To talk about your pets, or pet peeves. =) Okay, not really about pet peeves, but here's an animal board for you animal lovers out there.

-- Ryan

*waves*

I love animals!

I just happened upon this place the other day and I hope to have them host a letterbox for me! I have carved a great stamp...I want to require that folks bring a donation to the Wish List to recieve the letterbox stamp.

http://www.pigspeace.org/

-Amanda from Seattle

Good name choice for this board - I just happen to have a pet sitting business called "Critter Sitter" HAF

Does anyone box or hike with thier cat? I was boxing near Gettysburg, PA and a woman was travleing with her cat. It was a wonderful Maine Coon cat and was so good on it's leash.

I used hike with my cat, years ago, and wondered if anyone else boxes with their feline friends in tow. There is a nifty carrier/carseat that also works as a back pack for small dogs and cats called Pet-wheel-away. Any experiences with it?

t

My 2005 signature stamp is a carving of my letterboxing companion, my beloved standard poodle.

I know some people who use their pet names as part of their trail names.
Personally I couldn't do this. I came close to loosing my little bird girl this past year. She was very sick, but has since become healthy again =0)
If I used her name...I don't think I could use the sig stamp again if I lost her

S~N~K
<with her cockatiel, Doodle, sitting on her knee>
~:>

PS... I do have a pet peeve. It's against those pet gift shops. They have lots of dog and cat items...but nothing for birdies

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I know some people who use their pet names as part of their trail names.

Our trail name is Team Little Dog and Barney, my little dog, is the leader. My first personal stamp was of him and he actually has his own personal stamp which I made from a picture of him. We usually just use the team stamp when he is with me now but if he finds the box, we use his!

Jan of Team Little Dog

I tried to make a stamp of my dog, but he's blacker than black, so there was no contrast to give me lines to carve. I could do a silhouette, I guess, but that wasn't the look I was going for.

DebBee

I was happy that my cat is black and white because it meant she would look good in one ink, easy to stamp. I tried adding color to here eyes but it just didn't look right. It turned out pretty stunning and it is her trail stamp now.

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I tried to make a stamp of my dog, but he's blacker than black, so there was no contrast to give me lines to carve. I could do a silhouette, I guess, but that wasn't the look I was going for.

Can you put his picture in a photo program and make it into a negative image? Sometimes details show up when you reverse it.

Jan of Team Little Dog

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Can you put his picture in a photo program and make it into a negative image?

Hmmmm . . . maybe.

I'll have to give that a try. Thanks.

DebBee

I tried a harness and leash with my cat when he was younger, he didn't like the leash too much. Now he gets carsick, so I wouldn't even try myself.
I got a kitten this weekend and I'm thinking about trying a harness and leash with her, b/c she's much more easygoing than the older cat.

BTW, any advice on introducing cats would be appreciated. We got the kitten b/c the older cat ran away and was missing for a long time and sure enough the day we get the kitten the old boy comes home! The old boy is a cranky type of cat and the kitten is pretty fearless so far! I've never done this before tho and I'd like to keep both!

Moonduck

If you're patient, a good way to introduce cats is to keep the new one in a separate room for a few days, and if it's possible, switch their bedding every day (something like a towel in a basket, or a cat bed, etc.). It's a little trick to get each cat used to the other's scent, and hopefully make a smoother introduction. You may not even need to do this. When I brought my kitten home, there was a little bit of hissing between him and my older cat, and some wariness, but they were fine with each other within a day or two, and now they're best buds! Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. We adopted the kitten and our cat came home that same day (gone for almost 2 weeks and he's never been gone before). We have 10 days to get them to get along, we've done the switching beds and blankets and introducing scents, but we can't quite keep them seperated. Luckily the dog has adopted the kitten as her baby and protects her quite a bit too. When I got home from work last night, the kitten was in the kitchen window, the dog on the kitchen table next to it and the older cat supervising and growling. Yet later that night we got them on the couch together with less hissing and they actually all slept in the bed with us too. Gosh I hope this works!
Thanks again!
Moonduck

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later that night we got them on the couch together with less hissing and they actually all slept in the bed with us too. Gosh I hope this works!

Good luck! My cat would skin me alive if I brought home another cat. He thinks of himself as king of all he surveys which is pretty funny considering he is the biggest scardy-cat I've ever seen. Hmm, I have wanted another cat and if the baby kitten were there to protect me, Jingle would never have the guts to come near me.... Hmmmm...

We really thought our old boy was gone, that's why we adopted one, but went for a kitten, just in case. Old boy is a strictly indoor cat and has no front claws (but has a mean right hook as a result, lol!). He ran out on my boyfriend while I was out of town, we walked about 50 miles looking and drove another 150 looking, put up fliers and sent pics to the shelter and the local vets, and even put an ad in the paper. We had no word and were just heartbroken.... of course he came back the day we got the kitten, and fatter than ever!
I've always thought he would hate another cat which is why we never got one, but now we're gonna see I guess. Who knows, I've heard so many stories about cats that don't get along at first but become the best of friends after a short time. As long as the cat can't see the kitten it seems to be ok for the most part, and he doesn't attack either unless the kitten comes into his space (which is about 2 feet around him when he's sitting or laying). I have some crazy animals right now for sure, but it's so much fun too!
Moonduck

I don't think I've ever heard of or seen a situation where newly-introduced cats get along right away. Any cat owner knows how independent they are, and even the friendliest cat probably won't tolerate a newcomer. On the other hand, I've never known a pair of cats that live together to just flat-out hate each other. I'm sure it happens, but in my experience, most get along just fine.
In any case, I'm glad you got your old boy back, and good luck with the kitten!

My dog loves to chase cats so this is the only kind we can have in the house:

http://www.broenink-art.nl/maukie2.swf

Ok, that little virtual kitty is pretty darn cute.

We once tried introducing a new kitten into our household, but our older cat, uh...didn't take it so well. I admit, it was the kitten's fault. She made the cat-faux-pas of jumping right up on his chair, thereby making herself higher up than he was. There was hissing, a scuffle of fur....then came the peeing.

Yeah....it didn't work out.

On the bright side, my parents volunteered to take in the kitten when it was clear my older cat wasn't taking the "blended family" idea very well.

Now, I have a friend who has 5 cats, 2 great danes, a guinea pig, and a ferret. And of course, everyone lives in complete harmony. Not fair!

Good luck integrating your kitties! I hope it's a success!

Craftymouse

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this is the only kind we can have in the house

That is SO CUTE!!! Thanks for sharing that with us!

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he actually has his own personal stamp

I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one who made a stamp for a dog! My dogs both have their own stamps, but they aren't of dogs; Claire's is a pan of cinnamon buns because she once ate our Christmas breakfast while it was cooling and Yuki's is a snowflake in honor of his name. Now that I have two dogs, though, I really need a team stamp because it takes too long to stamp in all three stamps.

"It was a wonderful Maine Coon cat and was so good on it's leash."

I'm jealous. I have a Maine Coon who loves me but is a complete black-hearted no-holds-barred vicious bastard to everyone else. I've seen him jump, claws extended, from the floor to the top of a friend's head -- a friend who happened to be bald, no less. Last time I was on a plane, my boyfriend joked that I'd never be able to fly with that cat in the post-9/11 world: he'd be declared a weapon. A weapon of minor destruction.

On the other hand, perhaps if I brought him hiking he'd scare away the mosquitos & deer ticks.

It took my older cat Val(then 7) a while to warm up to the kitten we got in New York City. It takes everyone a while to warm up to her, or it did then. Mitten (the kitten) is a NYC street cat, so she's feisty as heck. It's been 4 years now and they are buddies.... Mitten still gets a bit hyper and pounces on Val (who is a fat old slob, but I love her), and I have seen Val (usually mild mannered) swat her pretty hard. But they are friends now. It just takes a long time, especially when one cat is older.
amymisha who is totally bored at work and wants to go home

I'm jealous too. I miss my Coon Cat Mog....he was a great friend. Smart, smart, smart too. And he played fetch, which was entertainment for hours! Next cat I get will be a Coon.
amymisha

I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on how to choose the right obedience school for a dog? I've never had a problem before, but my girl is having some seperation issues or something and chewing everything. Last night I came home to find that she chewed up three candles and there was wax all over my living room floor and couch.... she even chewed up her own pillow, tore the stuffing right out of it. So we're thinking we need some obedience school and the vet has only one suggestion while there's several in the area.

Ironically, she has not touched the Christmas tree.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Moonduck

We took our dachshund to a trainer and a dog behaviorist. The behaviorist would probably be better for separation anxiety since they really work on psychology. My dog, by the way, walks perfectly on a leash. When you stop, she stops and sits very nicely. And still will bite your shoes if you dare to visit the house, or walk near here on the street, or try to pat her, or try to give her a treat, or really just exist and not be a member of her family.

But I love my doggy regardless.

I would just like to post a little reminder, b/c I forgot, that kittens are very curious and please supervise your kitten or cat in any room with lit candles. Putting a hurricane type glass around them would probably be very smart as well.

There is nothing like a flying flaming kitten to really wake you up in the morning and make you late for work... try explaining that one to the boss!!!

BTW, she's fine, just some singed hair, dribble of wax on the leg, and hurt pride. I think she was more embarrassed than anything ; )

Moonduck (who wonders who learned the bigger lesson today :)

were you sleeping with candles lit??
that's a lesson in itself...please don't send you and your home up in flames. I am sure AQ and the world is better with you here...not as charcoal.

DixieKin

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There is nothing like a flying flaming kitten to really wake you up in the morning

Oh my, I would say so! I think of some of the crazy things my cat has done and suddenly they seem rather tame...