Very important info anyone needs to know in case you ever get one!

I have two already & would NEVER ever rid of them. I read on CL all the time, "Relocating, can't take pet with me" etc etc. My advice: Dont move!

I'm with you, BP. To me, a pet is a member of the family, period.

PBulldog2 wrote:

I'm with you, BP. To me, a pet is a member of the family, period.

Yup, me too. I had my last kitty... my best friend and buddy, for 16+ years, and when she was killed (in front of me, by a bobcat, tragically) I mourned her, and honestly STILL mourn her loss just as I have family members. Animals love you unconditionally, and with no reservation. The same is not true for humans. Or, not in my experience anyways. I miss her every single day, and it brings tears to my eyes to think of her and how I lost her and how much I still miss her. My new little kitty Blue, is a rascal and a holy terror (she's still a kitten, so it is my deepest hope that she grows out of this), and I feel guilty admitting that I often think, "Why can't you be like Kitty??!!" She was one of those kitties who never met anyone she didn't immediately love... as soon as a new person came into our life, she would immediately jump into their lap and start purring and demanding pets and snuggles. She didn't have a mean bone in her body, and was the best hunter a person could ever hope for... I would know, she drug everything she ever killed into the house to show me, I always told her "GOOD Kitty!" then give her some pets and snuggles, then put her latest kill back outside so she would eat it THERE as opposed to on my living room floor. Haha.

Great post, BP.

I had a post and I guess I didn't "send" it, lol. Anyway, pets are lifetime commitments, period! I love 'em all. Cats, birds, dogs, even fish. We would have a kitty right now, but I don't think our puppies would be nice to one. They didn't get along with our 18-year old kitty.

That reminds me, EE... my ex-boyfriend wanted a kitten while Kitty was still alive. I kept telling him that it would not be a nice thing to do to Kitty, she'd been The Boss, Queen, etc. of the house for over sixteen years. He bitched about it and begged so often (he was SUCH a whiner!), that I took Mr. Atticus Finch, the sweetest, most adorable and loving kitty you could ever imagine on a trial basis from my friend and his wife. Kitty was FURIOUS beyond all expectation.

Mr. Atticus Finch would (never-endingly) try to play, snuggle, be sweet to her and she hissed, swatted, and growled/screamed at him every single time. It got to be where I had to keep them in separate rooms and spaces because I was afraid she would actually hurt the little guy, plus I felt SO guilty because at that late stage in Kitty's life (and little did I know, I would lose her not two weeks later) I was putting her through that. Whenever I went to town I took Mr. Atticus Finch with me so that Kitty could have the run of her house again. Shoot, he even got on well with my folks' dog Bullet... snuggled right up to him. Real sweet little kitten.

It was heartbreaking to me, and I finally had to take him back up to my friends' house, but they'd known why I only took him on a trial-basis, and how much it broke my heart to take him back up to them. They'd just lost Mama Kitty, so a spot in their little family had opened up (my friend only allows his wife to have X number of cats, dogs, etc. otherwise they would have a zoo), and their daughter (nickname "Beanie") was SO happy to have Mr. Atticus Finch back, after I lost Kitty a couple weeks later, I didn't have the heart to ask to have him back. Plus, I was not ready yet... I was still very much hurting over losing her, and to get another kitty then would have felt like I was trying to 'replace' her... and I couldn't stand the thought of her possibly knowing that I'd brought her little enemy back into HER house after she'd been killed.

I guess I've tried to put that out of my mind, but in two weeks -- shoot, it didn't take but a couple DAYS! -- I'd already fallen in love with Mr. AF, and he immediately had a big warm place in my heart. I would have never taken him back to my friends had Kitty not been so violently miserable. But I can go up and visit Mr. AF any time I want... they live right up the hill about 7-minutes from my house, so that's cool. But I still feel terribly guilty about everything that happened. I should have stuck to my guns. I knew that Kitty would be upset to have another kitty in HER house...

I guess you like to kill a mockingbird, huh Ricey?

Yes, it is one of my favorite books. But Mark & Kassandra had already named him Mr. Atticus Finch before I got him. I thought it was like a sign that he was meant to be my buddy and that Kitty would love him ( ) that his name was Mr. Atticus Finch...he's one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite books! Didn't really work out the way I planned.