Pet Peeves, Solving Pet Problems
My name is Chairman Meow (aka Kitty). I live in a dog-eat-dog world, but I rule my household with an iron claw. Let me introduce you to the cast of characters.
Number One Rule Offender: Dutchy, (aka Stinky). He looks innocent, but he’s devious behind those ole’ blue eyes. He can get in more trouble in a couple of minutes…just saying.
Number Two Dog: Lucille (aka Lucy-Goosy). She came into the household, over my strong objections, when the son called Mom up and asked if she wanted a starved to death, three-legged pit bull. She said, “Hell no!” but look who takes up the best space on the bed. She’s the jealous type, and wants all of the attention in the room…
Number Three Dog: Maggie (aka Cash). When the family went on vacation, son number one’s girlfriend thought it’d be a good idea to “gift” us with a puppy. We went to Florida to spend time on the sugar sand beaches and when we came back we discovered the puppy that was in a box at the local Kroger. It’d been a week since her owner (aka the woman who’d give puppies away at the Kroger, shame, shame) had been last seen, so Maggie joined the household about seven years ago.
So folks, this is what I have to put up with every day in our household. But, I still reign supreme.
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It’s not just the 6:00 AM scratching at the door to freshen up the food by mixing it with my finger – it’s the constant walking up to me during the day and meowing for this and meowing for that.
Of course, it’s the same “meow” for everything, so I have to run around trying to figure out what he wants – food? go outside? get into a room that has a shut door? He seems very smug about the “ordering a human around” thing. Never a grateful look on his face.
Congrats on getting the blog up and running! Love the picture of the cat in the heading. Very sinister looking!
I rescued my Daisy from a shelter – think she has issues! She thinks she owns the bed! See more photos here at WYCD.COM: http://wycd.radio.com/2010/03/22/does-your-pet-keep-you-up-at-night-like-mine/
Grunwald
The Dr. Don Morning Show
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99.5 WYCD, Detroit’s #1 for Country
When my alarm goes off Tess is up and ready for food. If I don’t get up right away she’ll stand on my back. If that doesn’t work she’ll meow in my face and then if I’m still being stubborn she nibbles on my forehead. It happens every morning and I always get up…Tess wins!
People wonder how our cat Kitty gets his way so well, but you’ve described the process pretty thoroughly Corrine! Send a pic of your sweet Tess and I’ll add it to Pet of the Week on a Wednesday!
I am glad to have run accross your site and get a giggle at some of the comments and descriptions of our beloved animals and find that that I am not alone in questioning why I am so fond of (well part of the time) of my cat,Toby, who is so aggressive that my arms and legs look like I have been in a serious fight every day of my life. He acn be such an affectionate, sweet kitty sitting in my lap and purring and all of a sudden he will attack me with no warning. All the vet can tell me is he gets overstimulated and gets aggressive and if I watch him carefully I can tell he is getting on the aggressive side. That’s a laugh because he does not have any psrticular body language before he attacks. The same vet has asked me to only bring Toby in once a year instead of every 6 months for shots and exams and then proceeded to show me where my dear Toby had torn her lab coat with his claws. I wanted to ask if she was paying attention and watching for signs of aggression before he had a chance to get to that point. I adopted Toby 3 years ago when he was 6 weeks old and his temperment has always been sweet with sudden agressiveness. I could not bring myself to declaw him after I found out thatpart of the actual paw was removed and not just the claws. So here I am now with a big 16 lb cat who is more like a mountain lion. And no I adopted him from a private home and not a shelter. By the way he does not attack my husband or my son, just me. Gotta love him.
This is a great blog! I’m new here and it’s very nice to see that I am not a horrible person for secretly wishing all my pets would run away in the middle of the night. Between the old, smelly, blind and deaf dog, the neurotic, whiney dog, the huge, fat cat, the bitchy, she-cat that pees on everything and the two smelly, noisy rats, I don’t have a happy house! We do have a little frog that lives in a bowl in the kitchen that I adore. Thank you for creating this site! I am looking forward to regular visits!
Andrea – I NEVER thought of leaving the doors open to let the pets run away. What a great idea! I totally understand the rats. My son, Benji, had two 12-foot Burmese Pythons that he’d feed rats from the pet store. After a couple months, we were getting signs that we had a rat-infested house and Benji innocently said, “Didn’t I tell you that last batch got away from the snake.” We ended up trapping 12 rats – IN OUR HOUSE. Kids, gotta love ‘em. Pets, I can live without them.
Sometimes those darn pets make absolutely no sense at all. Our Kitty is pretty testy with everyone. Yours is actually somewhat affectionate in certain circumstances (I totally understand about the vet). My son works at a vet and just got bit in the neck by a dachshund – 21 stitches.
Love that – Tess wins! Is there such a book as “The Strong-Willed Animal” for parenting our cats?
I read the article about you and your blog in the paper today. I’m an animal lover and I try to be an animal advocate when I can. I have two dogs..a Westie named Bugsy who is 12 and a Golden named Emma who is 8 1/2. Both are devoted to me and although not as well trained as they could be, they are well behaved.
They have some odd habits but so do I. They tolerate my weird sleep habits and I tolerate Bugsy’s gas and Emma’s drool.
I can’t help but say that most complaints seem to be about cats. Cats are notoriously independent and strong willed. When they find a behavior that drives you nuts, they do it over and over. A word to the woman whose cat “whooshes”, feeding is one of the strongest bonding actions. Self-feeders may make your life easier in one sense but you putting the kibble in a bowl may diminish Kitty’s “wooshing”. Self- feeding can also lead to overweight.
Shelter pets always come with emotional baggage. But, a responsible shelter should sit down with you and talk about the animals history and any health or behavior issues. Then you need to think seriously if this is the right animal for you.
And there is no shame in buying a dog from a breeder. Responsible breeders breed selectively in order to breed out health and behavior problems with their particular breed.
I love your blog. I have health issues and my dogs are what get me up in the morning and they also offer love and comfort and each has saved my life once. I write articles about them and dog issues on Helium.com.
Vicki – great to hear about your long experiences with your animals. Thanks for sharing your expertise by writing articles for other people!
We have a cat, named Ernie, who we adopted from the local vet. He was turned in as a stray, but becuase he loves everyone and was immediately at home in the house, we think he was someone’s pet before arriving at the vet’s. The vet placed his age at 1 1/2 – 2 years old, but he has almost doubled in size (18#s) in the 2 years we have had him. He plays like a kitten so we think he is much younger. Anyhow, he bites! He only bites me (his mom), never my husband. His m.o. is to sneak up from behind, bite, then run under the couch, and then head for the basement. We can go weeks without a bit, and then he will nip/bite 3 or 4 days in a row. Ernie much prefers my lap whenever he gets a chance. He used to sleep on our bed until he bit me in the middle of the night and I got an infection requiring a visit to the doctor. He now sleeps in the basement at night! The grandkids, ages 4 – 7, play with him and he is so gentle with them. The vet says a cat has a memory of 4 seconds, but I think Ernie is much more intelligent than that! He knows which cupboard holds his treats, and he knows when it is time for bed — between 8:30 and 9pm. He even goes to bed, in the basement, if we are not home Any suggestions?
We have a lot of collective pet wisdom on this blog – any suggestions for the well-bitten lady? This is a head-scratcher to me.
I would start with looking into what you wear; perfume, lotion, etc. Then think about what you ingest; particular food, medicine, etc. What about some relations to your hormones? Maybe it’s something like that makes you different from other family members. Or it could be an act of “ownership.” Your his main human. Just some far out guesses.
We love our two dogs but we cannot wait until they “go to the light.” One is a terrier mix (Benji like), Tybee, and the other a basset hound, Rudy. Both strays. Tybee has been completely blind for almost two years now. He does very good at finding his way around inside and outside. However the last 6 months he’s started this diving under the bed and barking when we come to bed! He’ll stop once we are in bed. It is so annoying!! He has always slept under the bed plus him being blind makes me feel guilty about banning him from the room. He has come to be difficult for anyone else to handle him but me.
Rudy goes through these peeing phases. He especially likes the dining room rug. After throwing out 3 different rugs we just don’t have one. And he likes to pee on anything new you set down. I can’t put my purse or a box or bag of groceries on the floor. He’ll come over and pee on it! Worse thing is, if you happen to see him, he’ll look at you defiantly while he does! He is also an escape artist! He does that “you can’t catch me” thing that is so frustrating. We live on a busy road. He makes me so mad sometimes that I hate to admit that I’d feel worse for the driver than the dog if he got hit. I know that’s terrible to say, but this true confession space, right?
With all the frustration, cleaning up after them, the expense and their bad behavior we have lost some of the joy of pet ownership. It is also so frustrating not being able to go anywhere for even one night because we can’t take Rudy because he doesn’t ride well and pees everywhere. We can’t afford to take them to a kennel and it’s hard to find someone to dog sit since we live way out in the country.
I wish there was a doggy Grandma I could send them to for a break now and then. I wish I could afford some animal behaviorist to help.
I guess this is what pet owners deal with for the moments of happiness and joy they can bring us.
I totally understand about the chasing the dog thing. We have an escape artist, too. Her name is Maggie and when she gets out – it’s SO frustrating. I wish you had a break from care giving, too. Read my post from yesterday on caring for older animals as there might be some helpful info there. But, don’t feel guilty. These feelings of being overwhelmed are totally normal!
Thanks for these ideas on the cat that stealth bites one member of the family, but not the others. These are great ideas. Anyone else have any ideas on this puzzling cat behaviors?
My lab/golden mix is a wonderful dog. Never barks, adores my 7-year-old and endures her “love” for him, never has accidents. But he eats. Everything. A small example of his recent “snacks”: a bottle of antibiotics (he got it off of a very high shelf); countless Barbie dolls; a sombrero (seriously –the whole thing); a box of grits; the hands and feet off of 3 American Girl dolls and my daughter’s favorite baby doll (which she continues to take in public, even with its 4 gnawed-off limbs); the wire mesh vent screen for my oven range; toilet paper rolls; countless pieces of fruit/veggies from the fruit bowl (no matter where I put it); binoculars; reusable, empty grocery bags; a jar (including the plastic jar) of sprinkles; the unplugged cord from a digital picture frame. It’s weird — no shoes, thank God. And he’s never been sick as a result. I try very hard to keep things out of his reach (for his sake and mine), but he’s got mad skills. Lucky for him, he’s fantastic in every other way. And my daughter has never been even the least bit upset at him — she constantly reminds me that it’s really our fault for leaving things where he can get them. Duh.
Puzzling cat behavior? Just gotta say, that’s standard operating procedure for cats! There are four in my house — yes, I’m mental. A calico who had gastrointestinal problems and we had to put her on steroids (she did get roid rage), a medium-hair girl cat who chews her back toenails until they bleed, a boy cat who’s so dumb I swear he was dropped on his head as a kitten and a Siamese. Nuff said. And two dogs, one who’s a compulsive pee-er when she thinks she’s in trouble and the other is in the teenage stage who forgets about his back feet and falls down the stairs. Nuts. My house is a zoo.
I rescued a pom mom from the SPCA seven months ago. She slept standing up the first night. She has emotional issues and I have her on anti-anxiety meds. (Before you judge read on) Ginger is beautiful and has a coat that yells pet me. Ginger’s attitude is Do No Look At Me, Do Not Touch Me, and Under No Circumstances Try to Pick Me Up. She is not overtly aggressive but she certainly has passive aggressive nailed. We have to keep a leash on her at all time so we can get close enough to take her in and out to potty, administer her meds and crate her. If you lose your grip on the leash you might as well sit down and have a beer because she does a Circle of Fear around the yard that can last several hours and since she is small enough to get through our fence we can not just leave her and come back later. (Our house faces a semi-busy road) Recently we put her in my husband’s lap to check out a growth on her neck and she bolted off his lap onto the sidewalk around our porch and broke 4 bones in 5 places. (On a Sunday of course) A lot of money and splint later we still have to keep a leash on her as she would rather endure the pain of running than let us get near her. I have other dogs that are great and there are days when I just throw my hands up and wonder “What the H***?!!!” Call me a fool but we love that dumb dog. I rationalize all this by thinking at least I did not have these types of issues with my human kids. They for the most part came to me when I reached out my hands.
Sounds like you’re a terrific “foster” mom to this dog. I was a foster mom to two girls when I lived in Chicago. I didn’t cause their issues, but I was left with the aftermath. You didn’t create these issues for this dog. Sounds like she needs a very, very calm environment. We had a dog that had to be medicated any time there were storms. One afternoon we weren’t home when a pop-up thunderstorm happened and she literally tore the back door off of the house to get in (and lost some teeth, and scraped herself up pretty badly). Fear is a terrible thing to live with. Keep loving on her!
I don’t know what is worse – a house full of pets or a house full of teenage sons (at least the pets have never lit firecrackers off the back deck or played a massive airsoft war with their friends – IN THE HOUSE – I’m still finding those stupid plastic bb’s all over the house. Pets are with you forever – teenagers, thankfully grow up and become semi-independent!
My beagle Oliver annoys the hell outta me. I got him as a one-year-old from this girl at work, whose brother was neglecting him. Apparently the dog had had a few homes already–by the time I got him–so I named him Oliver, both because he looks like an Oliver and also as an allusion to Dicken’s Oliver Twist, the orphan. Ollie is a sweet sweet dog…he’s just mischievous as hell. His bladder, apparently, is the size of a walnut. Even though I restrict water after 9:00 for him and Lou, my first dog, a Boxer mix who is the best dog ever, and i let them out before I go to bed (around 12:00 or 12:30) there are little pee puddles on the dining room carpet–mere feet from the food and water dishes–more than half the mornings I wake up around 7:00. I thought dogs were supposed to “do their business” faaaaar away from their food? Also, Ollie is a chewer. He’s already chewed up two dog beds (the soft kinds) and had a massive part in our jettisoning the upholstered couch in the stead of the new leather one–the one on which they are *not* to lay. See, Oliver liked to chew up the couch cushions. Oy vey. He’s just lucky he’s so damned cute and sweet and I have a lot of patience. Well, pretty good patience.
Sounds like he has some “beagle” in him. My sister’s beagle, Huckleberry, is a true chow hound. She has a lock on the bread drawer, a lock on any cabinet with any hint of food AND a massive lock on the fridge. Why? Because he’ll open the fridge with his paws and eat the entire contents of the fridge. Seriously! The lock was broken after Thanksgiving – the fridge door was opened and closed too many times that day, I guess. She went out shopping on Black Friday and came home to a empty fridge – and an overly full beagle. He’d eaten EVERY bit of the leftover Thanksgiving Turkey, carcass and all. So you have a patient soul mate in my sis in Wisconsin!
Adam – did you see my post about my sister’s Beagle, Huckleberry. Part of it is the breed. Beagles are their own dogs, if you know what I mean. Have you ever tried crating him at night and then letting him out immediately when you get up in the a.m.? Dogs initially don’t like the crate, but get used to the solitude and cavi-ness of their own crate. I used to work in a show kennel and there wasn’t one dog (out of about 50) that didn’t like their crates. It’s not cruel, it’ll solve a lot of problems. Just make sure it’s the proper size for him. Lots of dogs like the wire ones, rather than the plastic ones. Being a beagle, he’d probably just eat the thing. Good luck with Ollie and kudos for giving him a forever home!
Today, my cat, Frisky thought it would be a good idea to climb my curtains. This led to the curtains and rod falling. He then knocked over everything on our chest of drawers and broke a Guinness glass. When I came in the room, he kept trying to jump up a 5 foot dresser and fell…4 times. He’s acting crazy today. I am really loving my little dog right now.
We moved into a new home in Wheaton, IL and did the decorating thing. Getting new matching drapery that matched the couches, new carpet, etc. Then we got Sarah the guinea pig. Her cage was kept on the fireplace, in the family room. Did you know that guinea pigs are nocturnal (i.e. stay up all night)? Well, one morning I wake up and Sarah had taken our brand-new drapery into her cage, chewed them into a confetti and made a wonderful nest out of them. Unfortunately, she only chewed one side of the draperies and I could never find a match to the others – so for a couple years we had half-holey drapes in our family room. Pets, gotta love ‘em!
Steve, one can decipher a cat’s “meow” if you take time to really get to know him. We have 4 cats – Cosmo (Seal Point Siamese – 2 1/2 yrs old), Missy (Tiger/Torty 3 yrs old), Jennie (Black DSH 2 yrs old) and Buddy (Black Bombay 2 yrs old). Each has a unique meow, except Buddy who meows only when you open a can of tuna. We learned early on to say “show me what you want” and then follow them to learn what they want. They may want petting/stroking (they go to my chair), to play (they go to the mantle where cat toys are kept), brushed (they go to the brush on the desk), or to complain that their food bowl is empty. Buddy lets me know with a stare — or walks on my keyboard so I stop and hold him for petting and stroking.
I am completely at my witts end with my two cats. Both are neutered males, brothers from the same litter and yet the one cat is out to kill the other one at any given time. It is gotten to the point where my life revolves around having to keep track of where my cats are at all times otherwise I will be reminded as to why I can’t lose sight of them since one will be screaming bloody murder when the other one gets a hold of him. I just don’t get why they do it. It is now where there is one cat seperated from the rest of the family at all times which makes that particular cat unhappy. I spend my time keeping track of how long which cat has stayed in which room and rotate accordingly throughout the day. At least once a day I like to try to give my bully cat the benefit of the doubt and see if perhaps today will be the day he can get along and I will let both cats out of the room. It will take the bully about three seconds before he finds his prey. Sometimes he will just jump him for a full blown attack and other times he will approach my other cat and lick his head (I call it the kiss of death) and then attack at the throat. I just dont know what to do anymore, I have been doing this now for three years and I realize that my cats have another good 15 looooong years ahead of them. I can’t see myself doing this for that long. At one point I snapped and brought the bully cat to the pound as I figured they would find him a new home, but when they asked me for $40 to pay to put him to sleep, I brought him back home. I feel like a sucker for punishment on most days. Thank god for my dogs being around, they are what keeps me sane through all this. After these two cats, I will never have another one in my house ever again. I have realized I am truly a dog-only type person.
Has anyone out there ever had a “bully” cat problem? Maybe they could help with suggestions?
It’s amazing that they have only meows, but can communicate so very well their needs!
We adopted a schnauzer terrier mix a year ago. She was abandoned by the previous owner who dropped her with a friend that ran a rescue, then never went back to pick her up. I think I’ve figured out why: She’s stupid.
In one full year plus, she’s not learned one command, not ‘sit’, not ‘stay’ and certainly not ‘come here.’
Just last night, as my kids and I were getting ready to leave to visit my mom, she slipped out. It took an hour and a half to get her back in the house. She thinks we’re playing when we try to chase her down. She goes to neighbors’ yards and baeks at them, and she stands in the middle of the street, staring at the cars as they try to get around her.
Then this morning, I tried to get her out of my daughter’s room, and, fo course she wouldn’t come when I called, so I went in to get her and she peed all over the bed.
I love animals, but my feelings for this dog have gone from affection to distatse to dislike to outright loathing. I can’t even stand to have her lick my hands. Of course, I think that has a lot to do with her trying to empty a full diaper while I was changing my son. It;s gotten to the point where, when she’s standing in the middle of the street, staring stupidly at he oncoming traffic, I’m almost rooting for the vehicles.
Fortunately, the rescue we got her from thinks they can find a home for her. I hope it’s soon, because I just can’t stand the sight of her anymore.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent.
Praying for a new home – quickly!
I am, too.
I love my little boy. His name is Blanca and he is the most beautiful Siamese I have ever laid my eyes on. It was love at first sight when my boyfriend pulled him out of the feral litter in his grandma’s garage. Though I requested a black one, there was no way I was putting back the Siamese.
Imediatly we decided I would want grand-kittens, and did not have him fixed. My friend Chris told me ” you really need to have him fixed, it will prevent him from getting testicular cancer.”
“Chris,” I coolly replied, “If we cut yours off, it would prevent you from getting cancer too,” and I left it at that.
As a kitten he earned the nik name Poo-Paw, because he had problems burring his poop and would walk all through it.
A year later he is the most obnoxious thing. He pees just to pee. He pees inside and out. On the towels in the bathroom, on the plastic mat under the desk, on the entertainment center, and even on the play-station.
He constantly hungry, always begging and actually swats and pushes our other cat out of the way when it’s feeding time. We now have to feed them in separate rooms. And if Blanca gets done first, watch out Bugsy, he’s coming to bump you from your dish! These are just A few of the things he does that drives the house hold nuts. And honestly, I’ve never had a cat that had such behavioral problems.
I’ve given much consideration to taking him to a shelter, but I know they will snatch his man hood from him. Then he climbs on my chest and lays his face on mine and I look in to those beautiful blue eyes and think, “how could I give this guy up?”
Natalie,
We’ve had a similar situation here at home. Our two males ganged up on our female when I brought the youngest male home. They got together & began slowly tormenting her. She was already one of the most unpleasant cats I’ve ever dealt with, having a howl that was like nails on a chalk board.
She would cower in a corner behind the furniture where they would find her, swat at her, hiss at her, and make her basically miserable. They wouldn’t let her eat, they wouldn’t let her sleep. And one day she just disappeared, but two weeks later she was back. We brought her in the house, as she seemed skinny and dehydrated, where upon sight of the two males she ran to the closed door and clawed wildly at it desperate to get out. . .hungry or not.
Now that she’s been gone for several months, the youngest male is currently going through a faze of not allowing the older male to eat, I think in an effort of domination.
Perhaps your bully cat is so hyped up on being the “dom” that he doesn’t know when enough is enough. Is there an option to make “bully” an in-door/out-door cat? Or perhaps a friend can take him? I’m sure you thought of this already. . . But sibling rivalry is pretty common. I think you are right separating him. Have you tried the squirt bottle routine? Fill a spray bottle or water gun with water & when the aggressor gets near the other cat squirt him- they hate that. Its really is an awesome deterrent.
SMUDGE! Why do you insist on peeing and spraying all over the house? I give you love, fresh kitty litter, all the food you want…and still you pee. And spray. It’s my fault, I know; I did not get you neutered because you ran me ragged and acted like you were going to have a heart attack when I tried to put you in a cage. You won; I caved. And now here I am. Getting peed on every night (about last night…on my head? Really? You couldn’t find a less intrusive place?) If I died, the local news would report it as one of those “judging by the smell, she was a horrible pet owner” stories. You’re 3 years old now and, although we’ve made great progress (you actually let me pick you up once in a while, provided I don’t move an inch from where we’re standing), the minute the cat carrier comes out you’re history. What am I to do?????? Geez–I saved you from 120-degree AZ summer temps and a big bull snake when you were born! I was totally cool with 3 cats, but I took you and your sister and your mother in because you’d have died otherwise! You’re an indoor-only cat now! Don’t you know how good you have it? Your sister and your mother are both fine; they don’t pee anywhere they shouldn’t, and they were totally cool about getting spayed. Why oh why do you feel the need to make my life hellllllllll? If I mustered the strength to shove you into the cat carrier and get you neutered now, would it be too late?
Have you had your siamese checked out by a vet? If he’s constantly hungry and peeing all the time, maybe there’s something wrong. Mum had a dog who peed all the time, who turned out to have a bladder infection.
Then again, it could just be a domination thing.
Natalie, sounds like the bully thinks the whole house is his territory and the victim’s an invader. You couldn’t possibly split your house in two for a while, in effect, with one cat in one half and the other in the other? It’s a big ask, because I suspect you’d have to put a fence across the middle of your living room, but it might let the cats establish separate territories.
It might work to divide the rooms between them except for the living room, and just make sure that any time they’re in the living room, they’re both there and they’re thoroughly supervised. Might be able to make the living room into neutral space. Ditto passageways that they both have to go through.
And have you tried Feliway?
Find an unemployed club bouncer, invite him over, and pay him handsomely to get Smudge into a cat carrier. It’ll make your life LOTS, LOTS easier…..Sorry he’s so high maintenance.
Having the cat fixed will stop a LOT of the peeing inside the house. Males mark everything. Having them fixed is also a good idea because there are thousands of kittens that are put to sleep every year. Where I live people do not simply dump a single kitten or puppy, they dump entire litters. Fixing both male and female cats is the best thing to do.. it helps with behavior (fighting, peeing, howling etc.) as well as reducing the number of animals that have to be put to sleep ever year. A male cat can impregnate 20 to 30 females a season..I love animals, ( I have 6 horses, 7 dogs,5 cats a bird and a rabbit (I also raised a baby deer and coyote).. I have a small rescue and i see the “unwanted” population.
I totally agree. We had a neighbor that didn’t fix her cats – they lived in the woods, but they soon multiplied and I bet we had 100 cats living wild in the woods. They were sick, hungry and it was a miserable situation. Then the neighbor moved away, leaving their “problems” behind. It was a total mess.
I have two cats that have both become disagreeable. It’s the 3 P’s that drive me crazy: piss, poop, and puke. One cat pees and poops outside the box and they both puke everywhere. My older cat is a cancer survivor. When he was going through radiation and surgery, we gave him special treatment. We had to because he needed it and we loved him dearly. Since then (three years later) he thinks he still deserves the royal treatment. He always wants to eat and will meow very loudly at 3 a.m. to get more food. The younger cat, a male, was neutered as soon as we got him but his whole life he’s peed outside the box. I love my cats but they’re getting on my last nerve. I’m ready to open the door and shove them out. I’d never do that, of course, but how much longer do I have to wait till they’re at the end of their natural? sigh.
Another poster said she’s waiting until her pets “go to the light” which I think describes that feeling so well. So sorry to hear about your Pet Peeves.
My cats can tell time! I don’t need an alarm clock since they either run laps on the bed or meow in my ear at five sharp every morning! Even on weekends!!
Two things my mother never told me: 1) when I had children, I’d never sleep again. 2) When I have kids, I’ll automatically have pets. Bad combination.
I have had several pets and kept my niece’s cat for a week, so there are lots of not so warm and fuzzy stories to tell. Her cat, a beautiful white longhair cat, shredded my tatami screen, my brand new tatami screen. There were snakes that got loose and accosted my mother on the stairs on her way down to the laundry, dogs that threatened to bite said mother when she wanted to punish me (good dog), Mr. Hyde, a black cat, who hid in the closet every time someone came to the door and sharpened his claws on the exposed flesh of my lower back whenever possible (that one is in A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers: Phantom of the Apartment), and another black cat (must be a theme here somewhere) named Shadow who shadowed me everywhere. He used to sit on my desk in front of my keyboard while I worked and refused to let me out of his sight even when I showered, hopping up on the tub and pulling back the shower curtain so the floor would get washed while I showered. Good thing I lived in a basement apartment and there was no one to flood beneath me. Stories? I have lots of stories.
My Lab flaps her head all the time. She has inner ear trouble and no matter how much we treat her for it, she still flap, flap, flaps. Ugh. But she’s such a sweet dog. Couldn’t ask for a better pet around the grandbabies.
Thanks for being part of the blog jog today.
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I had a black Cocker Spaniel that had such bad ears, he’d scratch himself bloody while I was at work. I guess he was trying to get the itch out. I feel for your Lab.