Alice's Thumper: New Pet Introductions
You all remember that Alice lost one of her cats, Trouble, not long ago. But as often happens, good things come out of the bad. In this case, good things happened for Thumper, a cat that was living at Cats Are Us waiting for a home of his own. Alice had checked out the cats on Petfinder first and then found Thumper and visited him and picked him to bring home! He had to have some health issues checked out before he got the adoption green light, but now he's where he is supposed to be and living the life all cats should live.
Alice says about Thumper and her other cat Scooter: "They are definitely playing together but they don't cuddle up together. We're hoping that develops over time. They both love to open cabinets and drawers. Thumper is a love bug! He is very vocal and talks when you are petting him. He is still wary of the dogs and goes the long way around them. The dogs pretty much ignore him now that Thumper's "newness" has worn off. Thumper also avoids Larry, senior cat, which is just fine with Larry. Thumper is curious about water and plays in the water dish and runs to watch when I am washing dishes."
It can be a stressful time for everyone in the house (dogs, cats, people) when a new pet arrives. Any good stories about introducing new pets to the household? Dog Tramp,my first-born, never liked new arrivals. She didn't attack or anything, but she never warmed up much and didn't like to play or run with them. She just wanted to play with her people. But she tolerated the newbies. Tarzan and Catfish were easy to bring together, as they got to know each other through the cat fence when Tarzan was a wild boy. Once brought in they were like best buddies right away. (By the way Stacy, how is your cat fence coming along?). I've read that putting two adult male cats together can cause problems, but I dont' think that's true, as long as both are neutered and have the right personalities. They are best buddy boys!
So Alice, tell us more about the introduction of Thumper to the others!
On a side note, I had a nice email waiting for me at work the other day from a man who reads and loves our blog! He sent me great pictures of his pets, which I will post probably tomorrow. I could tell from his email he has a great sense of humor,so I told him he must start posting! His name is Brett. I told him we could use more men. Dragon is safe as the leader of the wenches, but there is always room for more, right?
posted by Sandy at 5/24/2007 09:09:00 AM
Pet People
41 Comments:
Good Morning,
I am the new kid on the block-Brett. As for todays subject, thank GOD we never had trouble introducing a new member into the family (we have three pets). It shocked me how much Pearl the cat fell in love with the dogs. She is especially close to my yellow lab/german shepard mix child, Charlie. When Ms. Britt posts the picks (thank you again, by the way)you can see what buddies they are.
But it's not all smiles and sunshine. My pets have staff meetings every morning to decide who will designated "bad baby" of the day. So as you can imagine, there's usualyy something interesting going on amoung the four legged members of our home.
I am so glad you signed up to post Brett! I will get pictures of your beautiful babies up tomorrow! I love the comment about "staff meetings." At my house, Scooter is the general, and the rest of the crew are privates in his army. It's that herding breed mix. He just loves to boss people around and be in charge. I can't fault him because I am just like him!
One thing you must do. Please call me Sandy, not Ms. Britt. I know I'm middle-aged, but I still like being called by my first name! And I'm a Yankee, so I am not used to the Southern manners of calling women "Miss" or "Ms." before their first or last name. I like the manners, but for some reason can't get used being called Ms. Britt!
Welcome aboard! We are a crazy group and there's always room for some new insight and pet stories!
We are planning a Pet People get together for those who can make it Saturday. First, Humane Society fundraiser at the Ice House on University Ave. Several bands playing, door prizes, silent auction. Then dinner at the Blackhorse and then to the Roxy to see The Fully Monty. Stacy is making the reservations, so if you can go, let us know! Come for all or part of the adventure!
CORRECTION. The Saturday of the get-together is June 2, not this Saturday!
When we first brought Thumper home, we left him in the crate for a few miuntes so the dogs could get close and sniff the new cat smells. We wanted to see, also, if any of the dogs absolutely hated Thumper and would attempt to bite him. No worries! They sniffed and Thumper growled a bit, then we put the dogs outside and opened the crate. Thumper poked his head out and looked around. Scooter was there immediately and they touched noses and smelled each other. Thumper stayed in the crate for a few minuted more while Scooter paced around the outside. Larry, senior cat, sauntered over and loomed over the open crate top. Thumper growled at larry, whereupon Larry promptly batted Thumper's head and hissed. Thumper laid down on the bottom of the crate and exposed his tummy to Larry. Larry, having put the young whippersnapper in his place, stalked off, supremely confident in his continued dominion over the feline children in the household. Thumper made his way out of the crate and wandered around the living room for a bit. I put Aimee, dog princess on her lead and we let the hounds in. Max, his tail wagging wildly, went straight for Thumper and made what we call monkey calls. Max is a friend to all creatures. He loves all animals and people. He especially loves BIG dogs. I think he thinks he is one. Thumper growled a little and let the dogs that he is a cat. Aimee sniffed Thumper and seemed taken aback when Thumper hissed at her. Aimee now pointedly ignores Thumper, turning her head when Thumper is in the vicinity. Charlie, our elevator doesn't reach the top floor doggie, didn't seem interested in Thumper at all since Thumper was not food... at least not in this household. But when Thumper hissed at Scooter, Charlie, police dog and preventer of fun, was there getting between Scooter and Thumper, causing Thumper to attack Charlie and Charlie to bark fiercely. We broke it up and now there is a truce between the dogs and Thumper. Thumper still avoids the dogs and growls when he thinks they are too close. The dogs now seem to just ignore Thumper. Thumper and Scooter chase each other and lie in wait for each other, which looks like good, clean cat fun to us. Thumper is eating very well. I'll have to watch him as he tends to eat all the wet food in sight. He even attempted to eat Max's dog food, which Max didn't seem to mind. However, when I shooed him way from Max's food, he went to Charlie's food and Charlie let him know that Charlie does NOT share. Thumper backed away and now seems to understand that no one comes between a dog and his food. Thumper is fascinated with water. I have had to wipe up several spills where Thumper just sort of sweeps his paw through the bowl. Whe I wash the dishes he perches on the side of the sink and watches the water coming from the faucet.
Things seem to be settling down. We are hoping that Scooter and Thumper will become cuddle buddies. Hopefully, Thumper's mistrust of dogs will diminish and he won't growl when a dog enters the room. So far so good!
OK Sandy, I am allowed to call you by your first name with permission, or at least thats what my mother always said. She also told me "spelling always counts", but that one is gong to have to slide.
I love the narrative of Thumper and the family. It sounds like a fun bunch. Pearl the cat was the last to join our band of lifes vagabonds. I was never a cat person before she came to us. She was abandoned and had been hanging out in our back yard for about a week. One night it began to storm horribly, and we decided to take the dogs out before it the rain. There was poor that poor little kitty, lying in the drive way, shaking like a leaf.I was hooked. I just couldn't leave her out there. SOOOO, we took her in. Within an hour, she was bath fresh, wearing a new collar, and sleeping in her new bed.
I had to take Charlie for his yearly dose of anti everything the next day, so we took Pearl too. The first thing they did was run the feline-leukemia test. Now since this was going to take awhile, my vet said we should take Charlie on home and come back. I thought, "ok, sound logical."
BUT, when we came back-no one would look at us. I told my partner, Jeremy, "Somethings wrong." He just shrugged it off by telling me I was a worry wart. well, worry wart was right. When the vet called us back, she told us Pearl has tested positive for the leukemia, and that fro her present condition, it seemed that she was already ill and needed to be put down. Ever see a fire hydrant explode? I just burst into tears like a little girl. Now, keep in mind that this little cat had been outside for a while, maybe longer than than the week she spent hiding in my back yard. She was skin and bones and fried from the constant vigil against danger that she was living in. But we didn't really know that, so Jeremy signed the death warrant and we were told the deed would be done that afternoon. We went home to mourn the loss of the cat we had owned for a little less than 24 hours.
This was on the Friday before Memorial Day last year. Over that weekend, we decided that we could not let her be abandoned in death as she had been in life. We decided to have her remains cremated and bury her on our property. So, on Tuesday, when we got to work, I called my vet to ask about the body. I was informed that an emergency had come up on Friday afternoon and that Pearl was still in the vets office--alive and kicking. MISSION ABORTED!!!! We work in Nashville. Jeremy immediately went straight back to Clarksville, picked Pearl up, and took her HOME!!! She had slept all weekend, been fed like a mule, and was full of p*ss and vinegar.He settled her in and then came back to work. Tommorrow will be our year anniversary-Pearls birthday with us--and we thank GOD everyday for her and that we have had NO sickness.The Lord truely performs miracles,and she is my proof.
OOOOPPPs, didn't mean to write a novel. I'd better get back to work before I get busted--I will check with Jeremy about the gathering. We are sort of likes hermits--we don't really socialize alot--thanks again
Welcome Brett!
Its always nice to have new members to our pet loving group. Alice, I'm sure with time Scooter and Thumper will be snuggling away. My cats have always seemed to take longer to get used to each other. When we introduced Callie to our family as a kitten, my big Bubby howled and hissed for days every time he saw her. Now they are the best of buddies and snuggle, play etc all the time.
We are still waiting to meet our boxer buddy to see if he will fit in. Our schedule has been crazy this week and tonight we have a formal. So we are hoping tomorrow he will come and stay the day with us to see how our cats react.
Sandy, I know you have posted this so I hate to ask again, but where is the drop off point and times for the cats r us yardsale? I am making everyone in the house do a personal "collection" today and I am finding more and more great stuff to donate.
Has anyone heard from Pam? I am hoping everything went well with Flyboys surgery.
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I was thinking of the yard sale--what items do people usually look for at a yard sale? We are the kings of useless stuff (ok, I am, Jeremy is the king of unworn clothing that he paid a fortune for). ANYWAY, I am taking tommorrow off, so I could bring a few things if Someone would drop a few suggestions my way.
The yard sale starts Friday morning, so today was the last day to drop off at yard sale location, which is at 1810 Memorial drive, the former Westgate Christian Center. They drop off time was until 11, but maybe someone is there later since the sale starts tomorrow. Or, the sale starts at 8 tomorrow, you can always take stuff a bit earlier in time for opening. Suzanne was picking stuff up from people who couldn't drop off, but it's getting late for that. And of course the sale is Saturday too, so even if you take stuff tomorrow it should be fine.
And any type of item is fine. Any traditional yard sale stuff! Clothes, kitchen stuff, knick knacks, tools, household good, decor...whatever!
And B, love, love the story about your sweet kitty! I have written about such "miracles" before, and am planning a future column about a cat Frank that was a stray around here.
You know, I think sometimes cats can test positive for FeLuk, simply if they exposed, not they necessariy have it. Or if they were vaccinated for it or Feline Aids, can make them test positive. It's one of the two I belive. Anyone know? I'll have to ask Suzanne at Cats Are Us about this. I like you, am fairly new to cats. What a lucky Pearl and a great name for her too.
Sandy- I thought about the testing part myself--don't know how accurate they are---Jeremy named her--he said she was pure and white like a litle pearl. And she has those beautiful little blue blue eyes.
Beautiful story Brett, obviously you were meant to be Pearls family or she would not have been spared. I just love happy endings! My neighbor had their cat tested about 6 years ago when she was sick and they were devastated to learn that she was positive also. She was given antibiotics and hasn't been sick a day since. I wonder about the testing too.
Sandy I called cats r us and they are still accepting donations today between 12-12:30 at the yard sale site. I'm off to get rid of my stuff!!!
Hey which cat is which? Sandy your at it again with not helping us out when there are more than one in the picture.
Welcome Brett! It's always good to have more crazy pet people like us.
Thank you all for a wonderful first day on the blog--I will stop by the yard sale tommorrow. If I can't get rid of stuff, I can buy more to go with what I already have. I'd better get back to the drudge of the workday! Everyone enjoy the rest of the day!
Scooter is the black cat, Thumper is the classic tabby. Scooter is about 2 years old and supposedly Thumper is 9 months old but he is as big as Scooter. I guess Scooter is a small cat. I raised him by hand from the time he was 8 days old. I guess not having a cat mommy could have affected his growth.
Alice
Welcome Brett, I was in the yard working all day long today and as I work, my mind wanders. I was just "wandering" to myself about when we would get a new blogger! Ah, low and behold, today we have a new blogger! I sometimes think we get a little crazy and on the verge of going overboard thus keeping others from chatting with us, But we are all animal lovers and a bit on the crazy side but it is all in fun of course... Always great to meet new people so again, welcome Brett!!!! Your story about Pearl is so heartwarming! After a long hard days work in the yard, you bring a smile to my aching back and body!
I think some cats can be just the carrier of a disease while it does not affect them….
Alice, I am so happy that things seem to be going well with your furry babies and their new sibling Thumper! What a cute name. How did Thumper get that name??? I am sure Thumper and Scooter will be snuggle bunnies in not time at all….
While working in the yard today, one project was to remove old leaf and pine straw from my landscaping. In doing so I unearthed spiders, bugs of many different types, one small earth snake and the cutest little turtle you ever saw! I just went nuts when I saw the thing! It was about the size of a quarter! I have never seen a turtle in the wild so small before. I could not help but think about Miss Tuttle. The Saint snapped a picture of it while it was in my hands. We then found a nice shady leaf covered spot for it to spend the night. I will check in on the turtle in the morning. I find it hard to believe that something so small can survive in the wild.
The bunny is on my poop list! I had to dig out a bunch of half eaten flowers and replace them with new ones and not once but twice we found her in the garden since all of my hard work this morning! I don’t have a killer bone in my body but I sure am mad at the bunny. I do not want to fence in the garden, does anyone know of some way to keep bunny at bay??? Dial soap works for the deer but bunny ignores that….
Welcome Brett! Hope you have thick skin.
As for the items for Cats R Us.....I have a housefull of junk (er, gently-used treasures) so if y'all are ready to have a road trip to Yankee-Land, just bring a U-haul and head on up here!
Thumper got his current name from a nice woman at Cats Are Us. His previous name was Hammie. I have NO idea how he got that name. The nice lady told me that Thumper would thump her on the head when she bent over to attend to a kitty in the crate below Thumper's. So she re-named him Thumper instead of the name Hammie. I am not a huge fan of the name Thumper because, one, he doesn't thump anyone here, and two, I am always reminded of the bunny in the movie Bambi. But, since my naming skills are particularly horrible, until my hubby comes up with a better name, Thumper will be Thumper. Hubby has named all of our children, he's so creative!
Welcome, Brett. I'll just tell you now, I am the only sane one here. The others are all pet crazy fanatics. Let me warn you now, don't EVER bring up the H-U-N-T-I-N-G subject. Just wanted to quickly say hello. Haven't been able to post much as wifey poo has had me crawling around under the house doing floor repairs. I hurt from my head all the way down to my pooty pooh. And just to let you know, pooty pooh is the new nickname for Prince Not So Annoying. He has become a little sweetheart lately. I'm just waiting for the other two to run away. Oops, wifey poo will read that and get ticked at me again. She says I pick on them too much and am going to give them a complex. See what I mean, Brett?? Fanatics! Oh, wait, they already have complexes. Believe me.
Dragon, you are evil. You sound just like the male dominant in my house who "accidentally" leaves the door open and possibly risks my precious Tiger's escape.
I think Thumper is a cute name but must admit, I did think of Bambi also and I was wondering if the name had anything to do with that. But now with the head thumping, I get it, cute...
When I got my first dog, Tramp, that was the name she had, and I was too stupid to change it, thinking she was "used" to it. In a way, it was appropriate because before I got her from the Humane Society, her previous owner let her roam the neighborhood like a Tramp. She also got pregnant and had puppies! The wife died and the husband was going to drop Tramp off in the country because he didn't have time for her! Someone who knew him talked him into letting the Humane Society find a home for him. When he heard Tramp got adopted he could "believe it." JERK.
The name also fit because when I first brought her here she tramped on all of my flowers. So Alice, maybe the name will fit, and maybe you'll find a new one. Like I blogged about before, we always have nicknames for our pets any way. He likes water and talks a alot--maybe a name having to do with wather? Sinbad? Popeye? :)
Sinbad is cute and he looks like a Sinbad.
Daisylouu, even though I make the comments that I make that I am waiting for the other two to run away, and yes, I make them often. But, I just spent two weeks putting up a cat barrier so that the little precious darlings can go outside and not have to risk them running away. Does that sound like an evil Dragon??
In order for them to get out and run away, then have to strain themselves through the cat barrier. That in inself would make an interesting sight.
They do have a tendency to get on my last nerve most often. The day they can run a vacuum cleaner, I'll stop talking bad about them.
OK--I was advised that you guys still chat on previous topics--what a relief--I was begining to think it was my under arm deoderant. Anyway--THANKS to Dragon for the welcome. No fear on the "H" subject--I haven't done any of that since I moved from the counrty to Clarksville when I was 18. And as far as "fanatics", well... I have a pointed birthday party hat on my head right now as we celebrate my little Pearls birthday--does that qualigy me in the "F" category? If not, I can tell you a lot more goofy stuff I have done for these crazy monsters of mine. My mother says I am certifiable--especially when I refer to her as "grandma" (which sends her into a fit that I love). ANyway--so far I've been advised that you people are scary, that I'd better have thick skin, and that your all crazy---Sounds like a typical night in a gay bar to me--nothing new. LOL
Love the Tramp expose. Didn't they have a dog on "My Three Sons" named Tramp?
And Dragon, I have silently wished that Lucy could run a vacumm. She has learned to open doors, pull things from cabinet tops, seperate the pieces of Beneful dog food that she doesn't like (she puts it in a little pile over to the side)--but she can't figure out how to sit on a toilet and flush? Go figure. I think they all fool us. They are the real brains of the operation--and KUDOS to you for wroking up the barrier for your pets--you can still love people and pets and be annoyed with them--if you couldn't, how many marriages would ever make it off the ground?
Skeeter!! Thank you for the welcome!!! I hope your back is better and that your yard work is done--so can you start on mine tommorrow?
Thumper still has a wonky back leg. It sort of skids out from under him occasionally and since he has too speeds, fast and faster, he runs into and off of things a lot. I am thinking of naming him Baryshnikov, or Barry for short. If he were a girl kitty, I think Grace would be perfect. No decisions yet... waiting to see how his personality evolves here.
Brett, glad you discovered how we keep these things going till they get bumped off for the latest entry. Now you can enjoy all that is going on in here. Also glad that you are ok with us being scary and crazy, we would be soooo boring if we weren't, don't you agree? Obviously if you are ok with that then you must be one of us too. I love it that you drive your Mother nuts with the "Grandma" thing with the animals, yep you're one of us. Happy partying.
Skeeter, your back? Did you overdo it again with more yard work? Sure hope it is all better!
Dragon, you know you aren't foolin' anybody on here anymore---- we know how you cuddle and kiss on those cats including king kitty evil demon devil cat and bet you call them widdle kiddle sweetie tweeties too!
Pearcehart, I love the idea of you naming Thumper Baryshnikov, how cool. If you do though how about spelling his nickname Bary for a different twist?
Brett, on the platic bag thing with Pearl. It must be nice to be able to have a plastic bag and your cat in the same room. If you've read some of the past entries on here that I've written about that then you know my Brittany eats them. I can't have any plastic around her and it can be dangerous so have to watch like a hawk to make sure she doesn't come in contact with any.
Well, Charlie is the "i'll eat anything as long as it's in front of me" guy--Pearl just likes to lie on the bags--I usually take them up immediately, but today being her birthday--I let her lie on this one while I was putting up the groceries, then I got rid of it. Must be some strange cat fetish thing--
Well Brett, we think part of the reason Brittany eats the plastic is becasue she has that disease called Hyperesthesia, it makes her do wierd things like eating plastic among other things and makes her skin roll poor darlin'. Plastic is her favorite though. If she just chewed it then it wouldn't be so bad but no she actually eats it so it keeps me on my toes.
I'm glad you watch Pearl while she plays with ti so she doesn't get it over her head or anything. You're a good Daddy I can tell.
The only other confirmed illness amoung the children areLucy's allergies---they have always been mild in the past--but this year she suffered something terrible. It took us four trips to the vet and about 700 bucks to get it straightened out--she's going to be under treatment for the next 9 mos with shots (given by daddy jeremy)--Vet said by the time we finish everything up, her system shoulde be strong enough to make the allergies slide---I have to do some internet research on the Hyperesthesia. As I have said, I wasn never a cat person until Pearl. Never even had one growing up. I probably should have bought the Cats for Dummies book instead of "101 questions your cat would ask"
ok--I have to go--time to go potty--Lucy always bows and charlie grunts. I'm getting it in spade now--I will talk to everyone later on
Brett, I let my cats play with plastic bags all the time. I keep my eye on them, but they LOVE THEM! Our favorite game is to open the bag and they will immediately crawl inside. Once inside I will just tickle a little spot on the outside (better have QUICK reflexes). They also make crinkle tents and tubes for cats to play in. Another favorite cat treat is an empty box of any size.
As for pet names, my all-time favorite was my friend's uncle who named his cat "Roid"....it was short for 'hemorrhoid' because it was a pain in the ass.
Ok... [drum roll] Thumper's NEW name is......... Miky... short for Mikhail, which is Baryshnikov's first name.
I like names that end with a long E sound.. I call Scooter, Scootie most of the time. Max is Maxie. So Miky works for me!
Whew... my brain hurts now....
Pearchart, I love Milky. That is even better than Bary. You made a exellent choice. Hope you rested your brain so you don't need brain surgery like Fly Boy,ha.
Daisylouu I love the story of Roid, too cute! It' could also work for our men too don't you think?
Hello All-- been running around all day trying to get me house clean--all the babies are still on a high from the birthday--Jeremy took some pictures and I will send them on to Sandy --Pearl had a wonderful time and slept like a little log last night. Our friend the librarian is coming over tonight--we're watching a Charlie Chan movie,--Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. Talk to you later!
Alice--are you going to the Roxy on the 2nd?? I never got an email back from you on that. I need to know ASAP!
Thanks!!
Stacey, sorry, no, I can't make it. I have a medical condition that keeps me from staying out for more than a couple of hours. We may try to make the fundraiser thing for a little while, but there is no way I can do a whole day sort of thing. You all have fun and woo-hoo the guys for me!
PS. Sandy, if there is something I can do to assist any of the pet charities from home, I will be glad to help. I just can't go places.
The Saint and I had last minute family guest the past few days so I was busy working in the yard getting it all beautiful so my brother would brag to his sis on how pretty it is, anyway, I guess I over did it a bit with working as the legs, arms and back were a bit sore. I relaxed when possible while entertaining the gang and last night was the best relaxation of all when we created a new drink. Premixed Hurricane with good splash of Pina Colada mix and blended ice! I guess we could call them Blue Pina Coladas! That and some off-key Karaoke singing until 2:30 in the morning was relaxing! Back, legs and arms no longer hurt but the brain is a bit sleepy and the throat scratchy today!
Brett, maintaining my 2 and 1/2 aces is enough for this ole gal!!!
Girls did well with company in the house. Sheba ate up all the attention and Cheetah hid as usual but she did not drive us crazy with her whining about other people being in the house!
The Saint is currently snoring on the living room couch and I think it is time for me to go snore on the sunroom futon!
Ah come on Skeeter, another street lot shouldn't make that much of a difference-lol
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