What did your pet(s) do today?

[Stone-Butch]

I do not have a pet at the moment but have had dogs and a few cats all my life. I found out that the best way to protect pets is to use cord covers on all electrical cords that they can get at. Puppies are like babies, they need to be protected and so do our cords. I always got mine at a hardware store.

[Chad]

Right now the kitties are hogging the bed. Haha!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Chad

Right now the kitties are hogging the bed. Haha!

Diva Kitty is over on her corner of the bed for now. I don't know why she's not hogging the bed, but I'm grateful.

[Vincent]

Scout chased a stick in the ocean,while in between throws,Dad watched the dolphins,so much better in the wild.
So now she has had a shower,to wash the sand off,"that's the deal"no shower,no beach,
she had brekky,now zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Chad]

I have a "stray" cat that I feed but at this point I think he lives here. Anyway, I fed him tonight but when I looked out the window to see if he wanted more food all I saw was a big fluffy tail. Oh no, it was a large skunk on my porch eating the cat's food we all backed away from the front door and waited for the skunk to move on. No one got sprayed, so yay!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

My cat will not let me sleep. Usually she just climbs on the bed with me, and goes to sleep when I do. But tonight, she can't find the right place to lie down. She's too cold, she's too hot, she wants to be on the floor, no on the bed, she's fascinated by the new garment rack I moved in here. She has decided it's some kitty version of the parallel bars. and is lying on her back, hanging by one paw from one of the bars, swinging back and forth. One thing's for certain, I'm sure she'll really stick it on the dismount.

[Gemme]

Well, let me tell you what! Loki is too smart for his own good. I got them one of those food distribution balls and they pretty much ignored it for the first week and change. Loki even pawed in front of it like he does when covering the litter.

Rude.

BUT

Then he figured out how to play with it today and, unfortunately, how to break into it. The little bugger not only open doors without permission but he found a way to get off the top hatch where the food goes in, even though it's clicked and locked shut. So, he got a full belly of snacks this afternoon and I am out a few bucks for a toy that will get very little play.

Boo.

Gracie has been really good today. She's currently on the back of the sofa, snoozing. She's the good child today but they are both equally but differently adorable.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Diva Kitty was feeling frisky today, so we played with her favorite red ribbon. She was all over it. Then she decided the handle of my new handbag might make a great chew toy, so I found a new place for it, up off the floor. She has finished up all the treats she had open, so tomorrow we will start on the goodies she got in her Christmas stocking. First up will be some crunchy treats called "Meow Luau".

[Kätzchen]

Miss Petunia and Toffee (the blind blue-healer, Lab mix) seem to be fairing better these days. It's been almost a year since Simon, our adorable family Jack Russell Terrier, passed. But Miss Petunia and Toffee sometimes do strange things that seem to indicate that Simon (his ghost) is hanging around with the family pets.

Simon was the charming beggar (or not). Simon was SO bad at begging for human food, that during dinner time the only way to eat dinner in some sort of peace was to put him outside, with his leash on (don't ask, long story, LOL), and then Simon would commence to barking and scratching the glass window doors off the slider thingy until you thought you would go bonkers. Not even squirts from the spray bottle would make him stop.

Well. It was as if Simon was doing that very thing, in ghost spirit ways, the other night. We were all comfy eating snacks while watching 1980's movies on TV, when Toffee and Miss Petunia went coo-coo at the patio sliding glass doors. No one was out there. But Miss Petunia and Toffee kept on and on, barking and meowing up a storm. We think it was the Ghost of Simon, doing his thing on the glass sliding doors.

OMG, pets can be so intuitive, but really? I think they're as human as us.

I swear I could hear Simon yipping on the patio, that night. Yet he wasn't there.

[FireSignFemme]

Originally Posted by Stone-Butch

I do not have a pet at the moment but have had dogs and a few cats all my life. I found out that the best way to protect pets is to use cord covers on all electrical cords that they can get at. Puppies are like babies, they need to be protected and so do our cords. I always got mine at a hardware store.

Thanks! That's something that's never crossed my mind, I didn't even know they made something like that.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Diva Kitty has been hiding all day. She won't even come out for "Meow Luau" treats.

I still miss Tiny Dog a lot. But today I was finally able to wear my pajamas with frolicking doggies all over it.

[Kätzchen]

Miss Petunia is laying on the sofa, right next to me, purring and watching me as I type on my laptop, while I'm watching an ABC news special (it's a triggering subject which makes me sad -- I should change the channel).

She'll probably lay on her back and drift off to sleep, since I just fed her and put medicine in her ears (her thyroid is on the fritz).


*maow, maow*

[Gemme]

They are running around like lunatics currently. Something got in their craw.

[Kätzchen]

Miss Petunia was waiting for me, when I pulled in the driveway. I could hear her meowing on the other side of the front door. Hee hee, she must have known it was Tuna Night, as I stopped by Trader Joe's and bought a couple tins of Albacore Tuna for her. She's sitting by my feet, while I am watching Gomer Pyle, USMC on TV, taking a little bath. She's pretty happy tonight after binging on Albacore tuna.

[Gemme]

Gracie has been pretty quiet but Loki has been absolutely clingy tonight. So touchy touchy!

[Chad]

Right now the baby kitty is under the bed covers purring.

I recently re-worked my estate plans (Will) and my attorney told me yucky stories regarding the care and expense of Willing your pets. I have a plan for the kitties but I am not sure of the cost. I think that you could break it down to cost per year for the life expectancy for each breed. So how much is that? $2,000 per year? Maybe more or less? It is something that us pet lovers need to plan for.

[Gemme]

Loki's a food hog. He'll eat his in record time and then go hover next to Gracie until she gives up and walks away so he can have her food too so I tend to stick close during breakfast and dinner, when wet food is served. When I see he's finished, I'll cozy up to him and distract him with pets and conversation until Gracie is done and walks away on her own.

Well, Loki got shut up in the bathroom this morning (they periodically follow me in the bathroom and play hide and seek in the tub) and when I noticed, I decided to give Gracie a break. I put down both bowls and loved on her for a second and let her eat.

I'll be darned. She finished her portion and then wandered over to Loki's bowl and worked on his for a while. She almost finished his, much bigger, portion too. I had to put more down for Loki when I let him out and I think Gracie might have a bit of a tummy ache later on, but I really think she enjoyed the peace and quiet while she ate. I might have to do something like that going forward.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Chad

Right now the baby kitty is under the bed covers purring.

I recently re-worked my estate plans (Will) and my attorney told me yucky stories regarding the care and expense of Willing your pets. I have a plan for the kitties but I am not sure of the cost. I think that you could break it down to cost per year for the life expectancy for each breed. So how much is that? $2,000 per year? Maybe more or less? It is something that us pet lovers need to plan for.

$2,000 per year per kitty seems reasonable or maybe a little high; as you know, as the kitties become more geriatric, their costs will go up per year. Also, it depends on what you expect from the caregiver. For instance, what do you expect them to do in case of cancer? Would you want the kitties treated for that, or would you just let them live out their lives and then be euthanized when their quality of life is low? I would think it best to have this conversation with the caregiver in advance. In my case, it's a function of how many pets I will have at the time I die (probably/possibly two - one cat and one dog) and how much money I have available. There are other people (other than my pet caretaker) who rely on me who will have to be left some of my money. But it will probably come out to about $1500 - $2000 per pet per year. I'm so glad you brought this subject up.

Diva Kitty was lying on the couch this morning; now she has gone off somewhere in the house to do her cat things. I am not privy to all of those.

[Chad]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

$2,000 per year per kitty seems reasonable or maybe a little high; as you know, as the kitties become more geriatric, their costs will go up per year. Also, it depends on what you expect from the caregiver. For instance, what do you expect them to do in case of cancer? Would you want the kitties treated for that, or would you just let them live out their lives and then be euthanized when their quality of life is low? I would think it best to have this conversation with the caregiver in advance. In my case, it's a function of how many pets I will have at the time I die (probably/possibly two - one cat and one dog) and how much money I have available. There are other people (other than my pet caretaker) who rely on me who will have to be left some of my money. But it will probably come out to about $1500 - $2000 per pet per year. I'm so glad you brought this subject up.

Diva Kitty was lying on the couch this morning; now she has gone off somewhere in the house to do her cat things. I am not privy to all of those.

I think that was high at $2,000. I think a balloon number is better. Any accountants out there?
If it is a regular American kitty that is young and healthy. We can calculate the food, litter, and annual medical care per year for about ten years then estimate more medical as the kitty ages.

I am a scientist not an accountant but I think this discussion is very important.

Thank you Ma'am for your input.

[Gemme]

Gracie got a case of the zoomies after breakfast and was having a blast on the tall cat tree, rolling around and playing on it. She got so involved in rolling around that she rolled plumb out of it. I cracked up so hard but she did land on her feet even though she went down head first.

Loki picked a fight with her but I think she liked the chase because she didn't retaliate at all; just let him chase her around until I had enough of them running underfoot and sent them to their respective corners.

Now, Gracie is snoozing on the back of the sofa and Loki has wedged himself under the desk. It is a new Gracie hideout. Loki has to go behind her and try out her new spots too. He never liked playing in the tub until she did it first and he never hid under a chair that in the living room either until she started doing it. He acts a lot like her little brother than her big brother some days.