When we lost our beloved good boy Badger, both my wife and I agreed to go pet-less for a while. Since the early 90’s, we’d always had some combination of cats and/or dogs around. Badger had been a handful for us as he was missing a leg and was wound a bit tight.
We thought that the freedom to do day trips on no notice, to have people over without having to prepare them, to not have to coordinate vet visits, all that sounded like a really nice break to both of us.
So of course the phrase, “Man plans and God laughs,” had to come into play. Two weeks later, our dog sitter shared a photo of three rescued puppies that needed homes. We had a new dog the next day.
I was the one that initially raised the possibility; my wife was a bit resistant. But we both hated the utter silence of the house. And both of us noted that we’d frequently look up after hearing (or imagining) some noise, reflexively expecting to see our dog, only to realize it was nothing. Those moments, especially late at night, were what really stung.
Good for you, however that dog will be nothing but trouble. You can see it in the eyes. We have a similar “problem child” and wouldn’t give her up for the world.
I’ve gone back three times now to look at the pic — what a cutie!
(When they look right into the camera, that’s when you know you’re being played.)
I said never, but that’s largely a function of my age. I have a cat who’s about to turn 18 - still in good health as far as I can tell, but when her time comes, I won’t get another. I just don’t want to deal with everything involved in having a pet, up to an including finding a pet sitter if I want to go away.
My husband has agreed that our dog will be our last, but he’s just 18 months old, so potentially lots of years ahead with him…
Cedar likes you. So much so that he’d like you to see his pink pig. But no touching it, please.
Somewhat on topic, it was weird around here his first few days, with our old dog’s departure having been so recent. Having all different habits, likes and dislikes was a jarring thing. But we got over it quickly.
Pink Pig seems to be a popular toy with K9s. One of our dogs had a rubber one from Target that grunted when squeezed. I would never touch Pink Pig without it being offered first.
So which pic is reversed? Or is eye reversal a new Border Collie trick?
The puppy selfie is reversed. I’d say “good eye” but we’d all just groan at the bad pun.
One of the things that is special about that pink pig is that it was the last new toy we bought our older dog Badger before he passed. I thought we had cleaned out all his toys and discarded or donated them. But Cedar found that pig somewhere. And it’s the only toy that Cedar doesn’t try to shred.
I’ve always had multiple cats, so if one would pass away, it isn’t always urgent to adopt a new one.
Really, there was only one short time in my adult life where I was catless. That was after my only orange tabby, Shupiluliumiash, died. And I think that absence lasted a couple of months before Flaherty and Tallulah came into my life.
Other than that, I was about six years old when Blackie, my first feline showed up.
After my current three cross the Rainbow Bridge, I fear I will be too old to make the necessary lifelong commitment to another cat. But we shall see what happens when that unfolds.
I have found myself with this conundrum several times. At least twice I have opted for immediate replacement (although I hate using that word for it). We lost a long time friend in October and it’s still very hard on me. I would prefer to foster. Mrs Thumper wants to adopt immediately. It’s still a bone of contention in our house.
For the last 25 years or so, I’ve had a sequence of cats, never more than four or less than three. I have usually waited about a year after one has departed to adopt another, so there has been overlapping continuity. I lost the last of the OG cats, Caelan, about a year ago, so the current clowder is Tango (almost 6), Cheddar (almost 3) and Kami (almost 2.) I can’t imagine a house without cats.
For the last almost decade I’ve been adopting only senior rescue cats. Given I’m now 77 years old myself, it works very well for me. They don’t live more than a few years, and usually have or develop health issues, but it works very well for them and for me.
That was the case with Flaherty and Tallulah, who were twelve and eleven, respectively, when they were given to me. It’s a solution, I admit, but the vet bills are a consideration also, I’m afraid.
Same thing here, like I said to my wife- do we want the cats to outlive us and be put in the Animal shelter? But we recently had a younger orange girl just arrive in our backyard, so we had to adopt her.
Oh, yes, the Cat Distribution System decided you were going to get her, and that was that.
My latest adoptees, age eight and six, are younger than I wanted, but Barnaby was the oldest candidate the shelter had available, and he needed his younger buddy for emotional comfort. I guess I’ll just have to make sure I live another decade or so.
Definitely, adopting a senior cat brings vet bills along with it, but they can need medical care at any age.
Same. In the past, my goal has been 2-3 cats, so when we dropped down to 1, i started thinking about adopting a pair. But we are getting older, and we currently have 4 cats. (Two were supposed to be temporary fosters, but we turned out to be the best home for them, for reasons.) The boys that we adopted as kittens (Merry and Pippin) are young. If they have an ordinary cat lifespan, they may be our last cats.
