The Pet Thread

[StrangeSox]

My dog got absolutely soaked in Great Dane slobber at the dog park yesterday.

[BigHurt3515]

My dog got absolutely soaked in Great Dane slobber at the dog park yesterday.

 

that is always fun. My dog seems to always want to play with the biggest dog at the park when we go. She gets rolled around and has slobber on her every time but she never quits.

[EvilMonkey]

When I come home from work, regardless of how good or bad the day is, it makes me smile when I see my dogs either at the top of the stairs barking for me or to be waiting at the door if they heard the garage door open, barking for me when I get home. I know they will pass on, but for now, they are part of my 'pack' and look up to me. I do my best to honor that devotion by being the best human to them I can be. I rescued each from an abusive situation and I know they have a better life because of me. I will have a day of pain, and a few weeks of feeling bad, when the day comes, but I will do it again. In fact, the wife and I have decided that when our oldest dog passes, we would adopt the oldest dog we have at the shelter, so that no matter how little time they have left, they can live it in our home instead of a cage. That will also hurt, but I can live with that.

[Brian]

My dog pounces on me as soon as I walk in the door. Hears garage door open. So he's better than your dogs, obviously.

[EvilMonkey]

Do all beagles bark and howl a lot?

I have had pure bred Beagles and Beagle mutts. They all seem to howl to some degree, just depends on the dog. The pure ones were hunting dogs, so you WANTED them to howl. The mutts we have had have been mostly calm. The one I have now only howls when the rabbits in the yard tease her and start running across the lawn, then her instincts kick in and she chases them howling like mad.

[EvilMonkey]

My dog pounces on me as soon as I walk in the door. Hears garage door open. So he's better than your dogs, obviously.

Mine is a little old, and fat, to pounce.

[iamshack]

My dog got absolutely soaked in Great Dane slobber at the dog park yesterday.

I keep towels by the door of the house so I can wipe them down when they come inside...

[BigHurt3515]

My dog pounces on me as soon as I walk in the door. Hears garage door open. So he's better than your dogs, obviously.

 

We live in an apartment and when our dog will look out the window on our bed and when one of us pulls up you will hear Zoey sprinting to the door waiting for one of us to walk in door to jump on us. It is a great feeling knowing your dog will be there waiting to greet you

[Brian]

Sometimes mine is sleeping when I get home cuz he slowly walks around the corner with his head down and just stands at my feet expecting to get petted.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

I keep towels by the door of the house so I can wipe them down when they come inside...

 

Same here. And after a half a dozen times or so, they start to figure out that they can speed the process along by lifting up each paw and leg for me.

[shysocks]

Same here. And after a half a dozen times or so, they start to figure out that they can speed the process along by lifting up each paw and leg for me.

Mine has no interest in speeding the toweling process along. She either tries to slink away or decides it's a good time to show affection and just buries her head in my chest.

[Jake]

So my girlfriend and I both love cats. Since we moved to our new place, we always look forward to seeing the neighborhood cats out and about when we walk to work. Not having a cat of our own, this was one of those simple pleasures. By becoming acquainted with these cats, we've gotten to know many of our neighbors as well.

 

We'd heard from one neighbor that there was a possibly stray around. The neighbor was peeved because the cat hunts her birds (neighbor's cats are apparently too old/docile to dent the bird population). She had been feeding the possible stray, though, because she thought it looked skinny. She still wasn't a big fan. We began to run into this young black cat now and then. Cat wasn't as completely enamored with human contact as the obviously owned cats, but was willing to accept some petting if we approached carefully.

 

Naturally, we like this cat. Having witnessed lots of outside cats, both owned and stray, get killed by the various dangers of the outdoors, we were worried about this little guy. As we see him more times and talk to neighbors again, everyone seems to think this cat has no owner. He exposes his belly to us and it looks like he has balls, at which point we decide we want to get this cat off the street. It was surprisingly easy to get him in the door as he allowed my girlfriend to pick him up without too much wriggling.

 

First order of business before getting attached was checking for microchip. We also wanted to confirm that he was intact as we suspected. A vet will do microchip scans for free and we asked if they'd take a look at his package to see if he is neutered. The vet tech came back and told us the cat is not micro-chipped but she *thinks* he's neutered. The balls we're seeing, she thinks, is just the leftover scrotum. Either that, or he has non-descended testes. Regardless, she's congratulating us on our new cat.

 

After having this cat in the house, we had a few observations:

 

-Cat seemed hungry. Ate through an entire can of wet food before we could even notice he was eating that much. Ate more dry food shortly thereafter, too. Drank A LOT of water when we put it out.

-This cat has definitely been around humans. Happily accepts petting and doesn't do the things I'd expect from a cat new to a household...that is, he can walk around without getting into every kind of mischief. A cat develops an ability to not knock every single thing in the world down and it seems like he has it.

-Seems litter trained. He actually eliminated outside his box at first, but it turns out that was our fault as he accepted a different litter readily. With the rejected litter, he waited a long time before rather frantically searching the house for an acceptable place to go to the bathroom. Bathub, yowling at the front door, cat carrier, looking really hard at litter box...finally disappeared into the closet and left a loose bowel movement in there. As soon as we got a different litter, he peed a bunch into it right away and has now used it as expected.

 

Anyway, we're really fond of this cat. However, we probably wouldn't have taken him in if we thought he was neutered already. To us, along with not having a collar/tag, that was a clear signal of lack of/poor ownership. As it turns out, he is probably neutered but owners did not give him a collar or microchip. If he's owned, his owners had to know they were letting him out that way too - we saw him over the course of weeks and have scoured the missing cat listings in various places and haven't seen a potential match.

 

So here's the thing - we don't want to steal someone's cat! And short of being a black cat and having claws, which are hardly major offenses, this seems like a cat whose behavior would never earn him the boot out of a house (not that any behavior would truly justify that). Assuming he is neutered, I don't feel as much moral high ground in terms of saying reckless owners take risks sending their cats outside without precautions. Neutering is a precaution.

 

I want to own this cat. I'm horrified by the thought he might belong to somebody, though. I've gone ahead and made some found cat postings, so we'll see if anything comes of that. How long do I give to sort those things out before we go ahead and more clearly make him ours? I don't want to invest in micro-chipping, vaccinations, collar/tags, etc. just to have someone take the cat a day later. FWIW, we do not plan to let this cat outdoors. He's been very okay with this so far, too, which is surprising. Hasn't made any attempts to go out the door nor does he pay much attention to it at all.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

As dumb as I think these look, try putting a body leash on him and walking him around the neighborhood a few times a week, or every day if you can, and try to see if anyone gives you weird looks, outside of you having a cat on a leash. lol. And if anyone stares, ask if they know this cat or to whom it may belong. I would say after a couple weeks you'd be free and clear to just assume ownership.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

We finally got a pick-up date on our American Brittany puppy. We get her Oct. 26th. She is obviously still alive as of last Wednesday when my dad called the breeder. My dad just bought a second cage that is apparently going to go in my room, in addition to the one in the kitchen. I'm not sure why he wants one in my room, maybe so I become the one to take her out in the middle of the night or something, but I am worried she is going to s*** in her cage a few times and then my small room will stink and I won't be able to sleep. Not loving the idea, although I do like being able to form that close bond with her sleeping next to me each night. We'll see how it goes and I guess worst case scenario I just make her sleep in the cage in the kitchen until we house train her at least.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

We finally got a pick-up date on our American Brittany puppy. We get her Oct. 26th. She is obviously still alive as of last Wednesday when my dad called the breeder. My dad just bought a second cage that is apparently going to go in my room, in addition to the one in the kitchen. I'm not sure why he wants one in my room, maybe so I become the one to take her out in the middle of the night or something, but I am worried she is going to s*** in her cage a few times and then my small room will stink and I won't be able to sleep. Not loving the idea, although I do like being able to form that close bond with her sleeping next to me each night. We'll see how it goes and I guess worst case scenario I just make her sleep in the cage in the kitchen until we house train her at least.

 

 

If it goes to the bathroom just clean it?

 

In all sincerity though, puppies don't want to eliminate in their spaces. We have a 4 month old puppy now and outside of the first night, it has only gone to the bathroom in it's kennel or playpen twice, and only one of those times was in the evening. It'll be fine.

[LDF]

 

If it goes to the bathroom just clean it?

 

In all sincerity though, puppies don't want to eliminate in their spaces. We have a 4 month old puppy now and outside of the first night, it has only gone to the bathroom in it's kennel or playpen twice, and only one of those times was in the evening. It'll be fine.

 

its a pup. it does these things.

 

take the pup out stop the water drinking at 8 pm.

 

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

 

If it goes to the bathroom just clean it?

 

In all sincerity though, puppies don't want to eliminate in their spaces. We have a 4 month old puppy now and outside of the first night, it has only gone to the bathroom in it's kennel or playpen twice, and only one of those times was in the evening. It'll be fine.

 

Yeah, but just because you clean the s*** up doesn't mean it won't leave a smell, and in a small room trying to go back to bed may suck. But anyway, I am hoping by 4 months she won't be doing this, but we are getting her at 8 weeks old, so I'm going to assume it will happen a few times in the first month or so.

[Disco72]

I want to own this cat. I'm horrified by the thought he might belong to somebody, though. I've gone ahead and made some found cat postings, so we'll see if anything comes of that. How long do I give to sort those things out before we go ahead and more clearly make him ours? I don't want to invest in micro-chipping, vaccinations, collar/tags, etc. just to have someone take the cat a day later. FWIW, we do not plan to let this cat outdoors. He's been very okay with this so far, too, which is surprising. Hasn't made any attempts to go out the door nor does he pay much attention to it at all.

 

There are a number of programs to neuter stray cats to keep the population down. It is entirely possible that this cat was neutered that way. I think you are going about it the right way. You might even post a few "found" flyers around your neighborhood. If there is an owner out there that cares about the cat, they will be looking.

[iamshack]

Yeah, but just because you clean the s*** up doesn't mean it won't leave a smell, and in a small room trying to go back to bed may suck. But anyway, I am hoping by 4 months she won't be doing this, but we are getting her at 8 weeks old, so I'm going to assume it will happen a few times in the first month or so.

It shouldn't go in there too often...what it will do is WHINE AND CRY ALL NIGHT so you keep taking it out every 30 minutes when all it really wants is to sleep in your bed with you.

[Kyyle23]

Joe I think your dad has started his plan to make you move out. Your only choice is to train the dog at hyper speed. Good luck

[Brian]

The microchip company I have for my dog sends out e-mails if a pet is lost in my area. I swear it seems like I get one about the same cat every other week.

Not sure if it's a system mistake or the owners need to get the hint.

[Jake]

My girlfriend's family had a indoor/outdoor cat who wore a collar and was neutered but not microchipped. He went missing and they found his collar on the ground - it was a breakaway, so it could have been coincidence that it just came off. They tried very hard to find him, but never did. So one of our barometers here is if this was THAT cat, would my girlfriend's family find him? We think yes, now that we've spread the word through the neighborhood and posted on PetFBI (Humane Society doesn't maintain any listings themselves, they refer everyone to PetFBI) and Craigslist.

 

It's crazy to think someone might have abandoned this cat. He's so well mannered. Uses his box, is affectionate, doesn't scratch things, etc. I can hardly think of a less offensive animal to have around.

[Kyyle23]

My girlfriend's family had a indoor/outdoor cat who wore a collar and was neutered but not microchipped. He went missing and they found his collar on the ground - it was a breakaway, so it could have been coincidence that it just came off. They tried very hard to find him, but never did. So one of our barometers here is if this was THAT cat, would my girlfriend's family find him? We think yes, now that we've spread the word through the neighborhood and posted on PetFBI (Humane Society doesn't maintain any listings themselves, they refer everyone to PetFBI) and Craigslist.

 

It's crazy to think someone might have abandoned this cat. He's so well mannered. Uses his box, is affectionate, doesn't scratch things, etc. I can hardly think of a less offensive animal to have around.

 

Some cats simply love people. I had a cat about 10 years ago that i found as a kitten running around a trailer park in the rain. He was following me as i was delivering a pizza, and i started pulling my car away he started following me. I laughed and told myself "if i open the door, and he jumps in, im taking him". I opened the door, and he walked up to the door, laid on the ground and rolled around, then jumped in my lap.

 

I didnt think twice about grabbing him. It was a pretty seedy trailer park, he was covered in fleas and severely underfed. He was the best cat i ever had, he thought he was one of my dogs, he wasnt scared of them at all.

[Iwritecode]

We inherited a kitten when I was a kid that belonged to our neighbors. They had the mom but for some reason the kitten liked to stay on my parents large, covered front porch. He kept trying to run into the house every time we opened the door so eventually we just kept him. The neighbors didn’t seem to care either way.

 

 

We have a cat now that is the most laid-back and lovable cat (he’s a Tonkinese) I’ve ever met. We found him roaming around my in-laws yard a few years ago. We later figured out the family that he belonged to but they made zero effort to find him and didn’t really seem to care that he was gone. We have no idea why he was outside because he’s not an outdoor cat at all.

 

Some people are just bad pet owners.

 

[IlliniKrush]

When I moved into my house this summer there was a black cat that would show up in the back yard every few days (good omen, eh?). No idea where it came from, figured it was a stray. Few months in, saw it standing next to the neighbors while they were in the driveway, and it's usually on that side of the house, so I presume it's theirs. I then saw another one that started to appear more frequently.

 

It doesn't appear quite as often anymore (I'm guessing they keep it inside more since it's cold), but I was getting irritated with walking outside and having a cat in the yard, at my porch scaring one of us when the door opens, making sure it doesn't get into the garage, get into food if left out on the patio table, or worrying about my small dog going outside in the back yard (who knows how that confrontation would go).

 

I don't think it's too much to ask to keep your pet in your own yard (it's fenced in, but their gate/door is always open), or make some sort of effort to get it back if he wanders away (cat will be outside, but everyone else is inside).

 

I don't let my dog go run around in the neighbor's yard while I'm hanging out inside. Since I just got here a few months ago I haven't said anything to upset the apple cart, but if this starts up again in the spring, I'm going to say something. I don't think that's unreasonable.