seeking your pet advice . . .

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i'm in need of some advice . . . or persuasion. mostly i want a dog, but circumstances being as they are, i can't have one. my runner up choices are: getting two rats or getting two guinea pigs. pros? cons? has anyone had either?

― kelsey (kelstarry), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:30 (twenty years ago)

i was leaning toward rats until i looked through some guinea pig books at borders during lunch. they seem awfully sweet.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:35 (twenty years ago)

I want a rabbit.

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

if i consider a rabbit, it's only going to make the decision making more complicated . . .

― kelsey (kelstarry), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

get a plant.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

plants aren't as . . . mammalian.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

kitties!

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

My pet(s) will gladly give advice but all it usually amounts to is 'gimme chicken', 'don't stop petting or I'll draw blood', 'if you go away again next weekend I'll soil the bedclothes again', and 'it's 5 am, wanna talk?'

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:13 (twenty years ago)

rabbits are smelly.

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:17 (twenty years ago)

I have a lot of friends who keep rats, they seem to really enjoy it. Rats are intelligent and live a suprisingly long time. Apparently they don't smell or anything.

Why are cats not on the agenda?

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

Rabbits are indeed smelly.

Guinea pigs are very cute, and when you stroke them it makes them happy and make this little "boink boink boink" noise which is just adorable. Like purring.

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:28 (twenty years ago)

Oh wait. That's my bloke who does that.

― C J (C J), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:29 (twenty years ago)

DO NOT GET A RABBIT. They are a whole other deal from most pets, in terms of the care they require, their behavior, sociability, etc. - do a little research and you'll see what I mean.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:33 (twenty years ago)

rats are kinda gross, and they don't live very long. Guinea pigs are like tribbles. How do you feel about reptiles? Bearded dragons are pretty tame, entertaining, and long lived. Me, I'm gettin a cat on Saturday - hooray!

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Um, rats live for years actually.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:36 (twenty years ago)

Well... 3 years or sometimes more anyhow.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:38 (twenty years ago)

All rodents are nasty. They stink like death.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:39 (twenty years ago)

rabbits are a lot of work, jenny used to have two of them. Email her if you want the lowdown on them. I don't know anything about rats or guinea pigs.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:46 (twenty years ago)

I love my iguana. set-up a bit expensive but they're fun, can be friendly if trained young and live a long, long time.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

Can you get a cat? Cats are great. We have three.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

i'd seriously recommend getting a baby pig or a monkey. Avoid fish (unless you're a very zen and "magic Eye Painting" kinda person) rabbits and cats, which everyone knows are the hand maidens of the devil, and they'll suck the breath out of you when you sleep if you are an infant or are old.

We may get a pig wnen we're done with all the traveling / touring this year...

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

cat!

― ilkley lido (gareth), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:24 (twenty years ago)

Yeah cats rule, and even if yr not supposed to have one in a rented place they're easy to pop out of sight for the day and hide evidence of if you need to. I would be lost without my dear kitty. Cats have that wonderful combination of being sucky loving creatures but being happy to do their own thing and not need attention all the time too.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:39 (twenty years ago)

I don't want to speak for Kelsey, but I don't think she's big on cats.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:47 (twenty years ago)

wwww.savetoby.com

― andy --, Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:05 (twenty years ago)

I need pet advice. I am mildly allergic to cats. And I am considering getting one. Is this a totally ridiculous idea?

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:25 (twenty years ago)

not entirely - I'm allergic to some cats, some breeds more than others. When my girlfriend first got a short-hair kitten I was totally allergic to it - couldn't pick it up or pet it, eyes watering, sneezing, etc. - but she was very diligent about cleaning up the cat's dander, and after just a couple months I had become completely accustomed to the cat. no allergic reaction whatsoever, could play with it, have it sleep on my head, whatever. so there are degrees... I'm planning on getting a cat on Saturday and am bracing myself for the expected period of acclimatization.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:28 (twenty years ago)

I guess this is what I'll have to do. My older sister used to be allergic to cats at one point, too, but once she actually got a cat she seemed to get over it. I really want a kitty.

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

Arent there some breeds that shed a lot less/are less likely to cause allergies? Or am I thinking of dogs.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:37 (twenty years ago)

yeah, I'm in the same boat. I really miss havin a kittycat, and our landlord just gave us the OK (kinda sorta).

Plus we have mice.

so what should I name my hypotethetical cat? the wife suggested Suge Knight (since we'll be getting one from death row), but I said that would only be cool if he was a big, fat, mean cat. And I don't really want a big, fat, mean cat.

(and yes, some cats shed more than others. what the wife REALLY wants is one of those hairless ones, Manx cats I think they're called...?)
x-post

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:39 (twenty years ago)

Manx cats are tailless; Sphynx cats (like Mr. Bigglesworth in the Austin Powers movies) are the hairless ones.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Is it the manx that also happily swims?

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

there's a Sphynx at Borderlands, the local sci-fi bookstore. It is teh shit.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:52 (twenty years ago)

A brief googling suggests that Turkish Van cats are the ones that like to swim.
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/images/breeds/cat_turkishvan.jpg
Gorgeous, but not exactly hairless.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 3 March 2005 00:58 (twenty years ago)

Anyone know the best way to figure out if your cat likes water? When I'm in the bath he seems really curious about it, and he frequently dips his tail in (accidentally) without incident. I'm really tempted to throw him in a shallow bath and see what happens, but I'm thinking there's probably a better way.

― sugarpants (sugarpants), Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:24 (twenty years ago)

nothing bad happens when cats get wet, they just tend to hate it. throw you cat in, and if he freaks out just take him out towel him off so he doesn't get cold.

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:29 (twenty years ago)

my roommate has two guinea pigs, and I am surprised how much they actually do/react. They purr, they imitate the sound of her alarm clock, they chirp for their food, play. Good for a small pet.

― scout (scout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:50 (twenty years ago)

I guess this is what I'll have to do. My older sister used to be allergic to cats at one point, too, but once she actually got a cat she seemed to get over it. I really want a kitty.

i'm not allergic to my own cat anymore, but i'm still allergic to other people's cats.

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:55 (twenty years ago)

I had two manx cats (one passed away) and they are certainly not hairless nor water-lovers. They do have a problem with bowel movements as they get older though.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Thursday, 3 March 2005 02:12 (twenty years ago)

Ah yeah the turkish van is the swimmer. Tho my cat's brother-cat from the same litter, he liked to splash around in the bath. He was a weird cat.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 3 March 2005 02:13 (twenty years ago)

i'm not allergic to my own cat anymore, but i'm still allergic to other people's cats.

Seconded. For some reason, I'm not allergic to dogs and the all of the rest - until you get to horses.

Lots of cats are fascinated by water, but not necessarily into the swimming.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 3 March 2005 02:24 (twenty years ago)

My sister's cat for some reason likes to splash around the water in her bowl before drinking it.

― j.lu (j.lu), Thursday, 3 March 2005 03:51 (twenty years ago)

my cat licks plastic bags for fun...it's crack to him!

cats are great. you can't really go wrong with getting a cat unless you are deaathly allergic to them.

― latebloomer: Klicken für Details (latebloomer), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:43 (twenty years ago)

OMG my cat does that too! I thought she was just being retarded, why the hell would a cat lick plastic so much? Does it have some mineral they like?

She goes nuts at my skin if I have bleach on it from cleaning, too... wtf.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:44 (twenty years ago)

Rats have strong personalities and can be very demanding. They are very much an interactive pet. Guinea pigs are more passive - and don't smell quite so much.

― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:47 (twenty years ago)

“The secret is short strokes”

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:54 (twenty years ago)

Mini-me clones of Julian Casablancas?

― latebloomer: Klicken für Details (latebloomer), Thursday, 3 March 2005 08:03 (twenty years ago)

Why can't you have a dog? Just a question.

― nathalie barefoot in the head (stevie nixed), Thursday, 3 March 2005 08:11 (twenty years ago)

We had guinea pigs when I was growing up. They're very cute, much more noisy than you'd expect - they'll definitely let you know when they're hungry with your squeek, and make fantastic noises when you pet them, as CJ said.

Would you be keeping them indoors? we had them outside in the summer and in the garage in the winter, I'd imagine that they'd start to smell if you didn't clean them out often enough, if they were indoors. Depends how much you like the smell of sawdust, as well.

They’re just so cute!

http://www.mypkhome.com/hamster/gp-7.jpg http://www.mypkhome.com/hamster/gp-2.jpg

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 3 March 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

In the garage? Isn't that a bit lonely?

― nathalie barefoot in the head (stevie nixed), Thursday, 3 March 2005 09:22 (twenty years ago)

not if there's two of them, they can keep each other company, and we'd take them inside to play with them when we got in from school. And even in the house there wouldn't have be someone with them all the time.

My mum wouldn't have them living in the house, but it meant they had a much bigger hutch.

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 3 March 2005 09:25 (twenty years ago)

You don't have to use sawdust or straw if you have rodents. You can use shredded paper (how recycley are you going to be!) Just buy a shredder or ask at the office if you can use non-confidential shredded paper as bedding.

I would recommend you foster for a while first, no matter what you think about getting. Most rescue places will let you do this, so you can see for yourself what the noise levels, smell, food costs, time costs etc. are going to be, and how much you care about the fact that you won't be able to enjoy the same freedom you once did. You'll have to get into a routine, really, if you're getting a pet that's any more sentient than a fish (and even they get used to being fed at the same time every day).

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 3 March 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

Hi Kelsey! I'm Jenny. You may remember me from such human couples as "Jeff and Jenny." I'm a bit of a rabbit evangelist, urging people to proceed with caution when considering bunnies as pets.

Basically everything on this site: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/index.html. Afterwards, if you still want a rabbit, then you will be a perfect bunny mom. But to summarize some of their more salient points:

1. Rabbits will chew apart everything you love, twice.

2. Rabbits hate to be picked up.

3. Rabbits need to be spayed or neutered or your life will become a hell of rabbit pee and biting rabbity anger.

4. Rabbits are okay sleeping in cages, but they really can't live in one. They need a lot of out and about time, but it's worth it because watching rabbits hop and freak around the living room is hilarious.

5. You can litter train rabbits pretty easily (wait and see where they poop and put a litter box there) and if you keep their litter clean, they don't stink any more than any other animal that shits in a box in your house. One of my bunnies never quite got the hang of his litter box and would just shit outside of it. Little bastard.

6. DON'T GET A RABBIT AT A PET STORE! Just don't support a business that encourages rabbit breeding. There are plenty of rabbits on death row at shelters all because some asshole thought a baby bunny would be a cute easter present or you can contact your local Rabbit Rescue Society. Accentmonkey has a good idea about sheltering a critter first.

7. Rabbits need more than just rabbit chow. They need hay for their digestion and lots of greens. I used to split heads of leaf lettuce with my rabbits.

8. Avoid cedar bedding. It's been linked to rabbit liver cancer, even though there are giant bags of cedar bedding with bunnies on them at the pet store. Alfalfa hay is your best bet, becaues the rabbits wille at that. Oh they eat their own crap, too. It's just the way it goes.

9. Rabbits need toys, but you can just give them washed out laundry detergent caps or paper towel and toilet paper tubes or boxes with holes cut in them for them to jump in and out of.

10. If you get a rabbit, you will start calling them "buns" whether you like it or not. It just happens. It took herculean effort to not write "buns" in this post, because I don't want all the cool ILX people to know what a giant dork I am.

PICTURES OF ADORABLE BUNNY BUNS: http://www.rabbit.org/fun/net-bunnies.html

Okay. I'm done. I have heard, but I don't know first hand, that rats are actually really smart and bond with their humans and are pretty cool pets.

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

I have a house wabbit, I luv him and he makes me happy ;0) He is well trained and well cared for and does not SMELL at all, coz I clean his litter tray and cage regularly.

― smee (smee), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:09 (twenty years ago)

I don't call him a bun though - my west of Scotland male partner would have a fit - he's very protective of his masculinity since he had his little op (the wabbit that is, not the boyf).

― smee (smee), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:12 (twenty years ago)

washed out laundry detergent caps

My dog totally ignores the lovely expensive rubbery chew toy we bought for him and loves eating the measuring ball things that you get with washing liquid. And empty Actimel bottles. Brilliant. Cheap date.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, we have tried all the expensive shop bought wabbit toys and ours still goes mental for newspaper and toilet roll tubes..

― smee (smee), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

One rabbit my mom had at her nursery school had a wonderful personality and was very docile (lop) the current rabbit (New Zealand, bred for meat and a neighbor's surplus 4H project) is aggressive and a biter. She really likes chewing on wood blocks.
Whatever you do, don't get hamsters. They are nasty and smell and may turn on their parents to kill and eat them.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

My ex-girlfriend in Paris had a wee bunny named Chou-chou de Zygomar. He left pellets all over the place, frightened the cats and chewed through everything he could. He was cute though. She used to let him run around on the grass in the Luxembourg Gardens under the watchful eyes of the Senate Police.

― Michael White (Hereward), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

is that the first paragraph of your memoir?

― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:37 (twenty years ago)

No. Book 3, Du côté de chez Chou-chou.

― Michael White (Hereward), Thursday, 3 March 2005 16:43 (twenty years ago)

i think i'm going to get two rats! two females! but it probably won't happen until the end of the month. i found some rat rescues & a rat breeder that looks nice. i'm kinda all about rats right now. the guinea pig dilemma was more b/c my best friend loves hers & i trust her judgment, but i'm just more excited about rats the more i read about them.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Thursday, 3 March 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)

I want to name my future cat Sinbad. Like the comedian.

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Thursday, 3 March 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

I don't think there's anything to stop you having rats and guinea pigs once you get going, but you can't have rabbits and guinea pigs together. I don't know why, but our local rescue says so, and I believe everything they tell me.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 4 March 2005 08:04 (twenty years ago)

rabbits and guinea pigs! living together! mass hysteria!

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Friday, 4 March 2005 08:17 (twenty years ago)

Apparently it's possible that rabbits can injure guinea pigs by lashing out with their back legs, but we had the two together at one point, and there didn't seem to be any problems.

― Vicky (Vicky), Friday, 4 March 2005 14:18 (twenty years ago)

i heard that too, about rats & guinea pigs. i think they're mean to one another in an automatic response kind of way. i'm less interested in having both at the moment. i think i'm going to get two baby girl rats in april/may & have that be it for awhile.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Friday, 4 March 2005 17:01 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

Oh man, I think my dog cut his tongue, or the inside of his mouth, by licking a can. He's obsessively licking his front paws, which are now disconcertingly reddened by blood. He's also got bloody slobber around his mouth. He won't let me look in his mouth for long – his tongue doesn't appear to have any cuts on it as far as I can see. He doesn't really seem to be in pain – he's not acting scared or weird. Should I just sit this out or get someone to drive him to the emergency vet? How can I know how dangerous/urgent this situation is?

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:26 (fifteen years ago)

I am trying v hard to keep #1 emergency rule of "don't panic" but my heart's in my throat right now, I won't lie. Meanwhile the little dude cld not be more chill.

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:27 (fifteen years ago)

Are there any vet clinics still open where you live? It may be worth a visit just for the peace of mind.

― Darin, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:28 (fifteen years ago)

Wash his paws off and give it a few more minutes - if the cut's not severe it may well clot soon.

― fake plastic butts (suzy), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:30 (fifteen years ago)

^^^^ That's probably the best advice.

― Darin, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:31 (fifteen years ago)

thx suzy

Vets all closed half an hour ago.

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:33 (fifteen years ago)

argh it's things like this that make me terrified to have children, given how stressful it is to have this freaking dog get hurt, how much worse it has to be when something that grew inside you for almost a freaking year gets hurt...good lord, how does anyone handle that?

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:41 (fifteen years ago)

boil some water and add salt and cool it down and try to bathe his mouth and paws with it.

― estela, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:43 (fifteen years ago)

^ this
also remember stuff around the head bleeds a ton even if the cut is relatively small. it might not be so bad.

― harbl, Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:45 (fifteen years ago)

it's a v small cut on his tongue, I found it.

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:48 (fifteen years ago)

got water boiling

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Tuesday, 27 October 2009 23:49 (fifteen years ago)

tongues heal very quickly (try biting yours and see how quickly it heals up) -- he'll be ok! don't worry.

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:26 (fifteen years ago)

― estela, Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:37 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah he's just sleeping all happy on his back now, little bloody paws all happy up in the air (he has issues about letting people touch his feet so I didn't wash his paws).

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:40 (fifteen years ago)

thx smart, nice people

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:40 (fifteen years ago)

aww my dog hates to have his feet touched too
his name is carl
what is your dog's name?

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:44 (fifteen years ago)

Snitter

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs103.snc1/4769_96748446427_575791427_2361158_8019286_n.jpg

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:46 (fifteen years ago)

cutie! his little lip divot looks really soft and cute with that little black spot on it!

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:48 (fifteen years ago)

He's got a really smooshy face. He's always trying to sit by me, even when I'm on small chairs, and he wedged himself the other day between me & the arm of a chair...his face was so wrinkled up from being in such a narrow area you could barely see his eyes.

What kind of a dog is Carl?

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:52 (fifteen years ago)

haha my friend's parents have 2 pit bulls and whenever i'm there one of them does that chair thing. it's like a living room chair and this huge dog has to try to sit on my lap.

― harbl, Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:55 (fifteen years ago)

haha that wedging i have dubbed wienering, ie "the dog has wienered himself into the couch again"

here is carl (he's some kind of mutt, probably blue heeler mix?):
http://i38.tinypic.com/2aflbp5.jpg

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:58 (fifteen years ago)

awwww he looks like a neat dude.

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 00:59 (fifteen years ago)

he is an enthusiastic wienerer

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:00 (fifteen years ago)

he also has a john waters mustache (not visible in this photo but trust me)

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:04 (fifteen years ago)

hahaha hilarious

― we are normal and we want our freedom (Abbott), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:06 (fifteen years ago)

http://i36.tinypic.com/2s7ulvn.jpg

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:08 (fifteen years ago)

you can kind of see it there, but not as well as you can see it irl

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:09 (fifteen years ago)

i love animal snouts so much

― figgy pudding (La Lechera), Wednesday, 28 October 2009 01:09 (fifteen years ago)

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