Dog causes change by Skeeter
The Saint and I are on the downhill slide of dog sitting for his little sister dog Minnie. Mom and Dad B return on Monday and then they can take over with dog walking amongst other duties. All Cat owners know how upset a cat can become when things have changed. Cats are kind of like my dad (or is Big Daddy like a cat? Hummmm) meaning cats and my dad don’t like change!
I don’t know why cats get so upset over change and it bothers some more so then others. My Skeeter boy did not mind change too much or he found a way to deal with it. In his 16 years with us, he called 5 different apartments, 5 different houses, 5 different states, the country of Germany and 7 different hotels home! He also traveled with us going to family’s homes and hotels here and there over the years. That little guy had a lot of change in his life and he kind of rolled with the punches where change was concerned.
Sheba is not too crazy about change but seems to deal with it also in her own way. She is very needy first thing in the morning so the Saint tends to Minnie while I tend to Sheba’s needs. She has been taking refuge in her basket in the storage closet upstairs far away from doggie and noise of doggie. She snuggles with the little plush white kitten that Brett and Jeremy gave us. Thanks a million guys as I feel this has been comforting for her. Look at that cute baby in the picture? Ahhhhhh…
Cheetah does not like change at all! She gets upset if I open the left window blind before the right one in the morning! She really does NOT like change so keeping her happy has been a challenge for me. She wants her morning routine but prefers to hide from the big black doggie then have her routine. When ever I catch Minnie napping, I sneak out of the room and get upstairs to the office where Cheetah has been hiding out. I love on that baby and she headbutts me and purrs like crazy. She has been spending a lot of time sitting on a blanket on top of the desk looking out the window. I wonder if she is planning her escape!
I don’t know how we have pulled it off but somehow the Saint and I have been able to keep both the dog and the cats happy thus far with change in our lives.
How do you and your pets deal with Change?
posted by Skeeter at 1/04/2008 07:49:00 PM
Pet People
14 Comments:
Wow, did not realize how dark the picture of Cheetah on the desk was...
If you click on it, it will enlarge, thus a better picture...
Sorry, hard to get good pictures of beautiful black fur babies.... (yes my babies are beautiful)
Poor kitty cats! To have a big ole dogs mess up their purrfect life (except for haircut day!).
Tarzan is not as bad with change as Catfish is. Tarzan is more curious, but Catfish just wants to hide until his traumatization is over.
I can't wait to hear how they act once little Minnie is gone. Keep us posted on that!
We think that Sheba has decided that Minnie will be living here forever! She came through the sunroom window (from the dining room) and Minnie was sitting in front of the futon looking at her. I was telling Minnie NO NO to not mess with Sheba and Sheba just walked over the futon arm and went to Minnie. They sniff each other and touched noses then Sheba turned around and went back through the window into the dining room! Minnie did not know what to do and the Saint and I were both in Shock! We think that Sheba was making an effort to be her friend....
Alice, Where are you and how is your gang getting along?
Skeeter, I had an all black cat a few years ago but she died of kidney failure. My vet said that very seldom happens to cats so we think maybe she got in some antifreeze somewhere. But....Rascal, the cat we have now HATES change. Can't even find her when there is change. Last summer when we went to Tina's my youngest daughter who lives next door was taking care of her. Well Bella (one of the twins dog (as she was also at Tina's) was here so Rascal hid. My daughter could not find her anyplace. The day after Bella left Rascal came out and ran off outside. Never to be seen again till we came home two weeks later. But that time she got locked in the basement. My daughter kept searching everywhere but did'nt go to the basement as she did'nt think she could get in there. Well the plumber had been here to do some work and locked her in the basement without knowing it. After I went to bed that night she let me know by crying where she was. I wondered how she could survive so I took her to the vet. Vet said she was fine, that their liver does something to keep them going. Funny now but we all felt so bad when it happened.
Hey Skeeter!
I am playing referee between Niki and everyone else... Niki has SO much energy compared to the other two couch potatoes we call dogs, Max and Charlie.
Niki and Herbie (aka Thumper from Cats R Us) have a love-hate relationship... Niki loves to harass Herbie and Herbie hates it! No, they play tag a lot... Herbie has never really attacked Niki or gotten upset enough for me to intervene much. Herbie lies in wait around corners and leaps out at Niki and then a chase ensues...
Scooter is learning how to move around the house from 5 feet off the ground. I did see Roxy with both arms srms Scootie's neck gnawing at Scootie's ear. Scootie was licking Roxy's back trying to bathe her. Roxy is a little pistol. She does the Godzilla thing when Niki bothers her too much and then dives under the buffet where Niki can't get her. No real disagreements, just learning how to get along. Niki LOVES everyone and everyone wishes Niki didn't.
Max has had a recurring problem with struvites and tends to dribble into the house after going outside. I got a brand new mop... He also has been having trouble getting through the night without making a lake on the kitchen floor... The GOOD news... it's clear with no blood and he's having no problem going... at one point a few years ago, the vet had to use a syringe to remove his urine because he was totally blocked. The vet said Max sighed when he pulled out the first syringe full of urine. Max was on meds and special food for a couple of weeks while we waited to see if Max would need surgery to correct the problem. He has been on the struvite food again last year but seems to be doing all right except for the dribbling. We keep a close watch on him and I feel his belly every few days to look for swelling.
The professor loves to pick up Roxy and cuddle her. She likes to hang out around him... she knows who buys the cat food. He keeps asking me if she is eating enough because she is so small... I keep telling him she is a kitten and she will grow... sheesh. She is perfectly normal.
Hmmm... things are real quiet here now... someone must be getting into trouble... It makes me nervous when they are quiet!
See Skeeter, the cats might even like a dog! And Minnie was a dog with issues; just think if you had a little dog that was used to cats!
Jean, that's such an amazing story. I heard one on the news where a cat got stuck in chest of drawers during a move and was found weeks later! It's amazing how they survive.Did Rascal lose a lot of weight? Maybe he was able to catch some prey in the basement? But how do they go without water for that long.
Alice, good to hear an update on your growing brood! Sounds like a barrel of laughs! And I know exactly what you mean about things being too quiet! It does make you worry about what the heck is going on.
Hey Alice! I was thinking that your absence meant you and the Professor were on a little vacation but after reading your update, I see there are no vacations in your near future as you have your hands full at home with all the new babies! And I am whining about a little ole hound dog upsetting the balance a bit. You have a zoo happening in your house! Kittens are sooo much fun and puppy’s are also if you have a fenced in yard! Minnie is upsetting things a bit in the house but more so for me and the Saint then the furry ones. We are doing a good job of keeping everyone but ourselves happy! The fur babies come first and we know we will have time to relax when Minnie is back in VA and we do see the light at the end of the tunnel. Roxy did look like a little pistol but with that sweet face, she needed a good home and we are sooo happy she is fitting in with the rest of your furry family members. Nikki sounds like a handful also, gee where do you find the energy to keep up with all of them! I need some newfound energy since Daisy will not pass along any of her drugs! LOL…
Jean that is some story! It does amaze me how cats seem to be able to survive without water when they get themselves in situations like that. I read a story recently in our paper about a cat from, Hummm, I think the NY area ending up in GA (or vise-verse) after hitching a ride in a moving truck! I have heard of cats in mattress during moves and more crazy things and all the cats survived their little ventures!
Sandy, Minnie has insured us we are not ready for a dog in our life just yet... maybe some day but not now but we will miss her when she is gone...
Yes, black creatures are hard to photograph. When Sandy had Tramp, it was rare to find a truly good photo, but we did manage to get a few.
The age-old question is which animal is smarter, a dog or a cat? Cats definately don't like their routine interrupted as your babies found out the hard way. Eventually they come around, but it does take time.
I'm sure if the cats see Minnie leaving, they will be happily waving from that window Cheetah likes so much....(do cats have a middle finger to wave with?)
Yeah... Mom B just called from the Florida Panhandle to check in with us. They are making their way back from the Texas Adventure. They will be here sometime tomorrow evening! They will stay with us for a day or so to rest up then head on to VA. We will miss Minnie when she is gone but we will be glad to get our normal routine back. IS there such a thing as normal? Am sure the cats noses will be too busy sniffing the sunroom to flip any fingers Daisy. LOL…Will be interesting to see how long before they believe me that she is out of the house for good…
Ole Man Winter has left and today we have the windows open again. We are headed out for our long walk with Minnie then to give her a big bone in the yard to munch on for a bit while we sit in the swing and listen to the birds chirp for us…
We spotted a strange cat in our yard this morning. Hope there is not a follow up story on that one… argggggg
Sandy, Rascal had lost some weight but not a lot and she needed to lose anyway. The vet said they will eat bugs (spiders, ect). I think she musta cause I have seen no signs of anything else down there. We did have some mice down there but that was at least 20 years ago. And I think the liver is what helps with the lack of water.
My critters chew up newspapers, cardboard boxes and the like. We came home this weekend to just that! That bad BJ. I knew it was him right away. I just don't know how to calm him down and assure him I am COMING home and he doesn't get to go on trips ALL the time. Poor guy. Luckily, my pet sitter is great and always cleans the messes.
Lucy is the only perfect dog I ever had. She never chewed or tore stuff up. Charlie is my chewer. Every toy he gets, he will quietly and patiently pull each piece of it off from the rest and lie it aside in a neat little pile. Hines loves to chase sticks--you throw it, and he'll run , get it, and put it in a pile-like he was going to build a fire or something. Lucy fetches the old fashioned way--you throw the stick --and she looks at you like "yeah, right."
Hines is a Boy Scout! Get your fireplace working and he can fill it up with kindling!
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