Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
My old boy cat,Odom chews up the toilet paper and eats it.
He's never been a "talkative" cat (except at night when he yowls as he prowls the house) - now he chatters at me like you see cats do when they see a bird outside. I chatter back. We have a regular little conversation going most days.
He used to bite out of spite - literally just walk up and bite you for no reason - and God forbid you should scold him or forget to feed him when he expects it - you'd wear his teethmarks for the rest of the day. And he didn't care *where* he bit you, either - he's been resting on the back of the recliner and bitten me right on the boob when I stood there petting him. (And while I stood there exclaiming my dismay over that act, he reached out and bit the other one for good measure.)
Now he rarely bites me at all.
He liked the laser pointer before, but the dog was obsessed with it and would chase it all over the place - so the cat would just perch somewhere and watch him. Now that the dog is gone, the cat bugs me every morning and every night to get the laser pointer out and play with him - even to the point of jumping on my desk to make me get it out if I don't do it when he wants me to. He *loves* to play with it at night especially, when he's more energetic. He races all over the house chasing it.
He's always been a loner. He'd initiate playfights with the dog - until the dog got older and just didn't want to play anymore - he'd bite the dog to get him to play with him, and the dog would just go to his bed and lay down, not wanting to be bothered. He even snapped at the cat a couple of times - just didn't feel like dealing with him.
Now the cat stays in whatever room I'm in at all times. If I'm working at my desk in the living room, he's there. If I walk into the kitchen to make food, he follows me. If I go back to my room to do laundry, he jumps on the bed to "help" by batting at the clothes with his paws as I pick them up and shake them out.
I miss my dog, but I'm sure glad I have the cat. He's become really good company in the absence of the dog. I'm sure he senses there's an emptiness in my home now, and he needed to fill it.
I swear he just needs to kill something. Cat = psychopath. He's not going to be content till he murders.
Barb - post-its now in place, check. ;-)
There were also major teeth marks on the telephone books [back when we actually had telephone books].... and he would run off with the paper coming out of the printer.
I remember once when he decided to sleep on the unlit gas logs in the fireplace. We searched and searched for him not knowing he was there. Eventually we saw charcoal paw prints on the light beige rugs coming from the fireplace. That's my boy :)
He's now 17, and finally has outgrown these traits a couple of years ago.
Sigh. Heck with it, I just put post-its in the bathrooms.
I tend to think being a bodega cat is a natural extension of the cat's historical relationship with humans. We came to live together because they kept the rodents out of the granaries and such.
My cats are indoor cats, and the only thing they protect my food stores from are moths and spiders!
https://www.instagram.com/bodegacatsofinstagram/?hl=en
What surprised me most about NYC when I visited was how many shops had cats! Even the hostel I stayed in had one.
I get being thorough and their concern for the animals and all, but geeeeez.
And getting a dog from a rescue is more expensive than a shelter - and just like a pet from a shelter, there's no health guarantee. I paid $250 for my Corgi from a rescue - and lost her 18 months later to leukemia. I paid $65 for my dog from a shelter and had him for 12 years. Just no way to know.
I keep looking at dogs, but none are really speaking to me at this point, so while I'll probably still look at them, I don't know that I'll get one for a while. I'm going to start volunteering for the local animal shelter this weekend - taking a load of cats/kittens about 3 hours north to meet up with another volunteer, who will transport them the rest of the way to another shelter to help relieve the overflow as kitten season comes in. It only costs me gas money and I'll enjoy the ride. If I had a dog now, this would be difficult to do - he'd have to go with me or someone would have to come let him out and check on him. Now I can go and not be too worried about rushing back, because this is a rather long trip.
The cats Are so cute,your'e right.I just Love watching them.Theyr'e always so busy,thinking what trouble to get into next.
My one cat is having a feud with the Swifter broom I use for cleaning the floors. He kind of walks beside it and gives it side glances like he's going to attack it. I push it up lightly against him just to get a rise out of him. He's so cute.
If I opened the door she would dash out and there is no way of catching her. She's an indoor cat. So there I stood waiting for her to get bored with what she was doing.
The door bell didn't phase this cat [she not even afraid of the vacuum, which is strange]. Finally sig other walked by the front door so I tapped on the door.
It is sad when on my day off I sleep in and it’s only 6 am. Better than getting up at 4:30 am for work. Ha, I still would have liked to sleep til 8 am.
I tried a boxer rescue once, never heard back from them. I guess they didn’t like us. My dd went to see Bassett hound puppies. The owner/ breeder turned her down because she did show enough enthusiasm for the breed. Ha ha, what does that mean. She got a golden retriever instead.
Then I was think maybe it way my age, being I am 71.... but hello, that is why I wanted a senior cat. Guess they figured I wasn't cat material.... [snort]... I was known among my friends as the cat whisper.
Then months later I check on that cat on the rescue website....yep, he was still there. Then red flag went up as I was thinking maybe the rescue was getting donations and the "foster parents" were actually owners. Wow, nice having the public pay for the care and feeding of one's personal pet.
I saw an article couple weeks ago about pet rescues, one gentleman was turned down for a dog. Here's the interest part, the group didn't recognize the name of this person, who the President of the ASPCA.
I had zero problems getting a wonderful 12 year old cat from the animal shelter, which is a no kill shelter in my county.
I had to go to a neighboring (larger) town today to get the tires on my van rotated, so I stopped at the county animal shelter and looked at the dogs and cats. I saw a couple that were cute and appealing, but nothing that really spoke to me or made me say "that's the one". I think I'll just hold off looking for now.
Whenever I got a dog at the shelters, it was always the very right choice for me, there was never any second choice, or I never wished I had got a different one that I had seen there. I looked once for 3 months until my friend said, "Why don't you pick one?"
I told her that I would just know when I had found it.
Just confirming that the right pet does "speak"to us.
Take your time while missing your buddy.
I miss my dog, but I'll be honest, I am kind of learning to enjoy the "new normal" of just me and the cat. It's quiet, I don't have to corral the dog to let someone in the door, and I don't miss the barking much. I do miss the dog, don't get me wrong - he was a major part of my life for 12 years, and my travel buddy and constant companion - but things are different now - and not really a "bad different" - just different, and I'm starting to get used to it. Having a dog does curtail your travels and activities somewhat, because you have to be home to let the dog out, or take the dog with you when traveling, which means finding a pet-friendly hotel and not always being able to do what you want on your trip because you have the dog with you.
I miss my buddy, but I think I'll wait for a while - maybe a year or so - and decide if I want another one. I'll know when (or if) it's time. I thought of something today: I've never *not* had a dog or a cat. Ever. My family has always had pets. My older sisters each had a dog when I was little, I had a cat. My dad got a dog when I was a teenager and after my cat passed away, Mom got a cat. When I moved out on my own, I had dogs, cats, chinchillas, ferrets, fish, birds, etc - not all at the same time, of course, but I'm an animal lover, so at any given point, I had animals of some sort. I guess maybe I'll take some time out from having anything more than just the cat for a while and see how I feel about it.