Thanks a lot!

21 years? That's impressive for a cat. Anyway, i understand your feelings, my dog died last week (monday), he was with us for seven years (and he was probably 1 or 2 years old when we brought him to our house). I don't know, it was surreal, one day he was happy jumping to my arms (he was a medium sized dog, not a small one) trying to get my attention and in the next day he was a stiff body. I don't know if this will make sense but i wasn't sad, it affect me for the rest of the day (in the sense "i can't believe he's really gone") but eventually i just accepted and moved on.
The hard part was touching his dead body, not in disgust but because it was something that was alive with emotions and now it was just a little lifeless body...

It's great to see so many animal lovers here :)

I have 2 dogs called Spock and Kirk, they are half Husky and half Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Named cos of the last movie that was released about the time they were born and cos Spock has one ear that stands up Vulcan-like. Spock is the one that hangs back and assess the situation, Kirk is the outgoing one, he always heads off in front while we walk, kinda ranging about (away team lol), he is also the bolshie one, so they kinda mirror their TV namesakes :)


That's is very sad, when you have had a companion for so long to lose them like that. My last dogs (Fiach and Dara) dies at 17 and I felt exactly the same way about touching them :(

Definitely a dog man. I lost my mutt Max 4 years ago, and then my favorite in the world, a westie named Sadie 2 years ago. Sadie was my best friend in the world. Had to put her down after she got diabetic and then her kidneys went. Haven't had the stomach or the willpower to replace them since.

It was the first time since I was a kid when losing a pet didn't motivate me to immediately get another. I know it's supposed to be part of the healing process, but getting another pet right now is not the right thing to do, for several reasons. Losing a close pet can be just as bad as losing a member of the family. It's not fun.

So sorry to hear that. I don't quite know what else to say, except that I really feel for you. Losing a pet is always hard.

I don't technically have any pets at the moment, but my mother does, and her fifteen-year old cat has been around for most of my life. He's getting older now, and he has some problems with his thyroid gland, for which he's getting medication. Unfortunately, that medication makes other parts of him burn up more quickly. We agreed with the vet almost a year back to reduce his medication, because he was becoming pretty lethargic. This way, he might live a little less long, but at least he'll have been awake and happy for his last years. He was pretty bad for a while, but a year ago my mother decided to get a dog as well, and since the arrival of the dog the cat has become very lively again. He loves chasing her through the living room and making a show of his authority. It's really fun to see. :P I've never been much of a dog person (I prefer cats), but this little dog has really melted my heart as well.

Very sorry to hear, guys. I hope the happy memories playing together will comfort you in your loss.

Thank you all for your kind words!

Wow, nice timing seeing this. I had a nice experience last night and was going to start a Pet Thread. No need!

First of all,

I'm so sorry for your recent loss. My cat is my only local family, and we are the best of buddies. I've only had him for 3 years (his 5th owner!), but he was alive in the 1990s, so I probably don't have a huge amount of time left with him. It will break my heart when he passes, as I'm sure your heart is broken. My sincere sympathies.

----

We went in to the vet for a checkup last night. Not only is he doing very well, especially for his age, the vets just loved him and, almost on cue, he really hammed it up for them. Standing on the examining table to wrap his arms around my neck, etc, etc. In a month or two I'm going to have a senior workup done via blood tests, but I have to accumulate a bit of tax season overtime before that...

I kind of wish I had a dog but I can barely take care of myself and could not afford one these days. My brother, sister and godson each got a puppy last year so I bestow my affection on them when I can.

Cats are completely out of the question since both my sister and brother are allergic, and in any case I'm more of a dog person. I will pet cats and even enjoy it but unless they're obese they always feel like a bag of bones.

There's a spider that shows up once in a while. It's a'ight.

i have a pink betta splendens named duncan mcfish of clan mcfish

Man why do so many of these threads always talk about them dying.

IT'S TOO SAD FOR ME

We were used to be known as the "cat house" among neighbours, enough said.

If we were in ancient Egypt, we would probably be acolytes of Bastet :P

We love animals above all, so we have a dog also, which looks like an english shepherd but is much bigger, so we named him "Oso" ( Bear ). He resolves disputes among our cats with his sole presence, the cats play with him and he protects us all (cats included) and doesn´t like dogs who doesn´t like our cats :P
I´ve had many cats and dogs and it´s just awesome how their characters differ from one another. Some were automatically self proclaimed alpha leaders ( like a siamese and her brother, she was tiny but relentless and he was big but easygoing ).
And we never bought a pet, they were all either stray, or given to us, some we would find them and others would find the way to our home.

Hmmm since we have cats (by that it's my GF's cats that i usually babysit) i'll talk about them.... And nothing sad like them dying...

Orange: Spaztasic in a single word. Runs across the house to get our attentions, jumps randomly on the back of our chairs or into our laps, and insists we give her wet food or access to the bath tub for a drink of water. Sometimes she'll curl up on my elbow on the couch as a little cubby spot for a while...

Hazel: A fat little whiny butt who would rather be flung outside in a blizzard than sit in a cage for 10 minutes, and the whole time in the cage she whines WOE IS ME! without end. She also whines when you hold her, and if you put her down she immediately wants the attention again you just took away due to her clawing at your face, yet doesn't accept it...

Tuxie: Although a cat with a sensitive stomach and throws up when she eats too much, she's incredibly fat with hangy-down fats... (Gotta capture that on video some time)

Xut/Zut: A whiny male cat who either has to have constant attention, or thinks being in the house where there's nothing to do as too stressful....

Turd: ... Yes his name is turd, because he's a turd. Thinks of himself as an alpha male and happily marks wherever he pleases, which is why he isn't allowed inside. He'd be a wonderful sweet cat if he was the only pet. Also if you hold him he HAS to be facing you, and he HAS to be touching your FACE.... He also squeaks when he thinks he's in trouble.

GlaDos: Perhaps the smallest of the cats, she is sweet and almost the perfect cat, if she didn't claw at the bedroom door at night wondering where we went when we go to bed...

Fen: Another male who although sweet marks on stuff in the house, except he got away with it longer until we actively caught him. If he was regarded as a type of food he's be classified as 'Chunky'. I usually ignore him because he's too damn wiggly, yet somehow decided i'm his people and wants my attention exclusively. Also whenever we are going to throw him out he jumps in a box as if to say I'M IN THE BOX!! which would work better if he didn't immediately jump out of the box inside of 3 minutes. This has a back-story to it.

Kim: Soft long hair kitty who loves to sleep and pee in the hallway because the litterbox (right next to the hallway) isn't good enough for her... so she doesn't come in either.

Rose: Sweet white (siamese?) cat who has the soul of a rabbit and even looks like one except for her not-round tail. She'll run and hide under the couch if you so much as sneeze in her direction and is too timid to do anything wrong requiring reprimand; It's taken 3 years to be able to give her even gentle light pets before she runs away. It's almost impossible to pick her up for any length of time, although if you're laying down or another cat is on you already, with one hand crippled she'll happily get all the love from your one limited hand as she can knowing you can't catch her.

I've always love animals, especially dogs. We have an Italian Greyhound/Chihuahua mix named Lily that we rescued from the pound when she was about three months old. She's three now and is such a good dog, she is so smart and has a funny personality. We also have a Roborovski hamster named Goldie, she's really sweet and cute. Sometime next week we will be bringing home another dog, a Shichon, and we're really excited about that. He is so freaking cute!