The Pet Thread

[mirandaw]

There are a number of old (circa 2009) threads about pets, but I figured I'd start something new. I need a good distraction from the wait-and-see, so tell me about your pets! Post pictures if you have them!

This is a glamour shot of my chubby kitty Konstantine: http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/305076_2424883022576_1266510026_2897788_1650143544_n.jpg

[avicus]

He's adorable! What breed is he? I'm thinking of getting a cat when I start uni..

[ktel]

Many people think I'm crazy, but I am getting a dog soon. My boyfriend has given in and if I promise to walk it in the mornings and read some books about it (we're adopting a retired racing greyhound) we are getting it. I am so excited, I feel like he is my dad making sure I am responsible enough to take care of a dog. My family and his family think we're a bit crazy but I think it will be really good for me, help me with my stress and anxiety. Plus it will make me get out of the house more often, if I don't go to my office at school I swear I spend 2 days straight inside.

[GreenePony]

DH and I hopefully are adopting a dog within the next two months before we move- provided the contract works out the way he wants. He will be working from home and since we want a rescue dog it would be the best that someone will be home at least initially. After graduation I will be home all day until I start classes and at that point DH will be home all day.

We have a short list of a couple mixes but it looks like we will be getting a Sheltie or Sheltie mix. I grew up with an adorable tricolor and I think a dog with the same temperament would be perfect for us.

The Sheltie I grew up with:

[bluetubeodyssey]

I have four cats, two from shelters and two I trapped as kittens from a feral colony. They don't take up too much time, and the apartment doesn't smell like cat at all because I clean the litter boxes everyday. The only tough part is that I had to switch them to an all-wet-food diet because one guy develops deadly urinary crystals with dry cat food, and even cheap wet food is more expensive than high quality dry food. Oh well, still love them lots.

Here's a picture of three of them sleeping on each other:

[DualCitizenIR]

I have a cat named Dusty (who is absolutely obsessed with drinking fresh water out of your hand while standing up on his hind legs). He started getting chubby in the last couple of years, but not too bad. He's the one on my profile pic...

[reachystik]

1 cat named Bruno (big orange tabby cat)

3 fish (goldfish, calico ryukin(?), and a black moor)...no names

4 rats (Watson, Yuri, MacDuff & Huey a.k.a "Potato".

[TropicalCharlie]

I have a pet tarantula named penelope. She's 12 years old and still going strong.

[CarlieE]

I have a kitty - the one in my avatar. Her name is Bella... I got her a from a shelter 2 years ago and now we're moving to grad school together... not to hijack the post.. but has anyone thought about how the furry roommates are going to handle the move? I am wondering how Bella will handle the whole day drive it will take to get there...

[SomedaySLP]

I have a kitty - the one in my avatar. Her name is Bella... I got her a from a shelter 2 years ago and now we're moving to grad school together... not to hijack the post.. but has anyone thought about how the furry roommates are going to handle the move? I am wondering how Bella will handle the whole day drive it will take to get there...

Yes! I have a four-year-old, 100lb Bernese Mountain Dog named Darla who absolutely HATES the rain...and we're moving to Seattle this fall. Poor girl, but I guess she'll get used to it. My mother keeps trying to convince me to let her keep her while I'm in school but I can't imagine parting with her for two years...she's been my sidekick since the summer after my freshman year of undergrad.

[Ennue]

One of my roommates has two cats, so I sort of have pets now... But I'm looking forward to getting a kitten of my own at a distant point in the future All your pets look adorable!

Charlie, I had no idea tarantulas live that long! How old can they get, approximately?

[Nachrid]

I have a adorable friend named popo, she is a dog and 2 years old.

[mirandaw]

Yes! I have a four-year-old, 100lb Bernese Mountain Dog named Darla who absolutely HATES the rain...and we're moving to Seattle this fall. Poor girl, but I guess she'll get used to it. My mother keeps trying to convince me to let her keep her while I'm in school but I can't imagine parting with her for two years...she's been my sidekick since the summer after my freshman year of undergrad.

The rain on the coast is drastically different than rain inland, as well. It's more misty and all encompassing than drizzley.

[crazygirl2012]

Sorry for the giant picture! This is my lovely, 9-year-old golden retriever, Tuscany. He lives with my mom and she's slightly obsessed with him. I'm planning to adopt a cat in grad school and name her Vienna, after my favorite Billy Joel song. I love dogs, but I won't be home often enough in grad school to give him/her enough exercise. It wouldn't be fair to the dog.

[TropicalCharlie]

One of my roommates has two cats, so I sort of have pets now... But I'm looking forward to getting a kitten of my own at a distant point in the future All your pets look adorable!

Charlie, I had no idea tarantulas live that long! How old can they get, approximately?

Ennue - female tarantulas can live up to 15-20 years, males about 2-5 years.

[hope4fall2012]

This post just made my day!! .. Folks at home have had a dog at home for the past 16 years.. We had a pomerian for 14 years and 6 months after she passed away, we got a labrador, who makes Marley (from Marley and me) seem really well mannered.. Have always loved dogs, took care of an abandoned puppy with my girlfriend for a few days too..

I'm an international applicant, so I'm going to have to come to terms with not seeing him.. Hopefully, I'll be able to have one in the US, but having to give it up when I return to my country will be a deterrent..

[crazygirl2012]

This post just made my day!! .. Folks at home have had a dog at home for the past 16 years.. We had a pomerian for 14 years and 6 months after she passed away, we got a labrador, who makes Marley (from Marley and me) seem really well mannered.. Have always loved dogs, took care of an abandoned puppy with my girlfriend for a few days too..

I'm an international applicant, so I'm going to have to come to terms with not seeing him.. Hopefully, I'll be able to have one in the US, but having to give it up when I return to my country will be a deterrent..

Maybe you could consider volunteering at an animal shelter in the US? I know grad students don't have a ton of time, but if you spend an hour a week taking care of dogs and playing with them, it might make you happy

[hope4fall2012]

Maybe you could consider volunteering at an animal shelter in the US? I know grad students don't have a ton of time, but if you spend an hour a week taking care of dogs and playing with them, it might make you happy

Yup, that's definitely something I'm going to look into the first semester I'm there.. Hopefully, there'll be one that's quite close by..

I'm guessing volunteering doesn't have any visa restraints, yeah?

[Ennue]

Ennue - female tarantulas can live up to 15-20 years, males about 2-5 years.

Oh wow, that is really interesting, I had no idea there was such a big difference! Thanks!

[ktel]

Just adopted a 4-year-old retired racing Greyhound, pick him up next Friday!

[crazygirl2012]

Yup, that's definitely something I'm going to look into the first semester I'm there.. Hopefully, there'll be one that's quite close by..

I'm guessing volunteering doesn't have any visa restraints, yeah?

Not 100% sure, but I highly doubt it. I have a friend from Israel who is here on a student visa, and I believe she's done some volunteer work. I know she had an internship at an elementary school, and they would do a pretty thorough background check. If there were a visa issue, they probably would have found it. I think you would be fine!

[hope4fall2012]

Cool!!! Can't wait to look up animal care centers once I'm there..

[bucketsofrain]

Does anyone have any experience having a pet (interested in cat specifically, but any info will help) in a studio/1-bedroom apartment? I really want to get a cat once I start grad school and I think having a cat would help keep my mood up, but I'm moving to a city that is really expensive and so will be in a small apartment. I'm mostly worried about the litter box situation and any potential grossness from that in such a small space. I've had cats my whole life, but in houses or bigger apartments.

[Chande]

I've kept a cat in a two bedroom for about a year now and she seems happy with it (even after spending most of her life at my parents' house, a 4 bedroom). But I don't know how well a studio or 1 bedroom would go. I'm getting a 1 bedroom in the fall but it has a den so all in all it's not much smaller than my current apartment.

Anyway, this is my cat. She's ten years old and I was 12 when I got her. Her sister still lives at my parents' house, but they seem happier separate than they were together and I don't think they would react well to being put back together. She loves being in the bathroom when I take a shower and drinking water directly from the faucet, which I've always thought is odd.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/423572_10150662530758126_720448125_10956883_615889809_n.jpg

So I will be moving her nearly 700 miles come fall. I will be asking the vet what to do make the move go smoothly and I will be getting her microchipped, but if anyone has experience with moving a cat a similar distance I'd love to hear advice on that. I don't want to fly her because I don't want her to get lost like Jack the Cat and I think driving her should be fine with proper advice from the vet and with multiple drivers so that someone can always be with her.

[sociologo]

This has been one of my least favorite things about my Masters program: not having a pet. The apartment I live in currently doesn't allow pets, so when I moved, I had to leave my two turtles and my cat at my parents' house. My younger sisters are in elementary school, so they were pretty thrilled to have new additions to the family pet collection. My mom regularly sends me emails/texts with pictures of all of them.... Definitely going to be a condition for wherever I move next: I need my children!