Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was a cat person for many years. Always had a cat when i was young.
Now i have 8 dogs plus two indoor cats and at least 6 semi-feral. The ferals are fixed. What an adventure that was - lots of scratched up arms.
But once my last pup crosses the bridge - that is it for me. It is a lot of work and expense. Cats can do their own thing, but a dog needs so much more.
I've always been a dog person up until 3 years ago when Mrs. Robinson (the cat) sneaked her way into my life. My last dog died a couple of years ago from liver cancer. He was a huge part of my life and I'll mourn him the rest of my days. He was a huge Boston terrier, 45 pounds that I adopted. He was found wandering the streets of Los Angels extremely beaten up by other dogs. The rescue org that saved him said he was probably used as a bait dog. He lost an eye and had scars for the rest of his life. I spent a small fortune (for me) when he was diagnosed with cancer. I took him to the best clinic in So Cal to find out what hope there was for him. While in surgery, they discovered his cancer had spread. After doing everything I could, he passed away.
I decided not to get another dog until after I make my retirement move. I needed to catch up on vet bills and wanted to find a dog that needed a home in my new place.
Then along came Mrs. Robinson the feral cat I took in from my work. She needed a home or would have been euthanized. To this day, I'm still the only person she trusts. She's an indoor cat only now has has a very good life. She's in her mid teens so I don't know how this will play out when it's time for me to move across the country. If she's still here at that time, I might postpone moving until she passes of old age. I can't see putting her through the stress of moving across the country at her age and I won't turn my back on her either. She's very afraid of people, all except for me.
It is what it is. Mrs. Robinson is a gift which just happened to fall on my lap so I will make sure she's well taken care of until she dies of natural causes.
I love animals. Have had dogs and cats in the past, currently have two cats here.
They are both under 5 years old. I'm 77. And yes, I do worry I could die before they do. Probably why I do work at staying healthy. For them. I got them from the SPCA. Every time I think about their sweet little forlorn faces when I got them, I can't imagine them having to go back to living in a cage.
But truthfully I have days when I wished I didn't have them. I live in a one-bedroom apartment, due to some health issues I've been told to not do housework that involves bending, no heavy lifting/pushing, etc. So no vacuuming, etc. I'm depressed how my place looks. I have thought about hiring a cleaning person.
So now I'm whining and I hate that. And when I'm feeling depressed, I get comfort from my cats.
Not retired just yet, but have been a cat person for a long time. Living out in the country, there are mice around. The cats keep them in check. Besides that they are pleasant company for me at least. Won't be without cats, I don't think. I have 5, the 5th one just showed up at feeding time last winter and has stuck around, she was tame from the get go, an abandoned pet I guess. I have this one tom cat who shows up most feeding times, he's pretty wild but I can see it's dawning on him that I am a cool cat guy, and he can approach me without anything to be afraid of. So maybe I'll "recruit" him, take him to the vet for neuter and vaccines, and he can be a regular cat.
Get a Humane Trap. They sell them at places like Academy, sporting goods stores, feed stores, etc. Also called racoon traps. Or sometimes your local Humane society can lend you one.
You put some food inside, when the cat goes in the door snaps shut. Just take him like that to the vet, get him neutered, rabies shot.
We currently have 3 cats, when the last one dies, I doubt if we will get any more, but I said that, before the last one came aknocking on the door, she is such a sweetheart I can't imagine being without her.
As we get older, I really do hesitate in taking in younger animals. One of our current cats, we took from a rescue foundation, they estimated her to be about 10. That was 4 years ago.
I'll never be a cat person because I am allergic to them - I have nothing against them, but I can't stay overnight in a house with cats, not unless I want hives and huge welts.
We've always been dog people, but we are down to one dog, who just turned 12. Our other dog died at 10. Pretty sure that at some point there will be another dog (not while this one is still alive, she likes her "only dog" status), but it will definitely be smaller.
Our current old gal is a lab mix, weighs about 55 lbs. I'd like to next dog to be 15-25 lbs and preferably a single-coat low-shedding breed. Big enough to be something other than a yappy little fragile dog (although some of the small dogs, like Papillons, are cute). We have a local shelter that brings in a lot of dogs from other places in the west, the next dog will probably also come from the "used dog store," just like most of our dogs have.
__________________
Moderator posts are in RED.
Moderator for: Oregon (and subforums), Auto Racing.
When you signed up for an account, you agreed to abide by the site's TOS and rules. You really should look through them.
City-Data Terms of Service: http://www.city-data.com/terms.html
City-Data FAQ: http://www.city-data.com/forum/faq/
Mrs Robinson appears to be a TNR cat ! The cut in her ear means she was trapped, got neutered and then released back into the cat community of ferals. Is this correct? She is a beauty but me thinks she maybe needs glasses !!
I am violently allergic to cats (as in, cannot spend more than about 15 or 20 minutes in a house where any reside) and somewhat less so to dogs -- so have never been able to have either. My cat allergy is potentially life-threatening: my throat starts closing up and breathing quickly becomes difficult. But due to another medical condition I cannot be given epinephrine in any form unless in a hospital or doctor's office because it affects my CNS. So total avoidance is the only safe route for me when it comes to cats.
In my early teens I saw Birdman of Alcatraz and immediately started hounding my parents for a canary. Finally got one (my mom had serious objections but my dad finally overruled her.) I named him Richelieu (after Holly Golightly's bird in Breakfast at Tiffanys) and bought a Hartz Mountain Canary Training Record. He was a pretty good singer but would always spoil it by inserting three horrible squawks in the middle of his rolls and trills, LOL! He lived for about five years (was probably at least that old when I bought him, I suspect) and I subsequently bought a Border Fancy that I named Merlin (because I'd just seen Camelot; yeah I watched a lot of movies, LOL)
After he died, no more birds until I had a house of my own and married. When our son was about 10 he wanted a pet other than the allergen-free tropical fish tank (boring!) we had downstairs. There's only so much interaction one can have with guppies and angelfish, after all. So I talked his father into agreeing to get a Border Fancy canary which my son named Mr Spock. Spock was a real Pavarotti of a singer and didn't care whether his cage was covered or not -- if he felt like singing at 5 a.m. that's what he'd do. As a light sleeper I was not amused.
Son decided that Spock was lonely and should have a girlfriend. I told myself that the results would be "educational." Girlfriend bird was named Marian (he was into Robin Hood at the time) and we ended up with three hatchlings who ended up being all males: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. The four males did not get along well and we had no room for five cages anywhere so the youngsters were all "adopted out" leaving Spock and Marian in separate bedrooms, err, cages since one experience with canary breeding was enough! Marian died suddenly overnight of unknown causes and Spock lived to about age 8 if I recall correctly. I suspect that secondhand smoke (then-husband was a smoker) probably had a lot to do with the relatively short lifespan of both.
After that, no more pets. I've no desire to change cage paper or vacuum birdseed off the floor anymore. Don't care for dogs at all but although I love cats I can't even touch one, let alone live with one. And frankly as I've aged I am even more of a Clean Freak than when I was younger and so the idea of having any kind of animal in the house is a total nonstarter. If they ever make a realistic interactive robot cat I'd be the first in line for one, though!
Last edited by BBCjunkie; 08-07-2019 at 02:48 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.