This Week's Meaningless Topic (#14) (Dec 12)

[Rodger Pettichord]

Hi all. Most of us have had a pet or pets we bonded with, perhaps when we were kids or perhaps in our old age. That leads us to this week's topic.

 

THIS WEEK'S MEANINGLESS TOPIC: What pet most captured your heart? (For me, it was a trio of stray cats--Doc, Fritz, and Friendly--who adopted us for fifteen years straddling the turn of the century. Many warm moments and laughs.)

[gumbypickett]

We took in a black moggy Kitten from our next door neighbour.

We called her Tiger. Can't remember the cats name. But seriously

she lived to a ripe age of 14, until a stray dog latched its jaws on her and the

rest is history. 

I still think of my neighbour.

cheers

Gumby

 

[Ken Q]

I have had a cat most of my life, several over the years, but one at a time.  First there was Smokey, who as a tiny kitten rode home in my cowboy hat.  I was three or four, about 1952.  Little kids can be hard on cats, so she didn't pay too much attention to me for years, long after I had moved away from Grandma's.  When my mom remarried, and we moved (A mile and a half away) Smokey stayed behind, though she really bonded to me in her later years when I visited, which until I went to college was almost every day.  In later years she was a wonderful companion to Grandma until Smokey died in 1974.  Meanwhile, Mom, Dad(step at the time, later he adopted me). moved into a house in 1959.  One day, while Dad was cleaning the basement with the windows open, this little black kitten wandered in.  Dad "hated" cats, but Jet became his sweetheart.  She was a much loved member of the family until she passed away in 1973.  By then I was on my own.  I had a tabby named Hoover.  Yes, he was named after the vacuum cleaner; if something remotely edible hit the floor it was  gone.  Easiest cat to give medicine to.  Toss the pill on the floor and he ate it.  He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and was hit by a car.  I only had him for about five years.

 

Then I got married in 1978.  Shortly after a little grey girl kitten, Claymore, moved in next door.  In time she befriended us, and when her human got married and moved away she moved in with us.  She was part Korat, personable, and very bright.  We had her until 1998.  When she died we decided to get a pure bred Korat, Shannon. She was a little spitfire, but closely bonded to me to the exclusion of my wife.  Sadly she only lived 11years, probably, in part, because of inbreeding.  Then we adopted Chessie, A little black shelter kitty.  He's twelve now.  Tyrannus! Felix Rex!  Rules the house with an iron paw.  As T shirt I got my wife says "Cats rule, accept it!"  He's A real sweety, but autocratic.  Right now, dozing in front of the fire. But if he were a midlife human male he'd be tearing around in a Masserati.

 

So which one captured my heart?  All of them!  The one I'm living with now, at any time in my life.  Each is unique.  But overall, I'd have to say that Claymore was really special.  She figured out how to get attention by pressing the button on the answering machine to make it beep. She was the one who made a fuss when they changed the label on her favorite cat food.  But then, Chessie is very much like her, and he is here, now.  Hopefully we'll have him for several more years.

[Ken Q]

Correction, wife points out that Jet died quite a while after we married, so it was in 1983, not 1973.  My bad.  But I recall that when mom and I took her for a checkup at the vet they were astonished by a pretty healthy 24 year old cat.  Since we don't know exactly when she was born, she probably was almost 25 when she died.

[adambar]

My wife and I have had seven dogs and one cat over the 53yrs we have been married and we loved every last one of them. They all had there own unique traits that brought us a lot of joy over the years.  The newest one is named Ben a Goldendoodle, part Golden Retriever and Poodle, a so called designer dog and he is quite the character. 

[bvdboomen]

10 hours ago, adambar said:

The newest one is named Ben

Huh... what? Ow, whoof! 

[John York]

When I was young my parents took on a collie cross called Judy because it was going to be put down by people who no longer wanted her.  I grew up with that dog and she finally died while I was away in the army.

 

When Sheila and I were married and lived in a nice detached bungalow with our two children a neighbor told us that they were having their little toy poodle put down because it was too much trouble.  We weren't having that so we took it on and our children grew up with that dog.

 

After thirteen years the inevitable happened of course and it was my job to take the suffering poor little chap to the vet to be put down.  

 

I swore I couldn't go through that again and we haven't had a dog since.  Dogs are lovely but they're heart breakers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[W2DR]

My heart was captured by Sondra Lee when I was 15 years old. No pet can ever take that away.

[olderndirt]

Back in '76 we bought an AKC border collie pup for $100.  Turns out the AKC never heard of him but he was a great dog.  Our next venture into canine companionship was much later in '02 - got a Australian shepherd - Jessie, the love of my life.  I cried a river when she passed.  My daughter later brought us a little Shih Tzu we named "Pixel".  Her previous owner had to let her go 'cause she was harassing her boyfriend's two Rotweilers too much.  Don't call her 'little lion' for nothing.

[wain71]

we had our cat now for about 11 years, she was a stray... we took her to the vets, they said if no one came forward for her they would put her down, the wife cried, the cat came home with us....we moved 7 years ago, kept her in for 6 weeks then she wouldn't go out, she rules the house now, but still a nervous thing, not sure what her previous owners had done....we called her Felix because she looks like the one on the ad (UK tv)....pets, all different types really become part of the family, cats & dogs really know when there's something wrong, my dad died last Christmas and our cat just knew there was a problem and for days she was by me every time I came home...wife has said once Felix has gone we won't have another but we will see......she actually sometimes sits between my keyboard & monitor when I am flying..lol..

[Ken Q]

5 hours ago, wain71 said:

we had our cat now for about 11 years, she was a stray... we took her to the vets, they said if no one came forward for her they would put her down, the wife cried, the cat came home with us....we moved 7 years ago, kept her in for 6 weeks then she wouldn't go out, she rules the house now, but still a nervous thing, not sure what her previous owners had done....we called her Felix because she looks like the one on the ad (UK tv)....pets, all different types really become part of the family, cats & dogs really know when there's something wrong, my dad died last Christmas and our cat just knew there was a problem and for days she was by me every time I came home...wife has said once Felix has gone we won't have another but we will see......she actually sometimes sits between my keyboard & monitor when I am flying..lol..

So glad that your little Felix has a happy furever home. It is sad that homeless animals, especially cats lead such a precarious existence, that even veterinarians, who you'd think are in this profession because they love animals, are compelled to put animals to death for the crime of not having a home.  Here in the US there are encouraging movements to help prevent this sad outcome. For feral cats that ca't be socialized, there are folks who T-S-R, Trap, Spay, Release.  Then the volunteers see to it that the kitties have food.  Another movement is the no skill shelter.  We have one near us, The Little Shelter, which we support with a monthly donation. Most of their animals, dogs and cats are well socialized and ready for adoption.  That is where we got our little Chessie.  They do not keep the cats in cages, but rather in nice rooms, moderate size, with lots of cat furniture, and several cats sharing it.  Adopters wander from one room to the next until that special kitten finds them.  So it was with Chessie; while I was petting another kitten he came to me and started tugging on my pants leg.  I picked him up, he purred, the rest is history.  Of course not all cats can be adopted, but at a no-one kill shelter they live out their lives well fed, well cared for, warm and safe.  Sadly, though there are not enough of them.

[Ken Q]

Darned auto correct again!  Read "No Kill" shelter above. Doesn't make sense otherwise.

[gregmorin]

Boston Terriers. first Brandy, followed by Brutus (44lbs) and now Benji. Loved them all A special place in my heart.

 

Greg

[Stillwater]

7 hours ago, wain71 said:

we had our cat now for about 11 years, she was a stray... we took her to the vets, they said if no one came forward for her they would put her down, the wife cried, the cat came home with us....we moved 7 years ago, kept her in for 6 weeks then she wouldn't go out, she rules the house now, but still a nervous thing, not sure what her previous owners had done....we called her Felix because she looks like the one on the ad (UK tv)....

.....she actually sometimes sits between my keyboard & monitor when I am flying..lol..

I can share your observation on adopting a stray cat: Ours rules the house as well, but she is still nervous... and potentially dangerous. And the places to sit... well, wait a second and see.

[Stillwater]

Here we are with my dangerous and beloved first officer. 

Or is she the CEO? The picture was taken 2017, when I was still flying my beloved Katana4X in FSX. And the scenery looks like Germany North ...

No cat to cuddle with, but a strong character. And she knows what we human servants need to do and when. Cat alarm clocks are the best.

[wain71]

15 minutes ago, Stillwater said:

Here we are with my dangerous and beloved first officer. 

Or is she the CEO? The picture was taken 2017, when I was still flying my beloved Katana4X in FSX. And the scenery looks like Germany North ...

No cat to cuddle with, but a strong character. And she knows what we human servants need to do and when. Cat alarm clocks are the best.

Yeah you can only go near ours when SHE wants.definatelythe boss..

[Doc_Z]

 

When I was still a pre-teen and living on the family farm, I raised chickens to sell eggs, etc.  Among them was a rooster who had the habit of perching next to the door into the coop where he couldn't be seen.  He would peck at anyone entering, although I learned to stick my hand in the door quickly and pull it back so he would miss.  Anyway, our family went away on vacation one summer and my paternal grandmother came to stay while we were gone.  She was born in Ukraine and came to the U.S. with my grandfather to escape before the revolution they knew was coming.  Anyway, when the family came back from vacation, my grandmother had made a wonderful chicken dinner for us.  The bird was a bit tough. I soon discovered that my rooster was gone!  My grandmother finally confessed that she had grown tired of being attacked by the bird and had taken a meat cleaver with her on a visit to the coop.  Rooster tried to peck, cleaver was swung, dinner was served.  They were both tough old birds.

[Rodger Pettichord]

46 minutes ago, Doc_Z said:

 

When I was still a pre-teen and living on the family farm, I raised chickens to sell eggs, etc.  Among them was a rooster who had the habit of perching next to the door into the coop where he couldn't be seen.  He would peck at anyone entering, although I learned to stick my hand in the door quickly and pull it back so he would miss.  Anyway, our family went away on vacation one summer and my paternal grandmother came to stay while we were gone.  She was born in Ukraine and came to the U.S. with my grandfather to escape before the revolution they knew was coming.  Anyway, when the family came back from vacation, my grandmother had made a wonderful chicken dinner for us.  The bird was a bit tough. I soon discovered that my rooster was gone!  My grandmother finally confessed that she had grown tired of being attacked by the bird and had taken a meat cleaver with her on a visit to the coop.  Rooster tried to peck, cleaver was swung, dinner was served.  They were both tough old birds.

HaHa. Doc, when I was a kid, we also raised chickens for eggs and meat. My dad got a Banty rooster for breeding, and that little bugger terrorized the chickens, us, and the neighborhood. He finally met his match when he went out on the road that went past our place and challenged a logging truck to a fight. He lost.

[Ken Q]

20 minutes ago, Rodger Pettichord said:

HaHa. Doc, when I was a kid, we also raised chickens for eggs and meat. My dad got a Banty rooster for breeding, and that little bugger terrorized the chickens, us, and the neighborhood. He finally met his match when he went out on the road that went past our place and challenged a logging truck to a fight. He lost.

Among the duties I had in my long and continuing career at the living history museum was Premium Department Secretary for the tri-county agricultural fair that the museum hosted.  My job revolved around processing the entries for the competitive exhibits that were entered by the public.  I'd enter the contestants' data including the Entry under the appropriate class, and print the exhibit cards, judging book and so on.  One day I got a call from one of our poultry exhibitors. "Ken," he says "that bantam in class. .... Delete him!".   "Well, sure, but why?". " He made too much noise, so we ate him!"

[John York]

This talk about chickens has reminded me.  Years ago Sheila's Dad kept some chickens mainly for the eggs but made the mistake of having a male one in with the hens.  The male pecked all the feathers off the hens and her Dad told his friends he was breeding pluckless chickens!  He did quite a trade until one day Sheila's Brother picked the male out by mistake and we ate him!