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Altesse
Guest
**You’re not from Minnesota, are you.**
I am.
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Brenda_V
Guest
She is really cute.I’ve so enjoyed reading everyone’s posts. As you can undoubtedly tell by my posts I love my animals so much. I clearly get the definition of unconditional love when I look at my “puppy” – yes, she’s five years old but she’s still my puppyI got her when she was two. She was a rescue. She was 12 pounds when I got her – she’s around 18 pounds now – and that was AFTER being in a foster home for a month being treated for heart worms. This puppy had been adopted at 4 months old and apparently forgotten. She was so flea infested when they got her back that they had to shave her to the skin because they couldn’t salvage her coat. She had fleas coming out of every orafice on her body – I mean EVERY orafice. I get the impression she was thrown in a backyard and totally forgotten about – I mean, how hard is it to give your dog a pill once a month to prevent heart worms???
I’m happy to report that she’s fully recovered, healthy, terribly spoiled; but she still has some aftereffects of her previous life. If I raise my voice or rush at her to get something that’s going to hurt her, she actually cowers. It breaks my heart. When people come to my house, she’s so excited but at the same time so scared.
This puppy has overcome so much that “humans” did to her that I truly believe she’s a gift to me from God – got her exactly one month after I had to put my 12-year-old poodle down. God gave me this little life to care for, but she has given me so much more than I could ever give her.
I respect those who don’t share my views, but it does sadden me that they don’t have the truly joyous experiences that I have with my pets.
Paula – mama to my Dixie Belle
I’ll have to find some good pictures of our current pets.
Brenda V.
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Altesse
Guest
I think animals can sense the presence of the Lord.
There is a legend about how the tabby cat got the M shaped strips on its head.
The Holy Family lived in the stable for a little while after Jesus was born. One night he cried and cried and Mary was beside herself.
The resident cat heard the baby cry and tip-toed into the stable .
The cat had not been there for the birth. She felt bad about not providing a gift like the cow and sheep had (milk and wool).
The cat was dirty from her adventures outside so she licked herself clean. Then she jumped up into the manger bed, curled up by the baby’s head and started purring.
He soon quieted and fell asleep, soothed by the rumbling purrs of the cat.
The Blessed Mother was so grateful. She petted the top of the cat’s head as thanks.
From that day on, true tabby cats have the letter “M” on their heads in memory of a special blessing from a tired Mother.
You can see the pattern on these tabbie babies.
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Nanny_PK
Guest
What a sweet story. Even if it’s just a legend, what a sweet thing to think about every time you see a tabby cat.
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Altesse
Guest
I like Rottweilers (don’t have one but would like to) They need structure and rules. So no Rotts bed. Agree with you there.
Cats on the other hand, get to sleep in the bed. They will never accept you as a “pack leader or Alpha” anyway.
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strngrnrth
Guest
Indeed I usually steer clear of people who say cats are arrogant and mean. Cats have no need for a packa nd thus don’t get the concept of one. They know family – it’s a group of mommies, babies, and sometimes daddies, grannies and aunties (no uncles or grandaddies AFAICS) but mainly mommies and babies. It’s all for one and one for all in the nest. When they hunt, though, they work alone. They work together only for defense and caring for young, and not very efficiently or enthusiastically, because their usual natural territories don’t feed more than one adult and a few infants at a time except under rare conditions, so they are territorial to the core.
So they don’t accept people as leaders because they don’t know anything about any pack. They will accept you as a mother, the highest honor they have, if you are kind, but trying to scare them will make them run like any sensible independent creature would do. So when people say they hate cats because they are snobbish I know I am listening to someone who expects a little more deference and probably offers a little less proof of trustworthiness than what would work for me either.
Go cats!
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Nanny_PK
Guest
I LOVE my cats, but I hate everything that goes with them – litter box, cat hair EVERYWHERE; and no matter what I do, I can’t every seem to get it all.
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Edward62
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I don’t think there’s anything morally wrong about it, I just don’t like waking up with the dog staring me down. “Get up. Get up. It’s six o’clock… time to chase squirrels!” Between that and how much she sheds, she’s not allowed into my room or on the furniture… it just makes cleaning a little easier and she is a better behaved dog for it.
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Nanny_PK
Guest
When we’re sitting on the couch, Dixie demands to be let outside. So I do. Then I look out there and she and a squirrel (who’s in the tree) are in the middle of stare-down. It’s the funniest thing to watch.
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Catholic90
Guest
Yeah…my son wore a black tshirt yesterday. He was walking in front of me, and the back was yellow from our golden retriever, and the front was white and yellow from our white cat, yellow cat, and golden retriever dog. (Our dog loves to ride in our car, so our car seats get covered in dog hair, too.)
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allhers
Guest
Isn’t that wonderful? It sure makes me want to get a tabby now.
One of my son’s has one, she is a wonderful, sweet cat and she does have that clear M mark on her forehead, I’ll have to tell him about this. Thanks for sharing that with us, and your little kitty sure looked like a sweetie.
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Sailor_Kenshin
Guest
Absolutely!
People used to say about our kitties, “They act more like dogs.” Maybe this was part of their natural personalities (they picked us, not the other way round), or maybe because we got them young and socialized them well so they expected that people=food and petting.
They would run up to guests and greet them and ‘talk’ to them.The only time they didn’t warm up to someone was when a guy from the cable came in to fix a TV problem. Now THAT creeped me out, because they loved the oil burner guy “What are you doing? Can we help?” and just about everyone else.
I didn’t rest easy until he left the house.
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CarolAnnSFO
Guest
There’s nothing better than sharing your bed with a nice, warm, soft, clean animal…
except sharing it with TWO nice, warm, soft, clean animals.
My critters are indoor cats, and no portion of the house is off-limits to them (well, I don’t let them on the kitchen table or countertop if other people are around to see it. I also keep them out of the kitchen if I am preparing food that other people will eat – don’t want any cat hairs in it!)
I’ve shared my home with cats for over 30 years, and have never had fleas in the house, or caught any kind of illness from the cats.
The “pack leader” problem doesn’t apply, as cats don’t have pack leaders. To my cats, I am “Mommy”.
except sharing it with TWO nice, warm, soft, clean animals.
My critters are indoor cats, and no portion of the house is off-limits to them (well, I don’t let them on the kitchen table or countertop if other people are around to see it.
I also keep them out of the kitchen if I am preparing food that other people will eat – don’t want any cat hairs in it!)I’ve shared my home with cats for over 30 years, and have never had fleas in the house, or caught any kind of illness from the cats.
The “pack leader” problem doesn’t apply, as cats don’t have pack leaders. To my cats, I am “Mommy”.
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Altesse
Guest
Here is another story about animals perceiving the presence of the Lord. This one a little better documented. Kind of makes you think doesn’t it…
On the evening of the last day of his October 1995 visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II was scheduled to greet the seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. It had been a very full day, beginning with Mass at the Oriole Park in Camden Yards, followed by a parade through the downtown streets, a visit to the Basilica of The Assumption, the first cathedral in the country, lunch at a local soup kitchen, run by the Catholic Charities, a prayer service at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in the north Baltimore area, and finally a quick stop at St. Mary’s Seminary.
The schedule was tight so the plan was to simply greet the seminarians while they stood outside on the steps. But Pope John Paul II made his way through their ranks and into the building. His plan was first to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. When his wishes were made known, security personnel quickly flew into action ahead of the Pope. Their activities included a sweep of the building, paying closest attention to the chapel where Pope John Paul II would be praying.
For this purpose, highly trained dogs were used to detect any persons who might be present. The dogs are trained to locate living people in collapsed buildings after earthquakes and other disasters.
These intelligent and eager canines went through their rounds in the halls, offices and classrooms quickly, and were then sent into the chapel. They went up and down the aisles and past the pews, and finally into the side chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.
** Upon reaching the tabernacle, the dogs sniffed and whined and pointed, refusing to leave; they were convinced that they discovered SOMEONE there and firmly remained, their attention riveted to the tabernacle, until called out by the handlers. **
We Catholics know they were right; they found a REAL LIVING PERSON in the tabernacle!
On the evening of the last day of his October 1995 visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II was scheduled to greet the seminarians at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. It had been a very full day, beginning with Mass at the Oriole Park in Camden Yards, followed by a parade through the downtown streets, a visit to the Basilica of The Assumption, the first cathedral in the country, lunch at a local soup kitchen, run by the Catholic Charities, a prayer service at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in the north Baltimore area, and finally a quick stop at St. Mary’s Seminary.
The schedule was tight so the plan was to simply greet the seminarians while they stood outside on the steps. But Pope John Paul II made his way through their ranks and into the building. His plan was first to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. When his wishes were made known, security personnel quickly flew into action ahead of the Pope. Their activities included a sweep of the building, paying closest attention to the chapel where Pope John Paul II would be praying.
For this purpose, highly trained dogs were used to detect any persons who might be present. The dogs are trained to locate living people in collapsed buildings after earthquakes and other disasters.
These intelligent and eager canines went through their rounds in the halls, offices and classrooms quickly, and were then sent into the chapel. They went up and down the aisles and past the pews, and finally into the side chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved.
** Upon reaching the tabernacle, the dogs sniffed and whined and pointed, refusing to leave; they were convinced that they discovered SOMEONE there and firmly remained, their attention riveted to the tabernacle, until called out by the handlers. **
We Catholics know they were right; they found a REAL LIVING PERSON in the tabernacle!
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Altesse
Guest
I think cats mimic their people to some extent, early nurturing plays a part as well.Absolutely!
People used to say about our kitties, “They act more like dogs.” Maybe this was part of their natural personalities (they picked us, not the other way round), or maybe because we got them young and socialized them well so they expected that people=food and petting.
The only time they didn’t warm up to someone was when a guy from the cable came in to fix a TV problem. Now THAT creeped me out, because they loved the oil burner guy “What are you doing? Can we help?” and just about everyone else.
I didn’t rest easy until he left the house.
I am very social and talk to anyone. My cat was very social and greeted all who came in to my home (however, he did prefer the top shelf of the closet when small children were present).
He was with his mother until he was 12 weeks old. They lived in a private home with a nice family. I think that helped his psychological development.
My brother is very shy/reserved. His cat was very reserved and didn’t like to be touched and hid under the bed every time someone was there. He didn’t even like me (and virtually every other dog, cat or baby I have ever met likes me). He was taken away from his mother very early and adopted from a shelter. He was a blanket-sucker (sucking on blankets while kneading-in mimic of nursing).
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rayne89
Guest
This is not entirely true. We had a cat growing up (Smokie) that we trained as a kitten not get on furniture. The only furniture he was allowed on was the wooden rocking chair and the dinning room chairs. When he was an adult cat I would sometimes try to put him on the couch with me or sneak him into my bedroom when my parents weren’t around. He would not stay he would jump right off as soon as I took my hands off of him. He was a loving, extremely friendly cat and he also knew the rules -and followed them.And if anyone has ever had at least one cat as a pet knows that no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to tell a cat “no,” it will always do what it wants to do.
We have two cats right now, both we’ve had since kittens -they are siblings. One is very well behaved the other drives me up a wall. He is always causing trouble. You can’t turn your back on him. He is completely untrainable. But we love him anyway.
I have learned over the years after having several cats they each have their own personality. Smokie was the best I have to say.
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strngrnrth
Guest
Whoa! That’s amazing.
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GodsPrincess
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I love my dog. She is my best friend. She sleeps in my bed right beside me every single night and sometimes I cuddle her while I’m sleeping and I don’t feel a single bit bad about it! Why shouldn’t I classify my dog as another important member of my family? She is! She doesn’t whinge or complain about the mess in my room, she isn’t a fussy eater, she doesn’t ask for anything from me except for a tid bit of food on occasion, she loves affection more than I do, she doesn’t tell anyone my secrets, she loves me unconditionally despite how I look on that day, how much I weigh, with or without makeup, she doesn’t answer back, she doesn’t snipe at me for silly things – easiest companion in the world.
I don’t dress her up, I don’t do her hair or sit her at the dinner table to eat with me, but she is to a certain extent, pampered – but i don’t care… There’s a whole lot of other things I could be doing that could be far worse than loving my dog unconditionally…
Without being rude, the OP should probably worry less about what other people do and worry more about what they are doing themselves (or in this case, what they are not doing) – each to his own.
I don’t dress her up, I don’t do her hair or sit her at the dinner table to eat with me, but she is to a certain extent, pampered – but i don’t care… There’s a whole lot of other things I could be doing that could be far worse than loving my dog unconditionally…
Without being rude, the OP should probably worry less about what other people do and worry more about what they are doing themselves (or in this case, what they are not doing) – each to his own.
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rpp
Guest
I would add that if sleeping with pets were so unsanitary, as the OP contends, then many, many people would be rushing to doctors and emergency rooms with terrible pet-borne infections. Since that is most assuradly NOT happening, then I it is safe to say that sleeping with pet is NOT unsanitary.
On the other sleeping with my cat may be unsafe. When he is dreaming, my cat extends his claws. This can be very unpleasant when he is laying on my chest or has flopped across my forehead.
On the other sleeping with my cat may be unsafe. When he is dreaming, my cat extends his claws. This can be very unpleasant when he is laying on my chest or has flopped across my forehead.
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blaskoman
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wouldnt be able to do so, since I have allergies.
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