Critters--tame and otherwise

[qohart]

Pet, is this a tame or an otherwise type of animal?

[Artiespet]

You know him you tell me LOL I think it depends on the time of day.

[Double Take]

I share my bed with dogs as well as cats. This is my oldest collie, Chomper, competing at an agility trial last January. He is currently snoozing on the bed next to me. At night he sleep on the bed when the weather is cool, but prefers the tile floor when it is warm.

[California gal]

He's a beauty, DT. I've never owned a collie, but I love them. I was noticing earlier how much collies resemble coyotes, especially in the shape of muzzles.

[California gal]

Does Kenneth's tattoo say "MOM" in Chinese? ;D

[Artiespet]

DT he's very hadnsome!

CG Nope the boy doesn't have mom anywhere LOL that arm says gemini (his and my brithsign) the left says superman (his nickname) He does have a cool tat on his right shoulder in honor of his dad guess I gotta kick the bucket before I get that honor LOL

[qohart]

Here are my baby boys. Scrappy is 13 now and was rescued by my son from under the dipsy dumpster where he worked after the mama was hit by a car and killed. He was the runt of the litter and is now 18 pounds of pure muscle.



And this is Sahara, who is 7 now. We rescued him from the pound when he was 3 months old. He was abused by his previous owners because he didn't know how to use the litter box. However they kept him as an outdoor cat even at that young age so what did they expect? The whole world was his litter box. He is a cuddly, lovable little boy and 10 pounds of pure terrorst. (to Scrappy)

[California gal]

What a great pair. Scrappy resembles my late Cotton who was quite a personality. He used to drive me nuts--and after I lost him I missed him more than any cat I'd ever had!

[Artiespet]

Well believe me Saraha sure seems to be a terrorist when I'm on the phone with her he's always getting yelled at for terrorizing Scrappy LOL

[Double Take]

Sahara is a great name for a ginger cat! Isn't it funny that size doesn't have much to do with who is boss?

[qohart]

Yeah, Scrappy used to be the boss. When we brought Sahara home Scrappy made it clear to Sahara that "Everything is mine, nothing is yours". And Sahara trotted happily behind Scrappy no matter where he went. Now Scrappy never stops moving. Even when he's asleep, the tip of his tail still twitches. Sahara started out by attacking that. Scrappy would jump up face Sahara and literally yell at him then smack him with his paw. Fast forward to present and now Sahara still follows Scrappy around but with the intention of pulling his back leg out from under him so the old boy falls over. Then the hissing starts and the chasing around the house and it goes on all night sometimes. Sounds like a herd of elephants thundering up and down the stairs.

[California gal]

My cats have an interesting relationship. There are times when Princess will walk clear on the other side of the room so as not to be too near Brandy. And other times, Brandy will crouch and cower if Princess approaches her. Then when Princess turns around... Brandy pounces on her.

Brandy did the same thing with the cat I had when I first brought her home. Punky was an older (neutered) male, a big black cat. There were times when the two got along great and then other times when it seemed as though Punky had scared the you-know-what out of Brandy and I would worry that I was going to have to get cat counseling. Then all of a sudden, out of the blue, Brandy would jump on Punky!

I suspect Brandy learned some of her strategies in the 80-cat household. Undoubtedly she had to look out for herself there. She has one habit I'm sure she learned there--when she's eating, she'll grab a morsel and run away from the food dish with it, eat it, then come back for more. She doesn't do that all the time, but I bet it was a way she could get a little extra.

But these two also chase each other around. It's funny, they'll head into the bedroom with Brandy doing the chasing, then return with Princess the pursuer. And they do indeed sound like a herd of wild horses. No one ever told them about "little cat feet."

[Artiespet]

LOL funny story CG! When we had both Duke and Zeus (and jessicas chiauhaha) they would all run around the apartment chasing each other. It was funny to watch the gang run around. they would run past my door with one of them in the lead and when they came back by a min or so later someone else would be in the lead lol

[Double Take]

My cats have a strange relationship as well, but more with the dogs even than with each other. My older cat, Snow, will get a burr up her butt and decide to harass the dogs. She usually picks Chomper who doesn't appreciate her attention. One day she followed him into the bedroom, jumped up on the bed beside him and started rubbing her head against his feet. He just glared at her and jumped down. He knows he will get into trouble if he growls at her (especially if I am in the room). My younger collie gets on much better with her, and even plays with her sometimes.

My younger cat is an odd one as well. If I go away and take the dogs she goes into hiding. My mother will come over to feed them and Chance will disappear if she approaches. She won't even come to me. The minute the dogs are back in the house, she's on the bed waiting to be petted.

[Artiespet]

I've worked with Duke since Kenneth first dropped him off at my place. When he first brought Duke and Zeus to me you couldn't even try to pet Duke let alone get near him. Now he will come to the ones he likes and gently pat you with a paw if he wants you to hold him (holding this cat was NOT an option for the first 6 months) and for the most part he has stopped biting when he wants down now he just jumps.

[California gal]

I mentioned before that both cats like to be on my lap. Brandy will snuggle down and go to sleep, but Princess keeps wiggling and wants me to scratch and pet her. Usually, when i sit down to have my coffee and read the paper in the morning, that's when Princess will claim my lap (about 75% of the time Brandy is still in on the bed--she sometimes doesn't get up until noon!).

Afternoons and evenings is when Brandy will claim my lap. And sometimes Princess will too. But what's funny is that if Brandy is on my lap, Princess will join her. If Princess is on my lap, Brandy won't come near. And if Brandy happens to come and get on my lap in the early morning, Princess has a hissy-fit. Well, she doesn't hiss, but she will jump up on the arm of the couch and bat at Brandy. This is the one place where Brandy will usually stand her ground. She'll flatten her ears and duck her head, but won't get down.

Here's a picture I took when they were both on my lap. You see what Brandy and I have to pout up with!

[qohart]

My son worked at a Shell gas station when he found Scrappy and his siblings. They were only a week old and Scrap fit in the pocket of my t shirt. His name was going to be Shelly until his true nature showed. The little bugger hissed and clawed at Wes, my son, when he pulled him out from under the dumpster. So he became Scrappy, because he was. He used to sit or lay on my shoulder while I went about my business around the house. Softie. He only like to play at being a tough guy.

Sahara was Sahara from day one. He has ginger colored fur with pale sand colored streaks. Like a desert so Sahara it was. He has a way of looking at you with rapt attention as though he understands evertying and a look in his eye that says "Every word from your mouth is a drop of gold." LOL He loves to be held and snuggled.

My two guys have a love/hate relationship. Scrappy hates Sahara when he is the victim of Sahara's shenanigans but if he can't find Sahara, the usually silent Scrappy will sit in the middle of the living room and yowl until Sahara comes out of hiding. They sleep on the love seat at opposite ends most of the time but have been known to curl up together too. Go figure.

[Artiespet]

CG those are two cute babies!

[Paradox Eyes]

This is our Neo. He just showed up on our doorstep in the woods last fall. His hind legs had both been injured like he'd been in a snare or trap of some kind. My husband checked with all the neighbors and no one claimed him. So we adopted him or I should say, he adopted us. He's is just the lovingest cat and smart as a whip! We were able to train him not to claw the furniture and he spent the winter as an indoor cat and now with warm weather, he goes in and out as he pleases. He's joins the Jack Russells on their outings and even stalks and jumps them from time to time. It's really funny to watch the four of them galloping to the house together.

[California gal]

Aw, Neo is so cute. And color coordinated with your couch! A black cat would clash!

[Double Take]

This is Snow. She is 9 now and was picked up off the streets when she was 6 months. I told a lady who rescues cats that I was looking for a big, long-haired, lilac point cat that would get along with three German Shepherds. She called me 2 weeks later and told me she had my cat. Snow is not big, but she is top dog....I mean cat.



I found Chance in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. She was 5 or 6 weeks old. She had probably been dumped because she has long hair and female. She always reminds me of a southern belle. Delicate face and paws and a big body like she is wearing a hoop skirt.

[California gal]

Beautiful cats, DT. I have always favored long-haired cats. Princess is the first short-haired cat I've had in probably 20-25 years. In fact, because she is short-haired I didn't really look at her at first at the SPCA... even though every time I walked by her cage, she stuck a paw through. Then, of course, as soon as I took her out of the cage to get acquainted, she wanted to get to the next cage where a small dog was sleeping.

[Artiespet]

Personally I prefer dogs but living in an apartment cats are the smarter choice. The last foster home I lived in they raised and sold white German shepards, lovely animals. I would love to have one but even in the city I wouldn't recommend it.

[Double Take]

May 3, 2009 6:51:02 GMT -8 Artiespet said:

Personally I prefer dogs but living in an apartment cats are the smarter choice. The last foster home I lived in they raised and sold white German shepards, lovely animals. I would love to have one but even in the city I wouldn't recommend it.

There are some small dogs with big dog attitudes that work in an apartment, like papillons, min pins and miniture dachshunds, but cats are a lot less work. If you want a cat that thinks like a dog try a siamese or siamese mix. Snow has an incredible amount of personality and I would look for another like her in a heartbeat.

[Double Take]

May 1, 2009 14:54:19 GMT -8 SpottedPony said:

Very nice picture. But it's not a good idea to feed wild animals. This causes them to lose their fear of humans which can get them into trouble, which then leads to the animal being put down. With wildlife. it better to observe and admire from a distance.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's animal pictures. Maybe some day I'll figure out how to do it myself.

Spotted Pony

There maybe a better way, but this is how I do it. My webshots account wouldn't work so I created one on photobucket.com. Uploaded your pictures in medium size (or I resized them smaller until I discovered I could upload them that way). From your albums page rest your mouse on the picture you want and then click on Direct Link when the options appear, to highlight the address. Copy it (I use Ctrl C). Reply to this thread. Click the Insert Image icon and then left arrow so your cursor is between the brackets. Paste (I use Ctrl V). Click preview to see if it worked.

I can't wait to see your critters, Spotted Pony!

[Artiespet]

I can't wait to see your pictures too Spotted!

DT you don't have to do that extra clicking once you get your picture just hit F6 it will highlight the url for you then do ctrl c

[MissRedhead]

Scrappy would jump up face Sahara and literally yell at him then smack him with his paw.

HAHA that reminds me of my cat Shadow and my sister's cat Rosie. Rosie was a very old lady and liked her comfort. She liked to sit on the coffee table in front of the fireplace. Shadow was a much younger cat and loved to play. He would sneak under the table from behind Rosie, reach his huge paw up and swat her then run away! Rosie would be angrily running in circles on the coffee table to see who had swatted her

[Double Take]

This is Sailor. Fortunately he is small for a male collie (55 lbs) since he is a lap dog. He's a real snuggle bunny and would sit in my lap all day if he could. He does know who's boss though; if Snow Kitty is on the arm of my chair he will not jump up until she leaves.

[California gal]

Handsome fellow.

My sister and her husband once owned a very large dog--and I can't remember now if it was a malemute or some other breed of sled dog--but he was about the size of a small pony. He also thought he was a lap dog.

[Double Take]

May 4, 2009 18:16:14 GMT -8 California gal said:

Handsome fellow.

My sister and her husband once owned a very large dog--and I can't remember now if it was a malemute or some other breed of sled dog--but he was about the size of a small pony. He also thought he was a lap dog.

They don't seem to have a concept of size, do they? You could smother with a malemute or samoyed in your lap! Somewhere there is a picture of my mother with an Irish Wolfhound (160 lbs & 35" at the shoulder) sitting on her lap. All you can see is this tiny face peering over the dog's shoulders.