Do you have pets?

[Earthy]

We are thinking of getting a rat. I heard they make good pets.

[ABall]

I have a cat. she talks.

[sloan127]

Crystal has 3 cats plus she and Emily share 2 more. I have three maltese. Bill has two beagles and Bobby has one. Katie has a mutt and a min pin that lives here and Freddy has two chihuahuas. The chihuahuas were rescued from the animal shelter and are full blooded. They are named Taco and Belle. All the cats have been here since they were kittens. Two were dumped in our yard and the mother to the other three was dumped here years ago. Freddy bought the maltese for me when I went through a mid life crisis. Not really but that is what I tell people who ask why I have three foo-foo dogs.

[Jackie]

We've a German Shepherd, a gerbil (after 'killing' several hamsters), two gold fish, and (last!!!) right now we have a frog, though you might not call it a "pet". We got six tadpoles from a friend with a pond, and this one is the last. All the others either died or hopped away.

[becky]

We have a mixed breed dog named Sparky. He's the love of my life, even when he leaves 'masterpieces' on the kitchen floor.

[Deena]

We have a chocolate lab named Rusty (mostly my oldest ds's), a female tabby cat (which is rare--most are male) named Kelsee Katt (mostly my middle ds's), and a Beta fish named Mozart (mostly my dd's). This is it. When the dog or cat goes, we are not planning on getting others. We can afford to get another fish though...

Amy, our cat talks too!

[bigreys5]

We have 3 indoor cats, two outdoor dogs (a beagle and a german shepard mix), and a skink (a mix between a snake and a lizard). All of our pets are females (ok, we are not sure about the skink, though).

[Jennifer R]

We currently have our indoor feist mix dog, 3 outside dogs one of which is half pitt and the rest is some kind of walker/beagle which is all she looks like, her daughter is an offspring of a pitt,boxer or bull mix, and a german shepard looking dog that actually came from Germany or his mom did. My dd came home a few days ago with a doberman/lab mix and was not thrilled because we made him live outside. We are up to 10 outside cats that hopefully will keep the snakes away this summer! Joyce has a hamster and that is enough for me for now!!

[JenPooh]

We are thinking of getting a rat. I heard they make good pets.I have had 3 rats for pets. They make AWESOME pets!!! They are so friendly and laid back. I would highly recommend a rat if you want a small rodent as a pet. I've also had a mouse, which was really sweet as well. The only rodent I do not recommend is a dwarf hamster. Even though the one I had was pretty tame, she went through a nasty biting stage and so did the one my hubby had. I never had an issue with biting with my rats or my mouse. Rats are super gentle and friendly pets!

Sadly, I am allergic to rats now. I get hives whenever I touch them. :( If I wasn't, I'd have one right now.

We have two cats currently...Taz and Socks. They are both super outgoing and friendly cats.:love:

[Jennifer R]

JenPooh, we had the opposite experience with a dwarf. Joyce had a Siberian dwarf that ended up being the gentlest out of the ones the kids have had over the years. She left the top open on the play city cage and the hamster got out and we never saw her again.

[AmyU]

We have 2 dogs and 3 rabbits. We have had hamsters, a geunie pig and several snakes in the past years. We also did tadpoles last year and ended up with 3 very little frogs. I have heard that rats make good pets. Good Luck

[Hippychick]

We have a cat, two dogs and 2 goldfish, three tadpoles (the kids caught) we caught a turtle but freed him the other day and now the kids found 3 cats and a momma with three kittens they want to bring home (from a vacant home) we'll see??????

[Deena]

JenPooh, we had the opposite experience with a dwarf. Joyce had a Siberian dwarf that ended up being the gentlest out of the ones the kids have had over the years. She left the top open on the play city cage and the hamster got out and we never saw her again.
We did too. We had a wonderful little Siberian Dwarf Hamster. He was so cute and sweet! When he died, dd wanted one to replace him. We ended up with a regular hamster from a pet store. He chewed through everything and bit. When he died we tried one more time, with a regular hamster. Had the same thing happen. We always say if we get another one, it'll be a dwarf hamster cuz we had the best experience with it!

Isn't it funny how different experiences can be for different people! Now I better be careful if we ever do get another one!

I know that hamsters that are brought up being handled are better, so we'd probably look for one of those.

[Earthy]

We used to have a hamster. It was sweet, lived about a year because it ran intself to death. The little bugger wouldn't stay off his wheel. He escaped several times from his escape proof cage...our cats never ate him. They just watched with interest, even when it filled it's cheeks up with the cat food and tried to get back to it's cage before it was noticed. We ALWAYS ended up finding it because the cats kept an eye on it for us.

We used to have fish, they were eaten by the cats.

[sloan127]

We have a little girl at church who used to have pet hedge hogs. They were so cute. Her mom said they were very fragile and had to be handled carefully.

[missinseattle]

we have TOO many pets! A rat, that would be nice. Something small and portable lol.

We have 3 rather large dogs- a wolf hybrid, a boxer/lab, and a mutt. We also have a cat and a fish.

Should have gone with something small in the first place lol.

[SoonerMama]

We have a 6 year old cat who rules the house!

[MonkeyMamma]

We have one dog named Gunner. He is a German Shorthaired Pointer mix we got from a shelter two years ago. We got him when he was 4 months old. He is a big dog and thinks he is a tiny dog. He is so gentle and cudly and spoiled rotten by my husband. We bring him almost everywhere with us.

When we move to the country in a few years the plan is to get two more BIG dogs and several outside cats for snake and mice patrol plus a couple horses.

[AussieMum]

Crystal has 3 cats plus she and Emily share 2 more. I have three maltese. Bill has two beagles and Bobby has one. Katie has a mutt and a min pin that lives here and Freddy has two chihuahuas. The chihuahuas were rescued from the animal shelter and are full blooded. They are named Taco and Belle. All the cats have been here since they were kittens. Two were dumped in our yard and the mother to the other three was dumped here years ago. Freddy bought the maltese for me when I went through a mid life crisis. Not really but that is what I tell people who ask why I have three foo-foo dogs.

Wow! Your house must be very busy and full;)

[AussieMum]

we have a cat and lots of guinea pigs. We sell the baby guinea pigs to the pet shop, the kids get to kepp the money, which they think is great and encourages them to give them up, lol.

[JenPooh]

Oh...I also forgot I have a husband too...;) LOL! That's like having a pet right?

I'm glad some of you had better experiences with dwarf hamsters. The one I had was really cute. When I first got her, I trained her to jump into my hand when I put it in her cage. Later down the road though she started biting and I don't know why. I even handled her a lot. It was towards the end so possibly she was just getting old and tired and wanted to be left alone??? My husband never gave his attention so that could have been the reason he bit...because he wasn't use to being held.

[CelticRose]

We're cat people. We had 3 until recently but are down to a Himalayan/Burmese X who is completely psychotic & has a meltdown any time I leave the house. This cat doesn't just talk ~ he expects to be answered back! He will have a complete conversation if encouraged at all. My youngest would like him to be hers but as she is the only thing in the house he can dominate he takes full advantage till she runs screaming. Then he come to me for food, cuddles & grooming. Like I said...

[KrisRV]

we ladies wow, I don't know about having rats as pets I can't stand those kids of pets. We had dwarf hamster and they were to much like mice to me. LOL

we any way we have two puppies a toy poodle that is 4 lbs but thinks he is 100 lbs. a collie mix that is 85 pounds who is the puss of the family and two hermit crabs (which I think are gross too.)

[AussieMum]

hey what is a hamster exactly? Can someone post a picture?

[Earthy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamster

http://images.google.com/images?q=hamster&hl=en&um=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title

I don't know how to post photos but here is a link

[AussieMum]

They look a bit like guinea pigs - maybe they are cousins?

[Jackie]

Hamsters a quite a bit smaller than guinea pigs. They look more like gerbils.

[mommix3]

Right now we have 2 cockatiels,a pug,a chihuhua, and a boxer. I once had a white rat for a pet but it didn't last long because mom made me get rid of it. I got it from school and didn't ask before I brought it home. :) We've had a TON of dogs. Lizzards, Wooly worms, and lady bugs anything the kids find in the yard. LOL! We had a HUGE Macaw parrot that I got before he was weaned. I had to hand feed him with a syringe. He only had his pinfeathers. He was cute but he started getting jealous of my now 3 year old and would attack her so we had to give him away. The white rat I had for a short time was so sweet though. I would get another one if I had a chance. My boys would LOVE it.

Angela

[AussieMum]

I don't think we have gerbils either jackie! I have never seen one, anyway...

[JenPooh]

picture of a hamster
http://mud.mm-a1.yimg.com/image/1973511882

[JenPooh]

picture of a gerbil
http://mud.mm-a5.yimg.com/image/3136273033

[JenPooh]

Ok...darrrrr...I just realized Nellie already posted pics.

[AussieMum]

They are cute!

[Earthy]

JenPoo - That's ok, sometimes I don't read posts before I post.

Still don't have a rat yet thought;)

[JenPooh]

Picture of a rat! LOL! :D
http://mud.mm-a2.yimg.com/image/2354162160

Did you know when I googled "rat" I had the choice of clicking a link to a site that said "gay rats". WHAT!?!? What next!?

[Earthy]

Picture of a rat! LOL! :D
http://mud.mm-a2.yimg.com/image/2354162160


Cute little thing!

[Deena]

Picture of a rat! LOL! :D
http://mud.mm-a2.yimg.com/image/2354162160

:lol: That's funny JenPooh!

[Earthy]

Not sure if were getting a rat now:( Our cat is being a little stinker! (to say the least)

[Lee]

We have 2 iguanas, 1 water dragon and a boston terrier. We have had many different pets - snakes, birds, horses, pigs, rabbits. Now that we are in an rv 1/2 the year we try to keep the pet number down. I would like to get rid of 2 of the reptiles. I'm still working on the kids.

[GLOWAcademy]

I have a Mini Long Haired Doxin, Bird and fish

[MamaBear]

Dogs, cat and turtle.

[sloan127]

Since I first answered this we have lost our old friend Charlie the beagle who was very old and one sweet cat we called White Socks. The cat was dumped in our yard when he was a kitten. I miss them both.

[MamaBear]

Since I first answered this we have lost our old friend Charlie the beagle who was very old and one sweet cat we called White Socks. The cat was dumped in our yard when he was a kitten. I miss them both.


I am so sorry for your loss. That is so hard.

There was a rash of dog poisonings in our city in December and my ds' puppy ate some of the poison. He passed away the evening he ate the posison, the vet worked really hard to save him. I noticed right away he was acting weird and took him to the vet but it was too late. We had him at the vet 45 minutes of ingestion.

Anyway, having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the fact that I live in a community with someone very evil.

[jojomojo]

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your pets :(

We have 4 pets......Rocky & Frankie (both tabbies), Nala (pom/chihuahua mix...we think), and Leroy (basically a mutt, but he does look german shepherd-ish).

We had a black bear hamster before....NEVER again. I'll consider rats, but I don't think I will ever own a hamster again, oh my.

BTW, with rats....how big of 'living quarters' do they need? We have a nice cage from the hamster, just wondering if that would work. And they don't happen to pee out the side of the cage like the hamster did, do they? lol

[JenPooh]

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your pets :(

We have 4 pets......Rocky & Frankie (both tabbies), Nala (pom/chihuahua mix...we think), and Leroy (basically a mutt, but he does look german shepherd-ish).

We had a black bear hamster before....NEVER again. I'll consider rats, but I don't think I will ever own a hamster again, oh my.

BTW, with rats....how big of 'living quarters' do they need? We have a nice cage from the hamster, just wondering if that would work. And they don't happen to pee out the side of the cage like the hamster did, do they? lol
My rats always lived in one of those large glass aquariums. I never had a wire cage so I don't know if they'd pee out of the side or not. They need about the same space as a hamster though.

[jojomojo]

We used to have one those plastic non-wire cages for the hamster, but it wouldn't hold her in AT ALL, so we had to go to wire. Had to decide between pee out the side or her burrowing in the closet chewing through carpet and padding to the foundation of our rental lol Black bear hamsters are pretty big though, so the cage will probably be a good size.

[Emma's#1fan]

Since I first answered this we have lost our old friend Charlie the beagle who was very old and one sweet cat we called White Socks. The cat was dumped in our yard when he was a kitten. I miss them both.

I am sorry! :angel:

We have lost Emma's cat, Cedis, since. He was hit by a car.

[Lee]

We're finally down in numbers too. Yay!!

1 orange iguana (3 1/2 feet)
1 boston terrier

That's enough pets for travelling in a rv!

[Ava Rose]

I have one dog. That is enough for me. My dh and dd are allergic to cats or I would have one also.

I have head rats make excellent pets. I know someone who has one and he loves it. Not my choice of pet but it is a nice fit for some.

[Emma's#1fan]

Our middle daughter had rats as pets. She would bring them over when she visited. Once we ratsat and they were cute and surprisingly cuddly.

[Earthy]

Once we ratsat


That cracks me up 'ratsat'...LOL

[sixcloar]

We've acquired 2 cats since this thread began.

Jinxy- a red and white male Persian rescued from the shelter. He doesn't meow, but snorts.

Chloe-a beautiful female Blue Persian, that we took from a lady who had to get rid of her due to allergies.

[Emma's#1fan]

We have also added a Labrador named Rodrigo.

[kbabe1968]

Do husbands count as a pet?

[Mrs. Mommy]

We two cats, Joey and Prince. They are spoiled rotten!!

[erica3010]

We live on a little farm...we had a cow and pig and I'm sure you can guess what we had done with them!!! We now have 2 mules and 1 Quarter horse, 3 coon dogs, 3 chickens a rabbit and our family dog Jada who is a Boxer.

[rmcx5]

We have a geriatric 13 yr old long-haired dachshund named Colby.

My oldest daughter has a European Black Bear Hamster named Macy. She is the sweetest hamster. I owned several as a child and they were not as lovable as little Macy.

Nellie, warning on the rats....they are good pets BUT they are dirty by nature. That's the down side....lots more cage cleaning than another small rodent.

Rhonda C.

[nancy sv]

Just a Rat Terrier named Dash. He's the love of my life.
http://familyonbikes.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/dashinbasket.gif

[Emma's#1fan]

Nancy, your dog is precious!

[nancy sv]

Nancy, your dog is precious!

Tell me about it!! He's the most snuggly, affectionate dog I've ever known! He LOVES to snuggle up in my lap when I'm beading or writing. And he snuggles down under my blanket with me at night. I'm totally, completely smitten.

[Emma's#1fan]

Tell me about it!! He's the most snuggly, affectionate dog I've ever known! He LOVES to snuggle up in my lap when I'm beading or writing. And he snuggles down under my blanket with me at night.
He sounds like my Tilly. She loves sleeping with me. She has her own bed in Emma's room but she is clearly MY dog and will only sleep where I sleep. If I sleep on the couch because Handsome is snoring too loud, it doesn't take her long to come and join me. Handsome calls her my shadow. :D

[nancy sv]

Handsome calls her my shadow. :D

My husband calls Dash my appendage!

[Emma's#1fan]

That is cute!

[Earthy]

Nancy Oh my goodness! How adorable!

And speaking of pets I just posted (http://www.homeschoolspot.com/showthread.php?p=164437#post164437)about how a beagle won the westminster contest. He was so cute looking! I used to have a beagle.

[KristineIN]

We have a cat, he is going to be 13, but his health is starting to go down hill. About a month ago we took him to the vet with pneumonia. He has a tumor on his leg that is causing him to have trouble walking and he's lost quite a bit of weight. If he doesn't gain anything with in two weeks, we're going to have to talk about putting him down. I hate the thought of losing him, he's been such a faithful kitty. I trust him completely (at one point we had two others that as we had kids started marking their territory and we got rid of them) Anyway, I'm sure at some point we'll get another kitten, but I'd like to wait until Rajah is gone and I can start fresh with a litter box and not upset Rajah (when he started having trouble walking, I moved his litter box to our upstairs and it was in the laundry room in the basement at first. I want it there with the next cat.

We also have a Betta Fish "Spike" but I'm surprised he isn't dead, we don't feed him that regularly.

Kristine

[Hippychick]

We have a dog, 2 cats and we are ordering chickens this spring. (but I am not sure they are pets?) We will get eggs and meat from them. We are also considering two goats..

[MonkeyMamma]

I think I posted on here before that we have a large German Shorthaired Pointer named Gunner who is almost 3. He is a big old baby and a very good boy.

I have been bugging dh for a little dog (like 15 pounds). I saw one I really love - a cavalier king charles spaniel - but the thing is that is cost $600 at the pet store.

We only paid $100 for Gunner. Dh said no way can we spend that much but he did say that if I found a little dog I really like I can get it as long as it is $200or less. Now I have to find one I like. I want a girl dog this time.

[Frugalcountrymom]

We have many cats-They help keep the mice away which help keep the snakes away.

We have one good dog named BoBo he is a black mouth cur-(Old Yeller dog)

One cocktail bird named Lilly she is my inspiration for writing she is my muse.

The others are farm animals rabbits, sheep, my goat barrels is more of a pet then farm animal :), bees, chickens. Farm animals are not pets especially since we eat them. :lol:

Sam

[Jo Anna]

We have an old dog - cocker spaniel. Two fat cats and 4 beta fish.

[Emma's#1fan]

Farm animals are not pets especially since we eat them. :lol:

My dad tried to teach me this as a child. I didn't learn. All the animals were so cute and I loved caring for them. My favorite was our pig, Wilber. I was told not to name him, but I did anyways. Well, Wilber's day came and he was slaughtered. I cried and cried! But once a nice thick slab of ham was on the table, the smell made me forget how much I liked him. LOL

[AudMama4]

My best friend through Middle School and HS had a rat. It really grossed me out, but she loved it. He was white, I think his name was Mr. Rat.

[Frugalcountrymom]

But once a nice thick slab of ham was on the table, the smell made me forget how much I liked him. LOL

I was like that the first time I ate one of the eggs from my chickens the thought of where it actually came from freaked me out, but now I see those water looking yellow eggs at the store or restaurant with no taste blaaa..

Yah pets and farm animals should not mix :)

We have rats sometimes around here but they don't last long with our cats and they are not the clean pretty ones you see at the pet store.

Sam