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The New & Shiny Pet Thread! (NSF56K)
Janson
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
(Thank you to Bogey for the approval!)
So... I wrote a lovely long post and then accidentally closed the window. C'est la vie.
The upshot of the post was - Mori and I adopted kitties last Tuesday, and I could not see the pet thread anywhere! So here is the new and shiny pet thread.
We've been thinking of adopting for a while, and last weekend we went to a pet adoption fair. After filling out the adoption form (the only way to be able to pet the cats), the lady asked us if we'd consider adopting older cats. We said of course we would! The kittens are adorable (and there were some truly stunning ones - especially Chipper and Seleena and Milkdud), but older cats are much harder to adopt out, and come with the bonus of being calmer and already house-trained. She explained she had been fostering these two orange-and-white sisters for whom she had been struggling to find a home for over three years. How could we say no?
(I must admit, I am partial to black or tortoiseshell or tabby cats, but then Mori is partial to tuxedo and orange cats, so we could never have agreed anyway!)
The girls arrived at our apartment on Tuesday evening and we have been trying to coax them out of the closet ever since.
This is Sugar. She's the shy one. This is the only decent photo I have of her, and it's not even mine! It's courtesy of Mori's cell phone. She remained tucked behind some coats at the very back of the closet all last evening. She has a beautiful, medium-length rabbit-like coat, very, very soft; I can't wait until she permits us to pet her and groom her. She was actually the more outgoing one at the fair, but that's mainly because she's very protective of her sister. She was once adopted out on her own, but was returned after a week as she was missing her sister too much.
This is Shara. Poor Shara had an allergic reaction to fleas, and subsequently lost a lot of her coat. She's completely bald on her stomach and one ear, and her back legs and tail are really patchy. You fortunately can't really tell here! She appears more shy at first, but she's actually the bolder of the two. She played with us last night.
So, hey, if you are considering adopting a cat, give some consideration to older cats! They are pretty awesome. My parents adopted a 12 year old cat last year and she is VERY mellow, just likes to hang out and receive cuddles.
Good resources for cats:
about.cats.com (Some very good articles there. However, I have NO idea about today's front page. Er...)
www.humanesociety.org
What about guinea-pigs?
We have those too! I feel really bad actually because we bought ours, and then I came across guinea-pig shelters and saw some awesome adoptables in our area. I have no idea why I didn't consider that there'd be guinea-pig shelters. There're even ones for rats and mice!
I last posted pictures of our piggies when they were young and slim. I read that female guinea-pigs weigh between 700 and 1,000 grams. Um. Ours are 1,680 g and 1,550 g. They're on a diet! I'm trying to give them more exercise and we've switched them to healthier pellets.
EDI is such a lady. Like her namesake, she prefers to stay rooted in one place, and is softly-spoken. She is a shoulder-pig. She is the 'lightest', but also the greediest. She equates every rustle of a bag with the opening of a salad bag, and she takes approximately 0.002 seconds to reach the food-bowl after I have filled it with lettuce.
She is also remarkably easy to photograph. All I have to do is place down some food!
Jack, also like her namesake, is certifiably insane. She is the strangest non-guinea-pig-like-pig I have ever known. She likes to be petted a little roughly. She chirps happily all the time once she's in your arms, even though she's a little hard to catch. She looooves Dubh. She also loves anyone who is holding Edi. She will jump onto whoever is holding Edi and butt Edi out of the way. The grass is always greener with Jack.
Look at that fur! She is like a little sponge. Her fur is kinky and pretty coarse.
Guinea-pig and rabbit cages!
Pretty much every commercial cage available for rabbits and guinea-pigs is far too small. They require quite a lot of room. Fotunately it's both easy and cheap to make your own. Actually, I ordered mine from C & C Cages - the lady provides everything you need, ready to assemble, in any colour you like.
I did need to add a roof for the benefit of protecting the piggies from the cats, however, so I bought some spare grids from Target. The grids at Target are not safe enough for use as guinea-pig cage walls (the holes are too large) but since guinea-pigs can't climb I figured they'd be fine for the roof. You can find grids suitable for the walls at Walmart and other retailers (including Amazon).
Here is their cage, open:
It might not look that big, but it's easily two and a half times larger than the biggest pet store cage. I'm actually thinking of expanding it in the future, as I'd like to fit a litter bin in there, and would also like them to be able to run laps easily. (Jack loves running around).
Here is it closed:
It does not close beautifully, but it is pretty secure.
The beauty with the grids is that you can build the cages just about as high and as long or wide as you like!
Resources for guinea-pigs:
www.guineapigcages.com
www.guinealynx.info
So, talk about your pets! Post photos of your dog and make Mori jealous (I swear, one day we might as well just move out to farm).
So... I wrote a lovely long post and then accidentally closed the window. C'est la vie.
The upshot of the post was - Mori and I adopted kitties last Tuesday, and I could not see the pet thread anywhere! So here is the new and shiny pet thread.
We've been thinking of adopting for a while, and last weekend we went to a pet adoption fair. After filling out the adoption form (the only way to be able to pet the cats), the lady asked us if we'd consider adopting older cats. We said of course we would! The kittens are adorable (and there were some truly stunning ones - especially Chipper and Seleena and Milkdud), but older cats are much harder to adopt out, and come with the bonus of being calmer and already house-trained. She explained she had been fostering these two orange-and-white sisters for whom she had been struggling to find a home for over three years. How could we say no?
(I must admit, I am partial to black or tortoiseshell or tabby cats, but then Mori is partial to tuxedo and orange cats, so we could never have agreed anyway!)
The girls arrived at our apartment on Tuesday evening and we have been trying to coax them out of the closet ever since.
This is Sugar. She's the shy one. This is the only decent photo I have of her, and it's not even mine! It's courtesy of Mori's cell phone. She remained tucked behind some coats at the very back of the closet all last evening. She has a beautiful, medium-length rabbit-like coat, very, very soft; I can't wait until she permits us to pet her and groom her. She was actually the more outgoing one at the fair, but that's mainly because she's very protective of her sister. She was once adopted out on her own, but was returned after a week as she was missing her sister too much.
This is Shara. Poor Shara had an allergic reaction to fleas, and subsequently lost a lot of her coat. She's completely bald on her stomach and one ear, and her back legs and tail are really patchy. You fortunately can't really tell here! She appears more shy at first, but she's actually the bolder of the two. She played with us last night.
So, hey, if you are considering adopting a cat, give some consideration to older cats! They are pretty awesome. My parents adopted a 12 year old cat last year and she is VERY mellow, just likes to hang out and receive cuddles.
Good resources for cats:
about.cats.com (Some very good articles there. However, I have NO idea about today's front page. Er...)
www.humanesociety.org
What about guinea-pigs?
We have those too! I feel really bad actually because we bought ours, and then I came across guinea-pig shelters and saw some awesome adoptables in our area. I have no idea why I didn't consider that there'd be guinea-pig shelters. There're even ones for rats and mice!
I last posted pictures of our piggies when they were young and slim. I read that female guinea-pigs weigh between 700 and 1,000 grams. Um. Ours are 1,680 g and 1,550 g. They're on a diet! I'm trying to give them more exercise and we've switched them to healthier pellets.
EDI is such a lady. Like her namesake, she prefers to stay rooted in one place, and is softly-spoken. She is a shoulder-pig. She is the 'lightest', but also the greediest. She equates every rustle of a bag with the opening of a salad bag, and she takes approximately 0.002 seconds to reach the food-bowl after I have filled it with lettuce.
She is also remarkably easy to photograph. All I have to do is place down some food!
Jack, also like her namesake, is certifiably insane. She is the strangest non-guinea-pig-like-pig I have ever known. She likes to be petted a little roughly. She chirps happily all the time once she's in your arms, even though she's a little hard to catch. She looooves Dubh. She also loves anyone who is holding Edi. She will jump onto whoever is holding Edi and butt Edi out of the way. The grass is always greener with Jack.
Look at that fur! She is like a little sponge. Her fur is kinky and pretty coarse.
Guinea-pig and rabbit cages!
Pretty much every commercial cage available for rabbits and guinea-pigs is far too small. They require quite a lot of room. Fotunately it's both easy and cheap to make your own. Actually, I ordered mine from C & C Cages - the lady provides everything you need, ready to assemble, in any colour you like.
I did need to add a roof for the benefit of protecting the piggies from the cats, however, so I bought some spare grids from Target. The grids at Target are not safe enough for use as guinea-pig cage walls (the holes are too large) but since guinea-pigs can't climb I figured they'd be fine for the roof. You can find grids suitable for the walls at Walmart and other retailers (including Amazon).
Here is their cage, open:
It might not look that big, but it's easily two and a half times larger than the biggest pet store cage. I'm actually thinking of expanding it in the future, as I'd like to fit a litter bin in there, and would also like them to be able to run laps easily. (Jack loves running around).
Here is it closed:
It does not close beautifully, but it is pretty secure.
The beauty with the grids is that you can build the cages just about as high and as long or wide as you like!
Resources for guinea-pigs:
www.guineapigcages.com
www.guinealynx.info
So, talk about your pets! Post photos of your dog and make Mori jealous (I swear, one day we might as well just move out to farm).
Janson on
0
Posts
ALSO ALL THE DACHSHUNDS
AND ALL THE BUNNIES
Or, corgis wearing bunny ears, I guess!
Also, in many areas black cats are also harder to adopt out. So I recommend people to consider both older cats and black cats!
Example:
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
That's exactly why we wouldn't want to get a dog in this apartment
It's a big apartment but there's really no places around here to walk it, plus I'd like to give it a yard to run around in
And that is a gorgeous coat colour, Hunter
The other day I went to the zoo with Dubh, and met some of the guinea-pigs' cousins:
That's what dachshunds are for
Not that I don't want to get Monty a yard anyway
...you were saying?
Haha, poor Shara! You can really see how ratty her fur is right there.
(And yes, they are!)
Classy lads (intrigued by kitties)
girl loves water dogs
brittanies are great dogs, but personally I lean toward malinois
My buddy from work has a malinois. Nice dogs and very protective.
Although, this is why I want an Australian Cattle dog of the blue variety.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMdYN7J4zGk
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
an older cat is what we've been thinking about, though I love kittens to bittens
sometime's he's...not
Follow me on Twitter??
I can't get over how tiny he is
and he probably won't get much bigger as his siblings are already larger than him.
Here's my friend's cat. Yes, her eyes are huge
This is Gus
And the "sibling" he likes to torment, Zoe
A kitten grows so quickly, though
and he/she will take a lot more training!
Our cats already know how to use a litter box, and don't feel the need to pat and claw everything in sight
Also, kittens are best adopted as pairs, whereas it's quite easy to find solitary older cats
so
so bad
but they are sheep dogs and I'm surrounded on all sides by cattle and he would love it for about two seconds before a farmer shot him dead thinking he was a coyote or something.
it bums me out so much
so this morning my wife woke me up saying our cat was pawing at his mouth and sort of acting really, really strange when he tried to eat his breakfast. I told her to take her shower and keep an eye on him and went back to sleep, hoping it was nothing. Two minutes later she comes back out, saying, "There's blood, what do we do?"
I get up and sure enough, he's got blood on his paw where he's been wiping at his mouth. Poor little dude keeps licking his lips, and when he's not, he's sticking his tongue out. Something is for sure wrong. We call up the emergency vet and I scramble to get dressed, we get him in the cat crate and I bring him in. By the time I see the doc, he's pretty chilled out in his little crate, just sitting there looking nervous with his tongue sticking out.
We get a good look at him and he's got a pretty big cut on the inside of his cheek. He probably got it wrestling with his brother or he bit it on accident trying to eat his kibble in the morning. Either way, we got him some antibiotics and some pain meds to keep him from freaking out. He's still hardly eating, we're only giving him soft food for the week now to keep him from re-opening it but so far he'll only take a bite or two before wincing and slinking off to go hide somewhere. It sucks, there's nothing I can really do, but he'll be okay.
everything here is super true
we got a pair of kittens just because my wife had never really had cats and I wanted to make sure we got to see them grow and get strong bonding, and we wanted to raise them as inside-only, which can be tough with an older cat if they've had inside-outside privileges their whole lives, but I'd never want to raise a kitten alone, only as a pair. They're much easier to care for then dogs, and are super affectionate but still really self-reliant. If I only wanted a single pet, I'd go for an older cat, no question.
She never tires. She is the god-dog, who will outlive us all and be the last living being in the universe, frolicking in a cloud of plasma when the universe finally dies.
this is his brother greg. I have reason to believe he is part Batman.
Edited to say, of course there is nothing wrong with adopting kittens, either. Just encourage people who either want just one cat or don't mind what age of cat to go for to adopt older cats.
Catman?
Catcat
greg is a little more sleek, but they're both super snuggly dudes
It's pretty adorable.
That is one adorable yet freakishly twisty cat.
Steam ID - VeldrinD
this is where rosa likes to sleep
my first pet and much loved kitty lily who died in januray
you and Jess have excellent taste in dog breeds, then. I grew up with springer spaniels, but the last dog my parents got before I moved out was a brittany and he is amazing.
Belgian Shepherds were in the running before we decided to get Collies. Malinois are great, but I tend to prefer the longer-furred Tervuren and Groenendaels. Groen's in particular are gorgeous dogs. But then, I'm a sucker for fluffy dogs.
Cormac:
I am also a fan of adopting adult cats - I took home what has turned out to be the most unbelievably affectionate cat I have ever met from a shelter. Fletcher's the best.
Cormac is a very pretty dog though.