Our Pet Story

Pets

It’s time for Mama Kat’s again and this week I chose prompt #5.) Tell us the story of how your pet came to be a member of your family. (Inspired by Busy Day Blog).

I’m sure most of you know how the kitties came into our lives but I will reiterate for those of you fairly new here.  We did have 6 cats but alas we are now down to 4.  .  .  or 5 depending on the occasional visit from the wandering Suki.  I really think that family across the subdivision has her and that is fine with me.  I just want her to be happy and have a good home. It’s not like we went out looking to buy a cat and purchased her.  She has always been somewhat of a nomad and she wandered into our lives and blessed us with Hellboy so if she wants to live with another family and only occasionally bless us with a visit, that’s fine with me. I just want her safe and well taken care of.  And there she most likely has their undivided attention and doesn’t have to share the spotlight with 4 other cats and a dog!

Hellboy holding down the couch arm

So, Suki begot Hellboy and he is still here with us and ruling the roost when Chorizo will let him.  He’s the “big boy” of the family and of the animals we have left, he is the oldest and I guess therefore the patriarch.  He is also the literal “baby daddy” to our 2 youngest kitties (or so I think) and I will always believe he “got him some” before we had him snipped to help produce Poe and Lala. He is still #3’s little boy no matter the fact that he probably weighs about 20 pounds!  He’s full figured and doesn’t care who knows it.

Milktruck stretching out on the bed

Our second oldest furry baby is Milktruck (Hellboy’s old lady and baby mama) who also wandered into our lives one day like she owned the place.  She is also a wanderer but not nearly as bad as Suki.  She will wander off for a day or two at a time but always comes back home. She doesn’t stay inside a whole lot unless it’s cold weather.  In the summer she usually comes in long enough to eat and then she’s back outside again. She is our only long haired kitty and even though she is the mommy to Poe and Lala she is also our smallest kitty.

Poe joining his mommy for a nap

That brings us to Poe and Lala.  As I just reiterated, she is the product of Milktruck, who until they were born I refused to name because I swore we were not going to keep her, and Hellboy.  When she wandered into our lives she was so petite that I mistook her to be much younger than she was therefore I didn’t feel the urgency to have her fixed because I thought she was too young and before I knew it she was walking around here with her belly dragging!  She had 5 little babies, 3 of which we gave away.  We kept Poe and Lala.  Poe is my baby.  He loves his mama and usually sleeps on top of me or at least touching me.  Lala is hubby’s baby.  She loves him and he is pretty much the only one who she will curl up with.   It has been a joy to watch those two together.  They used to lay together and groom each other all the time.  They still hunt together.

Lala hanging on the rocker

And last but not least, the youngest member of our furry family is Chorizo, the devil dog.  Our youngest (non furry child) was going through a bad break up and was supposed to be moving into a house with a couple of other girls who both had dogs and she had expressed an interest in having a dog too.  We were NOT in the market to get a dog.  I stress that emphatically.  We were NOT in the market to get a dog.

We had gone to the shelter to looking for Suki Mama and KeeKee who had been missing for about a month.  We will occasionally go by the shelter about once or twice a month just to check and see if either of them is there.  It always kills me to go and see all those kitties in the cages.  Usually I don’t even go and look at the dogs because I don’t want to be tempted and I am not there to look for dogs. I’m there to check the cats!

It was love at first sight with this little boy

This particular day we had checked the cat room and as we were leaving (you walk right by the puppy room) I glanced into the puppy room and hubby walked in.  I followed him (actually kind of perturbed because I didn’t WANT to see the dogs).  As we were looking at them I saw that adorable little face and fell instantly in love.  I told hubby that he’d be a perfect dog for #3.  I really wanted to get him right then and there and hubby was like “We don’t even know if she wants a dog.  We don’t need a dog. Let’s go.”  All day I kept referring back to the puppy.

The next day I called and told #3 about him and sent her a picture of him. She was immediately smitten.  She had just gotten off work and told me she’d be there in an hour so we met her at the shelter and found out that he wasn’t up for adoption yet because he hadn’t been there long enough. Turns out a policeman had found him wandering the streets by himself and picked him up and brought him in.  We found out that he’d be up for adoption that Saturday morning at 10:00.  We put our name on the list and she said to be there promptly at 10 or she’d have to let the next people on the list have him if they beat us there.

Saturday morning we got stuck in traffic and were about 5 minutes late.  When we got there the next people on the list were waiting in the lobby for him.  As we walked in the lady behind the counter told the other people they’d have to “sign in” before they could go back.  She looked at me and whispered “Run get your puppy!  I knew you’d be here so I was holding them off!”  So we ran back and got him.  I felt a little guilty because the other people were a mom and little boy and I felt I was taking the little boys hope away but I decided to be selfish.  Besides I knew that #3 was just a smitten and I couldn’t break her heart either.

So, that’s how we got Chorizo, the amazing Chiweenie aka Tasmanian Devildog.  I don’t know that #3 will ever be able to take him away when she moves out.  I’m not sure that she really wants to because he really can be a handful!  I’m not sure if she can handle the responsibility of dog ownership. It is a lot more hands on than cat ownership and they tie you down a lot more.  Cats you can leave for a couple of days as long as they have plenty of fresh water, food and a litter box.  Dogs you can’t do that with.  Heck… this dog you can’t leave more than 10 minutes without him going through separation anxiety attacks.  Who am I kidding?  You can leave his sight without him having a panic attack.  If you leave the room, I don’t care where you’re going… he’s gonna follow.

And that’s the BIG difference between cats and dogs.  Dogs are loyal and they miss you and they need you.  Cat’s are very indifferent.  They are loyal, to themselves, and you need THEM more than they need you.  But I love them just the same.