone to eating anything and everything he desires to get his mouth on, and we joke that a toy we see at the store wouldn't last 5 seconds in his mouth. The only toys we've found to withstand him are Lacrosse balls and Kong toys. He's epileptic, so we have to give him medication in pill pockets twice a day.

Hershey - Tucker's half-brother(Same mother), he's 1/4 Lab, 1/4 Border Collie... Now, supposedly, his father's a pure Akita, but after seeing a Leonburger... Hershey actually looks a lot like one of the pictures on the Wiki page. And he's all hair. He's protective of the 'territory' and 'pack' and has a good instinct to stay close to Tucker if they get out(Hasn't happened in a while, knock on wood!), and he proves easiest to catch. Unless he's in the yard barking at the neighbors... He's actually a cuddly dog around us, though. He's only got the 'alpha' mentality on Tucker, to boot. I can grab his scruff, pinch it a little... And he just lays down and rolls over. Which... Isn't always good Trying to give him a bath is a challenge because of that


And then we have one... Pseudo-pet. Kitty. He's a stray tabby(Short-hair, looks like Tex and Sugar had a baby...) that's been hanging around. He first popped up around Thanksgiving, cold and hungry, and skinny. He's fattened up a bit since then. Started out shy and skittish, now he's starting to rub on the dogs when he pops in to eat(We have coons in the woods, so I'd rather not feed any cats on the porch). He hasn't proven yet if he'll go in the box yet or not, since he spends 85% of his time outside, so we've been wary to see how long he can last in the house(As I type, the back door's open if he wants to go outside, I think he's just not figured out the fence much yet like the other cats). He's become far less stand-off-ish about the other cats, as well. The goal is to get him highly adoptable before taking him to the SPCA so he can find his Forever Home. 6 cats is a bit much, even for me, as much as I love cats. I think he'd do well out in the country, with a retired couple, lounging in a window or stalking mice in the garden or yard. He's actually very sweet and loving

I may have to get current pictures of them all soon, since the most current aren't that great of quality... And Tucker and Hershey's last pictures are from back in October when I brought pumpkins home for Tucker to destroy

[Frantic Freddie]

Well,the dog & the cat are in cahoots now,Tootsie brings the mud in & Nova helps spread it around

[taxguykarl]

We presently have two cats:

Cassandra, named for a character in Cats (as opposed to Homer's unheeded psychic). She was adopted from a pig farm owned by a friend of my parents. Her litter mate became a house pet of the farmer's as well. She is a 9 y.o. calico.

Elsie is a black short hair that we adopted from the local shelter. She is a year and a half old. We kept the name she went by in the shelter, which coincidentally also the name of my great aunt.

[EricKei]

Formerly three cats, now two cats and a dog...

I got all of the cats from a Vet's assistant friend of mine who had to move somewhere where pets were not allowed; she had rescued them from shelters, or, for one, from an abusive family.

The "gone" cat was a sharp-witted Siamese named Simon who knew darn well what the door handle was for, he just couldn't figure out how to USE it He had FUS and ate specially medicated food for it (he preferred it to the normal food). One day a few years ago, he just disappeared; we were never able to find him.

I have a red tabby named Louis, aka "Red", who will come up to you and demand a cuddle and head-scratch...and then turn and nip at your hand after a couple of minutes. Then, she will promptly demand to be scratched again...

The (formerly) abused one is a quiet, timid grey/black mackerel with a tiny bit of red on her named Sushie. However, once the LOTR movies came out, her name immediately became "The Precious", thanks to my dad ^_^ When I first got her, it took a month until she would even eat from a saucer of tuna I had left for her (I left the room and everything)...Once she realized that we were the good guys, she became a VelcroCat.

All three cats lived thru Katrina -- my choices of evac-accomodation at the time were: (a) relatives who refused to allow pets, (b) relatives who threatened to harm any animals I might bring, and (c) relatives who owned two large dogs who REALLY hated cats. I chose (d), and put them all outside with a huge bowl of dry food and water; we couldn't afford get them boarded, and no place we could get to had any openings anyway x.x Fortunately, they all made it intact, if a bit skinnier. The food/water bowls survived for the three weeks we were gone (until the MP's allowed us back into the area) -- Once I got back, I left the front door open all day long just in case they wandered by (no power anyway for the first couple of weeks back). Simon came back late on day one, then Red the next day, and Precious the next. All of them became cuddlemiffins for days, tho it took Precious several months before she fully recovered from the shellshock; she literally would burrow into my arms and hide her head anytime she saw me, for a time.

Now, I also have a hugenormous Siberian Husky that belongs to a friend whom I help care for when he's not in the country. Name's Prince, he's friendly, quiet, playful, ... and a complete wuss. He backs down from the cats anytime he sees them (especially Red), and yet, Precious hasn't quite figured out that she's the one in control, so she still skitters off if the dawg so much as looks her way during a nap >_>

[evilfarmer]

I have two kitties now..

Isis aka fuzzy-butt is a Maincoon Calico who we found at a fish store that helped out the local animal shelter by hosting dogs and cats. They called her Beauty my hubs said at the time that he wasn't calling the cat that...she was about the size of most adult kitties when i got her and was afraid she had a few years on her and i wanted a kitten so she would be around for a while..as soon as I held her she just went fump in my arms and went home a week later with me..she was six months old..shes up to about 15 pounds now.shes driven nuts by Ebony but is very laid back and just wants her window..unless the door is open then look out speeding blur kitty..

Ebony is the newest kitty and is of course black but is a beauty queen and the tips of her hair bleach..Don'tkillmeitshowitgrows..The vet has no idea why and she is the only one of her litter to have the markings..My mil found the feral mom in Oct and was able to get 2 of the kitties in and then found another litter just before thanksgiving and started going you want a kitten don't you... you know you want a kitten..so we got an early Christmas present..My MIL lives in Tifton GA so we didn't get to meet any before she came up so just asked for the female black kitty cause she seemed sweet in the pics...oh god she's a terror..we love her but she is a terror..she just started going out and isn't to sure about the going through the door thing..