How much do you indulge your pets?

Not that sad. You really aren’t that bad. I’ve known people who will get completely out of their way to spoil a pet. Like one of my relatives has a dog who they go INSANE over. Their schedule revolves around the dog, they always buy things for it, they don’t socialize with people so they can have more time with their pets. It’s not bad if he enjoys it, and the same goes for anyone else who love their pets above and beyond the limit.

We apparently bought our dogs a couch. I thought we bought it for people to sit on while watching TV, but it is always full of dog.

And, yes, we frequently refuse to move when covered with cat. However, I always have my cell phone in my pocket so I can answer the phone without disturbing any cats.

However, I don’t buy cute outfits for any of our animals.

I think it’s cute. My oldest kitty boy sleeps on my feet and it gets annoying but I can’t bring myself to kick him off the bed…I’m his human more than he’s my cat, I think.

I buy my dog a present for her actual birthday every year and spend the entire day wearing her down to exhaustion with cuddles and playtime. Every year.

And I totally make her wear her black and hot pink party dress with her diamond or pearl collar on her birthday.

Don’t judge me too harshly… It has ruffles.

haha…I do that. I remember one time one of my cats was lying on my stomach and it was kind of uncomfortable for me and I could barely move but I let him stay there for a while. I didn’t get up until he got up. And I give my cats tons of attention. I’m always petting them and they’re always purring…lol

One thing I don’t do is that I do NOT want my cats in my room at night. I don’t understand that personally; I don’t want them on my bed, I don’t want them in my room, I just want to be alone.

The one pet I have now, my dear Casper cat http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/Apostate-of-Grace/caspertopost2.jpg, I indulge without limit. He is 21 years old, has arthritis in his hips and and is terminally ill with cancer, fibrosarcomas, so whatever he wants, he gets. Well, he and his brother Bugsy were pretty spoiled and indulged before but Bugsy is gone now and like I said, Casper gets whatever he wants.

My so-called pets include two working dogs (who are not pets) and a cat (who is a pet). I find that I am not one who indulges people, much less pets and non-pets. I don’t indulge me for God’s sake (which I will take up in therapy and not here).

I am pretty much a straight shooter. My biggest goal is to be consistent rather than indulgent with the animals who share my strange little world.

@Dansedescygnes I’ve heard people say that before, I feel funny if I go to bed without one of my kitties there, tho. I couldn’t kick them out of my room.

@asmonet She is beautiful.

During the summer, when I’m doing a lot of grilling, I like to throw our two dogs scraps from what I’m preparing.

they love me the best

@knitfroggy

Well, usually my cats are not in my room last thing in the day, but sometimes they are and I wouldn’t want something walking around making noise while I’m trying to fall asleep. Besides, my cats are usually put in the garage at night. They have little beds in there and everything. (It’s a big garage too).

My dog wanted a car ride tonight. She bolts outside as soon as the front door opens, crawls under the car and will not leave until you open the door, let her inside the car and take her for a spin. My wife took her to the lake in the car, took her for a nice walk, just to indulge her. At 15, she pretty well runs the house. (I mean the dog, of course). But we will miss her soon, as is the way…she is an amazing, loyal loving friend.

@Dansedescygnes I bought my cats a bed once, they just looked at it and got up on mine again! :) I’m glad you don’t put them in the garage with nowhere comfy to sleep!

Welcome to my world! We do not own cats, they own us and the sooner you learn that the happier your cat will be.

@chyna: Aw, you made me smile, I love my four pounds of white fluff. :D

She’s being fostered by some friends of my mother at the moment until I can get an apartment of my own that allows pets. I haven’t seen her more than six days in about five months. It makes me sad. I think when I get her back – hopefully in a few weeks – I’m going to crush her to death with huggles. Is it weird that I do this thing when I play with her where I pretend I’m eating her and make NOM NOM NOM noises into her neck? She freaks out in happiness.

NOM NOM NOM in three weeks! :D

Well, my cats don’t own us too badly. We have to watch out for the dog. He thinks dog is spelled g-o-d and he acts like it too. He can sit wherever he wants in the house, we feed him all sorts of stuff that he probably shouldn’t have and, best of all, we modify lyrics to popular songs to make them about him.

For River of Dreams by Billy Joel:

“In the middle of the Zu-u-up
There is probably a spleen
Next to the kidney so round
And gallbladder so gre-e-en”

Under Pressure by Queen:

“Pushing down on Zup
Pushing down on Zup
Pushing down on Zup…” and, of course, we push down on the dog while doing this and he loves it.

Dear lord, I hope someone chimes in and says they do that too…

@asmonet: You have a purse dog! What kind is s/he?

Dogs have owners – cats have staff. Once you accept that you can start to make sense of your pets. My cat is not allowed outdoors (respecting the local fauna) as he a is Bombay Black (like a little Panther) and a very adept hunter. He very much wants to get outdoors and devises all manner of schemes in attempts to escape. He even tried getting out by walking directly under the dog once, (the dog has free access – he just gives a short, soft bark when he needs a door opened) but the dog gave him up.

Sometimes as a treat, (and to wind him up) whenever it is really bucketing down with rain, I will open the door and ask the cat if he wants to go out. We are in the middle of some big storms here and the cat has been seriously thinking about it. So far he hasn’t worked up the nerve.

He is a funny little guy. I am the only person he won’t bite, including the dog, a rather large Red Rottie, (he never bites hard, but does nip when displeased) so if I really irritate him, he will search through the house until he finds my wife and bite her. I will hear a plaintive yell from my wife “What have you just done to the cat?” If he can’t find her he will bite the dog’s backside and run away. Pets are fun.

@KatawaGrey: My wonderful pupsicle Athena is a Maltese! I wanted a Doberman. And my mom was all “Fuck that.”

Fuck Dobermans, I’m a lap dog girl from now on.
Unless, it’s my old dog, Zeus who was a BAMF.

I mean….c’mon!! :D

I so didn’t want to be that girl when I was a kid. – _ – ’

You went from a Great Pyrenees to a Maltese? What happened, did the dog shrink when you washed it?

…Yes.

No, really we got them two months apart, each one at eight weeks old. So Zeus thought he was a lap dog and my Athena TheenieButt thinks she’s the size of a school bus.

She has attacked and driven off 150+ lb. dogs… Without a mark on her.

She’s scrappy. :)
She’s the perfect dog for me.

Zeus and Athena, how…mythological.

Our 120-pounder thinks she is a lap dog, too. However, she also drives off potential attackers, human or canine. She is a multi-purpose dog.

My wife has spoiled the dog with sweaters, clothes and toys. Our dog is a Registered Pet Therapy dog, so she deserves at least some of the spoiling she gets, but at least we haven’t bought her an entire couch.

On the other hand, my Hissers aren’t spoiled, but they do get lots of fresh fruit and veggie treats. Once I bought them a 3 dollar bag of lettuce because I thought they needed a change of pace, and it was the smallest bag of leaf lettuce I could find. I gave them some pieces of an orange today and they LOVED that. My big mama Hisser is due anyday now, so I try to keep her healthy so when she gives birth, the babies will survive.

I lick my dog’s balls for him.

@ru2bz46 Does he reciprocate? Or is the relationship kind of one sided? Pets are all about taking aren’t they?

No, that would just be wrong if he licked my balls since I don’t normally do that myself. I’m just giving him a break from his one chore.

@ru2bz46 Can you lick your own balls? You just choose not to? :) (And that’s the end of that, I’m not going any further with this one.)

@ru2bz46, A beaver that can’t lick its own balls? What, that big flat tail get in the way, or what?

I’m betting @ru2bz46 would if he could!

My husband – who claims not to like the cats – will sit still for hours when our oldest girl kitty is sitting on his lap. If he absolutely has to shift his position (to avoid permanent paralysis~), he lifts her up, moves, and sets her right back in his lap. She gets very indignant about the move, but quickly settles right back in.

Well, I do yoga, y’know? ;-)

@ru2bz46- I’ve just learned so much about you! All in one thread. ;~)

My dogs are not overindulged. I don’t give a damn what my husband says, it’s perfectly natural for someone to sleep with their legs hanging off the bed so they don’t disturb the two sleeping princesses I mean dogs from their slumber. It’s also completely normal to buy the beagle a studded shirt with a skull and cross bone symbol to show how completely badass she is…okay, so she isn’t, we just thought it might toughen her up a bit. She gets picked on. It’s completely normal to give treats (within reason and according to the diet – they actually are what the vet wants them to have – supplements) according to their moods. And…we must carry the beagle around when she is a bit down on her hips. It’s not just carrying her around, it’s flying her around like and airplane. don’t ask

Santa Paws, the Easter Puppy, the Great Dalmatian (the Great Pumpkin) all come and leave presents, too.

@cak I hope didn’t take all that seriously! :^D ZThat’s what I get for posting too late at night…

I put spiked collars on all my badass pets: the pomeranian, both chihuahuas, and the cat. They’re a tough looking gang of four.

Bed time got a little weird. One chihuahua liked to curl up between my legs, the other liked to be under my wife’s chin or across her throat, the pom snuggled up to one of our backs, and the cat would choose a head or a chest on which to perch. Now, they all take the same positions, but all on her since I no longer live there. I miss my “kids”.

I have a half chihuahua half jack russell and he is so spoiled! We get him something almost everytime we go to walmart and he sleeps in between me and my bf every night. He uses creme ribbons body wash and has bling on his collar. Lol. Im whipped

This thread has made me happy. I love how much you all lurve your pets.

Lol! Nice

@ru2bz46 no, not seriously, at all – I was cracking up, though.

I have three dogs and one cat. They all get wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree and fancy new collars every few months. They also get good food, not that grocery store crap. They are allowed some table scraps and sometimes a potato chip. They love fruits and veggies.
The cat kind of does her own thing, but Jasmine is super friendly and vocal so I like her. I just don’t like her on me because she is way too hairy. She mothers the youngest dog (shih tzu) meiko.
Meiko and Tanner (beagle) are my boys. They aren’t spoiled so much but they do get a lot of attention. I will lay on the floor to snuggle them sometimes.
Now we get to the princess, the boss of the house. She is the smallest, but Phoebe (Chinese Crested) leads the boys. Nothing happens unless she says it’s ok. She gets birthday cakes and fancy clothes. She is hairless so clothes are necessary to protect her from the elements. She is the only dog allowed on the furniture, she sleeps right in the center of my king size bed. I will carry her if her feet hurt. She gets a bath every other day, her hair gets conditioned and she gets massaged with lotion.

@elijah…your pets are christian?

@Blondesjon Not that I know of…
oh, if you mean because of the christmas tree, we also have a menorah on the fireplace mantle.

@elijah…just curious. i saw that they celebrate christmas.

@Blondesjon that’s what I figured, so I edited. We aren’t religious but I like fun traditions. Anyway, I don’t think the baby jesus really is related to a pine tree.

@elijah…i know. i’m just being a dick. i don’t know how many times i’ve ranted about “gifts” for pets. no offense. i just couldn’t not say something. :)

@Blondesjon I know ;)
I will be the first to admit it’s over the top. I’m slightly insane.

@elijah How do you know your pets aren’t Christian? Or Jewish? Or that they don’t worship Thor and thus appreciate the presence of the tree, even though it is a pine and not an oak?

@Darwin…all animals are actually buddhist. except for sharks, sharks are episcopalian.

@Blondesjon My dogs do seem to worship trees, though, and are not particularly interested in meditation.

@Darwin…You have to bear in mind that twenty seconds of canine introspection is like four or five hours in human time. Trees are how dogs text each other.

@Blondesjon Dogs practice introspection?! I thought only cats did that.

@Darwin…oh no, cats are just contemplating future naps.

@Blondesjon They dream of future naps.

@justwannaknow…They become so tired from their nap dreaming inspired naps that they find themselves, often, in dire need of a nap.

He used to drink water only from a running sink tap and only from cupped hands

We used to carry him from the outside to the sink to wash and dry all his feet, sometimes rub lotion on his footpads

His bedding, towels and toys get washed on a weekly basis

He used to enjoy the car seat warm on low setting when we’d go for rides

His uncles used to cook him fresh soups and stews as well making him gravy for his kibble

His uncles used to give him booze on bread and smoke him out with weed every day

@hungryhungryhortence ”...and smoke him out with weed every day”

No wonder he’s fat – it’s the munchies!

@ru2bz46: we put an end to booze and smoking a few years ago when we put an end to the uncles ;p

She gets pnut butter frozen in her kong every day (to make it last longer). She has been through 4 moo cows that I have sewn together until I just have to buy a new one.

@chyna . . . lurve for freezing the peanut butter…i never even thought of that

She has separation issues so I try to keep her occupied as long as possible while I’m at work.
She ate a hole through the dry wall on one of the first days I had her trying to get to me.
Once I figured out what her issue was, I am learning to deal with it a little at a time.