Do you have a pet?

[Curly]

Ohhh, there are lovely. Oscar has such kind eyes and Maggie looks very lady-like.

[ravenne]

I´m still sooooo undecided (I don´t have a pet, but it´s just a matter of time....).

My parents always had cats and, actually, I love cats. But since I live in a house with a garden, my "cat-human-relationship" is a little bit, well, strained. Our neighbours have a cat. Actually it´s not a cat, it´s a devil on paws. He frequently kills the birds in our garden. Last year we put barbed wire around the tree because a robin had a nest in a hole of the tree. But that cat gave a damn and somehow managed to kill the whole little robin-family anyway. O, and he likes it (don´t tell me anything about instinct! You can see it in his cat eyes, he really loves what he does!). When the tomtits get fledged we spend the whole day in the garden, armed with fully loaded squirt guns to get rid of the cat.....

[Curly]

Originally Posted by ravenne

I´m still sooooo undecided (I don´t have a pet, but it´s just a matter of time....).

My parents always had cats and, actually, I love cats. But since I live in a house with a garden, my "cat-human-relationship" is a little bit, well, strained. Our neighbours have a cat. Actually it´s not a cat, it´s a devil on paws. He frequently kills the birds in our garden. Last year we put barbed wire around the tree because a robin had a nest in a hole of the tree. But that cat gave a damn and somehow managed to kill the whole little robin-family anyway. O, and he likes it (don´t tell me anything about instinct! You can see it in his cat eyes, he really loves what he does!). When the tomtits get fledged we spend the whole day in the garden, armed with fully loaded squirt guns to get rid of the cat.....

Oh, the poor wee things! It is hard to stop cats who have learned how to hunt, not all cats know how to hunt and actually kill something. Young cats are taught by their parents, usually, how to hunt successfully, so you may be okay with a kitten. Or maybe not.

[UncleDuke]

a few ex-wives that still call and ask for money should count as pets

girlfriends move in, get a pet, cat, st bernard, and then leave it when they move out, then i have to find a good home for the animal, i had a terrier once with a texas bark that loved bacon, i wonder, naw, couldn"t have been, hr has his own pet human

[Spartacus2112]

One dog that was rescued from a shelter. I had three cats that my sister left with me. They have since found other homes as my wife has bad allergic reactions.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by ravenne

I´m still sooooo undecided (I don´t have a pet, but it´s just a matter of time....).

My parents always had cats and, actually, I love cats. But since I live in a house with a garden, my "cat-human-relationship" is a little bit, well, strained. Our neighbours have a cat. Actually it´s not a cat, it´s a devil on paws. He frequently kills the birds in our garden. Last year we put barbed wire around the tree because a robin had a nest in a hole of the tree. But that cat gave a damn and somehow managed to kill the whole little robin-family anyway. O, and he likes it (don´t tell me anything about instinct! You can see it in his cat eyes, he really loves what he does!). When the tomtits get fledged we spend the whole day in the garden, armed with fully loaded squirt guns to get rid of the cat.....

We have that problem with foxes. None of the few cats that are allowed out round here seem to be interested in birds, just leaves and insects.

Originally Posted by Curly

Oh, the poor wee things! It is hard to stop cats who have learned how to hunt, not all cats know how to hunt and actually kill something. Young cats are taught by their parents, usually, how to hunt successfully, so you may be okay with a kitten. Or maybe not.

I remember hearing on a gardening program a while back that one of the best ways to keep cats out of your garden is...

... to get your own!

I never tested that with our two when they were around - we have a garden, but it's backed by a busy road, and we had some very anti social sorts around for a while, so they stayed in. They were still both good mousers though.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by ravenne

O, and he likes it (don´t tell me anything about instinct! You can see it in his cat eyes, he really loves what he does!).

Oh yes, cats are one of the few predators that kill for the kill... Humans are one of the others...


Anyway, I've got two devil... euh, cats. Both are avid hunters (thankfully) and so I do have mice and frogs too, at times... And birds (if they can catch one)...

The little one (from my avatar) catches them, but he only wants to play with them. He just doesn't seem to understand that if you play with mice too long, they'll die. So, when the captured animal is dead, he'll walk away, and the other will eat it.

Their favourite is to catch something, show it to us (proudly), in the house, I might add, and then let it go. So I can try to catch it and release it again. Or, if they've been outside while we've been away (to work), let me clean away the remains of (usually) a mouse (which is a stain of blood and a stomach...)

Never get a cat that knows how to hunt (and can go outside when you're away) and carpets...

[columbus]

Posted the cat photo here are the dogs

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by ravenne

Shheeesh, you people, I´m sorry for the delay! I got distracted by one of my pets, ooops, children. SORRY!!!! Now vote!

You beat me to it. Two kids...adult kids... kinda...

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

I remember hearing on a gardening program a while back that one of the best ways to keep cats out of your garden is...

... to get your own!

I don´t think the killer will be impressed by a competitor. I should think about something more frightening. Maybe a sentinel-crocodile that could hang around in the trees and watch over the birds.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

The little one (from my avatar) catches them, but he only wants to play with them. He just doesn't seem to understand that if you play with mice too long, they'll die. So, when the captured animal is dead, he'll walk away, and the other will eat it.

What??? The cutie is a killer? O, no, you said he just delivers the food. So he´s only the meals-on-paws-guy

Originally Posted by columbus

Posted the cat photo here are the dogs

Lovely pics. So how do the dogs get along with the cat?

[yvanleterrible]

I've got a master too!

[yvanleterrible]

Neko's got ants and I have spiders.

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I've got a master too!

Yvan, weren´t you the one with the bat-avatar? But you don´t have one, do you? I once found a little one during a stay in Italy. It was quite exhausted and took a little break sitting my hand. It was almost as cute as these sugar gliders

[columbus]

Originally Posted by ravenne;

Lovely pics. So how do the dogs get along with the cat?

Really well - the cat says jump & they say how high! As previous post said cats are armed & dangerous.

No seriously! they all get on together really well, are the best of friends. I have always had cats & dogs together without problems.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by ravenne

Yvan, weren´t you the one with the bat-avatar? But you don´t have one, do you? I once found a little one during a stay in Italy. It was quite exhausted and took a little break sitting my hand. It was almost as cute as these sugar gliders

I have bats in the attic and they are not pets but pests. No that was just a word joke. Actually I like bats and favor their presence, they consume almost their weight of insects in a few days. I do not domesticate them, they are too shy for that anyway. And I do not agree to keeping an animal against it's will. That's why I let the kids go. Kidding!

Sometimes when I go to the attic and let the trap open, a bat comes down to loud shriekings of my master. Of course it stops when I let the poor terrorized animal out... ... not the master, the bat!