Pets & the humans who love them

[Mtn]

I have the delightful July, chi pom mix that Sassy rescued...my constant companion, and the best dog I ever met....

[katsarecool]

Hello Mtn, welcome to the Planet and to this thread. Hello July!!!!

[oblivia]

We have a wonderful cat, Balor, who is now just over 11 years old and a really fun and entertaining Green Cheek Conure, Jasper, who is really chatty and who we spend a lot of time with. Both are very much members of the family, right along with Sparx, me, and the man-children.

[Jude]

I'm curious. Does anyone here believe that four footed life is as valuable as the two legged variety? If you could save an unknown human being or a strange cat or dog about to be hit by a car (but not both), which would you snatch out of harm's way?

Anyone a vegan or vegetarian solely because of a reverence for all sentient beings? (Anyone eat only freely fallen fruit so as to avoid causing pain to the tree or bush?)

I love animals and, truthfully, I'd try to rescue the human first -- well, perhaps with the exception of a couple of individuals that I know, but I digress.....

[katsarecool]

Originally Posted by Jude

I'm curious. Does anyone here believe that four footed life is as valuable as the two legged variety? If you could save an unknown human being or a strange cat or dog about to be hit by a car (but not both), which would you snatch out of harm's way?

Anyone a vegan or vegetarian solely because of a reverence for all sentient beings? (Anyone eat only freely fallen fruit so as to avoid causing pain to the tree or bush?)

I love animals and, truthfully, I'd try to rescue the human first -- well, perhaps with the exception of a couple of individuals that I know, but I digress.....

I would rescue humans first with exceptions of course. And children trump everyone!

[Glenn]

[QUOTE=Jude;222649]I'm curious. Does anyone here believe that four footed life is as valuable as the two legged variety? If you could save an unknown human being or a strange cat or dog about to be hit by a car (but not both), which would you snatch out of harm's way?

I don't know about the unknown situation here, but I would snatch my furkid out of harms way before I would my Ex. *pops popcorn*

[christie]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

23? Wow! I've got to ask, what brand of dog food do you give him/gave him most of his life?

In as much as its gonna make ppl cringe, all our pups favor cheap stuff. Store brand of the "Kibbles & Bits".

Max will pick thru and find the "white bites" (I have no idea what flavor they are) while Scooter has this really silly game of taking one piece at a time, running to the LR to eat it and then going back for another piece. It takes him hours to eat one meal.

Since Max has lost most of his teeth, we have added more of the soft, burger looking food. We call it "sprinkles" and you haven't seen excitement until you see him doing his lil sprinkle dance when he hears the cellophane wrapper.

We have tried most of the expensive, "healthier" foods and well, our dogs just don't like them. Taste of the Wild, Science Diet, Royal Canin... might as well been Alpo. Gravy Train is one of their favs, but with schnauzer beards, it was nixed pretty quickly because they LOVE to use the back of Jess' pants legs to wipe their beards! LOL

If you really wanna know the secret, Jess is probably a better authority. We lost our black lab, Shelby, just a year ago, and she was 19. Jess knows how to grow 'em old!

[NJFemmie]

We have two cats, Ember and Max. Both are tabbies - Ember is an orange classic and Max is a gray mackerel. Ember is (or was) the alpha of the house until we brought Max home, who from day one, attempts to claim alpha authority. Some days Ember's in charge and other days it seems like Max is -- so maybe they've come to some sort of alpha schedule. *shrug* It's pretty amusing. We brought Max home from an animal shelter shortly after my second cat of 17 years passed away in April.

Our cats are our kids. They're spoiled and sometimes rotten little buggers, but we couldn't imagine not having a fur baby in the house. I used to have dogs when I was growing up - but we don't have the time nor the inclination to care for dogs. I am an animal lover of all kinds though (warm blooded, thankyouverymuch).

To answer Jude's question about which one I would save -- it would be a hard call honestly - but naturally I would lean toward the human. If I could save both, I would sure as hell damn try.

[shadows papa]

We have 3 dogs in our Pack and all are adoptions/rescues. Shadow came from the Metro Nashville dog pound,Brando came from a Wal-Mart parking lot and Bailey came from a family whose children had no concept of being kind to a dog. They are all such unique canine spirits and we LOVE them as unconditionally as they love us. I can't imagine a world or a life without dogs in it. The few times in my life I have not had a dog at my side,I have always been a surrogate dog Uncle to my friends' dogs. There is nothing quite like the joy they show EVERY time they see you! The rest of the world may have no use for you at times,but your dogs always think you are the greatest thing since bacon!

[WolfyOne]

12 rescue cats here because my old town was overpopulated with ferals and all fixed
Due to a break up and relocation, some desparately need homes
I can't keep them all and my ex can't keep any where she'll be going
Sadly and I hate to say it, but if they don't find homes, the ex will put them in a shelter
It hurts me to think about it and makes me weepy
I think they'd have better luck being homeless again than in a shelter
I can't afford to care for all of them or even be able to find a rental to accept so many

[katsarecool]

That is sad Wolfy!!! I wish I could help you out there. Is there a no kill shelter? I would rather move, take them with me and then let them out and they could come for food and stuff! Much better than a shelter I agree.

Jeffrey ripped out all but 3 of the staples despite the cone!!!!!! I advised Beth to buy some six inch wide gause and wrap her up like a mummy from armpits to the hips. That should keep her occupied till the wound begins to heal. Thankfully she is on antibiotics. She is going to have one hell of a scar!!! As long as it is clean she should be ok. Beth is not taking her back until it is time to remove those three remaining staples. It is too costly! The wound is right on her left hip closer to her belly than her back. Anyone have any other ideas? We would be greatful!

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by christie0918

In as much as its gonna make ppl cringe, all our pups favor cheap stuff. Store brand of the "Kibbles & Bits".

Max will pick thru and find the "white bites" (I have no idea what flavor they are) while Scooter has this really silly game of taking one piece at a time, running to the LR to eat it and then going back for another piece. It takes him hours to eat one meal.

Since Max has lost most of his teeth, we have added more of the soft, burger looking food. We call it "sprinkles" and you haven't seen excitement until you see him doing his lil sprinkle dance when he hears the cellophane wrapper.

We have tried most of the expensive, "healthier" foods and well, our dogs just don't like them. Taste of the Wild, Science Diet, Royal Canin... might as well been Alpo. Gravy Train is one of their favs, but with schnauzer beards, it was nixed pretty quickly because they LOVE to use the back of Jess' pants legs to wipe their beards! LOL

If you really wanna know the secret, Jess is probably a better authority. We lost our black lab, Shelby, just a year ago, and she was 19. Jess knows how to grow 'em old!

Well, of course they like the cheap, processed stuff....just like us humans...tastes much better!

So, Jess, what is the secret, if not food? Exercise? Or is it just lots of love?

Thanks for the responses.

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by katsarecool

That is sad Wolfy!!! I wish I could help you out there. Is there a no kill shelter? I would rather move, take them with me and then let them out and they could come for food and stuff! Much better than a shelter I agree.

Jeffrey ripped out all but 3 of the staples despite the cone!!!!!! I advised Beth to buy some six inch wide gause and wrap her up like a mummy from armpits to the hips. That should keep her occupied till the wound begins to heal. Thankfully she is on antibiotics. She is going to have one hell of a scar!!! As long as it is clean she should be ok. Beth is not taking her back until it is time to remove those three remaining staples. It is too costly! The wound is right on her left hip closer to her belly than her back. Anyone have any other ideas? We would be greatful!

Make sure you clip those back nails every couple days because the tips get sharp again that quickly. The gauze sound like a good idea, but use tape after that. Oh and try half a Benadryl a day because the ripping out may be due to itching from the healing process. Like allergies that make them scratch, Benadryl stops that and will slow him down some. I have a country vet that is more interested in helping animal owners than getting rich, so she's showed us a lot of easy inexpensive fixes with our rescues.

[christie]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

Make sure you clip those back nails every couple days because the tips get sharp again that quickly. The gauze sound like a good idea, but use tape after that. Oh and try half a Benadryl a day because the ripping out may be due to itching from the healing process. Like allergies that make them scratch, Benadryl stops that and will slow him down some. I have a country vet that is more interested in helping animal owners than getting rich, so she's showed us a lot of easy inexpensive fixes with our rescues.

Here's a list of common household meds and the dosages for cats and dogs.

http://www.diamondpaws.com/health/drugs.htm

We do give our pups OTC benadryl and it works like a charm!

[katsarecool]

Thanks Wolfy and Christie!!!

[Rook]

First off, I do apologize for not answering sooner, I wasn't aware there was a question for me...

Curious. My adult daughter has two ferrets which are not really house trained. She claims they are, of course, but any available corner appears to be a "toilet" and she just places a kitty litter box in all four corners of their room. They miss it as often as hitting the spot. Just wondering if you've had a different experience and actually have house trained ferrets in tow. They've had ferrets forever and have actually had to always have an entire room adapted as "the ferret room" because they choose not to cage them. I enjoy playing with them -- at HER house.

Judith

I've had very different experience...
Ferrets are litterbox trainable, but..You have to be determined and patient.It's not that they don't grasp the concept, it's more on the "Well, since I'm here, and my potty spot's over there...", like a kid going thru potty-training {toilet's too far, and i have a diaper}
Your daughters mistake, no offense, is placing a litterbox in all those corners..
The moment they "miss", that spot is marked as 'toilet', I would recommend immediately cleaning, and a slight scrub with a good dish soap + apple cider vinegar.
My ferrets are "housetrained", but, from time to time when they're free-roaming, I have to catch 'em before they do their business, and park 'em in the Cage.
Healthy ferrets do give very visible signs that they're gonna poop/pee...
Pay attention, watch for the following
- Ferret finds random corner, sniffs corner, hangs around corner, gets skittish, walks briefly away + stops and walks backward, raises tail, takes position of a posing ballerina, semi-squat with tail out of way, all prim and proper-
I usually catch 'em when they start walking backward, yeah, they'll scowl, after all, they wanna poop and return to playing.
Once in the cage, after they get over the temporary pissed off mode, they run to their box..

On the food part, I do agree...
My ferrets are given a decent mix of premium Ferret food, and treats...And no, it's not just pat myself on the back..The food I give them meets their dietary needs of protein, fat, etc...
But, I have to shoo them away from the dogs bowl if it's still on the ground when they're free-roaming..
From time to time, I'll take 'em both back to their Cage while lecturing them
"I give u the best food on the market, and u want that greasy truck stop cheeseburger version of animal food..U hungry? Go eat your own food" and I leave them in until they finish pickin their food...
Doesn't work much...
They still hunt for the Pedigree....

I used to feed my dog Innova EVO RM, and Natural Balance Ultra Premium, my brother feeds his dog whatever he can grab that won't destroy his wallet that week.
Usually it's Pedigree...Sometimes it's Ol'Roy...
And it does baffle me...
-"You're telling me that dog gets "sick" from a food that is geared towards sensitive stomach canines....and he's fine with Ol'Roy?"
-"Yup"....

My cat also got the Feline version of Innova + Natural Balance...
But then, I suppose if the animal copes better with supermarket foods, then, by all means, give 'em their yummies.

I'm a Pescetarian, mostly because I do need animal protein...
Otherwise, I'd be Vegan for humanitarian reasons..
I don't eat "free-fallen" fruit mostly because when a Fruit falls, it's likely to be Rotten, or with bugs...
I *do* eat "Organic"...

[Jude]

Rook, thanks much for all the ferret information. I'll pass it on to my daughter, but doubt she's going to make the effort. That's why, adorable as they are, they're not invited to my house :-)

I'm with you on the veggies. Admittedly, have convinced myself that chicken grows in cellophane packages. Gave up the red meat long ago.

Thanks again for your ferret info.
Judith

[Jude]

Rook, thanks much for all the ferret information. I'll pass it on to my daughter, but doubt she's going to make the effort. That's why, adorable as they are, they're not invited to my house :-)

I'm with you on the veggies. Admittedly, have convinced myself that chicken grows in cellophane packages. Gave up the red meat long ago.

Thanks again for your ferret info.
Judith

[lipstixgal]

Two dogs here one very special needs with Cushing syndrome so its out to pee every hour on the hour which can be annoying but what can you do?? But I love them to death and wouldn't trade it for nothing, would like to adopt a cat but don't want to upset the apple cart so to speak...

[Jude]

Something brought to my attention yesterday. Thought I'd post it here and see if anyone from down on the farm has the authentic scoop on this one....

All of the chicken we buy in the supermarket is from female chickens? Right? When the eggs hatch, do they routinely kill all the new male baby chicks that are going to grow up to be roosters and keep just a couple for fertilization?

Know capons are very fancy male emasculated roosters that are supposed to be extremely succulent and wildly expensive. Trying to envision someone taking the time to do a vasectomy on a young rooster.

Now, what about bulls? Red meat eaters buy hamburger and it's always from a cow, isn't it? Never saw a package of cellophane wrapped bull. So, do all baby male cows become veal at birth, except those kept on hand for their seed?

Anyone with first hand farm knowledge???

No idea about sheep, but now I'm wondering if lamb chops are all little boys and cheaper mutton is the mama.