Pets

Thank God.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

When it comes to cat toys we have cat charmers, catnip filled mice, the RED DOT, assorted cigars and fluffy things, our hands but nothing will ever match the sheer joy they receive from batting this simple little bank freebie around the house:

My cat has died.

We adopted him in March. He had been a stray but we think he was around 5.

He had some kind of stomach problems that I won't share the gory details of. Took him to the vet on Wednesday, he had tests, scans, surgery. He was being fed with a tube and they thought he might be able to come home today but early this morning I got a call saying he had taken a turn for the worse, started vomiting badly it got in his airway and they couldn't save him.

I am so sad.

Sorry to read of your loss Thursday, may he rest in peace.

I am so sorry Thursday 🙁
My condolences, truly.

Oh man, I'm really sorry to hear that Thursday.

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I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. That must have been heartbreaking.

We had a similar experience with a sick rabbit a few years ago. We got a call from the vet telling us he was doing better and we could come pick him up, but by the time we got there about an hour later, he had taken a bad turn. They tried to save him with surgery, but it didn't work, and we lost him a few hours later. We were devastated.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

I am so sorry. I could just cry right now. Being a stray is brutal on a cat’s life. At least he knew love before he died.

Copper loves to cuddle. Jasper does not.



Copper is lucky that Jasper is as easy going as he is.

Had a scare last night and thought we were going to have to put down one of our cats down. Bakke suddenly lost control of his back legs, huge pupils and insanely loud purring. GF said it's something called FATE which I guess is what got our cat Goldie last year. All our cats are 15 y/o+, have heart troubles and are on meds so you're kind of expecting something to happen sooner than later but when it happens you're still not ready for it. Whatever it was, it passed by the time I got the cat carrier out and he was walking normally again but I have a feeling it's just a matter of time. A bad sign is Bill, the stray that adopted us a few years ago, is like a cat priest who administers the last rites. He never ventures too far into the house but every cat we've had since he's been around always hiss' at him when they're feeling good and cozy up to him when they are sick. Bakke and him never got along but there they were last night, lying next to each other.

Oh, man. I'm sorry. It's always so stressful having elderly pets.

Here's hoping it really was just a temporary thing and Bakke has more years left in him yet!

So I might be getting three new rats. I really hope that doesn't happen, because I've got my hands full enough with other things, but it could happen.

A friend of mine from like way back in junior high that I haven't seen or spoken to in years contacted me on Facebook. She works at an animal shelter in New Mexico and someone brought in 3 eight month old male rats. So far nobody has shown any interest in adopting them. I told her that I would post them to a Facebook rat group I'm in and see if someone can take them or knows someone who can. Me being the idiot that I am also said that I'd be tempted to take them myself but I'm still in California. Well, it turns out that my friend's mom and brother will be travelling to my town a few days before Christmas and can bring them to me. Ugh. I told her I'd have to get back to her on that. Hopefully someone in my Facebook group will take them.

⬆️ My SIL in England did her Ph.D. in immunology (I think) working with rats. She told me they are the most delightful creatures. I believe her, but I think I would be afraid of them.

Hope these rats find a good home though. Every creature deserves a home.

They're really wonderful pets. There are some aggressive ones, like with any animal, but most are very sweet. I have one currently named Little Man, who I adopted earlier this year. I have been wanting to get a cagemate or two, but not right now and not three of them. As cute as they are, I won't be disappointed if I don't get them.

Little Man:

I'm sorry that you and your cat had to go through that, but hopefully he will be okay. Sometimes the best you can do with older pets is just try to do your best to keep them happy and comfortable, and be thankful for whatever time you get with them.

Is this picture just poor lighting, or is this rat's back hairless?

He’s hairless. Some rats are bred to be that way.

Personally, I’m not a fan of hairless animals. I don’t think it’s cute, I don’t like the way their skin feels, they have trouble regulating their body temperature, and they are more prone to cuts and abrasions.

I’ve never had a hairless rat before, but if nobody else adopts them obviously I won’t refuse to take him.

I've seen hairless cats, but this is the first time that I've ever seen a hairless rat. I don't see what people like about hairless animals, unless they're allergic to the animal's fur. I think the fur is a big part of what makes some animals so adorable.

There are hairless varieties of cats, dogs, rats, mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits, off the top of my head. There are probably other animals bred that way too, but those are the ones I know about and I don’t like any of them. I like my mammalian pets to have fur, tyvm.