Well National Pet Week is winding down, and will hand over the “national” week tomorrow to wildflowers.
Boozer
The final picture for national pet week went to Boozer today. She is the “baby” of the family–she was adopted back in December 2011, and is our second large breed dog–the first was the St. Bernard Speedbump. Boozer is a large breed “mutt”–she is half bearded collie and half great Pyrenees. Which makes her 200% stubborn, and 150% possessive of anything she thinks is hers (including any plastic flamingos that she has decided are chew toys).
She is a sweetheart of a dog (though she does have her issues and problems), and can a handful at times (especially with two elderly dogs in the house), but she has a personality.
Well I’ve been trying to get stuff done on the computer, though all I really managed to get completed was deleting a post in progress, because I didn’t like the way it was flowing. Luckily, Pancakes decided to come and demand her fair time on my lap, so I was able to start thinking of another post, and here we are.
National pet week is starting to wind down–tomorrow is the last day, though every day should be pet day. When you decide to get a dog or a cat, it is a life time commitment (at least 10 years [depending on whether it is a dog or a cat and then the breed of dog or cat]), and one that shouldn’t be made lightly. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve had dogs and cats my entire life (there have basically been nine of each throughout my life and three of each are still living [though two of the dogs are rather up there in the years]), and once I move it will be awhile before I get another cat and dog (as I will have Pancakes with me).
Pancakes is a very large short hair domestic cat (as I call her my mini panther), that has a very unique personality. We’ve only had one other cat that I can think of that also likes to play with crinkled plastic (and I’m not talking about the little crinkle balls). If the plastic is long enough, she will carry it around in her mouth like a snake. She also loves hair ties (which is why, even when I get a hair cut I make sure that I have plenty of hair ties on hand for her).
She also demands that the water level in the water dish be at a certain height (that way she can still see if any other animal is coming near her, plus it cuts down on the whisker fatigue). She also at times has this habit of spitting out particular pieces of dry cat food if she doesn’t like the texture (sometimes its the orange ones and sometimes its the pinkish ones).
So today’s installment for national pet day is Waffles.
Where is that crinkly ball??
Waffles was wanting to know where the little crinkly ball had been batted to. I think all three of them were treating it like a soccer ball, but none were really wanting to share it–if someone didn’t go after it quickly enough, one of the others jumped in and took over playing with it. I think she’d been woken up by someone either racing past her, or they bounced the ball off of her as she was curled up on the floor.
I enjoy watching the cats play with their toys in the morning (Pancake particularly likes her crinkly plastic; and both her and Pye like playing with hair ties). Waffles will join in every so often, but enjoys going after bugs more than anything. It will be interesting to see what type of bugs she brings in from the garage this summer–I’m just hoping that junebugs are more or less dead when she brings them in.
Do any of your cats bring you insects as gifts–or do they bring you dead mice??
So today’s installment for national pet week is Pyewicket.
Pyewicket
So I was vacuuming this weekend and had discovered one of the cats crinkle balls in the closet and decided to toss it out for them to play with. All three of them have been “taking turns” with batting the ball around the house at what seems like fifty miles per hour at times (though I know it isn’t that fast). I’d been hoping to catch them in action and take a video, but once I turned around to start filming–she stopped playing and just looked at me with a kittenish smirk, knowing that she’d foiled the plans of the video.
Pyewicket is our oldest cat (and she is only about a year and a half or two older than the other two), at about either nine or ten. It’s nice to know that if you get them toys–you can keep them young at heart. It is good practice to also take the cats to the vet for yearly checkups, but since we keep all of ours inside–they rarely go to the vet (Pancakes has been the most, and that is only because of the moves and I have to make sure that she has all of her shots so that I can take her with me).
Pyewicket is also one who at times demands a ride on your shoulder–and by demand I mean she will follow you around until you pick her up, carry her around for say five minutes and then she will jump off at the nearest large piece of furniture. She is also one who if you’re sitting in a particular chair, will demand to be on your shoulder so she can look out the window.
Decided that today’s entry for national pet week would be one of the fish, and Jaws won the draw. While fish can’t do a lot of things for people that cats and dogs (and probably to some extent other types of pets [birds, reptiles, rabbits, and others]), they are still usually a part of most families, at least as children are growing up. I’m pretty sure that a lot of us had the little goldfish in the bowl on the counter as a child.
Jaws eating “dinner”
I like having fish (because besides the ease of care), they also provide entertainment for the cats–I know that Pancakes enjoys spending time watching the fish eat, and she also likes trying to say hello to them as well. Also depending on your work schedule, where you live, if you’re allergic to animals–fish can also be a great way to have a pet (but without the pet dander, and with minimal fuss [unless you’re setting up a salt water aquarium or something fancy]). Also, did you know algae eaters can live 10-15 years (that’s basically the same age limit that cats and dogs have as well), so again–at least for algae eaters, they are an investment of both time and money (best for aquariums when you know you aren’t going to be moving every six months (unless you can figure out a way to move the algae eater with you)).
The first full week of May was designated back in 1981 as National Pet Week by the American Veterinary Medical Association, to celebrate America’s more than 200 million pets, and to encourage responsible pet care every day of the year (petweek.org/about-npw.html).
So I thought that I’d share a picture of different pets over the week, and some background on all the pets that I’ve had over the years–plus a reminder to adopt, don’t shop for your next pet.
Chewi watching for food to drop
So I’ve always had pets my entire life–cats, dogs, fish, parakeet, and a rabbit. When we moved to OK, we left the rabbit with friends (it was difficult enough to move cross country with two kids, a dog, and three cats). The rabbit was cool, but it did chew through basically all the cords in the house (it was a “free range rabbit), so Stripe had to be rehoused. The parakeet, unfortunately didn’t last that long–Bigfoot, my cat managed to figure out how to open the cage (even after putting twisty ties on the cage door). The fish have always come and gone (certain species don’t live that long, and my one trial with an salt water tank was almost disastrous).
With the cats, we’ve had nine through my life: Ritalin, Bigfoot, Cyprus, Slash, Cesar, Gandalf, Pyewicket, Waffles, and Pancakes. The first six have passed over the rainbow bridge over the years–the last three are still with (the breakfast duo and Pyewicket). With the cats, unless they managed to get out of the house and get lost (Cyrpus) or get sick (Cesar & Gandalf)–the other three: Ritalin, Bigfoot, & Slash all lived to be between eighteen and twenty years of age. Our cats have always had long lives due in part to the fact that we don’t let them out of the house (indoor animals always have a longer life span than outdoor pets or feral cats do).
Also with the dogs, we’ve had nine through my life: Ferret, Frodo, Shadow, Okie Thunderstorm (Storm for short), Chewi, Speedbump, Piranha, Spelunkers, and Boozer. Again, six have passed over the rainbow bridge over the years (age or health related issues), and currently we have two (Chewi and Piranha) who are going to be both sixteen (Chewi) and fifteen (Piranha) this year. Both are starting to show signs of old age (loss of sight, hearing), and Chewi has other issues as well (cancer) that are starting to slow her down.
Choosing the correct pet is always important–are you in a house, an apartment, living alone, with others? What is your day like, how active? There are some people who are strict dog or cat people–I’m a both person–I’ve always had cats and dogs, and I will probably always have at least one or the other. Once I move again–I’ll be taking Pancakes with me (I’m not going to stress out my dog by putting her through another move, so she will be allowed to live out her life in comfort at home), but within six to nine months of being where ever, I’ll probably get a kitten so that Pancakes has a new playmate and someone else around during the day while I’m at work.
I know that there are people who also only want purebred dogs or cats (and we’ve had several over the years), but I would advocate going to the pound or animal shelter and find your next family member there. The number of animals that are abandoned, lost, found, and end up at an animal shelter are staggering–they also need a home, and while they may be a little more skittish than others, they love just as well as those that are sold by different breeders.
