Pets, I has them

I have two sister black cats, aka The Noisiest Cats in the Universe. Unlike any cat I have ever had, these two actually PLONK across the floor. They are very sweet, but a little stand-offish. They like to site behind me on the back of my chair and purr while I work, which is lovely. I also have a very silly little floppy dog. I used to have four chickens but had to give them up recently.

I have gerbils. Lots of gerbils. I originally bought two, but it turns out people can't sex rodents very well. It took me until the third litter to separate the mother and father, and then I had to let the little ones wean before splitting them up too. I just love baby gerbils, though... I'm down to about 12 now, a cage of girls and a cage of boys.

I have no pets here at college with me, but back on the old homestead we have two adult cats (who are very sweet and smart and whom I absolutely adore), and about six hermit crabs, who are not affectionate but quite interesting to watch. I've had another cat and a dog in the past, but that was years ago.

I don't have any pets. We never had them when I was a kid, so I've never really given the idea of owning one myself any serious thought.

This is Zeeva, my four-month-old golden retriever pup. She's already huge, 45 pounds! I adore this dog, and probably spoil her rotten, but she's so well behaved it's hard not to.

In case anyone is wondering, the toy at the bottom of the photo is a stuffed goose that honks!

Here at college I have two goldfish. At my parents house is my cat Lucifer (Lou) plus another cat, Daisy, and three dogs; Baxter (poodle/terrier), Isabell (beagle/something else, she looks like a sausage), and the hound dog Mack. At my fiance's we have three cats, Baby, Bob (Siamese), and Foya (German for Fire and I dunno how to spell), and then three dogs: Kenai and Zoey who are labs, and Jade who is a mini Schnauzer puppy. Oh and a beta, Juanito.

When we get our own place we're taking the fish, Lou and Baby. Maybe Bob. ^_^ We're cat people.

and here's a pic of the Fiance-person and Jade

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn312/fdossett/codynjade.jpg

We have three dogs and as many fish. The dogs are a noisy Min Pin, a three legged Wheaten Terror, and a Great Dane. The "LOL cat" I put up as Imerdane is actually my dog.

I'm at college right now, so no pets for me. But back at home we have a circus going:
Four cats, two indoors and two outdoors. All very sweet, but we have to keep them separated so Millie doesn't kill Rosie, VC doesn't kill Millie, and Slick doesn't eat everyone's food.
We used to have a HUGE (~130 pound) great Pyrenees, but he had to be put down recently : ( He was our sweet old guy. There's two other dogs, Tiggs (my avatar) and Shilo, who has to be kept outside because she's friendly but destructive.
We're also owned by four horses: charlie, meg, lady and lil' bit. Charlie's our old, semi-retired guy, Meg's an evil pig in the guise of a beautiful mare, lady's a pony that can jump, and lil' bit's just.. herself. I miss them, can't wait for spring break : \

Yule - he's only about 7lbs but full grown

Samhain - she's 15lbs and she has a smokers mew

I have a dog named Milo, a gordon setter/something else mix. He is named after the main character in the Phantom Tollbooth. He's about a year old, and the sweetest thing ever.

I have three chickens:
Camilla, named after gonzo's gf
Minerva Louise, named after the chicken heroine of the Minerva Louise books
Billina, named after the yellow chicken in the Oz books

But we have two puppies at home that I miss big-time. The adorable one is a passive-aggressive terror. (Search Shiba Inu on google images. The first one is him as a puppy. xD) The older one is going deaf, blind and senile (and stinky!) but we still love her lots.

I live on campus and as such am limited to the apartment rules: no furry animals but anything that fits in a 20 gallon or less aquarium. So I have an ever growing population of mutt fish. I started with 3 platys and 2 mollies but the one male platy in the tank decided he preferred a female molly... hence mutt fish. Since then, all the original adults have died and I am currently feeding over 40 mutts and jr. mutts in two separate tanks - at least they are happy. Actually, I find them highly amusing and entertaining - I even have a Nemo fish with one bad fin. Though I do miss having a dog - you can't hug fish

so naturally we have 4 Goofy is a 12 yr old black lab/border collie mix that we adopted from the animal shelter 11.5 years ago. He's going deaf and is somewhat blind now along with having periodic seizures, but he's still one of the smartest dogs I have ever seen. Cosmo we adopted from Freecycle so our son would have a dog to play with. Goofy's a bit grumpy and doesn't like 4-yr-old antics (can't imagine why not...) Cosmo is some sort of terrier mix...She has wiry, curly fur and is about 40 lbs. She also still has a lot of puppy in her since she's only 3.

Our cats are both strays who adopted us. Mike Wazowski is a one-eyed orange tabby and he's a total lap cat. He's not really affectionate until you're sitting down and then he HAS TO be in your lap. Boo is a black American short-hair and he is probably the friendliest, most affectionate cat in the world. You walk in the house and he rolls over and pulls the "aren't I cute? rub my belly move"

Oh, and we have fish. Too many dalmatian mollies because they will not stop having little baby fish.

Though I'm no longer sure how many. Originally there were two, but they turned out to both be pregnant ^^; The roommate takes care of them for the most part.

I live in Iowa, but I do not live on a farm...It just seems like it.

A third of my animals are named after fictional characters.

Cats:
Boots, black and white short hair. Male
Cosmic Creepers, black short hair. Male
Merry and Pippin, brothers, black and white short hairs. Merry is rotund and Pippin doesn't have a tail. Both male..
Precious, black short hair. Female.
Cleopatra, Siamese. Female.
Amun, Siamese. Male.
Neko, Siamese. Male.
Ayesha, Siamese. Very petite. Female. Daughter of Cleo and Amun, second litter.
Toukie & Ching, Siamese. Males. Toukie has two white toes on his back foot. Sons of Cleo and Amun, third litter.
Cougar, Siamese. Male. Huge! Named for his very thick tail. Also mated with Cleo, but we didn't keep any of that litter. Rescued from outside.
Razzmatazz, ginger tabby longhaired. Male. Taken from grandmother's house when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Tabitha, brown and black tabby short hair. Female. Kitten. Taken with Razz.

Dogs:
Mr. Darcy, Long haired Chihuahua. Male.
Tippy, long haired chihuahua. Male. Brother of Darcy, different litters.
Itty Bitty, ugly chihuahua. Female. We hate her, she's my stepdad's dog.

Guinea pig: Phantom. White with a black marking on his head.

People think our house is ridiculously full of pets, but we're okay with it. They all get taken good care of, our house is not flooded with fecal matter, no one is abused (except Itty Bitty...and that's just because we let Darcy and Tippy tease her a bit.). We used to have a female English setter named Jessie, but my mom's ex husband wanted her, so we gave her to him. Also used to have two parakeets, Luna and Idi (short for Lunatic and Idiot), but we gave them away also.

but I had a puppy named Mini (so named because she was about the size a kitten). She was the sweetest puppy ever! However, Mini is no longer with us. My sister, who was 5 at the time, feed her raisins. I came home and my puppy had went to doggy heaven. My brother buried her so I wouldn't have to see her like that.

I have college limitations too - limitations in time and space as well as rules, so I don't have any here. Back at my parents' house we have a golden retriever, a smaller and much quieter mutt, and a very old kitty. I visit regularly though, so I get my cuddle fix

we haz dem...
I'm nearly in crazy-cat-lady territory, I have five cats and a dog raised by cats who thinks she is one.
The dog-cat is Freya, a shepard/coyote/unknown mix. "Look ma, I'm a tabby!"
http://sakonige.deviantart.com/art/Tiger-dog-99648459 She belonged to a friend who was killed in a carwreck, I took her so her mom wouldn't dump her at the shelter.
The oldest cats are a 16 yr old sister+brother pair of contrary twins, they look exactly alike except one is solid black and one is solid white. They are plonk kitties who stomp their feet across the floor and flop over 3/4 of the couch and weigh 12 and 14 lbs respectively. We deliberatly didn't give them matching cutsie names. I named the black female Keleios which means 'cute little girl'. She named the white male Altair after the white giant star in the Aquila constellation, it's called the eye of the eagle.
I have an even bigger 16 lb tortiseshell named Nabiki after the sarcastic sister in Ranma 1/2, she's 14. A kitten I found in a parkinglot is now a giant dustball named Ripley. And most recently, another kitten- this one found on Halloween and named Magrat after the witch in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. http://sakonige.deviantart.com/art/Sad-Kitten-in-Snow-99649871

I have two guinea pigs--Muffin and Munchkin. Neither named after food--my Papa had three dogs named Muffin, Muffet, and Muffy, the last of which was around when I was wee, so I decided to name my new piggie after them, and then his friend came along and was named after the card game Munchkin (http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/game/) because I am just that dorky. My previous guinea pig was a radical piratical lesbian separatist--Gráinne, named after the Irish female pirate Gráinne ní Mháille. She was the best piggie in the world, anyhow. She would even go for walks off-leash, she liked walking right behind me (also, I lived in the middle of nowhere, NH). The boys are cute and sweet but prefer each other's company to mine. Oddly, Muffin really likes to go swimming in the pool.

That's Fiver in my avatar. He is named after the prophetic rabbit in Watership Down. I picked that one because he was really small when I first got him--he's still small, but not quite so small.

My family also has four cats: Snowy, who is old and fat and part Siamese; Ophelia, who is my little cuddle baby (I did most of the raising of her and her siblings, who we took in when they were a week old); Razzle, who is skinny and originally a foster from the shelter but has heart problems which make surgery dangerous so we couldn't get her spayed so we kept her; and Tuula, who is very fierce. Then there is the porchcat, Harri, who is far too evil and insane to let inside but who is spoiled with his own little house with catnip-infused hay. Also, the dog Cyleigh (pronounced like Kylee), who is a mystery mutt with long brindle fur.

All of our pets are rescues to various degrees. Snowy and his two siblings were born in our garage; we kitten-napped them when they were still young enough to convince (and caught their mom with the hope of getting her spayed, but she was too fast and got away). Ophelia and her three siblings were born in our friends' shed; they said they would take them to a shelter if we didn't want to take them in, and I couldn't abandon them to that fate. Cyleigh is from the SPCA via PetSmart. Razzle and her sister Dazzle were official fosters from PACCA. Fiver was also adopted from PACCA. Tuula was adopted in the lobby of PACCA, saving her from any time in the shelter.

They all get along quite swimmingly, as far as so many pets can; the dog chases the cats, the cats chase each other, and the bunny intimidates most of the cats by being a fearless herbivore.

PITCHARS
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/kittens/?action=vi...
Baby Ophelia, one of her siblings (Petruchio), and Snowy staring

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/kittens/?action=vi...
Bigger Ophelia, wondering why I am taking a picture of her in a box (she can't fit in that box anymore, she is too fat now)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/kittens/?action=vi...
Baby Razz, snoozin'

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/kittens/?action=vi...
Baby Tuula, perching on a cushion

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/?action=view&curre...
Fiver momentarily resisting the urge to chew on books

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v57/clare_dragonfly/?action=view&curre...
Cyleigh, devourer of kittens (actually, Ophelia believes Cyleigh is her mother about half the time)

Hm. How do you make pictures show up, anyway?

Currently the ad at the top of the page shows Razzle's eyes. I have a variety of cat's-eye ads, some with Razzle's and some with Ophelia's. Tuula is terrible at having her picture taken and Snowy's eyes, while pretty and blue, are too reflective to take good pictures of.

Had a ton of fish (over fifty) at one point, but I couldn't afford to feed them, clean their tank, pay the water bill or buy the medicine for their sicknesses on top of the rest.

Which leaves me with my two kitties: A short-haired female that's a bizarre mix of calico and tabby that will knead my lap and stomach for over a half hour, and a medium-haired male that's orange and white that will be affectionate to the point of being annoying.

I live with two cats, my boy and my roomie's girl. Princess is, according to said roomie, at least ten years old and a tiny gray former barn cat. She also will not leave you alone if you're sitting or laying down in my house--she loves her some attention.
Siri (full name Sirius Canicula)is my big, black, fluffy two-year-old. He used to chase his tail and he's super friendly and chill. Also, he does backflips when chasing toys and I have to keep him inside because he's too good at hunting. He's long-haired, but he doesn't have a double coat like other long-haired cats I've seen.

I have one cat named Loki, and a few fish. Loki is something of an abnormal cat; he comes when you call him, listens to you, and follows you around the house, but he's a great cat. I knew I was going to need something following me around the house when I first got the place and it was just me rattling around. As far as the fish I've been accused of terrorizing them since I built the fish tank in to the cat tree, which means Loki spends a good chunk of time sleeping right in front of the tank, but generally the fish just ignore him.

Let's see...

Winnie the Poof is a grey tabby kitty, roughly four years old. I got her from the Albertson's parking lot - someone was giving away kitties, and my husband took me to look at them. Poof was the quietest, and got along with him, so he let me have her. She is totally a momma's girl. She loves me, tolerates everyone else. She'll let me hold her, but if anyone else tries, she's gone. She's easily spooked (runs out of the room when hubby sneezes!) but is getting better. She had a voice, until we got Methos. She spent the first 3 weeks screaming at him (no matter how much I reasoned with her) and damaged her voice box permanently. She now squeeks. Her name comes from the obvious Winnie the Pooh and the fact that I am (obviously) a tigger fan.

Methelemos (Methos, aka Methos the Magic Cat, Methos the Monster, and Methos Trouble Underfoot) was about 6 weeks old when I found him under our truck out front. I brought him in and he promptly took over the household. It turns out that he was a lavender-point snowshoe siamese - expensive kitty! I saw "was", because a year ago this May he went outside (there was NO keeping him in) and managed to get himself clipped in the head by a car. At least, that's what we assume happened. He always came in at night, and when he didn't come in, we went looking for him the next day. Found him in the bushes across the street. Enter "mommy guilt" that still hasn't quite subsided. He was 2 years old and 22 pounds of solid muscle. Husband named him after the oldest living immortal from Highlander.

Inara - our latest addition. She is a 7-month-old golden lab. She is her daddy's girl, as I always intended her to be. I'm an animal person, but cats first...and Poof doesn't like her much. 'Nara wants to play, Poof...doesn't. 'Nara knows lots of tricks already (sit, down, off, shake, high five, roll over, and learning stay) and goes ballistic for Kong Stuffing. She'll do all her tricks as fast as she can if you'll just GIVE HER THE TREATS ALREADY! We named her Inara because she's a lab, and they're companion dogs. Also? As a friend put it "you'll pay dearly for the pleasure of her company".

I don't have any picture's of 'Nara yet, but here's some of Poof and Methos.

Poofa kitty:

King Methos:

I'm another college student with pet limits, but I've got a few at home. Right now we have two Corgis, Trevor and Goku who are total jerks to other people, but are constantly begging us to pet them. We have two cats, Nova and Stormy who were both rescued. Nova from a abandoned car and Stormy from a construction site my mom used to work at. We took care of Stormy and her three other siblings since they were a week or two old. We also kept Stormy's sister Orky, but she wandered away when we were on vacation several years ago, and we haven't seen her since. presumably the coyotes in the canyon got her. Stormy's kind of a retard-cat; she's very clumsy and does some really non-catlike things. Nova, on the other hand, is aloof and only cuddles when she wants to. which is pretty much all the time now, since she's old and would prefer sleeping on a squishy human rather than a table. Then there's my bunny Mochi, she's named after the tasty ice cream treat, but her name hasn't really stuck, so I usually call her bun-bun or bunners.
Nova:

Stormy:

Mochi:

Here are my furbabby loves... Gabbie Lou (also goes by My Lil'Lou, Gabbelina) and Doodles (AKA Doodlicious, Doodlino my lil Bambino,Rosebud Massacrer)...
Both my cats know the commands sit, up(beg), down, wave, paw(shake), jump(over leg obstacles),come here, roll over(Gabbie hates), spin (either direction I specify)...they would do more if I could come up with them. Doodles is the trick master...he can do every trick as soon as I say it, in whatever sequence I say(any length sequence).
Gabbie Lou - 2.5 yrs old, 9 3/4 lbs, Prissy, Super Lady-like, Funny, Chirps like a bird,makes wining sounds, Meows when she MUST have something. Loves bacon, lunch meat, anything she sees a human eating and i mean anything...lettuce, Tabasco, chips, vinaigrette etc. Loves plastic cat toy corkscrews and feathered toys. Arbores the cat scratching deterrent tape...and must remove it from every piece of furniture it is found on(tried covering them in Tabasco...how I learned she loves Tabasco because she would lick if off before removing the tape). Demands attention when she wants, but is a scaredy cat with anyone new. When she was a baby, she demanded to sleep in the folds of my robe and be carried around this way. She still loves this but her bottom half sticks out. Loves to race me up the stairs and sashes away when I lose...ROFL

Doodles...13 1/2 lbs, 2years 10 months old, loves being called Prince Dude, Doodlino my Lil'Bambino, Doodlicious depending on what mood he is in. He was born with a super short super kinked up tail, he is so loving, and sooooo lazy. Super spoiled, has every toy known to man kind, carte blanche to all cat treats, human massage servants, cat drinking water fountain, cat towers, lunch meats, bacon etc. Beware, everything in the house is his property, and he lets you know it. Leave no miniature rose plants within his reach, as all flowers and buds will have been massacred and left sprawling around his cat beds(both are his property). When we got him from the SPCA...Gabbie(gotten on the same day) had to show him how to play with toys(even though he was 2x her size), he hates wet food and is very cautious of any humanly consumed food except bacon and cheese(given only in moderation). He has certain poses he does depending on his mood...one is called the rabbit because he lays down on his belly with his hind legs straight out behind him and his front paws; this is performed when he is proud of himself but relaxing. The next is with he is being a smart alack...he sit or lays on his belly with his quirky tail as flat to the small of his back as possible, also switches positions to best show off his tail to everyone. Also when he is feeling superior he does the rabbit pose on top of both cat beds in front of the fire place. Also beware of his body flops to reveal his "supposed" scratch deprived belly....its a trick! He can get anyone to become his human slave this way...and once he has you...you are never freed.

They are called SoftPaws (softpaws.com)...

They stop the cat from tearing up your furniture. After the first few weeks the cats don't even notice they have them on. They stay on pretty long. One package lasts for about 3 months for 1 cat. all you do is check their nails every few days to see if they have lost one. Trim nail. Replace. They can be used on hind leg nails also if your declawed cat scratches with them or if you have wood floors. Once the cats get used to them they don't mind one bit as it doesn't interfere with their natural claw movement.

The glue is super strong and non toxic...guests that come over to my house ask me if I take them into the nail salon to get nail polish ROFL!

PS Yes Doodles loves to risk his life just to get my heart racing when he is on the freshly waxed wooden railing. EEK!

I personally have never maimed any of my pets by declawing them, so when I adopted my furbabbies from the SPCA I decided to look up the best solution...and this was it. My expensive furniture, still looks it after 3 years of 2 rambunctious kitties trying to tear them up...LOL

Not that blue eyes on a dog or cat mean that animal is deaf, but it is an indicator that they have a higher disposition for it.

...Please do not take my opinion as me berating anyone for their choice of using declawing or tendonectomy. I believe everyone has their right to choose what is best for them...and to change their mind whenever they decide to. I have no right to tell anyone what to do. What is stated below is my OWN conclusion after months of debate with my hubby, and lots of reading the net. Many vets aren't aware or tend not to go into detail about the side-effects with every cat owner bringing their cat in for this seemingly normal procedure. Most pet owners believe all that is being removed is the claw... unfortunately the procedure involves a lot more than that.

I completely agree with your vet Capriox, if declawing means the cat gets a forever home...then its a worthwhile evil...but why not opt for caps that provide the same safety to your home without having amputations done on your loved one?
I PERSONALLY just wouldn't be able to stand myself if even AFTER researching it I put my fur-babies through it(I never chastise anyone who had the procedure done without knowing the facts). I could not go through with the practice when I researched the common side-effects; excessive aggressiveness, territorial marking, biting, personality change, excruciating pain, damage to the radial nerve, hemorrhage, bone chips that prevent healing, painful regrowth of deformed claw inside of the paw which is not visible to the eye, and chronic back and joint pain as shoulder, leg and back muscles weaken, postoperative hemorrhage, and possible lameness . Declawing cats is either illegal or considered extremely inhumane in these countries:
England
Scotland
Wales
Italy
France
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Norway
Sweden
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Ireland
Denmark
Finland
Slovenia
Portugal
Belgium
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
Yugoslavia
Japan
What I want to know is, if all these countries are against this procedure, why is America so far behind?
If you are still thinking of adopting a cat and plan on declawing, PLEASE adopt one of the many cats that have already gone through the procedure. There is always a few at any pet adoption I've been to. Call the rescue ahead to let them know you are looking for declawed so they may assist you further.

Tendonectomy, while much more humane, didn't appeal to me either as there is a high chance of joint fusion, similar mental problems to declawed cats, and arthritic problems.
Plus, cats that have either of these procedures lose much of their defences, climbing ability and balance(just think how you'd like running for your life with your toes amputated?). God forbid my cats get loose and a neighborhood dog(quite a few) is after them...they would be extremely vulnerable with no claws to scratch the dog with, and no way to climb up a tree to safety.
FYI Fully grown cats can be capped with soft paws, also. Any cat that you can trim the nails on, will be able to wear the caps. A box lasts 3+ months for one cat if correctly applied. So really in the scheme of things it costs very little...buy one less bag of treats and once less cat toy every 3 months.
Best case scenario, your cat is in the lucky half who comes out of declawing with no noticeable effects,but when he/she gets older and starts having severe arthritic pains in his/her paws...and cries every day in pain. Won't you take him/her to the vet and get it medicines to ease their pain? If so, how much more than a lifetime of caps would that end up costing you? What about the guilt that their pain is directly linked to your actions? I just don't believe I could personally forgive myself.
Is $18.95 every 3 months that expensive? $6.32 a month really too much? How much did that Starbucks you were drinking cost? How bout that stop at KFC last week? or Mcdonalds on your way home? What about that 6 pack of beer?
Maybe cutting out one hamburger meal a month is just not a feasible...I don't know. What do you think?

Some basic info on declawing and its effects:
http://www.declawing.com/htmls/declawing.htm

I'm so happy nobody in this forum has had a bad experience with this procedure. But I personally have lived with a cat who suffered from severe arthritic pains, attitude change, became extremely flighty, mean and started biting people if you tried to pet him, after going through the procedure. He belonged to my mom's husband, and made it impossible to keep our own cat with us(now living with my dad) in the same home as his cat became extremely territorial. I'm now married, and have my own house and cats...I just can't take the chance of doing that to one of my own.

All I wanted to do was post the info about it, I don't judge anyone for whatever decision they make. I just hope people get informed on the possible complications that can occur before making any serious decision on doing the procedure.

FYI not 20$ a month... every 3 months...

We have one older, grey, female, shorthair rescue cat named Padmei. She is aloof and demanding when she wants attention. She was followed last year by the absolute sluts of a brother and sister form a litter I brought home from work to find homes. Orion and Artemis are also grey shorthairs of a roughly Russian Blue hue, though the female has Siamese features and meow. They both have amazingly long tails and the faintest of tabby stripe shadows in their silver-grey.

I inherited a tiny, tiny female Maltese dog named Ibis from an elderly woman. She has a brain the size of a peanut, but we love her. She's getting older, too. We also have two female Austrailian Cattle Dogs that are cousins. One is a red named Muza, and the other is a red/blue mix named Nanaja.

We'll add on, I'm sure, though I don't have the time right now. In the past I've had up to 5 fish tanks, frogs, mice, finches, and cockatiels. I bred chinchillas and had over 40 at one point. I love animals and love learning about all different kids of pets.