Posts Tagged ‘cat’

Here’s me showing Sam our cat what came in the mail to ME today. This is Corky’s first Valentines card ever ever and it came all the way from Illinois.

A special THANKS to @Niqqi from Twitter, a girl puppy and one of my favorite cutie patootie Bichon Frise pawpals in Twitter, for sending me this wonderful greeting! You can learn more about Niqqi on her Niqqi’s World blog or watch her puppy adventure videos on YouTube!

The baby kitty picture shown below is my little (older) brother Sam the cat taken in 1998, and shows his little sister, Nikki the puppy who was the newest family member. Both pets were less than 1 year old at the time and would play for hours wrestling like best friends.

The photo of them hiding happened one day as they were playing. A storm blew in and a ferocious boom sounded as thunder followed lightning very near their home. Scared witless, the two took off on the wooden floor spinning in place trying to get a grip. Side by side they spun across the floor like in a cartoon with barely enough traction to make any progress.

Mom and Dad had to search to find out where they went, and found them in the bedroom huddled side by side under a stand near the bed. Lifting the cover as shown revealed the cuteness of cat and dog buddies hiding together like best friends. Nikki passed away within a year of this photo from a rare congenital blood disease that mystified the vet. At 11 years old Sam still has the same cuteness except those huge ears look tiny now on his adult head.

The very familiar formula for calculating dog age in human years is their actual age times 7. While this provides a fair measure of the equivalent chronological age in the earlier years, the calculation is inaccurate for combined variables of age plus dog size. Larger dogs age faster and an accurate formula is not linear, so the years times 7 is very general.

Try the following table instead for pets aged 1 through 20 years old as adapted from a poster in my veterinarian’s office that listed estimates for up to 25 years old. 20 seemed sufficient, so for ages or weights not shown, you may want to contact the Guiness Book of World Records!

Table for Cat or Dog Age in Human Years

*Note: Values extracted from a poster at our vet’s office with data by Fred L. Metzger, DVM DABVP

Yes, the estimate works for cats or kittens, too! You can use the same table, yet for your cat you should only need the small dog 0-20 lbs data. Having a small breed puppy or mutt and a pet kitten born around the same time while maintaining reasonable health would mean having pets that should age at the same rate in human years.

This week marks one year in my forever home since being rescued from doggy jail. The photo shown is me just over a year old and my favorite for 2009 and was originally taken in color. Who could imagine that cute face being dumped on the street and discarded like yesterday’s newspaper?

It happens to pets every day worldwide. The economy nosedive to rock bottom and the worst conditions in nearly 100 years explains why.

Humans are forced to cut costs and choose between paying bills for basic necessities and that unconditional love and loyalty from their dog. Cats get dumped, too. I get it. Being a responsible pet owner means if you must surrender your pet in the face of unforseen and extreme financial difficulties there’s a right way to do it.

A year ago my groomer was telling my guardians that people bring pets to their grooming business, open the door, toss the pet inside, and then close the door and run. Why? They know pet groomers are pet lovers and will have a slightly better chance than just being tossed on the street (like I was). The situation is worse when the pet is let loose outside the business and must be chased down in a parking lot or traffic!

If you must surrender your pet, take it to a pet shelter or rescue organization. When you voluntarily give up your pet you can at least share health or other issues so caregivers know what is needed. PLEASE. Do not dump your pets. They were family members and have a better chance of survival to find a forever home and family if you do the right thing.

This blog post is a series of tweets published here in chronological order for the #mummypawty Twitter critter party with the theme of a pretend trip to Cairo, Egypt, and taking a ride on the Nile River.

My guardian, “Dad”, has been to the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia for real, and he does my typing in Twitter plus the narration for my videos. I wanted him to tell me and my anipals that African adventure story on Twitter. The challenge was creating a story of 140 character tweets and trying to tell his real life adventure in 25 tweets.

Here goes the true African adventure Dad made to the Blue Nile River presented in a series of 25 tweets.

Trip to the Source of the Blue Nile

Intro a: Dad went with buddies on an African adventure to the Blue Nile source in Ethiopia years ago.

Intro b: The Nile splits into the White Nile and Blue Nile. The Blue begins in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Intro c: Destination? A half mile wide waterfalls at the source of the Blue Nile in Bahir Dar.

Intro d: Traveled from Eritrea over a mountain, across plains, then desert to get to the falls.

Intro e: Self guided camera safari of 6 adult males in 2 vehicles. Told little of what to expect.

Day 1a: Expected to arrive at foot of 10K foot high mountain named Soira Amba. Did not see it.

Day 1b: Slept in the African jungle that night. Every wild animal calling that you can imagine.

Day 1c: Same night. Saw a line of lights, obviously torches, move along the far side of the valley.

Day 1d: Night. Nervous? Oh yeah. Wild critters and torch bearers. Had pocket knives only. No guns.

Day 1e: Night. Rotated to guard and watch fire. Surrounded by pairs of eyeballs lit up by firelight.

Day 2a: Awoke. Broke camp. Traveled 500 feet around a bend. 10K foot Mount Soira Amba right there.

Day 2b: Thinking we saw the top of the mountain, squinted and saw more higher up hidden in clouds.

Day 2c: Strained eyes again, twice more thinking we saw the mountain top. Finally did. Majestic!

Day 2d: Half way up mountain attacked by baboons. Not hand to hand combat. They were too smart.

Day 2e: Baboon tactic: climb very high. Lob large rocks at us while too high for us to return fire.

Day 3a: Camped out. Another thrilling night. Morning travel and arrived at mountain top village.

Day 3b: Only person who spoke English? A child. Schooled in the city. Asked our destination.

Day 3c: Replied “Bahir Dar”. He said “Oh, to see the falls?”, then “What is your occupation?”.

Day 3d: Occupation? Dad and buddies were amazed with his incredible English. They said “military”.

Day 3e: “No you’re not. You’re movie stars. Some came through last year. I KNOW what they look like!”

Day 4a: Not mentioned, but each day was like traveling further back in time. Day 4: Grass huts.

Day 4b: Arrived in Bahir Dar. The waterfalls were a half mile wide hillside. Dried up. Drought.

Day 4c: Some civilization catering to tourists. Ate real food in a rustic (being polite) restaurant.

Day 4d: Elvis sighting! Flick that night at the town theater was an old Elvis movie. Decision was don’t attend.

Day 4e: Slept that night in Bahir Dar in real (being polite again) beds. Return trip took 3 days.
(THE END)

(Nice story, Dad). Hope all the pawpals enjoyed the adventure!

Watch as Corky the puppy (that’s ME) tries to trick Sam the cat into being gift wrapped for Christmas in this new video released on YouTube. The text transcript of Dad narrating the story is inserted below the video shown here. (Playtime 00:49 min/sec)

Transcript of Teaching Sam Christmas Wrapping

Here’s Corky teaching Sam our cat Christmas wrapping. Okie dokie, little buddy… in the box!

No, no. C’mon. Cooperate. I KNOW Christmas is 3 weeks away! You’re not gonna suffocate.

Imma making air holes for you after I close this flap.

Sam! You gotta stay in the box for this surprise to work. Imma writing “To Mom” on the box.

Argh! Come back Sam! Oh, brother. I never woulda guessed Christmas wrapping could be so hard.

The photo below shows yours truly, Corky the puppy, obeying the ultimate leave it command as Sam our cat is allowed to eat a stinky treat (they’re the BEST) off my paw!

Your dog’s health could well depend on teaching them “Leave it” and is especially important when encountering dangerous trash while on a walk or other risky objects indoors. With leave it as a dog training exercise your pet can learn patience, too.

The leave it command has protected me many times in the past year since moving in with my forever family. Going for a walk we find the ground littered with dangerous items like broken glass, chicken bones, or other sharp objects, and even cigarette butts. Inside the home, parents need a big imagination to figure out all the things a baby or puppy finds interesting enough to chew.

Referring to the photo above, Sam the cat is very relaxed as he munches the treat off my paw while I obey the ultimate leave it command. In another house with another dog Sam would be in BIG trouble!

Cat and dog owners can safely assume a person in reasonable health will outlive their pet.

The facts don’t change the feeling of loss when your senior pet dies, yet there’s more to consider when letting go of aging pets. My guardians were enlightened by their veterinarian in a discussion about the elderly dog who was in our family before me.

The dog was near her natural end of life with serious health complications due to aging that could not be reversed. Besides vital functions shutting down she was incontinent. Within weeks she stopped eating and could not walk.

After a thorough examination and comparing notes from recent visits, the vet advised a humane and peaceful end.

The facts about pets and pain which the vet shared helped the guardians in their decision. Dogs are stoic meaning they tolerate pain without letting you know. This is true of cats, as well. Here’s a quote with a link to more information about how dogs and cats handle pain.

Dogs’ responses to pain vary. Some dogs are very stoic, and will show few outward signs even when in extreme pain.
Source: Dr Barchas, DVM http://drbarchas.com/pain

Letting go of aging pets is not easy. Seek professional advice from your veterinarian to know the right thing to do and when. Understanding the stoic nature of pets, extending their life by all possible means may not be in their best interests if they’re in agony.

Appreciate your pets every moment of every day while you can. Supress selfish feelings and let them go peacefully with dignity when the time is right. Finally, as you heal and consider another pet, please adopt from a local shelter. Millions of abandoned yet healthy cats and dogs are waiting.

The photo below from January 2009 is me, Corky the Shelter Dog, shown held in my wire cage before being adopted and joining my forever family, and now my mission is to promote pet rescue.

The insert shows me cleaned up and groomed 9 months later, and much much happier.

The number of unwanted pets in animal shelters worldwide is alarming! Those that don’t become adopted like me are euthanized, and not all get a full week waiting period. Sometimes it’s just days! Those euthanized in the USA are estimated upwards of 6 million loving animals each year, so imagine how many pets are lost worldwide.

Unless you have the mindset to look into the facts behind those numbers, you cannot appreciate the risk to perfectly healthy pets.

As my website grows, the plan is to add more and more content about pet rescue efforts and little things people can do for animals, and not just cats and dogs. For now we are studying how to implement a database of adoptable pets, so our website visitors may search real time for a pet to adopt near where they live.

Stay tuned for progress updates on adding pet adoption search, and as we continue our mission to promote pet rescue.

November is Adopt a Senior Pet Month, and many older dogs available in shelters are overlooked or ignored by would be guardians just like humans placed in institutions. The advantage of age, wisdom, maturity, and self-discipline in older dogs (and people) should not be overlooked.

The wonderful pet shown here is April, my guardian’s former dog adopted at age 4, who passed over the rainbow bridge to doggy heaven at 14 before I became a member of this family. Portraits and memories of April make sure she is not forgotten for her gentle ways and the 10 years of loyal companionship.

April proved that old saying wrong about “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” because she excelled in learning new hand signals and voice commands well into her senior years. Combining both in her training proved helpful for communicating as her hearing and other functions lost their edge. In some cases she was selectively hard of hearing to make a point which proves dogs DO have a sense of humor.

When ready to add a loyal companion to your home, visit the local shelter and take a moment to consider those older dogs or cats before rushing by to the next cute puppy or kitten. A housebroken and well mannered adult dog will have less trouble adjusting to your home and is less likely to chew up your valuables than a rambunctious puppy.