More pet talk
Jul. 25th, 2008 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalIn her request, IB asked me about other pets I've had. Well, that's easy, since I haven't really had any. My parents had a dog, a German shepherd named Fuzz, for years before I was born, who died when I was a baby. I like to joke that I'm interchangeable with pets, because they had a dog right up until they got the kid, then as soon as the kid moved out, they got a cat (and gave it my room... no, really, I'm over it).
We did have a series of parakeets while I was growing up. The first one, Lucy (who turned out to be a boy... oops), was a birthday present for my mom. She intended to get another one and name it Ethel, but that never happened. Instead, we ended up acquiring Sparky from my cousins. They went on vacation, and we were bird-sitting... and they just never came back to get him! We kept Sparky for years! And at all the holidays, the cousins would come over, and they'd say, "Oh, look, Sparky's doing well," and we'd be like, "Yeah, you, uh, ready to take him home yet?" Longest. Vacation. Ever.
At least Lucy and Sparky got along pretty well, although it's definitely true that if you have two birds, they'll just hang out with each other and ignore you. We usually had them in pairs, but they were much friendlier when they were alone. We had two cages (Sparky came with his own), so we tied the doors open and set them facing each other, so they could cross back and forth. It was like a big birdy mansion.
Lucy and Sparky died within a couple weeks of each other, and we replaced them with Tweety and Nipper (so named because of his habit for biting people). Nipper died really quickly (to our relief) and we got Tweety a new companion, Bob. Tweety eventually had an unpleasant run-in with a ceiling fan, and Bob was alone for a few years. It was amazing how much Bob's personality changed once Tweety died. Apparently, Tweety was overbearing and an attention whore, and Bob was the quiet, submissive one, but once Tweety wasn't around anymore, Bob totally perked up and became friendly.
Anyway, after Bob, we didn't have any pets for a while, except for the dozens of stray kittens in our backyard. See, even though I wasn't allowed to have a cat of my own, my mom (who also loves cats) couldn't resist the cute little kittens.
We found the first litter behind the shed in the summer about 3 years ago. The mother wasn't around much, and the kittens were pretty feral, but we managed to catch three out of the five. We took them to the shelter, where we found out later that the smallest one died, but the other two found homes.
Then, the next winter, this little orange kitty started coming around, which my mom named Little Rusty (my mom has red hair, and her nickname is Rusty. We all mock her for naming the cat after herself). She fed Little Rusty all through the spring... until we noticed that Little Rusty wasn't so little anymore. She kept getting fatter and fatter, until the weekend of my college graduation. My parents saw her the night before they left, and she was fat. They came to visit me for a few days, and when they came home, she was skinny again. Oops.
We didn't see the kittens until July. Fourth of July weekend, we went down the shore, and my dad left his car in the driveway. Well, apparently, they got used to hiding out in there, because for weeks afterwards, my dad would have to check under the hood to see if any kitties were hiding in the engine before he started the car. Unlike the first litter, which were scaredy cats and didn't really come near us, this group was playful and would come up on our deck every day. There were five kittens in that litter, too, and this time we named them - Baby Rusty, who looked just like her mother, Patches, Spot, and Twin 1 and Twin 2 (couldn't really tell them apart, until Twin 1 died, and then it was easy). We eventually caught Baby Rusty and Spot, who went to the shelter. Twin 2 eventually wandered off, but Patches stuck around, and kept coming by for food all through the winter. Finally, in February (the week after I moved out!!!), my mother opened the back door, and Patches walked right in. She hasn't left.
Little Rusty is still hanging around. She's had a second litter (which my mother refused to name, so as not to get attached), but we didn't manage to catch any. I think she's getting smarter - she must have realized that when she brings kittens to our house, they disappear, so she stopped bringing them. Only one of the kittens from last year's litter has stuck around, whom we called Kitten (detached! We're detached!). My parents actually caught her once and took her to the shelter, but the shelter people were very rude and the one guy said something like, "Well, we just kill most of them anyway." So my mom was like, "Screw this," and brought her back home and let her go.
We had to stop calling her Kitten, though, because she had a litter of her own this year, and it was confusing, so now she's Miss Kitty. Little Rusty also had litter #3 this year. Patches has no idea how her family is multiplying just outside our door... lol. My mom did let Miss Kitty in the house one day, and she and Patches were cautiously friendly (they are half-sisters, after all), but we don't let them get too close, since Miss Kitty hasn't had any shots and could have fleas and stuff.
So... fleas. That's a good note to end on, lol.
Thanks to all of you who have asked me questions or suggested topics to post about (and those who haven't, there's still time!). In fact, there's no time limit, so as long as you keep asking, I'll keep answering. Let's see, coming up I still havems_scarletibis' question about movies (and if there's time, the bearing of my soul), ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dragonflylady77's follow-up about my favorite fanfic, and scarlett2u's question about crushes.
We did have a series of parakeets while I was growing up. The first one, Lucy (who turned out to be a boy... oops), was a birthday present for my mom. She intended to get another one and name it Ethel, but that never happened. Instead, we ended up acquiring Sparky from my cousins. They went on vacation, and we were bird-sitting... and they just never came back to get him! We kept Sparky for years! And at all the holidays, the cousins would come over, and they'd say, "Oh, look, Sparky's doing well," and we'd be like, "Yeah, you, uh, ready to take him home yet?" Longest. Vacation. Ever.
At least Lucy and Sparky got along pretty well, although it's definitely true that if you have two birds, they'll just hang out with each other and ignore you. We usually had them in pairs, but they were much friendlier when they were alone. We had two cages (Sparky came with his own), so we tied the doors open and set them facing each other, so they could cross back and forth. It was like a big birdy mansion.
Lucy and Sparky died within a couple weeks of each other, and we replaced them with Tweety and Nipper (so named because of his habit for biting people). Nipper died really quickly (to our relief) and we got Tweety a new companion, Bob. Tweety eventually had an unpleasant run-in with a ceiling fan, and Bob was alone for a few years. It was amazing how much Bob's personality changed once Tweety died. Apparently, Tweety was overbearing and an attention whore, and Bob was the quiet, submissive one, but once Tweety wasn't around anymore, Bob totally perked up and became friendly.
Anyway, after Bob, we didn't have any pets for a while, except for the dozens of stray kittens in our backyard. See, even though I wasn't allowed to have a cat of my own, my mom (who also loves cats) couldn't resist the cute little kittens.
We found the first litter behind the shed in the summer about 3 years ago. The mother wasn't around much, and the kittens were pretty feral, but we managed to catch three out of the five. We took them to the shelter, where we found out later that the smallest one died, but the other two found homes.
Then, the next winter, this little orange kitty started coming around, which my mom named Little Rusty (my mom has red hair, and her nickname is Rusty. We all mock her for naming the cat after herself). She fed Little Rusty all through the spring... until we noticed that Little Rusty wasn't so little anymore. She kept getting fatter and fatter, until the weekend of my college graduation. My parents saw her the night before they left, and she was fat. They came to visit me for a few days, and when they came home, she was skinny again. Oops.
We didn't see the kittens until July. Fourth of July weekend, we went down the shore, and my dad left his car in the driveway. Well, apparently, they got used to hiding out in there, because for weeks afterwards, my dad would have to check under the hood to see if any kitties were hiding in the engine before he started the car. Unlike the first litter, which were scaredy cats and didn't really come near us, this group was playful and would come up on our deck every day. There were five kittens in that litter, too, and this time we named them - Baby Rusty, who looked just like her mother, Patches, Spot, and Twin 1 and Twin 2 (couldn't really tell them apart, until Twin 1 died, and then it was easy). We eventually caught Baby Rusty and Spot, who went to the shelter. Twin 2 eventually wandered off, but Patches stuck around, and kept coming by for food all through the winter. Finally, in February (the week after I moved out!!!), my mother opened the back door, and Patches walked right in. She hasn't left.
Little Rusty is still hanging around. She's had a second litter (which my mother refused to name, so as not to get attached), but we didn't manage to catch any. I think she's getting smarter - she must have realized that when she brings kittens to our house, they disappear, so she stopped bringing them. Only one of the kittens from last year's litter has stuck around, whom we called Kitten (detached! We're detached!). My parents actually caught her once and took her to the shelter, but the shelter people were very rude and the one guy said something like, "Well, we just kill most of them anyway." So my mom was like, "Screw this," and brought her back home and let her go.
We had to stop calling her Kitten, though, because she had a litter of her own this year, and it was confusing, so now she's Miss Kitty. Little Rusty also had litter #3 this year. Patches has no idea how her family is multiplying just outside our door... lol. My mom did let Miss Kitty in the house one day, and she and Patches were cautiously friendly (they are half-sisters, after all), but we don't let them get too close, since Miss Kitty hasn't had any shots and could have fleas and stuff.
So... fleas. That's a good note to end on, lol.
Thanks to all of you who have asked me questions or suggested topics to post about (and those who haven't, there's still time!). In fact, there's no time limit, so as long as you keep asking, I'll keep answering. Let's see, coming up I still have
ms_scarletibis' question about movies (and if there's time, the bearing of my soul), dragonflylady77's follow-up about my favorite fanfic, and scarlett2u's question about crushes.
no subject
Date: Jul. 25th, 2008 04:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jul. 25th, 2008 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jul. 26th, 2008 08:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jul. 28th, 2008 01:29 pm (UTC)The problem we've been having is not catching them - it's what to do with them afterwards. The shelter my parents are dealing with has been getting increasingly difficult to work with (to the point that my mom wouldn't even leave the last cat there), particularly since their hours aren't convenient to when the cats come around. My parents don't want to catch the cats and keep them overnight with Patches in the house.
There are very few resources in our area for dealing with stray cats. Of all the shelters my parents have called, only this one was willing to take the cats, and none of them offer TNR programs, so it's really expensive if my parents want to get them spayed/neutered and let them go again.