P E T S! All About Pets, Pets Pets Pets!

[Guest aznscrewball]

My rabbit seems to hate taking a bath, anybody has luck with gettin their bunny to bathe?

And how the heck do you get the bunny to sit still so you can cut their nails?

Er...I might be wrong, but I thought rabbits were self-groomers?

I thought they gave themselves baths

[Guest mandi3licious]

YESSSS, A PET THREAD ON SOOMPI. I would really appreciate your advice.

I've no pets right now, but I am considering getting one. Are any of you university pet owners? I'd like a toy dog. I know they're a lot of work and uni life is really busy. But is it possible to raise one? I mean, many of those net idols have dogs/cats. Like Angelababy, Nikki, Janice, Pey, etc.... How on earth do they manage???

I want a cute little dog. What breeds would you recommend for a student? If any of you are uni pet owners, please share your advice/tips. Thank you~!

[Guest pink lemons.]

^ I was going to ask something similar. I'm going to be living in a less diverse weather area. Super cold winters and Uber hot summers...and i'd like a small cute doggie and also a big dog.

When I get them, would it be easier to train them myself or take them to a pet school and have them trained?

Also, this may sound uuuuuuuuber slow, but is it true that female doggies have periods? :-/

[Guest hippiehop]

YESSSS, A PET THREAD ON SOOMPI. I would really appreciate your advice.

I've no pets right now, but I am considering getting one. Are any of you university pet owners? I'd like a toy dog. I know they're a lot of work and uni life is really busy. But is it possible to raise one? I mean, many of those net idols have dogs/cats. Like Angelababy, Nikki, Janice, Pey, etc.... How on earth do they manage???

I want a cute little dog. What breeds would you recommend for a student? If any of you are uni pet owners, please share your advice/tips. Thank you~!

I just recently adopted a puppy and I'm a soph in college. A pup is REALLY time consuming... you need to train them, you need to feed them at the same time every day, you need to make sure they get enough exercise, etc.

The companionship is definitely worth it though. I've already forgotten what life was like before he came.

------

And yes, female dogs have periods but if you live in the US you are required to spay and neuter your pets and many animal shelters actually do it before you adopt them too.

As for training, it depends on how much time you have and how much experience you have training a dog. If you are a n00b then going to an obedience training school might be good.

[viedeluxe]

I think my dog's sick or something. Her body (especially ears and head) is very hot. Her stomach growls all the time even though she eats somewhat regularly. When she licks, her tongue is pretty cold. But she acts completely fine. She jumps around and is playful and is like her usual self. Is this normal?

[Guest pink lemons.]

I just recently adopted a puppy and I'm a soph in college. A pup is REALLY time consuming... you need to train them, you need to feed them at the same time every day, you need to make sure they get enough exercise, etc.

The companionship is definitely worth it though. I've already forgotten what life was like before he came.

------

And yes, female dogs have periods but if you live in the US you are required to spay and neuter your pets and many animal shelters actually do it before you adopt them too.

As for training, it depends on how much time you have and how much experience you have training a dog. If you are a n00b then going to an obedience training school might be good.

ooh okay. thanks much!

yes, i am a noob.

i've been around dogs,

but a school would be best.

thanks!

[Guest ~*BaybeE*~]

I think my dog's sick or something. Her body (especially ears and head) is very hot. Her stomach growls all the time even though she eats somewhat regularly. When she licks, her tongue is pretty cold. But she acts completely fine. She jumps around and is playful and is like her usual self. Is this normal?

i don't knoe about the cold tongue and all that stuff....but i know that you can tell when a dog has a fever by their ears... like red ears or hot ears means that your dog has a fever...i'd check that out....

[Guest Swtess]

Does anyone know how to completely clean the tear stains on a maltese?

I've tried what the vet recommends but it still isn't working.

[Guest bomjit]

My rabbit seems to hate taking a bath, anybody has luck with gettin their bunny to bathe?

And how the heck do you get the bunny to sit still so you can cut their nails?

Not sure whether u're suppose to bath rabbits.

But for the nails u'll need one person to hold the rabbit and one to cut. Try holding the rabbit on it's back with ur left hand holding the armpit area close to ur body. With ur older hand hold the rabbits bottom/back area so that it's tummy is facing outwards. In this position the rabbit can't kick off anything and jump around.

[Guest aznscrewball]

Does anyone know how to completely clean the tear stains on a maltese?

I've tried what the vet recommends but it still isn't working.

For tear stains I think you need to take it to a groomer to cut off the hair that is already stained. (Or if you have enough faith, do it yourself)

Then you have to wipe their eyes down EVERY day with a wet cloth or wet tissue.

Lol those tear stains are part of the reason why I can't stand white dogs even though I have an obsession with white.

[melkimx]

i accidentally stepped on my cat this morning. he made a yelp that i've never heard before. i felt so bad. hehehe

i've read that cats sometimes store their favorite toys in their water bowl. well, i found that my cat put a rubber band in his water bowl. i figured he must have been playing with it, but i didn't think it was a suitable toy for him, so i threw it away. does this mean my cat is toy-deprived? he hasn't liked the catnip mice i've given to him. is there another toy i should give him so he doesn't need to play with bottle caps and rubber bands?

[Guest dysfunkti0nal]

Not sure whether u're suppose to bath rabbits.

But for the nails u'll need one person to hold the rabbit and one to cut. Try holding the rabbit on it's back with ur left hand holding the armpit area close to ur body. With ur older hand hold the rabbits bottom/back area so that it's tummy is facing outwards. In this position the rabbit can't kick off anything and jump around.

That sounds confusing, lol I need a picture or something >.<

[Guest <3 Kim]

^ I was going to ask something similar. I'm going to be living in a less diverse weather area. Super cold winters and Uber hot summers...and i'd like a small cute doggie and also a big dog.

When I get them, would it be easier to train them myself or take them to a pet school and have them trained?

Also, this may sound uuuuuuuuber slow, but is it true that female doggies have periods? :-/

yes, they do have periods, not often as us humans :/

Mine gets it probably once every 4-6 months. You would know when they do, they just keep licking it off and you can smell it too

But yeah I'm a univerisity student and I have a pomeranian. I still live with my family though, but honestly i dont think I can take care of her myself, its quite hard taking care of dogs on your own ><

[Guest AzNMiss x3]

I have a few questions.

I have a female yorkie pup that I've been taking caring for a few days now,

& I was wondering how would you be able to tell if she is spayed or not?

Also, what are some healthy treats for yorkie pups?

I've heard of chopped liver, cheese, peanut butter & such but it seems very weird & unhealthy.

Are yorkies hard to train??

Mines goes to the bathroom on newspapers which I never taught her, looks like a good start

Thanks for any info.

[klx13]

A lot of my friends in college do have dogs, but the people I know are couples so they take turns taking care of them. I'm sure it's much harder if you're taking care of a pet alone. My friends have yorkies, poodle mixes, shiba inus, jack russells (which I wouldn't recommend if you're living in an apt bc they're SUPER hyper and energetic and needs lots of attention) and some have cats (easier to take care of than dogs).

So I'm thinking about getting a dog in the future, but I'm wondering how much it actually costs-- vet, food, toys, grooming, etc. on a monthly basis. I want to get a small or medium sized poodle mix since I'm not allergic to them. Also, is it better to have a male dog or a female dog? Because it's much cheaper to get a male dog neutered than a female, I know that. But are there great behavioral differences?

[Guest mousse91]

i have 2 hamsters called Oden and Udon and 2 chinchillas called Kyonkichi and Pyonkichi!!!

they are so cute!!!

[Aziraphale]

i accidentally stepped on my cat this morning. he made a yelp that i've never heard before. i felt so bad. hehehe

i've read that cats sometimes store their favorite toys in their water bowl. well, i found that my cat put a rubber band in his water bowl. i figured he must have been playing with it, but i didn't think it was a suitable toy for him, so i threw it away. does this mean my cat is toy-deprived? he hasn't liked the catnip mice i've given to him. is there another toy i should give him so he doesn't need to play with bottle caps and rubber bands?

Ah, I hope you apologised to kitty for stepping on him, lol.

Well, cats don't need elaborate toys, they have their own play schedule and they play whenever they want to. They'd also like you to play with them, so rather than going out and buying more catnip-flavoured toys, you can easily amuse them with simple stuff like rubber balls, strips of paper (or balled up), ribbons and the like. I bought catnip-flavoured toys for my cat when I first got him, only to find that he grew tired of them very quickly. Mine now has an orange rubber ball that he enjoys chasing when he's in the mood. He doesn't fetch it like dogs, but likes to roll it around with his paws, as if he's playing football. Sometimes I tease him with a nice ribbon and he'll respond in kind.

If you have a scratching post, you may want to dangle a toy like this. It'll attract your kitty's attention and he will play with it. Make sure that whatever toy you give him is not too small that he'd put it in his mouth.

There's no end of stuff (cat trees, gyms, condos, etc) to amuse your cat, but all the toys won't make up for it if you're not there for him.

[Guest hippiehop]

We had to put our cat of 15 years to sleep today... We found out he had liver disease and it was already too advanced for us to do anything about it. He was the best cat in the world...

[melkimx]

^ aw that's so sad. RIP to your cat. i'm sure he had a wonderful life.

Ah, I hope you apologised to kitty for stepping on him, lol.

Well, cats don't need elaborate toys, they have their own play schedule and they play whenever they want to. They'd also like you to play with them, so rather than going out and buying more catnip-flavoured toys, you can easily amuse them with simple stuff like rubber balls, strips of paper (or balled up), ribbons and the like. I bought catnip-flavoured toys for my cat when I first got him, only to find that he grew tired of them very quickly. Mine now has an orange rubber ball that he enjoys chasing when he's in the mood. He doesn't fetch it like dogs, but likes to roll it around with his paws, as if he's playing football. Sometimes I tease him with a nice ribbon and he'll respond in kind.

If you have a scratching post, you may want to dangle a toy like this. It'll attract your kitty's attention and he will play with it. Make sure that whatever toy you give him is not too small that he'd put it in his mouth.

There's no end of stuff (cat trees, gyms, condos, etc) to amuse your cat, but all the toys won't make up for it if you're not there for him.

well, i'm there for him in the evenings and weekends, but he's not a very... attention-seeking cat, at least compared to other cats i've met. he did have this set of suede strings hanging off his scratching post, but he chewed them all up! so maybe i can hang a new toy from it. come to think of it, i forgot that he likes stuff that hangs. at my ex's place, he used to love these feathers on a string hanging from a door. played with it so hard that he knocked down the entire setup.

yesterday i just bought him a ball that makes tinkling noises. but i had to put it away during the night, because he woke me up playing with it. grr.

[Aziraphale]

well, i'm there for him in the evenings and weekends, but he's not a very... attention-seeking cat, at least compared to other cats i've met. he did have this set of suede strings hanging off his scratching post, but he chewed them all up! so maybe i can hang a new toy from it. come to think of it, i forgot that he likes stuff that hangs. at my ex's place, he used to love these feathers on a string hanging from a door. played with it so hard that he knocked down the entire setup.

yesterday i just bought him a ball that makes tinkling noises. but i had to put it away during the night, because he woke me up playing with it. grr.

Not sure what breed your cat is, but yeah, certain breeds are less affectionate or quieter, some can be quite exclusive with their affections too. In general, cats amuse themselves better than dogs, but they'll always be happier when you're around, of course. Dangling stuff is a good idea, mine's also quite tickled by things that move, it's like hide and seek to him - sadly that only applies to toys, he didn't like a hanging scratching post. Most cats like to watch the view from the window, so if you've got a safe perch for him where you're sure he won't leap out, that'd be good too.

My dad likes to tease my cat with this laser point thing - he'd shine it on the floor and my cat would keep chasing this little red dot that moves. You could try that too. Also, my friend got me this Play Cube thing from Wal-Mart - I have two that are joined together and my cat now loves to lie in wait there sometimes so that he can spring a surprise at my ankles. Or if he feels like it, he dashes through it as though he's in some jet-propeller race. If I throw something in there, he'll attack it with a vengeance too. So you can consider that for your kitty. Doesn't take up space as it's foldable, but I usually just leave it around.

hippiehop, so sorry to hear about your cat I'm sure he was wonderful and lived a great life with you guys, as Mel said.