The kitties are fed, skritched, loved, have the run of the house, and generally push us around as they wish. I would hope this would get us the coveted [del]sucker[/del] “A” ranking.
Probably a B - I’m sure the rabbits want more running-around-the-house time (we’ve already caved in and keep them close in a big “playpen” in the living room rather than stuffing them back in their multi-level carpeted bunny “condo” each night), but the weekly locally-grown veggie CSA allotments have started for the year, so they’re enjoying various interesting, super-fresh greens.
Probably B+. Over all I’m a good dog & cat mama, but when under a lot of stress, tend to be a little snappish with them. But they get good food & vet care, plenty of love & companionship. So yeah… High B.
I got my girl a year and half ago and she has followed me from room to room literally from the day I got her. I suspect her former owners either abused her, ignored her, or both - but I can’t say for sure. All I know is, after being with me for about 4 hours, she was mine heart and soul.
I let her get comfortable with the house, then I pulled her into my lap, I fed her, told her she was a good girl and told her that if she let me I would love her as best I could. From that moment on, she was my shadow.
I’m guessing she’d give me an A. Whether or not I *deserve *an A might be debated, but if she could grade me, I’m guessing A. (OTOH, right now I have her chubby butt on a diet and that might push my grade down a little…)
My cats should have their coats and teeth brushed more often, their nails clipped with regularity. I shouldn’t avoid playing with them in the evening after work as I occasionally do. The one whose tail I got caught in the window has solid ground on which to complain. They might also express annoyance at not being allowed to sleep with me at night ;).
But overall they have it fairly good. I voted “B” and would probably say B+, grading on a curve.
My previous cat would have been a C+ - crappier grades of food and very irregular vet visits drag down the grade.
I have three dogs. Two would give me an A. One would give me a D. She’s older and has always been mean. She prefers my mom. She’s even mean to her. :rolleyes: I’ve taken her to places ranging from hotels to groomers and always get complaints. Ranging from she difficult to tricky (depending on how nice the person is). I never get complaints about the other two.
Feeding: C-. There should be free choice food, and the good stuff. The stuff she eats. None of this weight monitoring stuff.
Attention: C+. Good when she’s here. But why does she have to leave and not take us with her? Sure, we have nice crates to sleep in and she always comes back, but we’d rather she stay (and make free choice food available).
Walks: B. We love them, but we need to see MORE. How about a walk every time we’re not eating or sleeping?
Playing: B+. She tries hard, but she just can’t run very fast now can she? That two legged thing is for the birds!
Vet care: D. Why does she bring us to that hateful place? We’d give her an F, but we love her and can’t do that!
From the cat…
F. Why does she keep those stupid dogs and where is my dinner? I’ve finished the one I was given and would like more!
I think I would got an A-. My bulldog got everything she wanted, got a ride in the car most everyday. She would have like to go golfing more often, but she did handle the heat well. She had run of the house and never ran more than 50 yds away from the house if I let her loose…
I think my dog is pretty happy but she would give me a B. I don’t do enough fun stuff with her…at least not as much as I would do with a real kid.
Then again we’re slowing down on fun stuff dramatically as her age gets up there, so it’s not all my fault. But I suppose I could do more fun stuff with her at home. I’m just not entertaining enough.
Toby: A+. There isn’t a thing I could do that could wipe this dog’s grin off his face. Everything he does, he does with an intent to please me. He’s a rescue, he knows it, and he let’s me know every day (morning, actually - he gets to wake me up).
Tilly: B-. She’d really prefer to be out climbing trees and murdering every last cat and squirrel in the neighborhood, to be followed up with an ultramarathon as she seeks out her surrogate parents (my former roommates) who moved to Alaska. I’ve been her owner for the majority of her life (rescued her from a neglectful family who gave her up), but they smelled like cats, so they clearly had an ability to take her to more cats to murder in cold blood (Tilly has never harmed a cat to this point). She loves it here, and loves beating down Toby every single time he initiates some wrestling. In fact, she prefers it here - but part of her really thinks she’s the only one that can effectively deal with the scourge of rodents wandering around outside on their own volition.
The cats would give us an 80%, largely because we have not yet quit our jobs and quit going on trips so that we may spend every waking hour in the house letting them sleep on us. By any objective standards, we would receive a full 100%, as the little fuc…darlings were rescued from certain death and are fed better and probably receive better medical care than we do. As far as the time I woke up at 3 am on a work night to climb down into the walls and rescue the one who somehow got up into the ceiling and fell into the space between the wall and the chimney, I will flatly say I don’t just deserve an A, I deserve a frigging indulgence.
Hmm. I think I’m skirting the 79-80 mark with my cat. Sure, she adores me and we snuggle and all that, but I have some serious shortcomings:
I give her shots several times a week for her arthritis, and they’re not little wimpy insulin shots.
She is on a diet and will be going on a more intense one soon if she doesn’t start losing weight.
I have utterly failed so far to do anything about the summer thunderstorms, which is completely unacceptable in her view.
I do not let her out like I once did to hunt voles, eat them, and get even fatter (or find ways to run up the vet bills). She doesn’t try to get out or complain about it, but I suspect that I would get a higher grade if I did act as perpetual doorman.
I think my dog might give me Bs. I’m lacking, it’s true, but he’s a dog and he loves me so I think he’d be generous.
I think the cats would flunk me. Reason: I got a dog. They hate the dog. Therefore I fail.
ETA: If today was the grading period, dog would probably give me a C. Reason: I took him to have a bath. But he is nice a fluffy so it’s worth the grade reduction.
Ranging from she difficult to tricky (depending on how nice the person is). I never get complaints about the other two.