Ok so what is it with Cats and Jewelry?

[Okie_girl]

R.D. Sweeney, also known as Little Man. Brother to Rocky Sweeney, and I do believe he is an insurance salesman, or was in another life.

Orphan Annie, aka Binky. This little one was found at Lowe's, living in the garden center. She was about 6 months old, and weighed 2 pounds. I took her to the vet to have her put down, only to get a call the next day that she was doing much better. I tell her every night that as long as I'm around, she'll never have to go to sleep hungry.

Amelia, aka Stinky Pinkleton. She came from a rescue group that gets cats from the local pound and adopts them out. She was a baby in this picture, now she is darker and much more rotund. She is also a thief. She will steal anything I leave on the kitchen countertop.. packets of ketchup, chips, whatever. She is probably the funniest cat I've ever known.

And, even though this is a thread about cats, I must share this picture of Callie, the tree climbing dog!

 

[Aoife]

Hi Aoife, I know you are speaking from a position of great love and affection for the little fuzzies, so the 'lecture' is just fine.

I've neutered ALL my pets. For the record, the rabbits either needed to be neutered, or separated permenantly. I decided they need each other. For my cat... well, it was the 'right' thing to do. I wasn't speaking generally, or addressing the world with my question.

I was speaking of my own condition. I would never abandon an animal regardless of behavior (unless it is crazy violent and needs to be destroyed), and my cat is a rescue anyway. However, my self questioning continues. It should be done to strays (better than an uncertain life on the streets and the cruelty or deprivation they suffer), it should be done to irresponsible owners animals, less than passionate owners animals etc. In fact the animals most in need of neutering are the ones on cruel pet mills. But that is a different story altogether.

But for people who will love them and never allow them to be abandoned - how do we know for sure our decision is the best for our animals? Not for us. Mine is a housecat in an apartment, he never roams. It is an academic question too, as he has already been fixed. Sometimes I just look at him and wonder if I made the right choice.

Oh, and I never meant to say that it was wrong to fix your pets - heck that's what i keep doing. It just Seems that way. Especially when i look at them after the op.

Sorry, Tristan, I didn't intend a lecture, although as I reread my post I can see why it might have come across that way. Are you familiar with how un-neutered cats behave? I ask that in all seriousness. For example, your much-loved male would be more likely to want to roam (which puts him at risk for being hit by a car, attacked by another animal, etc.) and very much more likely to spray to mark his territory inside the house. If you haven't experienced a house that has territorial marking going on inside, I can tell you that the aroma/stench/fumes are unmistakeable. That kind of marking, as well as defecating and peeing outside the litterbox, are two of the most common reasons cats are abandoned. If you've ever been inside a house where a cat is spraying, you would understand why. I know you are sincere in saying that you would never abandon a pet, but if your cat sprayed your furniture, marked your clothing, sprayed your walls...you know, after a while, it might be kind of hard to keep feeling the love.

Controlling the population of unwanted or feral cats is a good reason to spay or neuter, but neutered cats are also much better companions.

 

[Aoife]

Okie_girl, your babies are adorable, including the tree-climber!

 

[TristanC]

I must share this picture of Callie, the tree climbing dog!

WOT? :Confused:

How did he get up there???

Too cute.

 

[yssie]

okie - they're all gorgeous!!

Tristan - pics of the bunny? And of your cat, for that matter!

ally - what a heartbreaker she's still all head and ears



And another of my other two, I just can't resist! Boy on the left, sister on the right. Both from the shelter bargain bin.




The girl is possibly the least intelligent cat I've ever met. She fell through the window screen (we had no idea it was even loose!) and apparently waited patiently outside our neighbour's door to be let in. We think it was a couple of hours before she decided to yowl - panicked, ran outside and there she was, pawing madly at their door. I had no idea how she wound up outside, she's not the least bit interested in the outdoors - I supposed she'd slipped out as I brought the groceries in.

Then she repeated the adventure the next day, complete with going to the wrong door again. So much for that homing instinct! She'd pushed the screen off completely this time though, so at least she tipped us off to that.

I had nightmares about losing her for a good two weeks afterward.

 

[TristanC]

Hahaha. How do you know she's dumb? Maybe she prefer's your neighbor's choice of furniture?

 

[yssie]

They were on vacation - she never even got inside! Just sat on the doorstep and waited, apparently.

 

[Okie_girl]

I must share this picture of Callie, the tree climbing dog!

WOT? :Confused:

How did he get up there???

Too cute.

She's something, huh?!!! The tree she's in is a giant mulberry. It would be a perfect treehouse tree.
The "base" of it is about 4 feet off the ground, so Callie just jumps right up, then she can go out
a little ways on some of the branches. She has a great view of all of the surrounding houses. She's
nosy, she loves to see what all the neighbors are up to. In fact, when I hadn't had her too long, my
next door neighbor called one night and said, "ummmm, your dog is watching us eat dinner!"

Aoife- that orange guy...I just want to kiss him to death! I've always wanted an orange cat.

Allycat, Simba is adorable!

In fact, all the babies you all have posted are precious!

 

[TristanC]

I mean, really! How can you not love cats? They have huge personalities.

Bean, that's not a personality. It is a belly.

And that's not a cat... that's an ambulatory fuzzy belly!!! Argh.

Think he'll kill me if I just squish my face in there?

 

[that_someone_special]

I mean, really! How can you not love cats? They have huge personalities.

Bean, that's not a personality. It is a belly.

And that's not a cat... that's an ambulatory fuzzy belly!!! Argh.

Think he'll kill me if I just squish my face in there?

No, he would love it! He also does this silly thing where when he wants to be picked up he stretches up on my leg (like, standing up.. Almost like a kid).

He used to be super thin.. He ate kitten food for quite awhile. He was then neutered and POOF.. Chunky butt. I have trained him to stand still on the scale and he is 14.2 lbs

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Purrr

 

[Okie_girl]

MC, that looks like one spoiled kitty!

 

[tenorgirl33]

Here are my kitties!

Matty and Maddox are cuddling. We say Chairman Meow is the red headed step-child because they love each other, but him, not so much...


Matty looks so resigned...


Matty, my oldest cat. A manx I rescued from a neglect situation. He's my baby.


Maddox, my biggest cat. I adopted him from a local shelter when he was 3. (My bf is 5'10", just to give you an idea of size.)


Chairman Meow, my baby cat. He's a formerly feral cat who was born in my friend's mother's backyard and then abandoned by his mother.


I DEFINITELY spend more money on my cats than on jewelry...

 

[Lottie]

Lovely thread and the cats are all lovely, we had two black cats before we had children but when dd came along they were so horrified they used to urinate on her bouncer chair, clothes that had been left on the floor etc so we had to rehome them. I always wanted another cat so we did a bit of research and eventually we ended up with Claude. He is now one and completely unruffled by the children - ds is the same age as him and gets a bit too hands on when not watched, but Claude just walks away. Here is the lovely boy, I would quite like to get him a little seal pointed girlfriend and call her Daphne but Mr Lottie is not so keen

 

[Imdanny]

Cartier knows the secret of cats and jewelry.

Do I think cats are pets for women and not men? Well, no, I don't really. Generalizations like this are always hard to make. Many men don't have any interest in "dominating" dogs' behavior, and some cats (mine, actually) like to exercise with human interaction playing fetch (believe it or not). I read that domesticated cats used to be used for hunting. I might not have believed it but after having my Egyptian Mau for three years, I definitely do. Some men might not like small dogs (I wouldn't want one) and some men like cats. I guess cats and jewelry both represent beauty and power, or something like that. As far as jewelry, obviously women wear more jewelry than men, more fashion, more ornament, that kind of thing, but on the other hand, many of the famous gem traders and jewelers have been men.