Category: Animal House
I'm doing a group persuasive speech in my comm class, and we're debating over cats versus dogs. Just for fun and maybe to spark a few ideas, I wanted to take a survey of sorts. Tell me your favorite story about a current or past cat you've owned, and how owning a cat has affected your life. No haters, multiple stories are allowed, and above all else, have fun!
I remember when I was verry sick (in kidney falure.) I was so dehydrated and my cat kept me warm befor I went to the hospital. It was as if she could tell I was ill.
I bet she could! I'm glad you're better, I'm assuming.
Hi, I just had to respond to this topic when I saw your board rank. The honey badger video is so funny. It's even funnier now because we recently got a kitten. She was a stray, and we took her in. The first time we took her to the vet to make sure she was reasonably healthy, we hadn't quite decided what to name her. When we put her in the cat carrier, we were expecting her to really hate it, not to mention riding in the car. But she just chilled in her cage the whole way. She didn't meow once. After we got home, while my sister was picking up the carrier, I said, "you know, this cat is like a honey badger. She just doesn't give a shit." The name stuck. Now her name is Honey Badger, or half the time we just call her Honey. That's convenient for people who would say wtf if they didn't know why we named her Honey Badger lol.
No, that's not my best cat story. I'll come back later with more, I'm sure. But like I said, I had to tell that story after I clicked on the topic and saw your board rank.
Hahah! What an awesome cat! Does she do a lot of crazy stuff? My boyfriend's cat is like a honey badger. Climbs, glides, skids, does doughnuts.... lol.
Oh yeah, she does. She runs so fast that half the time she smacks her head into stuff. She loves to bite your toes if you stand still long enough for her to do it. She does love to jump and climb on stuff too. She's a crazy kitty.
Has anyone ever described to you the YouTube series, Oskar the Blind Kitten? Priceless.
Nope, never heard of that one. I'll have to check it out.
Okay, if you haven't gotten around to watching the vids since I last checked this topic, you'll definitely wanna grab a sightie for most if not all of them, but here is the channel where you can find them.
Well m favorite cat of course was my furry litle boy Max, wom I recently had to give up due partly to my GF's daughter's allergy. She can be near cats and even love on them, but the second a cat gives her even a tiny lick she breaks out in hives. Besides, I suspect that one of my lastxgirlfriends may have been abusive to him, because ever since she came along he hasn't liked ladies or, at least, he hasn't liked them around me. Even my mom, whom he used to absolutely adore, can't always pet him without getting nipped. It makes me sad considering that before Maria came along he was probably the sweetest cat you could ever hope to meet. And he was quite the softy to boot. But there's another cat thhat my parents used to have, one that will always have a special place in my heart. We adopted her in 1995, when she was about two or three months old (Max was about the same age when I adopted him), and we named her Ugly. And yes there is a story behind the name. A few years before we'd adopted a stray cat on Christmas Day, whom we named Spock. Unbeknownst to us, however, she ot pregnant. My mom claims she must have been pregnant the day we got her but since I don't know ow long a cat's gestation period is I couldn't tell you if that's possible or not. Well Spock ended up having six kittens, one of whom had what people like to call bad hair or sometimes bed head, which for anyone who doesn't know is when the hair sticks up all over the place. This one kitten's fur was the same way, and it was a bit longer than is siblings' so he was pretty fluffy. Well at first my folks thought the look was ugly, so that became his name. Well as he grew the look sort of grew on him and so did the name. Bu he, like the rest of his litter, ended up finding a home. Spock stayed long enough to have her kittens and see that tey were all found homes and then she ran away.
Well then in 1995 my folks' had to put a cat to sleep after she was found to have a slow-growing fungus that causes problems with the respiratory system. Unfortunately the only medication that could treat it was only available in Mexico and was also extremely expensive. So rathher than needlessly prolong her suffering my folks decided to put er to sleep. Well about tree weeks later my sister took my mom to a pet store to look at kittens and they became interested in a little female who was more or less ignoring them. So they asked a store employee to bring her out, which he did. So my mom and sister took one look at her and, in unison, they joyfully cried out Ugly! She wasn't the same color as Spock's kitten (as I recall she was pure black), but she had the same bad hair. She was a Persian, which meant she grew up to be a fairly longhaired cat. But there were several reasons why she has a special place in my heart. Firstly of course was the fact that she was a surprise. I had no idea my mom was going to bring home another cat and I was half asleep when my sister presented her to me, since I'd sort of dozed off after coming home from school. Then of course there was the fact thhat for whateve reason she seemed to like me more than the rest of the family even though she wasn't actually my cat. But as long as I could catch her she'd let me hold her pretty much anytime I wanted. She was the first cat we'd ever had up to that point who would let me do that. She was alsoo an absolute oy to pet since running your hands through her fur was like touching silk. Max was te same way but he was much flffier since he had a much thicker coat. But Ugly also had a motor in her and would often come into my room and sleep with me if I left the door open.
I love it! Very sweet stories!
Yup. Unfortunately Ugly escaped whilemy parents had her on a trip to Yellowstone about eight years back. The only reason they took her in the first place was she was onmeds for kidney stones andmy mom didn't trust a boarding facility to give her those meds regularly.
I'm sorry to hear that!
So wasI. She was always my favorite of my parents' cats.
Well, unfortunately, we had to have Honey Badger put to sleep. She was having a lot of seizures, and because she was so young, it didn't look good for her. The vet said it could have been a lot of things, and was going to do tests and keep her in the office for a few days, but it would have cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Doctors don't change, whether they're working with people or animals--it's all about the money. Anyway, we really couldn't afford that, especially since it could have been any number of things which would have potentially cost even more in the long run. Still, it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, to kill a baby like that. It made me think about the fact that while it may be relatively simple, physically at least, to kill an animal, a pet, not to mention morally sound in most cases, it will never be right in my mind to snuff out a life that's just beginning. It made me think, well shit, what if my parents had the option to kill me because I was born blind? Wouldn't it have been so much easier, less expensive, and less time-consuming? Maybe that's not a good comparison, and maybe it's not exactly rational, but it's how I feel about it. Our last cat, Ariel, was almost 20 years old when we had to have her put down. At least she lived a long life, and we could justify saying we ended her suffering. Plus, it was pretty apparent by the end of her life that she was indeed suffering. But with a kitten, I can't seem to find any justification for it.
So sad. My condolences to you.
Max could have had a similar fate. If he'd every seriously hurt anyone I probably would have had no choice but to put him down. He'd just gotten so territorial that it was dangerous to have visitors because you never knew how he'd react to them. I generally don't raise my hand to women but I think I could take a lot of pleasure from giving my x girlfriend a beating since even though I'd never be able to prove it in say a court of law I know it was her who made Max into the sour puss he became when it came to folks other than myself. Because it was only after her that he turned that way. But he'd bitten my mom and drawn blood several times and did the same ting to my current GF. If he'd ever done that to her daughter I don't think she would have allowed him to be taken to a no-kill shelter which is what we ended up doing with him.
Was he fixed? I know the stray Jordan's family picked up was acting manic-depressive for a while. I kept telling them—she's my special kitty and I just knew—she needed to be fixed. Afterward it was hell for a few weeks—she'd run and attack the dog—but ultimately it did her a world of good. Boyfriend's mom and I have a theory that she's been through some shit, too, so we think she's a little touched.
Oh he was fixed when I got him as a kitten. I think that's standard practice for the vet clinic I adopted him from. But I'd have visitors and they'd want to pet him since he's so soft and fluffy. Well one minute he'd be all lovie dovie and sweet and the next he'd bite. And like I said he did this even to my mother, and he used to absolutely adore her. Looking back I recall that it was only women that he was really aggressive to. He didn't seem to mind men, though he did seem to still be a little nervous. But I don't thhink he's ever bitten guys when they visited. He'd just swish that giant dustbuster of a tail a lot. That's why I believe it was my x girlfriend who made him that way. She wasn't always the niest to him. I did get a welcome update yesterday though, and that's that he was apparently adopted two weeks after we took him into the shelter. I'm not sure if it was a ay couple or just a couple roommates, but he was apparently adopted by a couple of guys who fell in love with him and I guess when they asked to see him he went right for them like they belonged together.
I have Cats, I used to hate cats but ever since my little Kittens came into my life it was such an awesome few months. I still love dogs but sadly my pupply was put down in March of this year.
I like dogs but I'll probably always be a cat person through and through.
Me too. I've never been a big fan of dogs. I guess it's because of my personality, I'm a bit of a loner and pretty laid back, and that's how a lot of cats are. That's usually why cats seem to pick me as their favorite member of the family, lol. I still miss my Honey Badger sometimes, but hopefully someday soon, another cat will come into my life who will be as awesome as she was.
I definitely miss my Max, especially his motor. And while my GF seems to think it's highl unlikely I'll ever get another cat I may have to put my foot down one of these days once I'm able to afford to live in a house where I can have multiple pets. Because while I don't dislike the two Chihuahuas we have I don't feel the atachment I've always felt anytime I've had a cat in my lap. That and Chihuahua fur just isn't soft enough for my taste.
I adopted Rajah, a domestic short hair in April. I LOVE him to pieces! He's a sweet little guy most of the time and he's a great listener. He's also taught me a few lessons as well. He's changed my life for the better. As I type this, Rajah just meowed at the door for reasons unknown to me.
One of the cats I had before Rajah was named Simba. Can you guys tell I'm a huge Disney fan? Anyway, Simba used to get the mail with me every day after school. We couldn't even say the word without him running to the door and waiting! It was pretty funny. He would sit on the sidewalk and wait for me to get the mail from the box. He was a great kitty as well!
Well, I'll be getting a new kitty in the near future. I'm going to be calling things off with my significant other due to the fact that she has some pretty serious problems with financial irresponsibility. So serious in fact that it's already started to affect me. So I've decided to end things so tat I can start working on getting things back under control while they're still salvageable. But once things do settle down I'm going to be adopting one of my parents' three cats. Her name's Joan Jet. She's an older cat, true, but I've known her since she was little bigger than a hamster. And she's in pretty good health for age fourteen. And given how happy she was to see me when I was over there yesterday it seems like a good match. She's a big, fat fluffball whose favorite way of showing affection is to bite. LOL. They're just little love bites that may startle you the first time she does it but they don't actually hurt because she doesn't actually clamp down. But she doesn't get quite enough attention at m folks' place, not really surprising with two other cats and now four dogs. And she really does like and want attention. I tink that more than anyting is the reason for the love nips. But if she's the only cat inthe house, and with me she would be, she'd get all the attention she could want. And however many or few more years she may have left to her I can guarantee they'll be as good as all the rest have been.
Not a cat expert here, but guessing if you take her you'll extend her life by virtue of her getting more attention.
Pretty much my thought as well.
Besides, she's the most friendly out of the three of them. The other two are much more skittish. I'd say it's because they were declawed but they were that way even before the proceedure. In fact they really don't seem to have changed much as a result which I know is not always the case when you declaw a cat. That's why I would never go that route myself even to an indoor cat. That and you never know when the cat might decide to explore the world outside. Joan Jet used to be a indoor/outdoor cat but she's turned into more of an indoor cat as she's gotten older. And here she won'thave all those dogs to contend with so she can roam freely if she wants or just curl up on the couch or my bed.
Not only that but after a big altercation with my now x a few days ago I've been at my folks and so I've been spending a lot of time with the cat I'll be bringing home. I think she knows her life's about to change and that it'll be a change for the better without a bunch of dogs chasing her every time she wants to come out of hiding. She'll be getting her shots up to date a week from today and after that's done I can bring her home. I need hardly say I can hardly wait. LOL.
I am reading the Loving Our Cats episode of the Chicken Soup books. It is epic! Thought y'all might be interested in looking it up as well.
I've had a couple cats, but my favorite was my cat Shadow. I had him while I was going through a lot of health problems, and he always seemed to know which days were my worst. He'd purr, twine around my legs, lay on my chest, anything to stay close and let me know he was there.
The most amusing stories are these. One time a friend of mine who also had a cat stopped by my place on her way home from the grocery store. She had picked up a batg of food for her own cat, and had sat it on the floor. The next thing we hear is, crunch, crunch. Shadow had silently chewed a hole through the side of the bag, and was eating the cat food out of it. He did this even though he had fresh food in his own dish. Dont' ask me why.
When I would have friends over, we often ordered pizza and sat on the floor around the pizza box and ate, as I didn't have enough chairs at my table to accommodate more than a couple people. Shadow would often come and stand in the lid of the pizza box. He never even tried to get his face close to the pizza or eat it, he'd just stand there and stare at it. Don't ask me why.
Rajah took a sip out of my iced tea yesterday! This was the first time he's ever tried anything like that! I quickly told him no and set him back down on the floor. He also loves my CD-rom! Every time I open it, he runs over to investigate like it's the newest toy! GOL!
Haha what funny cats!
Okay, so as I previously mentioned, I'm reading that Loving Our Cats Chicken Soup book. I decided to write about two special cats of my own as a creative writing exercise. You can find it here.
Joan Jet's had a few funny episodes in her life. For instance I think she learned to drink out of a straw when she was younger. Then once when she was just a kitten and still young enough that my mom stillhad to bottle feed her (her mother had either died or just abandoned her and her littermates), we were aving biscuits and gravy for dinner. I was sitting across from my mom at the dinner table and my momhad Joan Jet inher lap. She was feeding or preparing to feed her while I was eating dinner. Well my sister happened to call during this process, so my mom got distracted talking with her. So Joan Jet jumped off my mom's lap and up onto the table. Then she zoomed across the table to my plate and started eating my food. Then another time my sister was making Gumbo for dinner and she had Joan Jet on her shoulder. WellJoan Jet suddenly decided she wanted what was in that boiling pot on the stove. LOL.
I have a little grey cat, her name is Mitzy. She is a polydactal( extra toes on front paws) and i didn't spell that word right, oops! She chose me over her origonal human. I've had her for almost 8 years. She is my best frind because she's non judgemental
Haha how cute/funny.
With regard to my last post, I found a way for you all to access my cat story without so much hassle. Go here.
Well my new kitty's home as of yesterday morning. And I'm rediscovering how wonderful it is to have one of them around.
awe some good stories and some sad ones too and i'm sorry to those of you whom have lost your animal and i meet this female cat whom at first was a bit timid and i'm not sure of the reason why but after a while she got to know me and liked me and she was pregnant at the time and a couple of days later she had her litter and there was 4 of them though some of them had to be rehomed but the remainder of them got to stay with me and i can tell you they made me laugh heaps like one time i caught one of them trying to drink out of the toilet and another time when arriving home i discovered bits of paper scattered every where on the floor and they had managed to steal a roll of toilet paper and ripped it to shreds.
There were 2 whom were brothers but they were very close bonded too, unfortunately 1 of them took off and for some reason that is still unknown so the other one had me all to himself which he felt as though he was the king though he did miss his brother very much.
About 3 years ago i had to depart from my cat and i knew the day i was leaving that it would be the last time we would ever see one another again and reason being is of safety reasons because of a couple of earthquakes that had occured though through out was a very brave animal.
The cat here whom is pretty young but is able to jump in and out of windows and he has water in his bowl but would prefer to go and drink water out of a plastic cup, smiles
Go search for sad cat diary on youtube.
how are cats as far as management? I live by myself except for my son who is 7 and in school most of the day. I don't think I'd want a dog because they shed and I wouldn't be able to manage its waste. because I guess dogs just go anywhere they feel like outside and so my whole yard could get messed up. Also are cats more affordable than dogs? I considered a bird like a cockatiel but ehy can be loud a lot. and I live in town with other houses around me. I also only get $150 a month in spending money so I don't have lots to spend on a pet.
Oh cats can shed too. Mine defiitely does. And sometimes they'll go just wherever if they decide the litter box isn't clean enough. Needless to say I usually clean it every day.
Just a couple of things here:
1. First and foremost, if you only have a hundred and fifty bucks free every month, what will you do when your pet, any pet, gets sick and needs a vet visit that costs a fair bit? Do you have access to money you can get at that'll enable you to treat the animal? It's depending on you; that's the only reason I put it so straight-up like that.
2. If you put a dog on a leash when you take it outside, particularly as a puppy, you can then hang onto it while it prances around to do its business. In this fashion, you will know where the dog is when it squats. I've done this with a guide dog and it was almost ridiculously easy. That's also why I suggest doing it as a puppy since getting them started young makes them used to toileting on a leash.
3. Both dogs and cats shed. Dog dander and hair has a slightly stronger natural odour than cat hair and dander, and a cat self-maintains where a dog generally does not. Cats rarely need bathing, where dogs could definitely use it from time to time even if they live indoors. I've dealt with both dogs and cats who shed, and my suggestion is to not let that facet of animal care, by itself, dictate whether you have an animal or not. Hair mostly collects on flat surfaces like carpets and pillows, particularly those surfaces that aren't perfectly smooth. On the plus side, if you had a little hair on the kitchen floor, a vacuum cleaner gets rid of it with no problems. In fact, a regular vacuum session will keep your dog or cat hair to a minimum ii any case. If allergies are a serious concern, that's different, but otherwise I see no reason you shouldn't own an animal based on how much it sheds. If you're very low vision or totally blind you may very well miss the occasional puff or strand of hair, but it probably won't matter. I imagine that about 99.5% of the people who enter your home aren't going to sneer if they see a couple of animal hairs, particularly if they can see the animal in question and know that's become a welcome addition to your household.
Hope this helps.
nicely put there, smiles.
I've had several cats.There was a cat nammed Blacky I had when i was about nine or teh. Blacky didn't like othere people, spending most of her time with me. I had to give her up with my family moved from New York to Colorado. When i moved back home after living in new mexico for about five years, my grandmother and uncle had a cat nammed big guy. He was my uncle's cat, but that all seemed to change when i walked through the front door. I remember the first time i went to school. Big guy just laid on my bed and meowed for about two hours, according to my grandmother. When I came home from school, he completely ignored me for two days.
Hey there!! I currently have a 2 year old tabby named Sara. I adopted her from the humaine society about 6 months ago, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. She's definitely changed my life in so many ways!! :) :D Her and I are getting more and more bonded with each passing day. :) :D I do have a cat story for ya'll though---not many funny stories with Sara, yet... but when I was younger, we had 2 cats--Sneaky and Baby... the reason we named him Baby was because he was reallly small and all grey when we got him... my Aunt's cat, Callie had kittens, so we got him from her. :) anyways, I remember this one time, my brother was in the bath tub, and Baby was curious and wanted to check out the bubbles in the water, lol so he went into the water, and then realizing what it was, quickly got out, and slid around the floor, and I think he got so scared that he jumped up onto the table, and slid across the bench lol... the funny thing is, that Sara isn't afraid of water at all lol.. she'll stand and lick it up, or she'll just shake it off, like no big deal lol... but I definitely am a cat person through and through and don't know what I'd do without my Sara!! :) She's the best!!! :) Really enjoyed reading everyones cat stories as well. I'll definitely have to look up that chicken soup cat book, too cause that sounds interesting. Good topic!