[dicklont]

I noticed a lot of cats in the avatars lately.
Time to raise the question: What is you favourite pet?
Tell more about him/her.

[jjbrr]

I'm a dog person myself. I've had golden retrievers pretty much my whole life.

I recently moved into an apartment and my roommate has a cat. She's the first cat I've ever lived with, and she's completely nuts. She's not allowed in my room because she likes to tear things up, so every morning she hides right outside my door and when I open it she either tries to sneak in quickly or she bolts in the opposite direction. I guess this is supposed to keep me guessing every morning about what she intends to do.

It's funny that when I was much, much too young to understand anything about life, I thought cats were female and dogs were male. Now that I'm older and still don't know anything about life, I've come to realize that cats and women both are impossible to figure out.

[helene_t]

Have had cats most of my life except when impossible due to frequent moves or landlords/flatmates refusing cats.

The cat at the picture is my previous one which I had to give to a friend at a time when I was not allowed to have pets in my house. She is a very social cat so it's good for her now to be in a house with someone who is more often at home than I am.

She is called Pandora because I got her in a box (didn't bring a transport basket to the cat shelter when I got her because I hadn't expected to get a cat immediately).

Now I have a another cat, Fizz, from a local shelter. When I got her she appeared to be heavily traumatized as she would hide under the bed whenever she hears an unfamilar voice and also whenever I had visitors. She is getting gradually more normal though. When Manudude03 took care of her while I was in Mumbai she was not afraid of him, which was great progress, she used to be afraid of everyone other than me.

When I retire I might take a dog. But as my life is now I can't be at home enough to have a dog.

[jdonn]

Love dogs, like everything else except.... hate birds! Not cute, noisy as heck, difficult to train to do anything, poo on your shoulder if you try to play with them. Birds

[jonottawa]

Hershey Bar was a very good boy. He was handsome and brave and loyal and mischievous and strong and cuddly and affectionate. He liked to have his tummy rubbed and he absolutely loved Froot Loopies.

He was, of course, a rat. ... 'Other' indeed,

Rat
Other

would be a better poll.

[jjbrr]

jonottawa, on Mar 3 2010, 12:05 PM, said:

Hershey Bar was a very good boy. He was handsome and brave and loyal and mischievous and strong and cuddly and affectionate. He liked to have his tummy rubbed and he absolutely loved Froot Loopies.

He was, of course, a rat. ... 'Other' indeed,

Rat
Other

would be a better poll.

A very solid response given the 100% cat avatars before this post. Hershey Bar's bravery is clearly a reflection of his owner.

[kenrexford]

My wife and I live in a zoo, sort of. "Favorite" is tough.

We have koi and goldfish in a pond outside. They are tremendously relaxing in the warmer months.

We have a large saltwater tank inside. They are tremendously relaxing in the colder months.

We have two dogs, Malcolm (black) and Aspen (white). They are not remotely relaxing, but they are great fun.

But, if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be my Himalayan cat, Arcadia. I pruchased her back in 1994 while I was still in law school. I have been through a lot of ups and downs since then, and my cat has been my one steady throughout. She's a relative bitch to everyone except me, whom she follows around the house constantly.

Lose any of my pets, and I'm upset, of course. When my cat passes, I'm sure that I will be unconsolable for a while.

[Aberlour10]

My best friend's black labrador. Sheila is often hosted by me, while he is on the road. Her favourite activities>>> to show other dogs that she is the queen , dinning, swimming and driving with me showing how interesting is the world around us.

[Al_U_Card]

Only ever had one pet. (My kids and spouses have had birds, gerbils, fish, cats but never any dogs)

I got Cricket as a kitten from the litter of an inlaw's cat. I chose him for his tail in the form of a question mark and his black nose. (He was a gray and white mix.)
Took him to University with me (He liked to sit in the rear window area during roadtrips.) and to my various lodgings and homes.
At the age of 7, he was hit by a car and the light went out of his eyes as I held him.
Never wanted to have another pet since then.

[hrothgar]

Very much a dog person, but can't own one because I don't spend enough time at home.

I LOVE rats, however, they are very short lived. (Two years or so). You get emotionally attached and then they die...

I am debating getting a cat (leaning towards a Maine Coon)

[kenberg]

Dogs, if circumstances permit.

I was given a Springer Spaniel when I was 2. Her name became Judy because I didn't speak very clearly but that was a name i could handle.

My younger daughter wsa given a miniature poodle when she was in kindergarten. We gave her naming rights and she decided on Mark Beagle. We explained that the dog was a poodle. She insisted on Mark Beagle. So he becam Mark Beagle. Later we discovered that a boy in her kindergarten class was named Mark Beagle. Mark Beagle/Poodle was a great kid's dog. There would be half a dozen kids out back playing catch the poodle as Mark ran about among them. They seldom caught him.

We had a couple of Black Labs until their recent passing from age. Great dogs.

In between I have had a number of cats, Cleocatra being my favorite. When I remarried, Becky already had one of the Labs and I had Cleo. The Lab would come get me and try desperately to convey the message "The cat is on the kitchen counter. The cat does not belong on the counter. Get the cat off of the counter." But once when Cleo got into a tussle with a neighbor cat, Bean, the Lab, was out the door like a shot on a rescue mission. The other cat did not return.

The newest: I would not exactly say pets, but with all the snow we have been getting a number of deer feeding on the bushes. Within the last day or two it has melted enough so that the ivy in the back of the yard is exposed and the morning usually brings seven or eight deer around for breakfast. But they are now showing signs of thinking of our back yard as home. As my wife came home yesterday there were a couple of deer in the front yard. They immediately went back to where they "belonged", jumping the fence and then plopping down beneath "their" tree in the back yard. I'm sort of a sucker for Bambi like creatures, I even like groundhogs, but I may need to do something about this.

[neilkaz]

I'd still have to say cats as I've had them much of my life, although our rather new cute little 7 pound Maltese is very sweet and lots of fun, as has convinced me that dogs are smarter than cats.

The picture in my avatar could be the spitting image of one of my cats, when he was younger. Amazing likeness, just like it was cloned from my cat.

A few years ago we had 6 cats here, but three have passed away.

.. neilkaz ..

[ggwhiz]

My wife got a Rhodesian Ridgeback and I got a Jack Russell, both mutts from the pound.

While working on names, we BBQed a couple of steaks and gave each a bone. The big one savoured hers and mine scarfed it down then ran to the front gate barking like a banshee.

The big one took off like a shot and zoom, there goes the second bone to........ GROSVENOR!

[Apollo81]

kenberg, on Mar 3 2010, 01:19 PM, said:

The newest: I would not exactly say pets, but with all the snow we have been getting a number of deer feeding on the bushes. Within the last day or two it has melted enough so that the ivy in the back of the yard is exposed and the morning usually brings seven or eight deer around for breakfast. But they are now showing signs of thinking of our back yard as home. As my wife came home yesterday there were a couple of deer in the front yard. They immediately went back to where they "belonged", jumping the fence and then plopping down beneath "their" tree in the back yard. I'm sort of a sucker for Bambi like creatures, I even like groundhogs, but I may need to do something about this.

I hate deer. Sure they are cute and all, but they carry Lyme disease-ridden ticks, they jump out in front of vehicles, they poop in your yard, and they eat your gardens.

I'm a dog person, never had one as a kid, but have had a corgi/jack russell mix for the past 4.5 years

[Cascade]

I have had cats for the last 18 years. And I love them.

I had a dog from when I was about 11 years old and kind of would like one again but I go away too often and a dog would be difficult to look after.

When we are away for a long weekend we just put out plenty of food and let the cat(s) fend for themselves or if a bit longer get the neightbour to feed them. A dog wouldn't be quite so independent.

My first cat was black and I didn't really give him a name. I just called him "Mate". He was an amazing cat he was willing to follow me everywhere to the extent that he would jump in the car when I was on my way out and sit on my shoulder when we were driving.

One crazy and disgusting story was in the middle of the night he came in and appeared to be wet from head to toe. On closer inspection he was literally covered in cow ***** - I was renting a little one bedroom cottage on a farm at the time. It appeared that he had fallen into the oxidation pond. The pond was covered in semi-solid sludge and my guess is he was walking across it and it gave way. I then had to clean him obviously so he and I were into the shower.

Just before I was married we got two kittens. The mother of the kittens was owned by some bridge playing friends and they had named her Rixi after Rixi Markus. We followed the tradition and named our cats Fritzi after Rixi's partner Fritzi Gordon and Victor after Victor Mollo. Fritzi was tortoiseshell and Victor Black and White. We came home from a bridge tournament one weekend and Victor had been hit by a car. He was semi-ok and had got himself back inside which involved some jumping to get through a window that we had left open for them but there was a lot of blood. We phoned a vet and told him what had happened and after describing his state the vet said he thought he would probably be ok until the next morning. I slept with him on the living room floor that night. It turns out he had broken his jaw and had it wired up and otherwise was ok. However his personality changed dramatically after that and he used to wander away for several days on end. One time he never came home.

We had Fritzi for about 15 years and she got cancer of the mouth which was very sad for her as she loved her food. For all of her life we had at least one other cat. The other were always sleek and athletic but Fritzi managed to be rotund and up to three times the weight of other cats. We could never understand this as we fed them all the same. Late in her life we learned that she frequently invited herself to the neighbours for dinner (and probably sometimes breakfast and lunch).

On the farm there was a wild cat that the farmer kind of encouraged as it kept the vermon down. She used to come and try and steal food from our house. The second summer we were there she basically came and dumped her kitten in our house so we inherited a little black kitten who we named Ely. We had Ely for about 6 years. He was a fine looking cat and very mild natured - you would never believe that he started life as a wild kitten. He had a strange habit of going on walk about for a couple of weeks. The first time he had vanished we hadn't seen him for exactly two weeks and I got up one sunny morning and opened the door and he walked in "Meow Meow" which I think means "Here am I feed me" as if nothing unusual had happened. I have no idea where he had been.

Another time when he had been away for over two weeks I woke up in the middle of the night (which for me is very unusual as I am usually an incredibly sound sleeper) and could have sworn that I heard Ely outside. We had moved into town by then. I went outside and called him and he came but in a strange twist it seems unlikely that I had heard him as he came bounding across the roof of the house across the road and a couple of doors down the street.

Shortly after we moved to our current house Ely went on another mission from which he never returned.

A year after we inherited Ely his mother had another kitten. This kitten was tabby. His mother didn't donate him to us this time and he was getting quite big so we decided to trap him in a possum cage intending to take him to the SPCA. But he was so cute that I wanted to keep him. We named him Nico - Nico Gardener. Currently he is our only cat and we have had him for about 15-16 years. He was a little older when we trapped him and he has never settled into life fully as a domestic cat. He has lived a dual life. Outside during the day he has been very wary and kept his distance. In fifteen years he let me pick him up outside less than half a dozen times. However when he came in at night he was very affectionate and a wonderful pet.

When my mother died I inherited her cat. Her neighbour was feeding the cat when Mum was in hospital and then for a week or so after Mum died then the cat vanished from sight. Five weeks after Mum died I travelled to her house to sort out her property. When I arrived I walked around the block and called the cat's name - Leo (and not Leo the lion as you might expect its another long story which I won't bore you with). Then I settled down in Mum's lounge in the sun to do some work while I waited for my sisters. After being there for about half an hour Leo arrived at the window. I adopted him and brought him home with my on the plane. We had Leo for about 2 years and his kidneys failed. He took a while to settle in. It is fair to say that there were power issues with Fritzi and Nico. Initially he was very timid to the extent of hiding away in dark corners and we would have to play hide and seek to find him but eventually he used to come and snuggle up to me when I was watching television.

So now we only have Nico. Nico is a changed man since he has become the only cat. As I said for fifteen years he avoided me (and anyone else) when he was outside but in the last six months he has transformed to where he comes up to me outside several times a day and comes inside during the day (which he never did before) to discuss dinner arrangements. He is not quite a lapcat but he is a wonderful pet.

[jjbrr]

excellent read

[Oren Goren]

I almost didn't reply because I feel there is too much to say, especially about Pokey (Poker Chip), a black cat with a whie spot on his chest, and a vague one on his tummy.

He was marvellous. All the cuddler one could ask for. And a long walk-with-you guy.

My father brought him home at the start of what his death-bed confession said was the start of a three-year campaign to "destroy"me so I'd be forced to join and vegetate in the military; he was a "professional killer" and his life would be unjustified if I didn't join the military. (Go figure.)

So, Pokey was my main bud during some terrible years.

After I graduated HS he was transferred to DC and Pokey and his brother (Inky Doodle, my sister's) went with them, and I rejoined them for a week or two. Then left for school. Pokey began just coming in mornings and looking around for me, mewing. Then his visits began to be infrequent and finally he stopped showing up.

Months later I returned and went looking for him, finally hearing tales about a fierce fellow who stole their dogs' and cats' food, etc. No, couldn't be the cat I was looking for. Too wild.

But a semi-rural farmer phoned one day and said the cat was there. Yes, heading off across a plowed field. I called to him a couple times and he finally slowed down, ears laid back. Called and called. Slowed and slowed and finally I came up to him and was able to pick him up, purring. (Both of us maybe.)

He was like a fur covered steel statue.

The farmer was incredulous that I could pick up Pokey.

He stayed with my parents the rest of his life, no wandering away although I was soon no longer there.

A Florida pet cat living through a DC winter. One who would snuggle under the covers on ordinary Florida nights.

His most astounding trick is hard to describe except in video.

The living room couch front edge was at most four feet from a wall. I'd be sitting there and Pokey was "aimed" at the wall, watching me over his shoulder.

I'd throw the little rubber ball not too hard, not so softly, past his right side so it hit the floor a little short of the wall, bounce to the wall, and up, up and away.

And he'd go up, up, and away, twisting in air and ALWAYS grabbing the ball in his mouth.

He'd then come toward me and drop the ball just far enough away from me that I'd have to stretch to get it.

Same way he'd bring back the ball when I threw it up the hallway into one of the bedrooms, Pokey and Inky chasing it and Pokey always bringing it back.

That was long,long ago.

Now it is Sadie Bugbane, about 19 years old and still frisky. Also known as Sadie Vetenarianbane once her first vet abused her. She's a perfect being, and no, that doesn't mean she is subservient, not even a cuddler. Quite the contrary.

Let's note that 99% ("estimated") of Science Fiction and Mystery critters are felines.

Quite a few cat mystery series (Try Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey and Dulcie series)

SF critters are felines or feline-ish. Lion-like often but human-shipboard it is cats.

[jjbrr]

Found him

[gwnn]

I prefer cats, even though I have never owned one. It looks like dogs offer mindless and dogmatic enthusiasm and approval (but I don't mean to say they are mindless in general). I don't want anyone to feel like that, at least not until I become genuinely awesome.

[Aberlour10]

jjbrr, on Mar 3 2010, 04:39 PM, said:

Found him

His eyes seem to say...he is the declarer in a "Roland Slam" contract;)