The Cute Animal Pics/Videos Thread

[Ruthyone]

'"All You Need Is Love" !!!

[Arcadia]

Awwwwww. That's just ... words fail me.

[besleybean]

Gorgeous.

[by the sea]

I love the cat and the toaster !  Reminds me of my new breadmaker.  My Little Hairy Hamish (RIP) was still quite young when I got a new breadmaker.  I  thought it would be lovely to wake up to fresh bread, so I set the timer on the breadmaker to 3.30 am and went to bed.  Well, at 3.30 am, the thing started to work, as promised, but poor Hamish must have thought we were being invaded but dog-eating cats from outer space or something and he ran howling through the house.  Took him days to get relaxed at night again.  Poor baby !  I never thought I'd be freaking out the dog !  :o 

 

Debbie

[Carol the Dabbler]

I had one cat who was temporarily afraid of my vegetable-scrubbing brush.  Apparently she was standing right there when I set it down awkwardly and it rebounded a bit.  She was totally freaked out, so I did the only sensible thing -- I "killed" it, then showed her the corpse.  She was fine after that.

 

[besleybean]

Fantastic!

[Arcadia]

Yay, more cat stories! I had a cat who went out on the porch one day, and an acorn came hurtling down and hit her on the head. From that day forward she never went out onto the porch without scanning the sky first. Any other door, and she'd just walk out, but not the porch door.

[Carol the Dabbler]

That's actually pretty sensible of her, assuming that the porch door was the one with the oak tree lurking outside!  Cats do seem much better at generalizing than they're generally given credit for, though just like humans they can mis-generalize.

 

When we lived in Southern California, we knew someone with an orange tree in their yard (oranges are sorta like zucchinis out there -- when they're in season, everybody has too many), so we ended up with a paper grocery sack full of nice, ripe, juicy oranges.  These were summer oranges, not the easy-to-peel navel type, so we cut them into wedges and just bit them out of the rind.  Of course the biting was occasionally accompanied by a squirt of juice.

 

One day I came into the living room with a saucerful of carrot sticks, and sat down on the sofa next to one of the cats -- who took one look at the carrots and immediately jumped up and tore off through the house.  I called after her, "Just because they're orange-colored doesn't mean they squirt!"

 

[Arcadia]

No, there were oak trees waiting outside all the other doors too, they just missed. :D

[by the sea]

Although my mother assures me there was a cat in the family when I was born, I don't remember it and I'm sure it wasn't around by the time I was old enough to have things register on my memory.  I don't know any of the details .. what kind of cat it was, what its name was, what it looked like, whether it was male or female, how old it was.  So I have no personal experience of cats .. I have two colleagues who each have two cats and they tell wonderful stories of all the furry antics.  Personally, I'm fiercely drawn to dogs and have been lucky enough to share my world with three wonderful canine companions.  Since Hamish went over the Rainbow Bridge almost two years ago, there's been a huge empty space.  My current situation doesn't permit another dog .. but a cat might be possible, since I understand they are pretty self sufficient.  I'm torn, though, between my wish for animal friendship and my natural inclination towards doggy society.  So, basically, I'm doing nothing !

 

Debbie

[Arcadia]

Cats are self sufficient in the sense that you don't have to take them for walks and most of them won't destroy the house if they're left alone for hours, or even a few days.  Leave out food and a litter box and most cats will be fine. But a nice, friendly, cuddly cat is a social beast and wants your attention as much as any dog. A standoffish, independent cat that doesn't require much attention is a good pet only if you just adore cats anyway, if you see what I mean. I've had both, and loved them all, but a Miss Lovey-Dovey consumes more of your time and energy (and gets more hair all over you) than a Miss Snooty-Pants. But it's worth it; there's nothing better than a lap filled with warm, purring cat, imo.

[besleybean]

Cats rule.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... Personally, I'm fiercely drawn to dogs and have been lucky enough to share my world with three wonderful canine companions.  Since Hamish went over the Rainbow Bridge almost two years ago, there's been a huge empty space.  My current situation doesn't permit another dog .. but a cat might be possible, since I understand they are pretty self sufficient.  I'm torn, though, between my wish for animal friendship and my natural inclination towards doggy society.  So, basically, I'm doing nothing !

 

 

If you're a dog person who's thinking of taking in a cat, Debbie, I'd recommend a male cat.  They tend to be more cuddly and demonstrative than the females.  Your best bet might be to go to the local cat shelter and ask to visit with the males, and see if there are any that you really feel a rapport with.

 

As Arcadia says, though, any cat will require a certain amount of attention from you (keeping their food and water fresh and cleaning their litter box, at a minimum, plus veterinary visits as necessary), and an affectionate and/or playful cat will demand (yes, demand!) even more from you.  If you aren't able to devote much time to a pet, one solution is to have two, so they can keep each other company -- but then of course you have two to provide basic care for.

 

[besleybean]

Do the majority on here have house cats?

I would suspect they would tend to be the minority in the UK.

[Caya]

Personally, I'm fiercely drawn to dogs and have been lucky enough to share my world with three wonderful canine companions.  Since Hamish went over the Rainbow Bridge almost two years ago, there's been a huge empty space.  My current situation doesn't permit another dog .. but a cat might be possible, since I understand they are pretty self sufficient.  I'm torn, though, between my wish for animal friendship and my natural inclination towards doggy society.  So, basically, I'm doing nothing !

 

Debbie

 

Oh dear, poor you . Our Basic died last October, and we were painfully reminded of Heinz Rühmann's quote, "You can live without a dog, too, but it just isn't worth it," every day, when the house was unbearably empty. :( Had a sad, lousy Christmas, and then finally caved in, and well, here's Lilly:

 

 

Cats are adorable and everything (although our neighbour's cat is definitely trying to prove otherwise right now, since he's pissed that his noon nap space has been ursurped by a dog again :lol:) but to most dog people, they just aren't, well, dogs.

 

[besleybean]

I love all animals, but am definitely a cat person.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I'm equally cat/dog person. My brother had a cat for most of my life. Never had my own dog but would walk a cousins dogs growing up as well as play with my friends' dog.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Congratulations, Martina!  Is that another Rottweiler?  (Before I managed to satisfy the spellchecker, it was wanting me to say rototiller -- but I was pretty sure that wasn't right.  :D )

 

Last I heard, Bev, pet cats outnumbered pet dogs in the US, possibly because so many people live in apartments these days.  I don't know  whether that translates to a majority of households, but both cats and dogs are pretty common here.  Alex and I have six housecats, no dogs.  I like both, but it just occurred to me today that I've actually lived with dogs for only five or ten years, whereas I've lived with cats for about forty.

 

[besleybean]

Lucky you!

[Caya]

Congratulations, Martina!  Is that another Rottweiler?  (Before I managed to satisfy the spellchecker, it was wanting me to say rototiller -- but I was pretty sure that wasn't right.  :D )

 

Thanks . She probably is, more or less (she mostly looks the part but her fur doesn't feel Rottweiler-ish), but since she got picked up as a stray in Istanbul it's hard to say; not that it matters much, she's ours. I'm fairly confident, however, that your assessment that she is not a rototiller is correct :D.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Congratulations, Martina!  Is that another Rottweiler?  (Before I managed to satisfy the spellchecker, it was wanting me to say rototiller -- but I was pretty sure that wasn't right.  :D )

 

Thanks . She probably is, more or less (she mostly looks the part but her fur doesn't feel Rottweiler-ish), but since she got picked up as a stray in Istanbul it's hard to say; not that it matters much, she's ours. I'm fairly confident, however, that your assessment that she is not a rototiller is correct :D.

 

Wait till she starts digging up your garden!

 

Istanbul?  Is it typical for European animal-rescue groups to bring pets across national borders?

 

[besleybean]

Glad you asked...I was wondering.

[T.o.b.y]

Cats are adorable and everything (although our neighbour's cat is definitely trying to prove otherwise right now, since he's pissed that his noon nap space has been ursurped by a dog again :lol:) but to most dog people, they just aren't, well, dogs.

 

Exactly. I find cats amusing and I like them - I grew up with them. But dogs I love. You can't really hug a cat. They don't like it, they're delicate underneath all that fur. A dog, even a small dog, is usually more robust. I love playing tug-o-war with dogs or cuddling with them. And I understand dog language a lot better than cat language.

 

 

[besleybean]

I speak fluent cat!

[Caya]

 

Istanbul?  Is it typical for European animal-rescue groups to bring pets across national borders?

 

I'm not sure how to answer this without opening an ugly can of worms, but yes, it's common for rescue groups from mediterranean countries to bring them to northern countries to find new homes. The attitude towards animal rights and welfare is a bit of hit-and-miss in the south (don't ever google about Spanish hunting dogs if you want to retain some faith in humanity) and it's hard to get enough homes for the many dogs needing them.