Here's a fun topic I can relate to- have had a ton of pets so far in my lifetime- lots of hamsters as kids, but mostly cats.
When I was born, my parents had two cats- Merry Cat and Sniffles.
Merry Cat was very loving, cuddly- she was a long-hair tabby and died at the age of 18 from cancer.
Sniffles was a black and white cat, also very loving- she died at the age of 17 from kidney failure- both cats were strays.
Next there was Muffy- we got her from a shelter when she was a kitten. She was great until adult-hood when she went kinda bi-polar on us.....she died at the age of 17 from crabbiness and old age we think!!
Smokey- this was a stray that came to us in the middle of a storm- he was rehabbed by us thru a terrible bout with pneumonia and died too young when he was hit by car. Smokey was all gray.
Noel- a Christmas time stray who had her kittens in our house- the first was still-born, the next three only lived until their eyes opened- we found out all the cats had feline leukemia and so had to have Noel put to sleep as she would have died soon too.
Still living with my parents are Wolf, Mama Kitty (Missy) and Katie. Wolf was born next door with the umbilical cord wrapped around his foot- missing a toe, but other than that, doing great at the age of 17 (just turned 17 in June)- most loving, awesome cat we've ever had.
Missy had her kittens next door to us and carried them to our backyard!! She had three kittens- one now lives with my friend (the kittens are 7 years old now), we kept the two and raised them with Missy. Ashley, one of the two remaining kittens died last year of kidney failure- Missy and Katie are doing fine.
Also growing up, we had a collection of gray squirrels as pets. First there was Sammy. I found Sammy as a baby outside my Dad's office- he had fallen from a tree and would not stop following me. He lived to age 5 and even had a pin in his leg after having jumped from my shoulder one time and broken the leg- vets inserted a tiny pin for him.
After Sammy was Dusty- this one fell out of a palm tree and a friend brought him to us- he only lived a few months then went into convulsions and died- very sad.
Next was the first female squirrel- Indy (short for Indiana)- she was good (as both females were) until adulthood and then latched on to my Mom and nobody could get near her. The males were always very loving with everyone. Females are very territorial. Indy lived for 6 years.
Finally (for squirrels) there was Cody (aka: Satan!!)- she was soooo mean after reaching adulthood- great as a baby. She was unique cuz she had a mal-formed jaw and since squirrels teeth never quit growing, Mom had to use an electric file on her teeth every week so they would not grow into her upper jaw. Cody allowed it, but was pretty cranky about it sometimes. This squirrel once bit almost all the way thru my thumb- Yikes!! She was about 7 when she died.
Currently living with us (myself, husband and 16 month old son) are Jordie, Allie and Kaya.
Jordie, I found outside of the karate studio one night- he was under the car next to mine and I heard him before I saw him. He looked as though he was a black cat cuz he was covered in fleas and road grime, but is actually white and orange/tan. Since there was so much wrong with him (fleas, infected eyes, pneumonia, worms)- the vets didn't give him much hope- but with lots of TLC, repeated baths and a purr box that never quits, he is now the 7 year old sweety we've come to love and adore. He has had some kidney problems, but they seem to be currenly under control- thank God. He was originally named River cuz I found him by the river, but re-named him Jordie (like from Star Trek) cuz his eyes, like the character Jordie, had problems- they are fine now.
Allie cat came to our apartment door and meowed pittifully a few weeks before my b-day a few years ago (in the month of January so it was cold out). My hubby said I could keep her as a b-day present if there was no owner found. Well- we've had her almost 3 years now and she is a real sweetie too.
Kaya is the first dog I have ever owned. I begged for a dog when we moved from our apartment to a house with a big back yard and located her at my hometown's shelter. She was one of 9 pups who were severely mal-nourished, dehydrated and abused. I fell in love with her huge brown lab eyes as soon as I met her and knew she was the one!! She is part black lab and part Australian shepherd- all black with a white streak on her chest. She loves to hike with us and it is awesome to have her along whenever we can take her. Kaya means "stay and never leave" in Eskimo. Got her when she was 6 months old, she will be 3 years old in September- doing great!
Have also had countless fish over the years- some of their names were: Sherbert (orange fish), Grover (blue fish), Grunge (sucker fish), Tazz, Bill and Ted, Tigger, and shark.......can't remember any other names.
Boy- that was a story and a half, eh?!! A true pet lover at heart!!
:asian: :karate:
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