The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2017

[foxxycat]

I have never had small pocket pets.  They look cute though. Honeybee would try to eat them. So we don't even try. She tried to bite the bunny that was at our summer rental a few years ago. The rabbit was one TICKED off rabbit because Honeybee wouldn't stop trying to sniff it and follow it around. He used to thump his foot and run off. Honeybee didnt' chase him because she knew she would be in trouble. The rabbit ended up being given to a rescue for rabbits. He was a cute black bunny. Jon had fun trying to get it to come to him. But Honeybee didn't help matters. She scared the rabbit and the ducks. I tried to get close to the ducks up there and she would slink into my area and the ducks would fly off in a big flap of wings making tons of noise..and I turn around and there's miss Honeybee blinking up at me like What? What did I do? It was the funniest thing!

Last night miss Honeybee kept licking my face. at 3am and 4am. I ignored her or just moved away from her tongue. but that didnt' stop her. When I got up at 5am I checked her water bowl and it was empty! So was her kibble dish. So I guess she wanted me to feed n water her. I usually fill her water several times a day. It's this tiny milk glass veggie dish they used in the 1960s and she won't drink out of regular bowls. She licks the side of the dish to drink water. Crazy! So I filled the water and told Jon to fill her dish. She has another bowl under her table-that was half full. I couldn't give her her puffs because she hid underneath the bed right in the middle so I couldn't reach her. I put some tuna mush under there with miralax. This cat has the worst bowel condition. I have been feeding her tons of canned pumpkin with not too much luck. So this morning gave her the rest of the tuna mush with miralax. Hopefully I see results later tomorrow. I will have to up the pumpkin to daily.

Such a pain! Must be the dry winter air! Why won't she eat salad?!!

 

[artiemom]

 
Ugh. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. My first day off in a while--and I simply don't have the energy to do much of anything. Except eat. For some reason I feel insatiably hungry. 

 I hope it's gone before the next time I go to work.

You are overtired, and burnt-out. That is how I would be when I went on vacation. It would take at least 4 days to finally relax. You are feeling the results of all the overtime and stress.. sorry.. ((hugs))

 

[jennifurr]

Originally Posted by Tallyollyopia  
Hey, that's great! 

 It looks great as well!

Still waiting on my box--and there are a couple of snafus with it. One, I was told that it might not even be   here until the 28th (and I can't report it lost until April 3rd), and for some reason I'm not getting the original genre I selected. 

 Well, maybe the box will be totally awesome regardless. (It just figures I can't even get this  right.)

Thanks! I may wear it to the shelter, but I don't want to risk it being destroyed by the shelter cats.

I hope your box comes soon.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

 
In California it is illegal to have gerbils as they would be destructive to the habitat of  California if they were released into the wild. I have never been able to understand the fascination with  rodents, particularly the little ones like mice and rats. Maybe it's my European upbringing. The only rodents I ever saw as pets were bunnies and golden or Syrian hamsters, an African hamster the  size of a small rabbit and much larger than the pocket hamsters that people seem to be so fond of. To me almost all rodents are vermin. Yes, I know that beavers are also rodents (just look at those huge front teeth!) and so are gophers, prairie dogs, tree squirrels and porcupines, but I'm talking about those little critters that a cat might have for lunch. You can now all pound on me for not liking rodents.

Nah, I love you anyway.  And I promise not to send you a rat.

I currently have a Syrian hamster. I never liked them before, they always bit me

. But my hamster is nice, doesn't bite, and is a lot of fun. She is cat-snack-sized but has never escaped, and if she stays in her runabout ball the cats can't hurt her. I haven't decided if I'll get another when she's gone, but I do enjoy her. I have had rats and mice in the past. Rats are very engaging little pets, rather like a small dog if you spend enough time with them. The short lifespan is the worst thing about them

. I found mice rather dull. They aren't as smart as rats and were too small and wiggly to hold very often. I never had a gerbil but a family member had a bunch of them. They seem more wild than the other rodents, somehow. I'm sure they tame well with enough handling though.

 
My experience has always been that Hamsters were mean and unpleasant. Gerbils are sweethearts if you tame them well. They like having their chins and ears scratched. I had one that was mean when I was growing up. She would bite randomly all the time. I expect its individual personalities just like cats. 

Had to get them a second water bottle today since the water bottle continues to stop working. 

We only had one cat at the adoption center this evening and it was the one that hated me. She is a very grumpy kitty who is a good lap cat with some people, but not with me. Mostly spend the evening with her hanging out at arms distance from me, whacking at me if I dared get close to her. 

I used to have a Dwarf Siberian hamster who was the meanest thing I've ever seen.  We had to put a piece of cardboard in his cage and back him into the corner to feed him.  I worked with that little dickens for a solid year and never got him any better.  His name, of course, was Cujo the Killer Hamster.  He was out for blood!

 

[Willowy]

I don't think there's any such thing as a dwarf Syrian hamster :dk:. The dwarf hamsters I know of are Siberian or Chinese. But, yes, the dwarf hamsters are usually a bit more. . .intense than the big Syrians :lol3:.

 

[arouetta]

 
I used to have a Dwarf Siberian hamster who was the meanest thing I've ever seen.  We had to put a piece of cardboard in his cage and back him into the corner to feed him.  I worked with that little dickens for a solid year and never got him any better.  His name, of course, was Cujo the Killer Hamster.  He was out for blood!

I also had a Russian dwarf hamster that was mean.  He would charge towards unguarded flesh and bite repeatedly, hard enough to draw blood, until you removed whatever body part he had latched onto.  I took my pocket pets to a vet and he said that he believed there was actually something neurologically wrong with the hamster, as vicious as he was.  That was the only hamster whose nails I couldn't trim, and one time I took him to the vet for them to do it.  I warned the vet techs he was a biter.  One got on huge leather gloves while the other one was clipping his nails and he was so complacent they were talking about how he was sweet and couldn't be as mean as I made him out to be.  Then the tech with the clippers got her thumb in the wrong spot and he stretched out and clamped down on her thumb.  She jerked, he held on and he got pulled out of the glove.  And then the stupid idiot (hamster) let go of the thumb after being pulled out and went flying.  He survived though he was a little stunned.

Around that same time Shadow decided she was going to live in our house and let us stay so we could serve her.  (In all actuality, she clung to us like she was afraid of losing this home too and had severe separation anxiety.)  I could not figure out what cat food she was willing to eat and she was refusing food like crazy.  One day I came home and Patches' cage was smashed to bits.  I freaked, shoved her in the carrier, started cleaning up the mess and Patches was calmly walking down the hall like he owned the place.  As far as we can figure, she tried to have him for lunch and he started his usual bite-bite-bite and she decided lunch wasn't worth the pain.

 

[tallyollyopia]

Absolutely adorable! 

 
I have never had small pocket pets.  They look cute though. Honeybee would try to eat them. So we don't even try. She tried to bite the bunny that was at our summer rental a few years ago. The rabbit was one TICKED off rabbit because Honeybee wouldn't stop trying to sniff it and follow it around. He used to thump his foot and run off. Honeybee didnt' chase him because she knew she would be in trouble. The rabbit ended up being given to a rescue for rabbits. He was a cute black bunny. Jon had fun trying to get it to come to him. But Honeybee didn't help matters. She scared the rabbit and the ducks. I tried to get close to the ducks up there and she would slink into my area and the ducks would fly off in a big flap of wings making tons of noise..and I turn around and there's miss Honeybee blinking up at me like What? What did I do? It was the funniest thing!

Last night miss Honeybee kept licking my face. at 3am and 4am. I ignored her or just moved away from her tongue. but that didnt' stop her. When I got up at 5am I checked her water bowl and it was empty! So was her kibble dish. So I guess she wanted me to feed n water her. I usually fill her water several times a day. It's this tiny milk glass veggie dish they used in the 1960s and she won't drink out of regular bowls. She licks the side of the dish to drink water. Crazy! So I filled the water and told Jon to fill her dish. She has another bowl under her table-that was half full. I couldn't give her her puffs because she hid underneath the bed right in the middle so I couldn't reach her. I put some tuna mush under there with miralax. This cat has the worst bowel condition. I have been feeding her tons of canned pumpkin with not too much luck. So this morning gave her the rest of the tuna mush with miralax. Hopefully I see results later tomorrow. I will have to up the pumpkin to daily.

Such a pain! Must be the dry winter air! Why won't she eat salad?!!

Oh dear. I hope I don't have that problem when the rabbit comes (tomorrow). From what I understand, it's already traumatized.

Poor Honeybee! I hope things get better on that front soon! 

 
You are overtired, and burnt-out. That is how I would be when I went on vacation. It would take at least 4 days to finally relax. You are feeling the results of all the overtime and stress.. sorry.. ((hugs))

I met the new girl! Unfortunately, she won't be working my shift--she already has a third shift job. 

 Still--it's easier to run a twenty-four hour store with six people than it is with five, and her mere presence might help. 

 
Thanks! I may wear it to the shelter, but I don't want to risk it being destroyed by the shelter cats.

I hope your box comes soon.

Me too.

You know hearing hamsters and gerbils referred to as pocket pets really explains something odd that happened some time ago. It was Christmastime and I was looking for those pocket digital pets (the ones in brightly colored plastic attached to keychains), and I asked this one woman (the mall I was in had people stationed for the sole purpose of giving people directions to where they want to go) for directions to the toy store because I was going to get a pocket pet for my sib. Well, she gave me this long, fierce lecture on how it's wrong for people to give pets as presents and how I should be more responsible than that. She probably  thought I meant something like a hamster or gerbil, and it took a little while to explain that I didn't want a live animal, but a toy  that was, quite literally, called a "Pocket Pet." 

 

[LTS3]

Nah, this thread is pretty much one giant off-topic thread, so there will be no

here unless someone is breaking the rules. If you look back, plenty of people have posted pics of their animals in this thread without a

If someone starts posting an issue they have with their cat in this thread and it goes on a bit and we think it would be better off in another forum, we will suggest that, like we did with Artie and ArtiesMom.

Good to know. I'm going to lay low and lurk for awhile

 

[tallyollyopia]

Okay, just ranting. Feel free to skip.

I am so glad  my manager has a brain. She got orders from above that third shift is now required to close the store for fifteen minutes every hour  to stock the cooler. (

) With everything that has to be done third shift (including dealing with customers!) it's simply not possible to get everything done. And what about the times when the store is busy, filled with customers, for hours  at a time? How is that supposed to work? Well, thanks to my manager having a brain, she got the okay to close the store for no more than an hour, and that during the dead part of the night when no one comes into the store. And it actually fits really well with the regular schedule. Previously I've been working the cooler a little every spare moment, and not getting much done because I'm working it and the rest of the store at the same time. Now, by having a designated time to work it, I'm able to just focus on the interior of the store until that hour, and during that hour I focus really hard on stocking which helps me get a lot more done in there.

Then there was a problem customer last night. He was at the friendly stage of being drunk when he came in, but he was at that point where he was a hair's breadth away from turning violent. And it all started innocently enough; he said he was just popping in to check on me (which is something a lot of my regulars have been doing since the incident back in October where I collapsed). Then he started asking me about whether or not I had a boyfriend, how I felt about dating older men, and it went downhill from there. I confess, I was pretty much ignoring him until he made a comment about how he'd like to have "pieces of me". At that point I tried to get to the phone to call the police, but every time I got near the counter he started shifting from pleasant to enraged and I thought it was better to keep things from escalating than to get to the phone. (Please remember that I go to work armed and I have no  problem drawing blood to defend myself.) I finally had to ask a customer that came in to call the police to remove the man, and while the customer didn't call the police he did  get the man out of my store, and that was all I wanted. 

 I'm programming my cell with the number for the police department before work tonight. Mind, I don't think  he'll come back (I didn't recognize him, which doesn't mean much with my face-blindness), but I think it's better to be prepared.

And I learned that no, my manager hasn't forgotten about training me to be lead clerk for third. She's just waiting to get another person trained on third so I can actually have two  days off a week again (she might give me three) so I can recover from running more than forty hours a week since early February before I learn another aspect of my job. 

 

[Kat0121]

 
New update on the toy situation. The new toy in the link above arrived today. I opened it and put the batteries in. The top part with the cat face and yellow hands is what spins. There is a laser that goes on and off randomly in the base. I put it down for them and they batted at it a bit. I think that they did this for MY benefit. After about 30 seconds, the scolding began. Sophie. After I was scolded,  I got THE LOOK. The look that started all of this:

Sophie: "this is NOT my butterfly. WHERE is my butterfly?"

Me: "Kitten, you ripped your butterfly into pieces. The new ones I need to fix the toy haven't come yet"

Sophie: "I don't care what you have to do. FIX. MY. BUTTERFLY"

Me:

The replacement butterflies I found are coming on Monday.

What did Lilith do? Nothing really. She batted at it a bit and then wandered off.

The butterflies that I found came on Monday and Mommy fixed the toy. They were happy for a bit. Now they do play with it but often will just watch it flutter around. When they are just laying around watching it, I shut it off. Then they whine for it to come back on so I get up and turn it back on. Sophie has been playing with it though and replacement butterfly #1 is now down to 1 wing. Wing #2 was ripped off last night. Fortunately, there are 24 butterflies in the pack that I bought. I glued the base of the toy to an upside down dessert plate and they can still knock it over. It's harder to do but they can do it if they get riled up enough. Good thing I have the hot glue gun and plenty of glue sticks. I will be needing them. 

I stopped at Petco on Friday and picked up some extra toys until the butterfly could be fixed. The only one they liked was the catnip Magic Meowshroom. The cat dancer? FAIL. Glow in the dark moon? It has yet to glow so FAIL. 

I brought out the other toys and got the look from Sophie. The look that started this:

Sophie: "What are these?"

Me: "Mommy got you some new toys."

Sophie: "Where are the butterflies?"

Me: "They are coming on Monday."

Sophie: "You just don't listen, do you?"

Me: "Mommy's trying, Kitten"

Sophie: "Hmm..... I suppose. I guess I can play with this mushroom for a while. The wire with the cardboard bits? YOU can play with that" ( That would be the Cat Dancer- an epic fail. They both ignored it completely)

 

[Kat0121]

Lurk like a ninja 

 

 

[jennifurr]

I feel very torn right now. My husband and I were thinking of getting a new cat for a week now. When my therapist recommend waiting on it (she admittedly misunderstood) because I already have 3 senior cats, I ran this by my husband, and he doesn't seem too happy. In fact, he sounded hurt, and now so do I. I have always wanted a younger cat just in case one of our seniors passed on, but now I feel like I crushed my own dream.I don't know what to do, I can't even choose among my husband, the cat, or myself. I wish things didn't get this complicated, and I didn't mean it to be.

 

[Primula]

Then there was a problem customer last night. He was at the friendly stage of being drunk when he came in, but he was at that point where he was a hair's breadth away from turning violent. And it all started innocently enough; he said he was just popping in to check on me (which is something a lot of my regulars have been doing since the incident back in October where I collapsed). Then he started asking me about whether or not I had a boyfriend, how I felt about dating older men, and it went downhill from there. I confess, I was pretty much ignoring him until he made a comment about how he'd like to have "pieces of me". At that point I tried to get to the phone to call the police, but every time I got near the counter he started shifting from pleasant to enraged and I thought it was better to keep things from escalating than to get to the phone. (Please remember that I go to work armed and I have no problem drawing blood to defend myself.) I finally had to ask a customer that came in to call the police to remove the man, and while the customer didn't call the police he did get the man out of my store, and that was all I wanted.   I'm programming my cell with the number for the police department before work tonight. Mind, I don't think he'll come back (I didn't recognize him, which doesn't mean much with my face-blindness), but I think it's better to be prepared.

Tallyollopia, sorry, I am late to this party. What is it that you do?

I feel very torn right now. My husband and I were thinking of getting a new cat for a week now. When my therapist recommend waiting on it (she admittedly misunderstood) because I already have 3 senior cats, I ran this by my husband, and he doesn't seem too happy. In fact, he sounded hurt, and now so do I. I have always wanted a younger cat just in case one of our seniors passed on, but now I feel like I crushed my own dream.I don't know what to do, I can't even choose among my husband, the cat, or myself. I wish things didn't get this complicated, and I didn't mean it to be.

Jennifurr, I'm sorry, but why are you upset? I feel I've missed part of this story.

 

[Primula]

Sophie: "What are these?"

Me: "Mommy got you some new toys."

Sophie: "Where are the butterflies?"

Me: "They are coming on Monday."

Sophie: "You just don't listen, do you?"

Me: "Mommy's trying, Kitten"

Sophie: "Hmm..... I suppose. I guess I can play with this mushroom for a while. The wire with the cardboard bits? YOU can play with that" ( That would be the Cat Dancer- an epic fail. They both ignored it completely)

LOL. These talks with Sophie are addictive. [emoji]128526[/emoji]

 

[jennifurr]

Jennifurr, I'm sorry, but why are you upset? I feel I've missed part of this story.

I'll try to explain: My husband and I are looking to adopt another cat. I saw my therapist today, told her about it, and she thinks it is too many, as I already have 3. I have a cat or two on each floor of my house. I neglected to tell her that, but when I called her back, she admitted that she misunderstood what I said. Unfortunately, it didn't stop me from talking to my husband about not getting a cat yet. I want to talk to him about what I said earlier, but he won't be home for another hour due to his job. I am going to be honest here, I tend to feel bad when I hurt someone's feelings, and the way I worded that post is kind of a "he wants/she wants" situation, with the cat thrown in the mix.

Sorry if any of it confused you.

 

[margd]

 
I'll try to explain: My husband and I are looking to adopt another cat. I saw my therapist today, told her about it, and she thinks it is too many, as I already have 3. I have a cat or two on each floor of my house. I neglected to tell her that, but when I called her back, she admitted that she misunderstood what I said. Unfortunately, it didn't stop me from talking to my husband about not getting a cat yet. I want to talk to him about what I said earlier, but he won't be home for another hour due to his job. I am going to be honest here, I tend to feel bad when I hurt someone's feelings, and the way I worded that post is kind of a "he wants/she wants" situation, with the cat thrown in the mix.

Sorry if any of it confused you.

Does this mean that your therapist has withdrawn her recommendation against adopting a fourth cat?  It seems that should make your husband happy.   Can you send him a brief text letting him know to disregard your earlier talk and to let him know you'll clear things up when he gets home?  At least that way you know you can cheer him up right away.

 

[jennifurr]

 
Does this mean that your therapist has withdrawn her recommendation against adopting a fourth cat?  It seems that should make your husband happy.   Can you send him a brief text letting him know to disregard your earlier talk and to let him know you'll clear things up when he gets home?  At least that way you know you can cheer him up right away.

We just talked about it a while ago. We are in the process of finding a kitten or young cat. No luck, though.

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
I feel very torn right now. My husband and I were thinking of getting a new cat for a week now. When my therapist recommend waiting on it (she admittedly misunderstood) because I already have 3 senior cats, I ran this by my husband, and he doesn't seem too happy. In fact, he sounded hurt, and now so do I. I have always wanted a younger cat just in case one of our seniors passed on, but now I feel like I crushed my own dream.I don't know what to do, I can't even choose among my husband, the cat, or myself. I wish things didn't get this complicated, and I didn't mean it to be.

Okay, take a breath. Now release it. It's okay--I'm sure there's just a communication snafu somewhere.

Tallyollopia, sorry, I am late to this party. What is it that you do?
Jennifurr, I'm sorry, but why are you upset? I feel I've missed part of this story.

I'm a convenience store clerk.

 
We just talked about it a while ago. We are in the process of finding a kitten or young cat. No luck, though.

Congrats and good luck! (And don't settle. Wait until you find the right one--you'll know when you find it.)

 

[Primula]

I'm a convenience store clerk.

And you have to take a gun to work?

 

[NewYork1303]

 
 ( That would be the Cat Dancer- an epic fail. They both ignored it completely)

My cats are terrified of the Cat Dancer. They get snarly with each other whenever i get it out. 

And you have to take a gun to work?

I believe she has a knife, not a gun.