Pet of the Week
These are two kitties that were saved, brought to a cat shelter, and adopted out to fine homes!
It's easy to get your pet into the Pet of the Week feature - here is what you need to do!
ferrets
When you are trying to think of a pet to get.. one who will be loyal, fun, cuddly, and miss you when you leave.. what would come to mind is usually a dog, maybe a cat.. Not usually so much something that is part of the weasel family. Well, when I got married, my sister replaced me with just that.. A FERRETT! I thought, “She replaced me with a weasel! What did I do to deserve this?”
Then I came home from my honeymoon.. spent a little time with my family (and my new neice, Ingrid the ferret), and saw why my sister loved her so much.
I really didn’t realize that ferrets were so much fun. They are so playful (especially when they are babies). They are not afraid of humans like hampsters or mice are, and also, Ferrets are really very cuddly creatures! My sisters ferret thinks it’s her child, and will crawl into bed with her and cuddle up in the sheets. But you want to know the best thing of all?? They can be potty trained!!! That’s right, they actually make ferrett littler boxes! AMAZING right?
Dogs and Cats Blog Too!
You can still have a blog if you have four feet! After all, dogs and cats have things to say too and they are just as interesting as all the nonsense us humans blog about – maybe more interesting! My boys, the Pembroke Welsh Corgis pictured above don’t have a blog but they are still puppies and have the attention span of a gnat (on a good day). Until they have their own blogs, they can pitch in here as a guest at their leisure.
One of the most popular blogs by pets, is authored by Max. Max is a golden retriever living in North Carolina. He has a good readership too, judging from the amount of comments posted on the blog.
So why do pets have blogs? Psychologist Larina Kase of Philadelphia says it is, “21st-century dog walking.” It creates social bonds between pet owners; who better to socially network with than a person who is devoted to their pet as you are? Interestingly, dogs blog a lot more than cats. 34,000 dogs visit “Dogbook,” (like our “Facebook”) daily but cats are clocking in at approximately 20,000 fewer logins each day.
Larina Kase also believes that pet blogging gives pet owners a way to connect with what their dogs or cats might be feeling and experiencing. “Pets are part of the family, yet we can’t communicate with them about many things, so pet owners may blog about their pets as a way to better understand how their pets think and feel,” she says.
My personal favorites for pet networking sites are Catster and Dogster. They are just plain fun sites and very informative as well. The interaction between the pet owners is great. I enjoy looking at the various photos and stories about the dogs and cats. You can meet three of my kitties there; one does have a diary but hasn’t made an entry for awhile. (Hey, her life is busy!!)
Personally were my pets to set up blogs, I believe it would be my cats. As I said the corgis aren’t focused enough yet. That will come in time. But my cats? They have much wisdom to share I am sure. Perhaps they could get together for a joint blog and appoint the polydactyl to the keyboard; with his opposable thumb, I would think he would be a natural!
Dog Blogs
Well, I THOUGHT I Chose The Cat
Once upon a time, actually about 5-1/2 years ago, I decided to get a cat. I had recently lost my husband and my beloved corgi had passed away as well. So a cat it was going to be. And not just any cat. I wanted a really big Maine Coon Cat. I searched and searched and found my cat in a classified ad. He had been abandoned. All 25 pounds of him was looking for a home. I paid the adoption fee, I brought him home, and was thrilled at my good fortune.
Shoot forward three or four weeks (the time you need to give a cat to adapt, although it can take much longer but that is another topic for another day). You would think I would have a wonderful home with an affectionate cat winding lovingly between my ankles and purring upon my approach as I scratched his oh-so-royal chins.
No way. Patch hated me. He despised me in fact. He wouldn’t even look at me, let alone purr. Our relationship did progress however. To growling.
He would growl with a terrible menace. And then Patch starting making a new sound. Whenever I picked him up or sat down on the sofa with him, he did this growling/howling thing. I dismissed this off to my mother while on the telephone, as being a tornado siren. I’m not kidding.
I tried everything. I have been around cats all my life and I have never had one take such a dislike to me. And I couldn’t figure out why. I never did. I don’t think there is an answer why. I think cats like who they like. It can be a risk getting a cat; you can’t guarantee the cat is going to feel the same way about you. They say that a dog is the only love money can buy. It may be true because you sure can’t buy the love of a cat.
I wish I could give you some magic potion that would make a given cat fall crazy in love with a given person, but there just isn’t such a thing. Just like people, cats have their own minds and will love those they please to love. I have since had cats fall in love with me to the point they have always been underfoot, on my lap, under my blankets… well, virtually everywhere except the shower.
If you do wish to earn a cat’s love, you can however, tilt the odds a bit in your direction. How? Have the cat pick you!
- If you are buying a purebred from a breeder, spend some time with the litter you will be choosing a kitten from and follow the kitten’s judgment, if one seems particularly interested in you.
- If you are getting a kitten from a cat shelter (congratulate yourself first, because that is doing a great service), spend time and narrow your hunt down to two or three cats. Talk to the owner of the shelter and ask if you can visit those kittens or cats for a few days to determine which is the best match for you. I am willing to bet that the owner or manager of the shelter will be happy to see your commitment and will give you that time. The whole goal of a shelter is matching the right cat to the right person.
- If you get a kitten or cat as a gift, you will have to resort to the time honored traditions of giving treats, cat nip, extra lovings, and pray for the best. It is out of your control as far as kitty’s preferences go; all you can do is be the best friend you know how to be and let it work itself out. Hopefully you won’t have a Patch!
Cat ownership is a rewarding experience and it is a whole lot of fun!! Don’t let what I say discourage you. Instead use it as knowledge that you might have to hunt a bit further to find the cat that is also out there, looking for you!
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go
You’ve no doubt heard a lot about “take your son/daughter to work day,” but has anyone heard anything about taking your dog to work? Well I have. In fact (off the record please) I have taken a dog to work. I used to work in a large office and I had to do some extra work over the weekends to stay caught up, so I would go in Friday and Saturday nights about 9pm and work until about 3am.
Now part two of this story is that I am afraid of the dark. I hear things that go bump in the night. Especially in large, unoccupied office buildings. But I really, in order to make my upcoming week tolerable, had to do this work over the weekend, and I could only do it at night.
Solution: Easy! Bring a dog!
So I did. Now I wouldn’t recommend this for an untrained dog. Dogs can at times get confused in new surroundings and they might leave a “gift” in your bosses office. That is very bad. But if your dog is well trained, well mannered, and calm, consider taking him to work when it is appropriate.
The dog I had at the time was a collie. He looked just like Lassie. And he acted like it too. He would wander around the whole floor while I was in my office. I never heard anything go bump in the night if he was there; big dogs, even those that look like Lassie, still are the best form of security there is.
Many employers are becoming more open to ideas such as casual Fridays and bringing your dog to work. And yes I know that is quite a stretch from jeans to Rover in the office, but it isn’t unheard of anymore. As I said, just be sure your dog is well mannered and ready for a field trip such as this.
And take a look at Cesar Millan’s blog where he discusses this very topic. No doubt, he had a dog at his feet while he typed it all out!
Tips For A Dog-Friendly Workplace
Do Snakes Have Personalities?
I am completely aware that many people who are “reptilian challenged” think that having a snake as a pet is nuts. And I know that my thinking reptiles have personalities is thought by that most to be crazy. They see a reptile as a cold blooded animal, which is true, but being cold blooded only means how the animal’s system is regulated. It isn’t a personality characteristic. Cold blooded simply means that the animal relies on external temperatures to regulate their own internal body temperature. If it is hot in their environment, they are hot. If it is cold, they are cold. Granted snakes are not going to win any outstanding intelligence awards but they are smarter than people think and much more personable. I was quite surprised when I discovered how much personality a python could actually have.
Yes you read that right – a python. A python named Decaf; I’m not certain of the details of his name as he came equipped with it.
Decaf, when I first acquired him, was very shy. He did the typical ball python routine and curled up doing his soccer ball imitation. He was really very good at it too. Rolled up tight, I couldn’t find his head or tail, and found myself having to be content with just holding this shy, rolled up ball of snake on my lap. But curiosity eventually got to him and he 
began to uncurl. At first it was slow going. He would pop his head out of his self-created ball and look around. I didn’t do anything but watch, letting him learn that it was safe and he could take his time. It didn’t take long. A snake that had been imported from an African jungle* was soon deciding that exploring was much more interesting than living in a self made ball.
Soon Decaf renounced his soccer ball days forever. In fact, he wouldn’t no matter what was going on. Kids running up near him, the dog barking in his face – nothing fazed him. He much preferred stretching out his 48 inches and exploring. That is how he found my coffee cup. I have a very large coffee cup. It is more like a soup bowl! It can hold a lot of coffee. It can also hold part of an inquisitive snake.
Decaf was on my shoulders, a favorite hang out place for him, while I was working on the computer. He loves the computer to begin with. I am not sure if it is the sounds or the lights or if he just has fallen in love with the keyboard, but he always will work his way down my arm and start in on the keys as I type. (This contributes to a lot of typos!) He noses around the keyboard and of course I repeatedly pick him back up on my shoulder. This is just a routine for us.
But one day, he discovered the coffee cup. After he had investigated the keyboard thoroughly and I repeatedly removed him from the keys, he decided to explore in other areas of the desk. That is when he found the cup. It was about half full then and of course it was warm. Back to the cold blooded idea – it was warm therefore his contact with it would make him warm. He became quite intent on meeting this cup up close and personal.
Now obviously 48 inches of snake is not going to fit inside the cup (which was occupied by the real deal meaning a hot cup of coffee, at the time anyway) but it was a great thing to curl up around. Only once did he stick his nose into it. He promptly decided coffee was not for him, but coffee cups, at least warm ones, were. He continues to curl up as much of the upper part of his body as he can around my cup, leaving his back half around my arm.
The only real downside is that I have to be very careful to not jump up from the computer with the snake attached on one end to the cup and on the other end to my arm. Coffee, cups, keyboards and snakes all flying in different directions is not my idea of a good time.
I do notice though, when I am working, with Decaf nosing about on the keyboard and looking for the coffee cup, that his intelligence and humor is more evident that I realized was possible in a reptile. I had originally bought Decaf on a whim, which isn’t something I recommend with pet ownership. He cost me over $250 in vet bills when he was ill and I really had no idea what owning a python would be like. Now I see that he has a great deal of personality that he is willing to share with me. It is unfortunate that pythons have “bad press.”
In the future, I’ll begin talking about snake ownership: What is involved, the issues and safety measures, how to care for them and more, so that your experience, should you decide to become a snake owner, will be a positive one. Both Boas and Pythons have many different subspecies and therefore many different considerations. I hope that you will find the information helpful as you either choose or care for the Boa or Python, or perhaps some other breed of snake, that will be part of your life.
*Currently it is not legal to import wildlife from outside of the country. This is a story I wrote when it was legal to import such creatures. If you are in the market for a snake, verify it is domestic bred.
Pet of the Week Feature
Every week I will be presenting a photo of a reader’s pet (and hopefully a story submitted by the owner). Drop me an email at adelletilton (at) pawpadsandwhiskers (dot) com and send in the photo and story. Be sure to include your full name and location (city and state is fine). I will ONLY publish your first name and your email will not be given to anyone.
I can resize your photograph, but ideally it should be no wider than 175 pixels. If you can resize it I would appreciate it but if you are unable to, I’ll work around that. Try to get the best photo you can and remember taking a picture of an animal is an exercise in patience. Just sit and wait. Watch your dog, cat, bird or whatever through the viewfinder and when the moment is right, take the photograph. Your wait will be worth it. Another hint is to be on approximate eye level as the animal unless you are trying to achieve a certain affect; obviously a cat in a tree will be viewed from far below!
As far as stories go, don’t be intimidated. Just write out a story that represents something that has made you laugh; the antics of our pets as babies certainly qualify for some good stories in that area! Stories about rescues are great. Everyone loves to hear about a pet that was in dired straits until their new owner came along and everyone’s life was changed. Coping with the loss of a pet could greatly benefit readers as well, and will memorialize your pet on the site. Someday I’ll tell the story of Fang: He was unwanted by everyone at the shelter he lived in. He was losing his hair, was blind in one eye (and you could tell it when you looked at him), had a weight problem and had terribly overgrown teeth that had caused the name “Fang” to be his moniker. He may not be the most gorgeous cat in the world but he is a loved cat because of a winning personality. Stories like that are favorites of readers.
And by all means, if you ran the Iditarod, send us the photos and introduce us to your team! Everyone loves sled dog stories!!
Stories can be written right in the body of the email or can be attached if you prefer to use a Word, .rtf, or .txt format.
Photographs that are chosen will be on the front page for one week as the “Pet of the Week” and will then permanently reside in the gallery. The front page display is on the left in the first column under the title of “Pet of the Week.” Your pet will have his or her own personal place where the photo will always remain and the story can always be referenced.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to write me. Send me an email with any questions and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
I look forward to meeting all of you and your pets! I think we are going to have a lot of fun around here!!
