We have 2 cats and a dog, and since they were all rescues, we don’t know their actual birthdays. We count the anniversary of the day we got them as the birthday (OK, not “we”, because my husband thinks I am a total flake for doing this). For the cats, they each get a can of REAL tuna (none of that stinky cat tuna). Auggie, The Cutest Dog on the Planet™, will have his first anniversary (I call it his Auggiversary) with us on October 9, and I’m going to cook some chopped steak for him.
No, of course not! We always celebrate Spot’s birthday!
We got him from the pound when he was about a year old, so we, too, use his adoption day as his “birthday.” We get him presents–dog toys and special treats–and cook something special for him, like a meatloaf. I didn’t know that celebrating a pet’s birthday would be considered unusual.
Sure do.
Of course, Daisy happens to share a natal date with my youngest daughter. In fact, they are twins. We got Daisy when Mel was 6. So the following year, Mel turned 7, the same age as Daisy (in dog years.)
When in college, Bowser’s b-day was one of the social events of the season for several years running. Everybody and their dog looked forward to it and attended.
Well, maybe not “celebrate,” but we do observe it – remember the date, and give the birthday dog some extra snuggling and maybe an extra treat. We even still joyously commemorate the late great Miss Emily Kimberly on her birthday, and sadly think of her on the day she died.
A few years ago I submitted Phyllis’s puppy picture to the 365 Puppies-A-Year calendar contest. She won, of course – and the date they put her on was Miss Emily’s birthday (a complete coincidence). We were doubly thrilled!
I don’t. I love my pets very, very much and I do special things for them all the time. All my animals are rescues/strays too, I don’t know the exact date.
I am really not a birthday person, I hate celebrating my own. But last spring, when it would have been Hanna’s first b-day, I did buy her (and all the cats) a new padded bench/trunk for cat toys and so she could sit on it to look out the window. I called it her birthday present, but we didn’t have a party or anything.
Having 6 animals here at home (and a horse who is boarded),anytime we get something major that is for the animals it is pretty close to someone’s birthday - close enough to call it a present.
But no special foods really (esp. not with the dogs - they are all older dogs and new or different foods would surely give someone diarrhea). :rolleyes:
Yep - the older dog gets liver brownies for this birthday and the younger one gets a new toy, which he then jealously guards from the older one until he feels it’s no longer “special” anymore. Which is usually when he’s broken the squeaker in it.
Of course! For the rescues, we go with a date our vet gives as her best guess. We have an album of birthday party photos. Dogs in party hats. Dogs in the cake. Dogs with balloons. Dogs unwrapping gifts. Dog people with big ol’ highballs.
Wow. You people are… [sub]let’s see, how to put this delicately?[/sub] nuts.
My wife and I dote on our two cats way way too much, and it has never even occurred to us to celebrate their birthdays. I’m pleased to see there are people out there even more whacked than us.
Libelula got one of those AquaLeisure pools for her first birthday–she was very excited that we cared enough to give her the World’s Biggest Dog Bowl ™.
They usually just get treats and snuggles and a new toy (so, for them, not much different than when Mommy restocks the treat/food/toy supply which happens every other month) but when Tahoe turned 21 months old we took him to a pub in Berkeley that allows dogs, bought him popcorn and cheese pizza and a beer that his daddy drank for him. 30 lbs. of body weight meeting 16 oz. of beer would not be a fun thing.
So, no, I don’t think it’s odd to celebrate the birthdays of your pets, whatever the scale.
Silly I know but we do it too. We give our Cat’s birthday’s identical to their owners in the family. Unfortunately my old tom cat’s long gone so I can’t remember what I did for him
Nope. I know roughly when the cats’ (2 littermates) birthday is, and I know exactly when the puppers birthday is. Other than a few extra scritches, I don’t do anything for their birthdays.
We don’t do pet birthdays around here. Hell, we barely do human birthdays around here. We’re just not really birthday people, I guess. Our girls get their extra spoiling at Christmas (they also get regular spoiling year-round.)
They each have their own hand-made stocking in fabrics I picked out especially for them. (Eponine has little cats playing with yarn, Maggie-Moo has cows jumping over the moon, and Dolly has pink and purple leopard print. Claudia didn’t come to us till March, so she doesn’t have one yet.) Their stockings are always filled with treats and toys and various goodies like new collars or bandanas. DrJ just kind of rolls his eyes about it, but nobody asked for his input.
A friend of mine, however, has full-on birthday parties for her cat. Her family comes and brings presents (wrapped, no less), and they have the birthday-printed napkins and paper plates and balloons, and they wear party hats. And she has a special fish-shaped tuna loaf made so the cat can have a cake that it can eat. Of course, this woman spends more on her cat’s Christmas presents than I do on my husband’s, so that may factor into it.
Bitz the Wondermutt definitely gets her birthday celebrated. (Sept. 28)
She gets a new giant rawhide and a plain jumbo Jack from Jack in the Box (her favorite takeout, and the only time she gets a whole sandwich). She also gets a trip to the dog park, since that’s usually the first weekend it’s cool enough.
Her birthday is also the kickoff of the dog park season again, since summer’s back finally gets broken.
