What Is Your Pet?

[ApertureF11Sniper]

I am new here. One way to get to know someone is by their pet or pets. My first ever pet was a feral kitten that showed up at the house. I was outside on the phone with a girl setting up some shoot details and the kitten shows up and starts crying. So I'm like hold on and I chase this kitten off...Back to the call and I had to chase it off yet again. So annoying. I live with my mom, her house. I told her about it and she said not to pet it or feed it or it would never go away. Well two days later this kitten was looking like it was going to die. I said mom if we don't feed him he is going to die. So we fed him and that led to petting him and a year or so later I saw him crossing a busy main road far from the house. Then he became a inside cat.. That was years ago. This last summer I had to have him put to sleep as he was so old and in poor health...I feel like I betrayed him, taking him to his death, he cried the entire drive. And I cried the entire way home.
My moms having a hard time with her knees and some other health issues and I knew it would be a long winter for her indoors. So last October I decided we needed another cat and one day when I was taking her on some errands I said hey mom lets go to Noah, a near by animal rescue type place. Right away I knew I had to get 2. I had picked out this one part Siamese beautiful kitten, male and a small gray tiger female. Well come to find out a little girl had picked the gray. Hmmmmm So I stood there observing and I saw the male I had picked out go and curl up with another gray tiger which turned out to be the sister of the other gray and they had already bonded curling up together the way they did. So I got those two. $175.00 each chipped, fixed and all. As instructed they stayed in the bathroom for a bit over a week and then we limited them to the down stairs area and I slept in the recliner down stairs for over 2 weeks. The male I named Mocha after a girl I am friends with and mom named the female Pipsqueak. He is part Siamese but has medium hair and hair between his toes mom looked up that to be a trait of a Siberian. I'm going to get a DNA test done. She is short hair gray tiger with brown blotches and one of my friends thinks she is part Bengal and she has that kind of character. He is a gentleman to her and he enjoys leaping onto my chest when I am in the recliner. She does not like to be held or touched and I think it has to do with her back story. She was taken too soon from her mom and she was fostered and bottle fed. I have been loving on her and now she will let me hold her and two days ago I was sitting in the recliner and she climbed into my lap and curled up. She stayed for 30 minutes and let me pet her some. It was so touching. Spending so much time with her is paying off.

What do you have for a pet? Whats the story of it, I mean is it from a shelter or friend. What pet did you have before it? If you do not have a pet, what would you like to have? Pets are expensive. Cats and dogs are not too bad. I am not getting the cheap food. I want them to be healthy.

Hope some people add to this.

[webmaster]

Taking a pet to the vet to put them to sleep is an act of love that spares an old cat the pain.

I pick cats that are quiet and don't meow. It's worked great for me and I've had numerous really great cats. Every cat has a different personality.

One of my favorites, a gray tabby, I used to let out of my apartment window and he would go find his pals in the neighboring yards. At the end of the day I would call his name and I could see his head pop up a half block away in someone's backyard and he would come right back home for dinner.

[imafan26]

I have two cats. Both were from the same feral colony. The feral feeders are always looking for homes. One was at the feral colony for 2 years. Tootsie is 17 now. The other one was 4 months old when I got him. Jack will be 10 this year. I actually wanted a different cat but the feral feeders told me to take this one instead. They caught him and had him fixed and chipped at a non-profit place that fixes and releases feral cats. It cost $5 for chip. I don't know what it would cost now. I did not know he was a boy until I picked him up. I thought he was a girl. Because he was so young and the feral feeders daughter played with him when he was young he does not behave like a feral cat. He likes to climb onto my lap and sleeps on top of me at night. He only likes to be picked up when it is his idea though. He is the "communicator" and does most of the talking. The other cat was grabbed so many times, it took three years for her to let me approach her from the front to pet her. She likes feet though and she likes to be foot petted. They are house cats now and even if the door is open they don't try to go outside. Except once, Jack ran out the door when I opened it. He saw a stray cat in the yard and chased it away.