| Author | Message | ||
     Thumper74 |
So we let the cats and dogs intermingle for the first time since we initially brought Gunner home and he freaked the cats out. We’re attempting to get everyone to play nice. One of the kittens took a pig ear from the dog (Gunner is 60 pounds), dragged it under the entertainment center and proceeded to knaw on it for hours. Gunner decided that he wanted it back and stuck his head underneath the entertainment center… he pulled it back out after a yelp. There was some blood and he left the cats alone after that. The dogs are kenneled, so luckily we can Supervise it until we’re sure everyone can play nice. Overall, it went a lot smoother than I thought it would. | ||
| Bill0351 |
That's how my old dog and cat learned to respect one another. Reggie (105lb shepherd mutt) learned that if you messed with Harvey (ratty little former stray) that you would get a face full of claws. Harvey learned that messing with Reggie got you a tail full of teeth. After a day or two of that, they chased one another around like they were puppies or kittens and they would sleep together at night. The only real downside was that Harvey learned to have ZERO fear of unfamiliar dogs, and Reggie thought all cats would be interested in playing dog games. They spent 14 years as friends and both had to be put down the same week. Great pair of animals. I hope yours learn to be the same way. Bill | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
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| Jaimec |
I remember when we had our German Shepherd and we introduced our first cat to the house. The little kitten flew out of our arms and launched itself under the sofa. The shepherd looked bewildered: What da heck was THAT?? Eventually they became fast friends. I think the shepherd thought the cat was her puppy or something. She would groom it, let it curl up with her, and got upset if any "stranger" tried to pet the cat. My lifestyle now is more suited to cat ownership than dog ownership, and we haven't had a dog in YEARS. I still love dogs, but cats are just SO much easier! | ||
| Thumper74 |
I'm more of a cat person. I feed them, they can poop on their own, the leave me alone unless they want attention or know that I'm not feeling well. The wife wanted the dogs... Not_purple_s2, I submitted my cat to www.icanhascheezburger.com last week. Still waiting for it to showup... | ||
| Dentfixer |
Bill, I could never handle putting down two pets at the same time. One is hard enough. Man I'm supposed to be some tough biker and you got me tearing up like some sissy!  | ||
| Jaimec |
I swore the last time I was going to get a parrot so it would outlive me. So what happened? My friend rescued a stray kitten from a tree and told me it needed a home. Fifteen years later, and she's still with me. So far she's still going strong (but she ain't a parrot... someday that "day" will come and I'm not looking forward to it). | ||
| Djkaplan |
Man, don't get a parrott, they are horrible pets. A friend of mine had one and it was disgusting... like a bad monkey. The mofo bit me once and chewed the antenna off my first cell phone. I hated that bird. | ||
| Thumper74 |
As much as I love hearing Djkaplan's court stories, parrots are all about finding one that fits your lifestyle. Certain birds are prone to having certain types of personalities. Larger cockatoos, like Elvis(http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/315432.html) tend to be puppies, LOVE to be cuddled and require TONS of attention. Smaller cockatoos tend to be great, independant pets that still like to interact and are pretty crazy little birds. Macaws tend to be somewhat aggressive. African grey parrots are considered to be the most intelligent parrots can get VERY attached to a single person and that is it. My exes used to attack me whenever she could because I interfered with her human. Be prepared to consistently spend at least 2-3 hours a day with the bird. Whether that's dedicated 'play' time or just letting it chill on your shoulder while watching TV, hanging out on BadWeb, etc. It needs social time or it will turn to self destructive behavior. Toys and a cage will run a small fortune. Think about the bird's lifespan... If you die before the bird, it may have a terrible time adjusting to life without you around. We had one as a foster for a little bit that would pluck it's own feathers out because it's human passed away. It took a few months to get her to warm up to anyone. Once she did though, she was a great bird. Stay away from pet shops, but from a breeder. They will generally make sure that the bird you want will mesh with your lifestyle and you get to be there through all stages of the bird's life, like hand feeding it a few days a week untill it's weened, interacting while it's a baby, etc so that when you take it home you're already bonded and there are no surprises. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I almost always had a cat and a dog when I was growing up. Never could understand people that hated one or the other. Most of mine were pretty good pals and were definitely entertaining to watch interact with each other. | ||
| Ulywife |
Thumper - glad to hear the introductions are going smoother than you had originally thought. As we've "talked" about before, we're going through the same thing with Mini Moose and our cats. One cat still refuses to even "try". I think it helps that Mini Moose has settled down a bit and isn't barking at them every time he sees them. Good luck and keep us posted. |
