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What PET(s) are you PETTING?
SebastianBludd wrote: Zoey
Oh my. I am so very sorry, but I am very proud of you for the life and love you gave Zoey. I can also relate to your story.
I never had a cat or a dog growing up. When I got older and moved out, my wife and I got Mittens when she was a kitten back in 1999. We named her this because from the very first moment when I was signing her papers, she started batting at the pen cap methodically as if she was almost trying to pick it up but couldn't because it was like she had mittens on. Mittens was always up to something, and we were always amazed at how smart she was. When she was an ornery kitten, we tried the spray bottle of water on her. Well, that didn't work that great because she'd find the spray bottles (yes, multiples) and bite holes in them. We tried getting some feeders with timers for her food, but she figured out a way to jimmy the tray out and get to the food.
When we moved into our house, she got lost at one point early on. There were guys coming in and out of our house to do repairs, so we thought she ran out. We looked for her outside but couldn't find her. Then, one of the guys told us he saw her on our treadmill in the basement. It turned out, she figured out a way to climb up that treadmill that was against a hole in the wall where the water access was. She jumped into the hole and went into a crawl space behind the wall. We opened up the access that was near the bottom and got her out. She just trotted out covered with cobwebs and acted like it was no big deal.
About 6 years ago, we got another cat named Dolce. She belonged to some friends who were having trouble with her. Dolce had started peeing on the floor after their 3 other cats had passed away within a year. Well, we took her in to see if she could behave and she did fine. Mittens and Dolce were absolutely opposite in every way. Mittens was quiet, smart, bold, playful, but not a cuddler. Dolce was vocal, a bit dumb (she chased her tail quite a bit), scared of everything, lazy, but loved to cuddle especially in bed. Mittens and Dolce didn't really care for each other at all, but it worked out fine since they kept apart and we didn't have to deal with territorial fighting nonsense. We loved both cats, but Mittens seemed to be more attached to me and Dolce was more attached to my wife.
Last year, we noticed Dolce wasn't eating much and she had started to lose weight. We took her to the vet where they found a baseball sized tumor in her stomach. It was a very fast cancer, and there wasn't any hope for her. We had to put her to sleep right then. It was devastating losing her like that, but she really did have a good long life of 15 years and she went fast. If we hadn't fostered her 6 years ago, she probably would have wasted away at a shelter or something. Her life was even more remarkable when you realize she had been run over by a car when she was a kitten. She wasn't very smart, as I mentioned, and she fell asleep in a parking lot somewhere. A car hit her, but a local vet saved her life by placing a plate in her hip. By the way, that same vet was Dolce's vet for her entire life all the way to the day she died. It broke his heart to see her go, but I felt happy for Dolce that someone else in this world had cared about her that much. By the way, we lost Dolce on Mittens' birthday.
So, we were left with good old Mittens. She was still acting her old self even after Dolce passed. In some ways, she kind of picked up on some of Dolce's vocalizations and habits. During this time, my wife decided to get a pet bird. We got a conure and named him Frey because my wife is a huge Eagles fan and Glenn Frey passed away just after Frey had hatched. Amazingly, Frey and Mittens got along fine. I'm sure Mittens would have eaten Frey if he decided to go near her, but she never felt like putting enough effort into trying to catch him.
Right around the time we brought Frey home, Mittens was diagnosed with diabetes and hyperthyroidism. This is apparently pretty common in older cats. She had started peeing and drinking a lot and her blood sugar was quite high. At first, giving her shots was a nightmare since we had to catch her. She was too smart to be tricked the same way more than a couple of times, so we had to think of new ways to give her the shot. She loved playing in her tube toy, and that was the best way we got her to take her shots. Eventually, she got used to her shots and didn't struggle at all.
Well, a few weeks ago, when I was on my way home from work, my wife called me and told me she had found Mittens lying outside her litter box covered in poop and she was panting hard. I got home as fast as I could and then we took her to the vet. She was conscious but unable to walk or stand. When we got her to the vet, they learned her blood sugar was fine, but her eyes were slightly darting and her pupils weren't dilating in response to light. She had basically suffered a stroke-like incident. Rather than put her through more tests and suffering, we decided to say good-bye to her. This was almost a month ago, and I'm still getting teary-eyed thinking of her. I loved her with all my heart, and the impression she left on us and the memories she left around the house with all her habits still remain fresh. She was 17 and I know we gave her a good life and I'm glad she went really fast, but it still hurts a lot. By the way, the 2 days after Mittens passed away, Frey started calling for her by name and then saying "Come here" which is one of his other phrases he had learned. He still calls for her sometimes, and it's heart-wrenching. I didn't realize how much she had meant to him.
So, we just have Frey now. Frey isn't even a year old, but he has an amazing personality. He's a dick too. He bites us quite a bit and now he's going through the "humping our hand" phase. Conures can live 25-30 years, so it's possible he may outlive us since we're both 44. In the meantime, I think we'll stick with just him. There's no way a cat or a dog could live with him. Mittens was special, though, and likely too old to try and hurt him. So, that's basically it.
Here are some pics (Mittens was a tortoiseshell and Dolce was a tuxedo).
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And by next spring, Chickens. By the spring after if the Chicken experiment is successful, Bee's.
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Mr. White wrote: We've considering being one of those boardinghouses for service dogs in training, but haven't had the time to actively move on it. We do allow pets to stay over when friends go out of town though. We figure constant TLC from the kids is better than being boarded. Plus, the kids get some pet time without us actually having a pet that holds up travel or what not. Win-win so far, but again...the pressure for our own is mounting...
A friend of mine has fostered service dogs. I love the idea in some ways, but fear I'd grow too attached to the dog and be bummed when I had to watch it go to its new owner. My current schedule of living in two different places and a busy work schedule preclude me from owning pets, but I have no problem house sitting for friends and refuse payment for doing so.
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- SuperflyPete
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About a month ago we got a new dog ("free to a good home") because I thought the other pup needed company. New dog is pretty much an asshole. He clearly wants to be liked and be part of the team but he's a fuckup. Chews everything inside and out. Digs the shit out of the backyard. Digs under the fence and gets out. Rips holes in the chain link when he can't be bothered to dig under it, and gets out. And then he and mellow dog decide to go exploring the neighborhood. I've gotten three calls in the last week where we had to leave work and go pick the dogs up from a neighbor's. Including once where he was tied up and managed to pop off a tight collar before chewing it up and taking off. I am pretty much at my wit's end. Even got a "wireless fence" with a shock collar, which I can't get to buzz at a consistent range from the base. And on top of it he's "playful" and "high energy" and has acted suspiciously towards the toddler, so they can't be together unsupervised, ever.
It's depressing/enraging. Maybe if I had better dog training skills I could solve the behavioral problems but I can't. I've never taken an animal to the pound in my life, but at this point it's either that or put the sorry shithead down. Which I've also never done before. Sigh.
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