Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
Pam, is Chloe a kitten?
I remember my first kitten 65 years ago, there at the top of the tree was this orange kitten with really big eyes. Oh boy, a real tree in the house, there is a Santa !! My parents had a heck of a time trying to keep her out of the tree and from drinking the water in the tree base.
Also learned quickly, do not add tinsel to the tree. A cat will eat it, and the results were quite interesting in the litter box. Safer not to experiment with tinsel at all as it can be harmful.
Then I learned to put soft decorations around the lower part of the tree, so if those were batted off, and flung under the sofa, no harm done. Or finding a decoration in the dry cat food as a "thank you".
I am just popping in and out to say hi - back later. Company coming over, so it's a cleaning day. Taking a quick sit down break while robovac does its thing.
I finally dragged mom's Christmas tree out yesterday. It's Bruce's first Christmas tree. He thinks it's a fruit-producing tree.....if that fruit were lovely, shiny, jingly little cat toys!! He keeps stealing the decorations! I don't know what I'm going to do about this....maybe I'll have to hot glue them on, or wire them to the branches....
Chloe is doing great with her pad training! Almost no accidents this week, and she is doing her business outside when we walk her. Yippee!! However, she is a total land shark with the teething! We have found she really can't have stuffed toys. she is demolishing them and then she poops with an occasional string..boo! So I need to get a few of the stuffingless toys they make
I want a pet!! Someday soon I'll get one, but not just yet.
Sharyn, that sounds so holiday-perfect to watch that movie with the puppy at your side. Sounds nice.
Wanted to let you know I think the squirt bottle might be working! I tried it this afternoon and Bruce was all puzzled, like, "WTF just happened?" Then he licked all the water off himself and settled down on my leg to fall asleep. Lol! So I went out to the dollar store and bought one for every room. :-P
Did you ever see the heartwarming movie of Hachiko, a very devoted Akita who mourned his owner for several years after the man died? It's also quite sad though; if you watch the movie, put a box of Kleenex next to you.
As to Bruce, try the water bottle suggested by Veronica. My sister had to use it with some of her dogs, all of which were rescue dogs, including her wonderfully charming Chow Chow. But it was the smaller Chihuahua who needed it the most. Poor little thing had been abused by his former owner who kept him in a closet.
CM, I admire your tenacity; I don't think I've venture into a chicken to chicken fight. Got quite a chuckle from the idea of pulling a dog along like a sled!
FF, I can picture your cat wanting attention all his life, playing the proud male for 2 females, "strutting his stuff". Isn't it fascinating how animals and humans have some of the same traits?
When they were all in kitten stage, there was a lot of play fighting going on with each other. It's practice in case the kitten find his/herself outside.
All the veterinary websites say dogs do not need snow boots and their paws will not freeze (unless you do something stupid and cruel like leave them tethered outdoors below -16º or something). They can get frostbite but only after prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures.
Dog doesn't care. It's cold and hard and slippy and he doesn't like it.
The trouble is, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't much care for non-slip hiking boots @ £25 the pair, either; and I'd just be stuck pulling along a dog still on his bottom but with reflective boots on for added humiliation.
Putting a lot of hope in The Big Snip, lol. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to talk to the vet about Bruce's aggression. He really just wants to play! But that's the only kind of play he wants right now.
Which is typical "boy," really. I have twin stepbrothers the same age as me. When they were 12 (when we all met), they used to wrestle up and down the hallway all evening long! Even board games had a touch of violence. "You got the Ace/King!" *smack* "You got Boardwalk and Park Place!" *whack*
Confession time: I once smacked a chicken. Pointless, yes - completely pointless, she even looked at me defiantly with a "what was that?" expression on her face - but I was outraged. She had just flown over a half open barn door into the utility room where her main rival's second-in-command was in quarantine, being tended for suspected egg-binding, and beaten her up. That hen had not a shred of compassion about her, nothing but an iron determination to win at all costs.
I shut her in the shed and left her there all night to reflect on her wickedness. That didn't work either.
ff - I'll check that out for sure. Made it to the pet store today, as I needed regular food and also some fresh toys for the young demon kitten.
New pic of Bruce is my new profile pic! Took it Sunday...he may be the least photogenic cat I've ever been owned by.
Pam, how is little Chloe doing with the toilet training?
Bruce really is getting fighty. Mom complained of it when I got home tonight, and told me I needed to "bring him in line." I'm like, I TOLD you he was fighty, I TOLD you I was working on him, just put him in the laundry room if he goes after you! But she's all upset like I'm the one who's made him this way. Um. He's a boy. Kitten. 4 months old. Not yet neutered. Hasn't gotten to kill anything for real yet, not even a moth. This is what they're like. He'll get better when he's fixed.
He's mad at me right now because I was gone all day, and then he just wanted to bite-fight when I got home. He WON'T listen to the stern no. And when he gets in THAT mood, almost nothing stops him. I actually had to give him a little whack on the head and throw him out of the room. I don't believe in hitting, but this is getting out of hand. I'm going to have to get water pistols and a holster, I think.
The funny thing is, with my old girl cat, she just has to look at him and he rolls over in submission.
Dang, I REALLY hope getting him neutered helps!!! Three more weeks.
So...I'm wondering if anyone has any of those large dogs, such as a Newfoundland or St. Bernard? For some reason, I think they're just adorable, especially the ones with their tongues hanging out.
I met 2 Newfies touring an annual arts and crafts show; they were delighting the other visitors with their friendliness and massive, soft, furry and strong bodies. My father and I both love dogs, so we gave the 2 Newfies lots of hugs before they moved on to become acquainted with other arts and crafts lovers.
Perhaps your cat likes your husband because of his ample warmth? As I recall, my cats were also snuggled up on my lap as well. I loved that feeling! They're so soft and cuddly.
I had a cat called Fred and when we moved he spent two days on our bed. never left not even for food or the bathroom.
My current cat when I have been away for long periods as in hospital refuses to have anything to do with me and prefers hubby who I must admit has developed a big soft belly
Occasionally when I'm working up in my "studio", I find little fur balls on the fabric, reminding me that one sweet furry friend was at one time napping on the fabric.
GA - I know what you mean, my girl cat was pretty upset with me when I started staying with mom. I still don't think she's really happy. In the new year, my friend is ending his sublet of my apartment (new job out of town), and I'm going to try maybe going home for the weekends, with the cats. Not sure if that will make things better or worse for them! Better for me, anyway.
I've run out of Temptations, but my leg hurt so much this weekend I haven't gone to get more. OHHH the trouble I am in around here! Every time I make a bag crackle they are two feet away from me, staring with big saucer eyes. What do they put in those things anyway? Temptations are like kitty crack!
After reading some of the posts here, mostly the ones about cats, I think you all should write a book about cat antics.
I miss my two, now long gone. But with being gone so much to care for Dad, I really don't want to get another cat now, or even until after I move. My two were traumatized when I moved from an apartment to a house, although they eventually got used to the new space with all the places to hide and jump on.
Bernadette had quite the adventure when she got outside and promptly climbed the Colorado Blue spruce in my back yard, then was too frightened to come down. And this was just the time I had to leave to catch the bus for work.
As for the play fight with your chin and nose, say in a very stern voice "NOT NOW"... for some strange reason all of my cats throughout the many many decades knew what that meant. Usually it works at that point in time, and it's back to square one the next day :)