One of our cats gets buggers. She doesn't seem to have the grooming skills to take care of it, so, ever since she was a kitten, LHF68 would hold her and I would pick her buggers. It grosses me out to wipe away the dogs' eye buggers, but somehow I can pick my cats nose. So, as I was picking my cat's nose this morning, I got to thinking.... I wonder what weird things other pet owners do for their pets?
You put the pb on your pet so it is good for you? How considerate. I have no problem cleaning out my dogs eye boogers. So I guess that is my contribution to this.
Shadowdancer cleans out our cats' eye boogers. He also cleans the nose of our tuxedo kitten -- her little nose is always dirty, and we can't figure out why. When I feed the stray cats after dark, I stand out in the front yard with a broom to chase away raccoons so the cats can eat.
i do all the usual stuff - cleaning eye boogers, brushing/combing, picking up poop, etc. For my cat Ruby, however, I struggle with her every other day to shove a small pill down her throat. This pill is Amitryptaline, also known as Elavil, and is a kind of tricyclic antidepressant. This **** has cured her of peeing in the bathtub and sink (which she did for 6 months) - it is amazing and totally reduces her anxiety. So, every day to every other day, I capture her and shove a pill down her cat throat. Gross.
you chase away raccoons? I realize that I'm the resident yankee/city slicker/beach bum/whatever here, but you really have to chase away raccoons? We have them here. I've even had one on my deck here (Costa Mesa CA) but they usually keep a low profile. My kid actually was bitten by one, but that's another story. But they are that bold? You are in Temple, IIRC?
Yes, the racoons can be quite bold. We feed the outdoor cats either before dark or we have to stand guard while they eat, because the racoon family shows up right at first darkness to search the deck for cat food, play in the water bowls, stand up on hind legs at the sliding glass door and check what's on TV, generally make nuisances of themselves. Sometimes their friend the possum joins the party. We try to get the food indoors before they show up, but don't always succeed. They will climb up on the picnic table where the food bowls are while you stand three feet away. I don't chase them with a broom, though. May have to contract Texanne for her critter ridder services.
Well our lab loves to eat my wife's stockings Usuall she throws them up in the middle the night but once they made it all the way through--except for 4-5 inches--she was walking around the yard with 6 inches of stocking hanging out of her butt-- my waufe made me go pull it out-- I used the surgical gloves from my daughter's pet vet kit--- tough job
The raccoons are unbelieveably bold. They scare away even the adult intact male cats. But they are afraid of me and my broom. Loop, some of them actually aren't strays. There is big white neuter and a gray-and-white neuter that both live down the block, and a pair of spayed sisters and their neutered brother that live up the block. But there are about three intact stray males and a young female stray. I cannot stand the idea of these cats starving, so I feed them. Also, keeping them fed means they are less likely to kill songbirds.
My GF's cat will only drink water out of the sink, so she has to pick her cat up to do this. I have now started doing this...
I have a "rescue dog" from the SPCA that was apparently severely abused and she's practically scared of her own shadow, so I've been giving her Prozac for the past 7 years. (I found a place to order it online that comes in liquid form with beef or chicken flavoring, so I just put it on her food.) I've tried weening her off this medication a couple of times, but she's a LOT happier and braver with it, so I keep her on it. Also, I have the vet give her a sedative when I have her nails trimmed because it's so traumatic for her and she really seems to have a very low threshhold for pain compared to all the other dogs I've ever had in my life. I have my dogs teeth cleaned every two years.
My dog loves socks. She got a pair of socks from Santa in her stocking. Aside from getting her a Christmas stocking and stuffing socks in it, I think the weirdest thing I do for the dog is to allow her to take the socks off my feet each night. Oh...and I make up little songs about her and sing them to her.
Our golden, Abby, used to like to sit right up in front of you if you were sitting with one leg over the other, and have her chest "thumped". We have since discovered that this was a symptom of her mega-esophagus that led to our losing her, but we thought it was just a little quirk of hers. Duke, the old Pekingese, likes to burrow into your armpit in the morning before we get out of bed. He will stand at the bed looking all forlorn until you bring him up to the bed. He also has to have a splash of chicken broth in his food to soften it, he has so few teeth. Used to have two cats, Mo liked to have his butt patted hard and Chelsea liked to head butt your fist. Not too weird, but still silly stuff you do for your pet!
Tenacious, you ever try something called Pill Pockets? I have an English Bulldog and give her pills in this...my male Bulldog didn't need them...I would just open his ginormous mouth and shove pills in...but not the Diva...Pill pockets work like a charm. They make them for cats too...bought 'em at Petsmart...and online as well...
Hmmmm, weird things I do for my dog...what isn't weird that I don't do? LOL Clean eye boogers? Yep My English Bully has an inverted tail and so I have to clean it and if you aren't looking real close, it looks like I am sticking my finger in her butt...but it is like a belly button and you have to clean lint and dirt that somehow works it's way in. I know, GROSS. But it could get infected and require surgery if I don't do it. I also clean the folds on her face daily. My ex would put the wet food in the microwave for my dogs... What we do for our dogs.....
My male dachshund, Rusty, loves to eat paper towels & other misc paper products. Sometimes when he poops, the turd won't release because of the paper still in his butt. He'll try walking around with his back legs spread wide, but that doesn't always work. So I have to get a paper towel & pull it out for him.
Our fluffy cat Simon, deceased since 1999, used to eat needles off the artificial Christmas tree. Then he'd try to pass them and it was painful, so he'd sit down in the litter box while trying to go. This would get poop all over his butt. And with long hair, this was no insignificant feat. So I'd have to put him in the sink and wash his butt with soap, warm water and a washcloth. He also got it into his head that he could only drink running water. We bought one of those "pet fountains," but he saw through it: he knew the water was recycled. So we had to start leaving a continuous drip in the bathroom sink so he would drink. None of our current cats will drink water if the bowl is on the floor. So we have to keep their water bowl on the den coffee table. And I think this one has been discussed on these boards before: if any of our cats can see even the smallest bit of the bottom of a food bowl, then that bowl is empty. Even though there may still be a lot of food therein, that bowl is empty and must be filled. Strange little creatures.
I use to have to express my weinerdog's anal glands or else he would smell horrible all the time. This involved taking a paper towel and squezzing his *** till the glands in there produced the worst smelling puss ever. This had to be done every few weeks.
It's tradition in my family for the dogs to get a treat when the UT football team scores. My dogs have caught on to this so if we cheer, they jump up & expect their treat. Usually by half-time my older dog decides she's tired of going into the kitchen for her treat so she lays on the couch & makes us deliver it to her. I also used to take the dog we lost 18 months ago for acupuncture & chiropractic treatments. I credit the acupuncture for extending his life by 4 years (he had terminal liver disease).
One of my dogs has food allergies, so we now feed him only homemade food. Rice and Chicken, Oatmeal and pork, etc. Somethime I get in trouble from my wife for stealing the dogs food for lunch.
