The Pet Thread

[diirk]

So majestic....lol.
Such a poser.

[happyjack]

Originally Posted by diirk

So majestic....lol.
Such a poser.

jack russell terrorist?

we had one. definitely a unique dog. SMART dog! sweet when she wanted to be, but also her teeth were nearly the same size as our 75-lb labrador. the JRT bullied that lab to no end.

if JRTs were the size of labradors, they might rule the planet.

[diirk]

Originally Posted by happyjack

jack russell terrorist?

we had one. definitely a unique dog. SMART dog! sweet when she wanted to be, but also her teeth were nearly the same size as our 75-lb labrador. the JRT bullied that lab to no end.

if JRTs were the size of labradors, they might rule the planet.

LOL. We really lucked out. She is pretty lazy overall, and the only ones she ever terrorized were my friends that would use my shop while I was at work.
We had a Husky that would get my friends attention, then the two small dogs would come in from behind and try to hamstring them. They were like little Velociraptors.

[SaMaster14]

Bear and Snow!

[Watching The World Burn]

Originally Posted by SaMaster14

Bear and Snow!

I imagine it could be fun calling for Bear in a public forest frequented by people. Lots of people checking their six, beating feet away from the voice indicating there is a bear sighted. Gotta be somewhat peaceful just walking by yourself.

[SaMaster14]

Originally Posted by Watching The World Burn

I imagine it could be fun calling for Bear in a public forest frequented by people. Lots of people checking their six, beating feet away from the voice indicating there is a bear sighted. Gotta be somewhat peaceful just walking by yourself.

You’re not wrong 😅

[Esteban]

Kitty is lounging, which she does a lot. She also loves to play and run through the house (zoomies) and get lots of love. She will be 11 this year. She is very sweet and is my favorite cat and I've had them all my life.

[diirk]

We're in the process of adopting this little flufferbutt.
His name is Tucker. He's part sheepdog, part poodle.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Kitty is lounging, which she does a lot. She also loves to play and run through the house (zoomies) and get lots of love. She will be 11 this year. She is very sweet and is my favorite cat and I've had them all my life.

As a former trackster, in this household we call those zoomies 'track meets'. They're the furballs' equivalent of the indoor 60-meter dash: super-fast start, extremely quick acceleration to top speed, and over with about the time you realize what all that noise is about (hard flooring here). We love that sound, as it tells us that our 16½-year old cat is still getting it on!

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by dradernh

As a former trackster, in this household we call those zoomies 'track meets'. They're the furballs' equivalent of the indoor 60-meter dash: super-fast start, extremely quick acceleration to top speed, and over with about the time you realize what all that noise is about (hard flooring here). We love that sound, as it tells us that our 16½-year old cat is still getting it on!

According to the internet:

"Creme Puff is the oldest cat ever at 38 years and 3 days old. She was born on August 3, 1967, and died on August 6, 2005."

Which means our kitties have the possibility of many years of fun and exhilarating zoomies left. Possible, but not likely to go that far.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Esteban

According to the internet:

"Creme Puff is the oldest cat ever at 38 years and 3 days old. She was born on August 3, 1967, and died on August 6, 2005."

Which means our kitties have the possibility of many years of fun and exhilarating zoomies left. Possible, but not likely to go that far.

Thirty-eight years of age for a cat is unbelievable, isn't it.

Going back to the mid-70s, we've had six fur balls, and the current one is the longest-lived. We've never stinted on food quality or medical care, so maybe a specific cats' native longevity is about genetics.

I'll say this: if our fur ball lives to 30+ years of age, she's definitely going to outlive us, and not by just a few years!

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Thirty-eight years of age for a cat is unbelievable, isn't it.

Going back to the mid-70s, we've had six fur balls, and the current one is the longest-lived. We've never stinted on food quality or medical care, so maybe a specific cats' native longevity is about genetics.

I'll say this: if our fur ball lives to 30+ years of age, she's definitely going to outlive us, and not by just a few years!

My oldest cat lived to 14 and died from lymphoma. It was very sad. I loved him dearly.

My older sister had a cat that lived in to his 20s. I think he was 22 but I'm not positive.

[Esteban]

BTW, dradernh, I like “track meets.” We might start using that expression around here. I’ll ask Sam (my kitty) and see if she approves.

[Maynard]

According to the guys on VinWiki, its safer to call them 'rallys'. I think the flooring takes a hit either way. At our place, the starting grid usually forms as I start a work video call.

[R BMW]

Funny story about one of my former cats.
Christmas tree tinsel is made from plastic. Joey decided to eat some. Well he came running out of the litter box a few days later with a turd following him attached to the end of a piece of tinsel.
When I pulled it out the rest of the way, he took off faster than any car I've ever seen. Zero to 60 in 1 second.
We stopped using tinsel after that.

[Esteban]

^ I pulled out some string one time from one of my cats. He didn't like it at all. He hissed at me and took off running. That must not feel too good. Don’t think I’d like it either. lol

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Esteban

^ I pulled out some string one time from one of my cats. He didn't like it at all. He hissed at me and took off running. That must not feel too good. Don’t think I’d like it either. lol

We hadn't had a cat in 20 years when we moved to the country and had to get some to keep Rodent World at bay.

We got the first cat and took him in for shots, etc. The vet practice was only for cats, and the vet shared two useful pieces of info with us:

1) if the cat swallows a piece of string and doesn't pass it, it will cost you $1,800 for me to operate and remove it ; and,

2) a cat is not a dog or like a dog. doh, right? the vet sees our failure to get it and says "They're wild animals, and you'll be better owners if you remember it." and she was right!

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by dradernh

We hadn't had a cat in 20 years when we moved to the country and had to get some to keep Rodent World at bay.

We got the first cat and took him in for shots, etc. The vet practice was only for cats, and the vet shared two useful pieces of info with us:

1) if the cat swallows a piece of string and doesn't pass it, it will cost you $1,800 for me to operate and remove it ; and,

2) a cat is not a dog or like a dog. doh, right? the vet sees our failure to get it and says "They're wild animals, and you'll be better owners if you remember it." and she was right!

I don’t think of them as wild animals but they’re not like domestic dogs either. Definitely something different.

[Esteban]

^ Oh, and happy that piece of string came out the other end. Would be very UNhappy if I had to pay $1,800 to have it removed. Let’s call it the luck of the Irish. ☘️

[R BMW]

That's why some people don't like cats. They are so independant it's crazy.
They need to be treated like that "special girl friend"

[M-technik-3]

Mine giving me cattitude while waiting for water.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by R BMW

That's why some people don't like cats. They are so independant it's crazy.
They need to be treated like that "special girl friend"

All of ours have been outdoor/indoor cats and have had the opportunity to be pretty independent. Only our first one had a cat door into the house. That was when we lived in an apartment in San Francisco. His outdoor world was the building's back stairs and especially the roof, where he could roam up and down the block. He'd come in at night, but otherwise we didn't see him except when he felt like visiting.

The other five came along much later when we lived in the country, and they were mostly let-in to eat. They had to be kept separated when being fed or the wildest one would have found a way to eat all five cats' food. We'd let them in for an hour or two in the evening, but they spent the night, and in the winter, the days, too, in a kennel. From there, they could get to the outdoors and also into a breezeway (glassed-in in the winter and screened in the summer) where they could hang, bring their kills in, and play on their cat condos and with their toys.

All six of those cats were certainly the definition of independent. Only one had that "special girl friend" thing going on. While she was small, she was more wild and aggressive than the other five put together. Due to ranging too far from home while hunting at night, that got her killed at age 3. Oddly, maybe, she wasn't just the most aggressive, she was also by far the sweetest and most friendly. That was one heckuva cat, and we were very saddened when we lost her. Given how many predators were roaming about at night there, it's a miracle we didn't lose more of them.