Got Pets?

[ThatOwlWoman]

This sums up everything I've ever learned about them. It takes a special person to put up with them! I understand that they typically bond very strongly with one person, often shunning others?

Hmm, depends. Some species do, but like us avians are adaptive to situation/environment and will do what it takes to survive. They do seem to have human gender preferences though. Some like females, some like males. Two of ours prefer males, three females. Speculation is that it has to do with who hand-feeds them as chicks but I think it's far more complicated than that. The happiest birds seem to be those who have been exposed to a wide variety of humans of both genders, all ages, etc.

Funny story, as you seem to have taught them to have manners when they speak....

It's not so much teaching as they model their flock. We're the flock. :~) Our youngest and more recent flock mate is Emmy, a Quaker (monk parakeet) who was found outside in July 2016 in someone's backyard, near death. She was brought to the Gateway parrot club and they gifted us with her tiny green person. It's pretty obvious that she lived in an energetic household at one time. She holds the most amazing human voice phone conversations I've ever eavesdropped on.... sometimes calm and rational, but quite often horrid scream fests with what sounds like cussing but she perfectly mimics the garbliy sound you would hear if you sat on someone's shoulder who was on the phone and couldn't quite pick up the words. Despite all my colorful language over the years, none of ours use swears. I hate ppl who think it's funny to teach birds to say cusswords. It is super difficult to find new homes for them.
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[ThatOwlWoman]

This seems to be a thing with Cockatoos. They all have rhythm, and they cannot seem to avoid stepping to the beat. I had relatives that had one, and he/she had them chasing imaginary doorbells, telephones, etc.

For three years I had a Mollucan 'too. He had been a gift to a boy for his Bar Mitzvah when he turned 13. The kid named him "Tooie." The kid grew up and got a girl friend in his 20s. Tooie hated the competition and took a huge chunk out of her ear. Tooie ended up in a rescue where I found him. He hated me too at first but that's okay, that's how it is with birds sometimes. Then Tooie loved me. A lot. Tooie was also a genius at escape. I wondered why the cage that he came with had wire twisted all over it in various places. I found out why one evening when I was at work. Daughter called me to say that the house was in shambles, part of the electricity was out, and Tooie was in his cage reading the Bible -- but was a prime suspect. This photo is just a small sampling of the damage he did in his rampage. Not shown: Half the circuits in the house shorted out because he chewed through an extension cord powering the heat pad for the ball python's habitat. Power cord chewed for the stereo system in the family room. Mail on kitchen island shredded. Thankfully he didn't make it to my computer on another island!

When I met my husband Tooie decided that he must die. He would silently slide his claws across the darkened kitchen floor, slip like a peach-and-white ghost into the family room, and steathily climb the couch till he was behind us. Then he would STRIKE!

It about killed me to send him away, but in the end it probably is okay. Tooie now lives in a sanctuary in a huge outdoor aviary in Oregon, with dozens of his people. Cockatoos are super needy love sponges, beautiful, emotional, endlessly entertaining, and one of the planet's most intelligent creatures.... so they suck at being pets. Tooie barbered his own feathers and body when he was rejected by his first love in favor of the young man's gf. Plucking and self-destruction is sadly a common problem with captive avians.

 

[leaningright]

Meet Leopard ... He’s an indoor/outdoor cat. Mostly outdoor. He is pretty big. Weighs about 18lbs. Great mouser and he catches the occasional bird, rabbit or squirrel.

I also have 4 beagles who pack up and run rabbits quite well. They’ve got an acre of fenced yard to play in until I take them hunting. Love my critters.

 

[Minister of Truth]

My wife is a crazy cat lady. That works for me, because they are my favorite pet. One of them had been kicked-out of his house, and she took him in off the street. He is still afraid to be around anyone other than the two of us. He also has to live separately from the other cats. His name is Lily, because his previous owners thought they had gotten a female. Life ain't always easy for a boy named Lily.

 

[Cypress]

My wife is a crazy cat lady. That works for me, because they are my favorite pet. One of them had been kicked-out of his house, and she took him in off the street. He is still afraid to be around anyone other than the two of us. He also has to live separately from the other cats. His name is Lily, because his previous owners thought they had gotten a female. Life ain't always easy for a boy named Lily.

I love pet rescue stories, so nice work!

 

[Cypress]

I'm so sorry.

Not that you asked for a lecture but here comes one anyways. lol Please keep your beloved feline friends from roaming free. Even by day they are susceptible to predation from hawks, foxes, coyotes, eagles(!), and other felines. In return they are consummate predators themselves and will attack snakes, birds, mice, etc. even when they aren't that hungry.

I used to let our cat out to roam the suburban neighborhood we lived in when my kids were little, but brought her in at night. One day I noticed that she didn't run upstairs like she always did when she heard me get up. I went to look for her and finally found her behind the gas water heater. Had to drag her limp body out. She felt like she was on fire. Rushed her to the vet. She had a huge abscess on her flank near her hips, up to the spine. The vet lanced it and had to keep it open for a month till it healed, along with IV antibiotics and then oral antibiotics (imagine the fun of shoving that down a cat's throat!). She said it was from a puncture wound from a fight with another cat, and that if I hadn't brought Muffin in when I did she would have died within hours.

Good points, and I am glad to hear your kitty was saved.

Too many coyotes around my house to let Yasha out.

And I am pretty sure our big ass barn owl neighbor would love to dine to delicious cat!

 

[leaningright]

A great horned owl grabbed my dad’s cat, carried him up about 10-15 ft before the cat fought loose. Hurt his leg and he had talon wounds on each side. Dad’s vet fixed him up nicely but that was a close one for Freckles.

 

[Cypress]

A great horned owl grabbed my dad’s cat, carried him up about 10-15 ft before the cat fought loose. Hurt his leg and he had talon wounds on each side. Dad’s vet fixed him up nicely but that was a close one for Freckles.

Okay, I know owls gotta eat, but I love hearing a cat survival story. Hooray for the kitty!

 

[USFREEDOM911]

I find it amusing that he thinks the idiotic stuff he puts here actually bothers me. I considered thread banning a few, but I have most of them on ignore anyway.

He doesn't strike me as the pet type. Too selfish to consider another living being.

Now you making such a comment is really ironic, seeing as how you are known as an internet stalker.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

That guy is a dubiously hopeless shitpile in adult, and social skills. Heavens sake, what loser acts like that on such a wonderful issue like pets? Anyone else want to start a gofundme, to bribe his parents to smack him one?

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW; liberals seem to get triggered, when someone behaves the way they do.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

Well...message board etiquette is message board etiquette. Recipes, gardening, pets, etc. We can set our political differences aside, and act like we live in a civilized society.

I might be wrong, but he started a pic. thread, and banned most of the people who he doesn't agree with. I wasn't in the list, but I chose to ignore his thread.

You're wrong.

But does this mean that you're now going to chastise your fellow libs, when they highjack a thread and make into their own agenda?

Probably not, HUH!!

 

[USFREEDOM911]

Darn. One of the few JPP conservaturds I don't have on ignore. Bye, dicklick.

Now you want to lick my dick.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

My wife is a crazy cat lady. That works for me, because they are my favorite pet. One of them had been kicked-out of his house, and she took him in off the street. He is still afraid to be around anyone other than the two of us. He also has to live separately from the other cats. His name is Lily, because his previous owners thought they had gotten a female. Life ain't always easy for a boy named Lily.

We seem to have a genetic variation holding strong in our cats.

Quite a few of them have 6 toes each, on their front feet.

 

[Minister of Truth]

We seem to have a genetic variation holding strong in our cats.

Quite a few of them have 6 toes each, on their front feet.

You should warn them all that Inigo Montoya might be looking for them.

 

[USFREEDOM911]

You should warn them all that Inigo Montoya might be looking for them.

LOL

 

[Althea]

For three years I had a Mollucan 'too. He had been a gift to a boy for his Bar Mitzvah when he turned 13. The kid named him "Tooie." The kid grew up and got a girl friend in his 20s. Tooie hated the competition and took a huge chunk out of her ear. Tooie ended up in a rescue where I found him. He hated me too at first but that's okay, that's how it is with birds sometimes. Then Tooie loved me. A lot. Tooie was also a genius at escape. I wondered why the cage that he came with had wire twisted all over it in various places. I found out why one evening when I was at work. Daughter called me to say that the house was in shambles, part of the electricity was out, and Tooie was in his cage reading the Bible -- but was a prime suspect. This photo is just a small sampling of the damage he did in his rampage. Not shown: Half the circuits in the house shorted out because he chewed through an extension cord powering the heat pad for the ball python's habitat. Power cord chewed for the stereo system in the family room. Mail on kitchen island shredded. Thankfully he didn't make it to my computer on another island!

When I met my husband Tooie decided that he must die. He would silently slide his claws across the darkened kitchen floor, slip like a peach-and-white ghost into the family room, and steathily climb the couch till he was behind us. Then he would STRIKE!

It about killed me to send him away, but in the end it probably is okay. Tooie now lives in a sanctuary in a huge outdoor aviary in Oregon, with dozens of his people. Cockatoos are super needy love sponges, beautiful, emotional, endlessly entertaining, and one of the planet's most intelligent creatures.... so they suck at being pets. Tooie barbered his own feathers and body when he was rejected by his first love in favor of the young man's gf. Plucking and self-destruction is sadly a common problem with captive avians.

Wow! Did he chew that chair? I can picture him slinking across the floor, plotting his attack! I guess it isn't funny, but it's freekin hilarious. When I was in my twenties, I moved to Vt. I wasn't a total flatlander, but I never lived next door to a dairy farm before. Each year the farmers would raise capons through the 4H club. The birds weren't castrated manually, rather, with hormone injections. So...if you didn't butcher the birds by late October, they returned to being sexually viable. When I met the neighbor, he had a rooster running around the barn that stood almost 30" tall. The farmer offered him to me, along with two giant hens that started laying. For some reason, I accepted them. The rooster was a real character

He and I had an understanding, as I had to boot him a few times when he attacked me. But...he'd do the same exact thing as your stealth hunter. He'd hide behind a shed, and stalk the kids. He'd wait until they weren't looking, and he'd run across the yard...terrorizing the family. One day while I was at work, he went on a rampage. The family called the neighbor, who came over and swatted the bastard bird with a stick. He ran off into a field, and collapsed. He laid there, dead, as the neighbor fretted about what I was going to do when I found out that he killed my pet rooster. About two hours later...he lifted his head, stood up and looked around, and bolted for the barn.

I loved that bastard. Somewhere, I have some old pix of him and I. Everyone else hated him. When he died of old age, they buried him with his feet sticking out of the ground, with a denigrating poem above his grave.

 

[Althea]

Meet Leopard ... He’s an indoor/outdoor cat. Mostly outdoor. He is pretty big. Weighs about 18lbs. Great mouser and he catches the occasional bird, rabbit or squirrel.

I also have 4 beagles who pack up and run rabbits quite well. They’ve got an acre of fenced yard to play in until I take them hunting. Love my critters.

Soooo, does Leopard control the beagles?

 

[Althea]

My wife is a crazy cat lady. That works for me, because they are my favorite pet. One of them had been kicked-out of his house, and she took him in off the street. He is still afraid to be around anyone other than the two of us. He also has to live separately from the other cats. His name is Lily, because his previous owners thought they had gotten a female. Life ain't always easy for a boy named Lily.

My buddy took in a long haired kitten a few years back. They let their 2 year old daughter name the cat by default, as she always said 'me, me, me' when she saw it.

So kitty became Mimi, and she lived a pretty good life. When she came of age, they took here to be spayed. Vet wasn't paying attention, and opened her up. Failing to find ovaries, he looked and noticed testicles.

Poor Mimi was both spayed, and neutered.
He was pretty long haired, though, so I give the vet a pass. Sort of

 

[Althea]

A great horned owl grabbed my dad’s cat, carried him up about 10-15 ft before the cat fought loose. Hurt his leg and he had talon wounds on each side. Dad’s vet fixed him up nicely but that was a close one for Freckles.

Yep...earlier in the thread I discussed my cat who was also lucky with an owl attack.

 

[Althea]

Okay, I know owls gotta eat, but I love hearing a cat survival story. Hooray for the kitty!

Yea. That's more common that I had originally thought. Both being nocturnal, I suppose it's a risk for those who live near woods.