The Pet Thread

[leggo PE]

Ugh Ble, I'm so sorry for my mistake! I didn't realize you had to put Bella down. I didn't mean to poke a bad situation like that.

It's very tough to lose our furry friends/family members. I hope you remember all the good times you had with her with happiness and peace.

 

[leggo PE]

Isn't it funny how sometimes your very grown cat/dog can look like the baby version of itself?



Sorry, I'm not sure why my photos are rotating! I'm posting from my phone... 

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I think the assembly instructions were wrong

 

[Dleg]

The vet keeps finding new and fairly reasonable ways to keep my 16 year old cat alive. But the bills are piling up and so is the stress.  We're already giving her subcutaneous fluids every 2 days, which is a fair amount of work and of course the cat hates it. About $150 a month in supplies and not much fun for me, either. Stabbed myself deep in the thumb last night with her needle, after it had already fallen out of her.  Good thing she tested negative for FIV, or I'd have cat AIDS!

Then this past week we started her on a second type of antibiotic to try to kill off a UTI that didn't respond to the first.  And of course the antibiotics made her poop soft, so she tracks it around the house on her ass fur. So all the couches now have old sheets on them to keep the ... sheet off the upholstery.

To be honest, every time I have taken her to the vet with a new ailment, a part of me has expected and even slightly hoped for them to give me the "you need to make a decision" speech, but she is still doing fairly well and apparently enjoying life still, so I keep forking out the money and the effort to keep her alive. 

 

[mudpuppy]

To be honest, every time I have taken her to the vet with a new ailment, a part of me has expected and even slightly hoped for them to give me the "you need to make a decision" speech, but she is still doing fairly well and apparently enjoying life still, so I keep forking out the money and the effort to keep her alive. 

In my experience they aren't going to make that suggestion until there is absolutely nothing left to do... e.g. my cat was seizing continually and uncontrollably with a temperature much below normal and the vet was ready to call the neurologist.  And I was like, uhhhh, my cat's 17 years old, we're not doing brain surgery on it.

 

[Dleg]

Yeah. I've figured that one out. The vet suggested some hormone injections I would have bring her on weekly for, and also mentioned the possibility of feline leukemia or a tumor, and I made sure to tell her exactly what you said. She's 16 years old, I'm not willing to go that far to extend her life etc. 

But the good news is the new antibiotic seems to be working.  She's back to her normal Happy self recently. 

 

[Supe]

The end result of Mrs. Supe leaving the bag of raw potatoes within reach.  Hope she didn't eat many.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

The end result of Mrs. Supe leaving the bag of raw potatoes within reach.  Hope she didn't eat many.

View attachment 14584

Awww, ole white face puppy! 

 

[Supe]

She was always pretty light in the face, but is snow white now at 9 1/2!  Getting harder and harder for guests to tell her and her sister apart - sister had a black snout, then grey, now nearly white!

 

[Dleg]

This is my evenings, every other day.

Not too much time: about a minute of prep, another minute of wrestling and poking, and then about 5 minutes to give her 150 ml.

Except that on some nights she licks the needle out, or it falls out, and then we go into the struggles. And that's when I end up with the needle sticks and the cat AIDS.

 

[JayKay PE]

This is my evenings, every other day.

Not too much time: about a minute of prep, another minute of wrestling and poking, and then about 5 minutes to give her 150 ml.

Except that on some nights she licks the needle out, or it falls out, and then we go into the struggles. And that's when I end up with the needle sticks and the cat AIDS.

*pic snip*

Oh no!  She's adorable!!!!  She has the cloudy old-lady eyes that mine had!

And cat AIDS is totally worth it to keep her around, especially if she's running/playing/enjoying life.  I mean, I had to go through a good 2-years of...bad kitty poops everywhere, since Lily was still running around and happy.  I only put her down after a bad seizure...where she wasn't there anymore.

AAAAAAND. I'm about to start crying at work.  Fuck.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

hugs for @JayKay PE

 

[JayKay PE]

*shakes off sadness*
P2 has rediscovered snow and is still enamored! Cloud...wants grandma to shovel her a path, please. 
 

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I made her paths. Using my boyfriends size 11 hunting boots since I hate shoveling. The snow is to her belly

 

[Dleg]

When I was a kid my parents convinced me that shoveling paths for the dog was fun. And it was. I would shovel a maze into the back yard and then watch as the dog got lost and frustrated. 

 

[Road Guy]

Our dog is getting kind of old so I had to shovel her a path down the steps on the porch

 

[MA_PE]

I always snowblowed a path and a poop area in the yard for Scotty.  Anymore than 4-6 in of snow and he couldn’t go without jamming snow all up in his bizness.

 

[Road Guy]

you need a bigger dog 

Mine is just to old to make it through the snow when its 2 FT of light and fluffy, but she can find her own place to shit!

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

So I'm gonna be honest, having a dog is stressing me out. I've never had a dog in general and have never had a pet as an adult. We got Ms Moo who had hookworm (&also giardia come to find out) and Boyfriend has been off & on traveling since we got her (like literally 2 days after we got her, he was gone for a few days and then the last 2 work weeks, he's been gone). She doesn't really listen to me super great, especially last week. Or Monday -____- but these last 2 days, she's been so good for me! 

We tried walking her when we first got her but all of the sounds scared her so we haven't really tired again but Boyfriend has taken her to the beach or for playdates with his best friend's dog. The dog park is hit or miss, if there's more than like 3 dogs, she's scared. 

I took her to the beach with my cowkrer and her dog on Tuesday and she did pretty good. Then I took her for a walk on a bike path that's not super used in general but especially in winter and WE RAN for 0.25mi and she did so good. And last night, we walked 2mi on that same path and she did sooooo good until the very end - there was an off-leash dog in the parking lot so she was pulling a bunch but did ok meeting the off-leash dog.

We're looking for training - most of them start well into January at this point. And we'll put her into doggie daycare once a week to get socialized more. But yeah, turning point. So maybe my entire evenings aren't surrounded by her and I can get some stuff done 

 

[Master slacker]

Forgot about this thread, but have a chicken update to share.  A few weeks ago, a hawk got one of our silkies.  I happened to look out the kitchen window one morning to see a hawk on the ground in the azalea bush.  Opening the door scared it off.  Of course, I announce my findings of a hawk (COOL!) to the fam and, upon further inspection after going outside, I discover why the hawk was there in the first place (not cool) - the limp, fuzzy body of Charley.  Well, we go out and around and do a head count of all the remaining chickens and go back inside for a bit.  I look out the same window not five minutes later and that hawk is on the ground walking to / stalking the body and possibly the other two silkies hiding in the bush.  I opened the door and it flew off yet again.  Haven't seen it since, btw.  The silver lining, I guess, is that Charley was a rooster and making a racket in the mornings... a funny racket from a puff ball, but still a racket.  Already told the wife we're not getting any more chickens... ever.