Hey, I know! Let's get a puppy we can't take care of!

[fun2beme]

I also just adopted (as in yesterday) 2 kittens. Brother and sister and they're adorable...AND holy terrors! BUT...I know they're babies (3 months old) and they're VERY curious. They have a big kennel to sleep in (keep them safe from the dogs who are very gentle but these guys are LITTLE), toys and all sorts of stuff already. They are also VERY social and talkative!

BUT...I have a HUGE house, a good sized yard, live close enough to my office to go home at lunchtime, and let the babies run wild while I am at home.

Good luck - kittens are sooo sweet. Maggie is 8 months old and still active as ever. My first at was 2 when I got her so I didn't know what to expect with a kitten. When the vet had to call in an assistant to hold her down when she was barely 3 lbs, I knew I was in for it. I had to start taking pics of the things she does because my friends thought I was exagerrating. LOL

I wish I could adopt a buddy for Maggie but my allergist said I was pushing it with one cat.

[feministxtian]

Good luck - kittens are sooo sweet. Maggie is 8 months old and still active as ever. My first at was 2 when I got her so I didn't know what to expect with a kitten. When the vet had to call in an assistant to hold her down when she was barely 3 lbs, I knew I was in for it. I had to start taking pics of the things she does because my friends thought I was exagerrating. LOL

I wish I could adopt a buddy for Maggie but my allergist said I was pushing it with one cat.

The male kitten, Luke, is another attention fiend. His method of saying "good morning" involved climbing up my jeans, up my arm, around my shoulders. He then sat on my shoulder, stuck his face in my hair, gave me a kitten kiss and decided that he had the best perch in the house and sat on my shoulder as I went about my morning routine of making coffee and my lunch for work. He did however decide that trying mommy's lunchmeat was an awesome idea! He's funny as hell. My house is pretty big...so he goes upstairs and gets "lost". He will cry and cry until his sister, Leia goes and shows him how to get back to the living room.

Oh...the kittens are Luke and Leia because my dogs are Yoda and Anakin...we have a Star Wars theme going with critter names.

[Koala]

Day two and still only 1 response :x *stomps foot* (insert over the top southern accent) "But you were supposed to tell me what a brave mama I was ya'll!"

[hoipolloi]

Day two and still only 1 response :x *stomps foot* (insert over the top southern accent) "But you were supposed to tell me what a brave mama I was ya'll!"

I really hope this means people blasted her stupid, lazy ass for this but, of course, we'll never know because everything is perfect in fundie-world, where no one ever, ever admits to makes a mistake.

[moodygirl86]

The male kitten, Luke, is another attention fiend. His method of saying "good morning" involved climbing up my jeans, up my arm, around my shoulders. He then sat on my shoulder, stuck his face in my hair, gave me a kitten kiss and decided that he had the best perch in the house and sat on my shoulder as I went about my morning routine of making coffee and my lunch for work. He did however decide that trying mommy's lunchmeat was an awesome idea! He's funny as hell.

AWWW! That's quite possibly the sweetest post I've ever read on FJ!

[Walking Cat Bed]

I also just adopted (as in yesterday) 2 kittens. Brother and sister and they're adorable...AND holy terrors! BUT...I know they're babies (3 months old) and they're VERY curious. They have a big kennel to sleep in (keep them safe from the dogs who are very gentle but these guys are LITTLE), toys and all sorts of stuff already. They are also VERY social and talkative!

BUT...I have a HUGE house, a good sized yard, live close enough to my office to go home at lunchtime, and let the babies run wild while I am at home.

I have a kitten! She's an adorable monster and nearly FOUR pounds now (more than double her weight when I brought her home). She's in my room when there are no humans in the house, where I set up toys and make sure she has food and a blankie nest to cuddle into for her naps. She's fearless but easygoing with most people (I get the brunt of most of her tantrums), and the vet LOVES her. She had a very exciting day today -- went to the vet for a vaccine and stayed at the office until my roommate could pick her up (I'm in class after they close) and has probably been playing with the office cats all day. I love her to pieces and have cancelled things for me (like a regular, weekly massage) so she can go to the vet. It's worth it.

[feministxtian]

My babies are about 2lbs a piece. The female, Leia has a short tail...Luke's is long. Leia has a pink nose and an attitude. Luke is just a goof. Luke gets lost upstairs, Leia finds him and brings him down. They both like to perch on the loft wall. Leia is already good with "if I fits, I sits". Luke likes ROOM. Leia is a bit of a bitch. Luke is a typical guy. Neither one particularly like the dogs...

[Walking Cat Bed]

Any time I get a picture of Tessie's face, she has a very definite "WHAT???" facial expression. Part of the reason I wanted to meet her in particular was her Baby Bitchface. It gives me life.

[feministxtian]

As soon as I get internet set back up at the house, I will post pictures of my babies....

[dairyfreelife]

AWWW! That's quite possibly the sweetest post I've ever read on FJ!

Love it too. My bf's cat likes to meow in your face in the morning, his whiskers getting right up your nose. My dog, whom I adopted from a shelter, likes to get up in my face as well. She loves to cuddle in the morning. She'll lay her head on my chest even. She's my furry baby. And this lady totally should not have been allowed to have a pet.

[ADoyle90815]

I'm another one who is in favor of crate training when done properly, as my last dogs were crate trained because as puppies, they would have chewed everything in site. In the end, it was their safe place to go when they were scared, or they wanted to take a nap and not be disturbed. The cage kennel had blankets and an old queen sized comforter as the bedding, and the door was only closed and locked when nobody was home. Otherwise, the door was left open so the dogs could go in and out of their "den" as they needed. Still, they preferred to sleep on their beds next to my bed at night, which was fine with me.

My mom has a cat that loves to get in your face and meow at 4am to be fed, and if you don't close the bathroom door securely, she'll come in while you're occupied.

[pirouette]

I thought this was going to be about *chuckles* Erika Shupe.

This is worse :(

Same, and same. Hopefully no news on that front is good news?

Everyone's pet stories are making me smile. I'm pet-less for the foreseeable future, mostly thanks to uncertainty about my long-term housing situation and financial stability. (Also cat allergies.) But I do feel pangs of longing every time friends send pictures of their dogs or kittens. Guess I have enough self-awareness to realize that I'm not in a good place to take on pet ownership despite wanting my own animal friend. Unlike this blogger, apparently.

[feministxtian]

this morning the kittens woke me up with a JOLT! They were meowing and yowling like someone was killing them! I take my sleepy self downstairs to see what's wrong...Oh no...the worst fate on earth for 2 3 month old kittens...their food bowl was empty! Good Lord, you'd have thought they were dying or something! So...I put food in BOTH their bowls. Leia decides that Luke isn't having ANY of the food. She eats out of one bowl and the minute Luke decides to get some food, she nudges him out of the way. I finally had to put Luke in the big crate so he could eat in peace...

Anyway...that's my kitten story for this morning...and of course, once Luke had his fill he decided to sit on my shoulder again! Leia...she's more of a "I'll lay here and let you adore me" type of girl. Luke is more of "hey...hey...remember me? Hey...you have a free hand...use it...see, I'm right here...I NEED someone to love on me" type of guy.

[Trynn]

I'm another one who is in favor of crate training when done properly, as my last dogs were crate trained because as puppies, they would have chewed everything in site. In the end, it was their safe place to go when they were scared, or they wanted to take a nap and not be disturbed. The cage kennel had blankets and an old queen sized comforter as the bedding, and the door was only closed and locked when nobody was home. Otherwise, the door was left open so the dogs could go in and out of their "den" as they needed. Still, they preferred to sleep on their beds next to my bed at night, which was fine with me.

My mom has a cat that loves to get in your face and meow at 4am to be fed, and if you don't close the bathroom door securely, she'll come in while you're occupied.

Tell me about it. I once had a cat who ONLY wanted affection if you were on the toilet. Otherwise she hated being petted

[ILoveJellybeans]

My cat has "The Paw". When I am in the bathroom, she sits outside and meows. If you don't let her in, she sticks her paw under the door. When I take a while, like when I am in the bath, she likes to reach in as far as possible and see if she can drag out any clothes or shoes I left on the floor near the door.

[fun2beme]

My cat has "The Paw". When I am in the bathroom, she sits outside and meows. If you don't let her in, she sticks her paw under the door. When I take a while, like when I am in the bath, she likes to reach in as far as possible and see if she can drag out any clothes or shoes I left on the floor near the door.

My cat is the same way except she starts to scratch at the carpet outside my bathroom when I'm taking a bath or shower so I gave up and let her in. She likes to hop in the shower and jumped in the bubble bath once as well, but didn't enjoy that too much. LOL

[moodygirl86]

I think the reason cats are obsessed with watching you on the toilet is because you're guaranteed to be sitting down and therefore can't escape their affection! They're not daft...

[Marianne]

My cat is the same way except she starts to scratch at the carpet outside my bathroom when I'm taking a bath or shower so I gave up and let her in. She likes to hop in the shower and jumped in the bubble bath once as well, but didn't enjoy that too much. LOL

I think my baby german shepherd is a twin brother of your car ! I'm not sure if this dog know he is a dog. He think he is a mix of cat and bunnies :lol:

[feministxtian]

its ok...Luke is starting to think he's a puppy...he plays fetch with his ball, wadded up paper (still unpacking stuff), and the dogs' ball. Leia thinks that being without a lap to sleep on is a fate worse than death. I wish I could post pics. Anakin is trying to be a lap dog now too...all 60+ lbs of him.

HEY FUNDIES!!! When you have a pet you treat them like you would your own children (wait a minute, they treat their kids like shit too...nvm)

[Lissa1481]

These people make me so mad. That poor puppy.

We had to put our dog down in September. I'm not in any huge hurry to get another one. We have four kids, 3 at 2 public schools and one home schooler. We have all the typical weekly activities. I don't have time or energy to train a puppy and I know it. We also have 2 cats who hate dogs. Our dog ignored them, and it's important to find a dog who won't eat them. In good time but certainly not now.

These people are stupid.

[SunnyAndrsn]

My family has a long history of sled dogs (Samoyeds, to be precise) that can easily tolerate (and actually enjoy) frigid temperatures. They're meant for extremely cold climates. That said, ours did NOT sleep outside, even if it would be cooler, because dogs are pack animals and want to be with their pack. To protect it, to socialize within it, to be a part of it. So our current dog sleeps in my parents bedroom in a 'pup tent' canvas travel crate that fans are aimed at (to keep him nice and cool, no matter how warm it gets.) That hot rock nonsense is just that and unless that dog is a dog bred for extremely cold climates, he's going to get sick or frost-bitten or something.

We once adopted rescued a Samoyed that some neighbors had gotten as a Christmas present. You know the drill...cute white puppy with a red bow. Perfect Christmas fantasy. And that was great until they had no time or patience whatsoever with the puppy and ended up chaining her outdoors in a Minnesota winter (which didn't physically hurt her...the temp issue isn't a problem...but screwed up her psyche) and hitting her with newspapers and flyswatters when she barked and complained at being otherwise ignored. Yes, she was quite warped by her time with those *censored*. Fortunately she wasn't turned mean by it...but she was terribly afraid. It took her 6 months before she'd look us in the eye after we got her. After that, she only wanted to be with us because she only felt safe with us.

I freely admit that if my parents weren't around to look after him all day, I would not have gotten my current dog at all because a Samoyed wants to be with their people/pack all day long. It wouldn't have been fair to him or to me if he was left alone all day...and boredom would also cause acting out (natural enough for dogs...just like with kids) and destructive behavior. My parents take him to the dog park or the dog beach nearly every day while I'm at work and they take him around with him as they do their daily errands. As they're getting older, when the time comes that we lose Kodiak, I will NOT be getting another Samoyed unless I'm in the position where I can be with him throughout the day.

Those kids are probably scared of the puppy because it's probably reacting as is its nature (like nipping to get away if it's frightened) and because nobody's bothered to take the time to train and properly socialize it. That is a recipe for a bad biting...which they will then blame unfairly on the dog and probably have it put down as being 'vicious', even if it's anything but.

If you don't have the time, energy and money to properly care for, train, and socialize your dog and the wherewithal to meets the needs of whatever breed it is, DON'T GET THE DOG. If you've already gotten it, find it a good home with people who will meet its needs. Don't ignore it or abuse it or let it get out of hand where it becomes a danger to people or other animals. The fault is not the dog's...it's the humans.

LOVE THIS!!! So many people have told me that it's gross I have three dogs in the house. Yes, it's a lot of work to keep clean, but my washer isn't broke and we have a Bissell.

It took next to no time to break our puppy from nipping. He's 11 years old now :-) It's pretty easy, if you're willing to try.

My husky is "waking up" in the cooler weather. He loves it! The things we do for puppy love...like long walks/jogs in frigid temps.

[feministxtian]

We have our 2 dogs and 2 kittens...the dogs are together and near us at ALL times!!! The kittens go between exploring the house, wrestling with each other and laying on me all day.

That being said...dogs are pack animals...I've often believed that if you're like me and have to be gone during the day, its better to have 2 dogs...yeah, the 50lb bags of dog food get expensive, so do the vet bills, BUT...both dogs are happier together. So are the kittens. They are very social little critters too, so they're also better together.

[Marianne]

We have our 2 dogs and 2 kittens...the dogs are together and near us at ALL times!!! The kittens go between exploring the house, wrestling with each other and laying on me all day.

That being said...dogs are pack animals...I've often believed that if you're like me and have to be gone during the day, its better to have 2 dogs...yeah, the 50lb bags of dog food get expensive, so do the vet bills, BUT...both dogs are happier together. So are the kittens. They are very social little critters too, so they're also better together.

My labrador, a therapy dog, always stay with me. I can't take the baby with me at work, so we let him at home during the day. He sleeps most of the day (he.is.a.cat), then we go out for one or two hours. I think he is happy alone.

A lot of people think that german shepherd are dog who can only live in a big rural house, but no. Mine is very happy in a tiny flat in the city :D The most important is to go out at least one hour by day and to play a lot.

When they're together, and she's not helping me, my labrador teach my german shepherd. He is little, but already very protective.

Good god, now I want a kitten. But we already have fish, two dogs, and a tiny flat :(

[feministxtian]

My dogs are not really all that energetic anymore...the kittens...umm...yeah! Right now, Luke is laying next to my leg and Leia is on my shoulder watching me type. They're sort of a pain because I can't get anything done because they're on top of me, but I love them!

Speaking of which...I need to go get some cat litter later today...

[meep]

I'm also an advocate of crate training. Our dog loved her cage, it was like her little room. It where she took naps and stored all her toys. Everytime we gave her a bone, she immediately ran into her crate to chew it! We always left the door of it opened so she could comfortably see that it wasn't something scary. We would close and lock it at random times so she could learn that's something that might happen sometimes. When we would leave, it wasn't a big deal (as opposed to before she was crate trained, when she acted like a wild beast trying to bite our arms and legs off barking like a maniac and us coming back home to ripped open couches and chairs).