Our Pets

[BostonVeteran]

Pets are fantastic for PTSD.

 

[The Albatross]

Maybe someday I won't need ten of them... I have a pack of dogs (3) and a pride of cats (7)... but they certainly do make me feel safe and more at peace when I'm with them.

 

[bittersweet]

I have a cat, 2 lizards and a pitbull. All of which are the sweetest and most affectionate critters on the planet. I treat them all as if they were my children.

 

[Kintsugi]

The orange one (Momiji) is my bunny and is the self-declared head of the house LOL. He stomps, grunts, and headbutts all those who defy his authority but looooves it when Mama rubs his ears.

Oh my goodness, that little red bunny is so fluffy.

Some friends of mine moved in over the summer while my fiance is gone to keep me company/safe/occupied. THEY HAVE CHINCHILLAS. I will post a picture as soon as I know they won't mind while they're out and about. Annie doesn't seem to care about them at all, which is good because their stink attacks would probably scare the hell out of her!

I may have saved Cassie from the death chamber but in truth she saved me and continues to on a daily basis.

I agree so wholly, NH! Annie may "need" me, but she doesn't need me like I need her! We are very bonded, and I don't know what I would do without this very healing relationship in my life. My parents still don't know that my SO got me a puppy, but I'm planning on introducing her as one of my greatest friends, someone who has saved my life, a friend who will always be loyal to me... then I will attach picture of the puppy.

How could you be upset with a relationship like that? I love my little dog. The expenses of owning a pet are NOTHING relative to the rewards of having her. I would spend any amount of money to make sure that we live a happy and healthy life together, no problem. She is my angel. Now that Brendan is gone we have been giving one another extra loving and support.

 

[Vee Lagrome]

Oh my goodness, that little red bunny is so fluffy.

Some friends of mine moved in over the summer while my fiance is gone to keep me company/safe/occupied. THEY HAVE CHINCHILLAS. I will post a picture as soon as I know they won't mind while they're out and about. Annie doesn't seem to care about them at all, which is good because their stink attacks would probably scare the hell out of her!

Yes, he is incredibly fluffy and no one knows what he is when they look at him. I've heard "guinea pig", "cat", "some kind of dog", "some sort of hybrid...thing", and the most common "I have absolutely no idea what that is but it's really cute" He is so insanely cute though that I just can't take it sometimes. The worst part? He knows it. :roflmao:

I tell my husband that I want a chinchilla. They're more sociable than rabbits and will do tricks. I tried to teach my bunny some tricks and he just looks at me like, "Um, no... I will take that treat in your hand though" :roflmao:

 

[alixipain]

I will take that treat in your hand though" :roflmao:

Sounds like my cat, open any can of food he's standing at your feet begging for it! Has to sniff everything I eat like he wants some too. Once he sniffs it he gives me a look "Your going to put THAT in your mouth!! EWWWWW...." and walks away. I did teach him 1 trick, I make a sound and he sits up on his bottom puts his front paws up in the air with claws out. *Stops the neighborhood kids here from trying to get in apartment to pet him.

 

[Kintsugi]

He is so insanely cute though that I just can't take it sometimes. The worst part? He knows it.:roflmao:

My little hound pup knows she is way cute. It actually took her about three weeks to realize this, but since then she has remembered it as her greatest defense. She picks such unsuspecting victims to harass, too! I see the demon behind the cute puppy eyes, but she's my demon.

Really, if you want a sociable rodent, get a rat. My housemate basically knows everything there is to know about chinchillas, and most of what there is to know about them is that most things will kill them. The temperature in which they can live is about 60-70 degrees, otherwise they die (usually because of overheating--they will die from 75 degree weather in five minutes). Most types of wood will kill them in a variety of ways. Lots of different stone materials can be harmful. They have extremely restrictive diets of mostly fiber but only certain types. They are in general extremely delicate. I can tell you that their "tricks" so far as I know are basic and unimpressive. They are mostly there to be marveled at, not trained.

However, I've owned rats and they are incredibly personable and easy to train. I would say that they are easier to train than most terriers. One of my rats learned her name the day I got her and responded. I taught them several tricks, how to come to me, how to ride in a car appropriately, what not to chew on, where they shouldn't hide, etc. Their ability to learn seemed endless as long as you had a little patience--not really much at all. And, they're basically indestructible. It is incredibly difficult to poison a rat because their immune systems work so quickly that often by the time the poison has been fully ingested, a tolerance is already in place. They are incredible. I climbed trees with one of them on my back. They hid in my shirt in grocery stores and classrooms, even diners. They were highly affectionate and intelligent. I shared drinks with them by sipping and then holding the can for them to lick off the condensation. They can eat basically anything you do but meat/fish. If you're not looking for a cat or dog, they are a close second!

 

[Vee Lagrome]

@alixipain - Ah!! Scary! I don't blame them. :roflmao: What a nosy cat. I think Impa and your cat may be soul sisters... :roflmao:

@MissAntiSunshine - I think part of the problem is that rabbits aren't rodents. They're basically in their own little category, which is probably why they're so high and mighty. "Lagomorphs" How weird a word is that? :laugh:
You know something? I would totally get a rat. They are SO smart and sociable.

wow... I had no idea that chinchillas were so sensitive... 75 degrees kills them? That seems completely crazy. We didn't get them mostly because my husband thinks they look weird. :confused:

Haha, I believe that a rat is indestructible. I saw some rats perform at the Baltimore Science Center when I was younger and it was just so freakin cool! I would totally love to have a pet rat, but my husband is very squeamish about willingly having a rat in the house... :laugh:

Rabbits are great though. We have taught them "No", which is helpful, though they often ignore it when they have deemed our needs less important than theirs. :roflmao: The girl has learned "Is this where bunnies belong?"and "Go home". She also opens doors that are cracked and has a signal that she wants someone to chase her :roflmao:. I refuse to chase her, so when I'm home with them alone, she gets very frustrated and makes little frustrated noises when she is trying to get me to chase her and I won't do it.

My little boy has refused to learn any tricks and will throw his toys at me if I try to make him do stuff. He does love watching kid's movies though. Hahaha

 

[Kintsugi]

At the top is my girl Suchin. She was a hooded fancy rat. She was much smarter than her playmate below, Persephone, who was too cute to tolerate many tricks other than basic obedience. Persephone was a beautiful hooded dumbo rat; she was probably show quality though I'm not really into that stuff. I've never seen a prettier rat. Dumbo rats have huge ears. These little girls never got bigger than they are shown in this picture. Male rats will get very big and a little revolting, in my opinion, and they become lazy quickly, whereas females are active throughout their lives and stay small and mouse-like.

Rats are easy to care for if you have two of them. They are pack animals and need lots of love, so after getting Suchin I got Persephone as her 'pet,' as Persephone was clearly more submissive than Suchin. I would take Suchin with me outside, let her run in the grass (until a predator came or was heard, and then she would scurry right back into my shirt and quiver over my heart a little--so precious), have her ride on my shoulder during most outdoor activities or just while I was cooking or doing laundry. Persephone was lower-energy, so I took her to everywhere rats weren't supposed to be, basically. She would sleep in my shirt for at least an hour and a half before wanting to poke out her head, and if I kept a packet of Ritz crackers I could just feed her pieces of it through my sleeve without anyone noticing (I also shared my hash browns with her at Waffle House, though mushroom pizza was her favorite food).

When I went through a spell of literally being broke broke, I would feed the two of them whatever I had in the house. A scoop of peanut butter, some oatmeal, a few nuts, some very ripe though not rotting berries and other fruit pieces, a little cheese--whatever I was eating, only tiny tiny portions. It is very very easy and cheap to own a rat, and they will love you as a pack leader if you spend time with them. They are not escapist-oriented animals, like hamsters or gerbils. I would regularly let them romp around outside under my supervision. They liked eating clover flowers.

They also got along fairly well with other like animals, such as hamsters and guinea pigs, though Suchin got really pissed off that a teddy bear hamster was roving around with piles of food in his cheeks and wouldn't share. : (

Suchin's best trick was when I would tap my chest. At first I only did this sitting, but later, when I realized their potential, I did it standing. Suchin would run to me from wherever she was and scurry up onto my right shoulder, stand on her hind legs and received a treat. She could do this from the floor if I had pants, scurrying up the side of my body in seconds. <3

Chinchillas ARE crazy pets. I don't understand why someone would get something so fragile, but I'm enjoying the mandate that my apartment MUST be 70 degrees always (they're covering electric while their here)!

Okay, I'm off my "Rats are such cool freakin' pets" soapbox. But you should look up hooded gray and white dumbo rats and show them to your hubby. Persephone's popular nickname was "kitty" because my friends did not like the idea of rats but decided that Persephone was excluded from that category.

 

[Sqweak]

I love rats dumbo’s are so cute! I used to have rats and bears hamsters when I was little.:)

 

[Kintsugi]

I used to have rats and bears hamsters when I was little.:)

I think if a child wants a dog, they should have a couple of rats first. They are short-term pets (GREAT for college living, which is why I had them), trainable like dogs, and require a lot of attention if you want them to be happy (I would say 3 hours a day if there are two and five hours if there is one. Rats will get depressed without playtime and actually get sick and die! I read several sites that said that rats also require belly kisses if they don't have a rat friend... not sure why, but rat belly kisses are awesome).

Having rats was a great primer for me before owning a dog.

 

[livergirl70]

Omd sqweak your cat is sooooooo cute