Post your odd pet behavior stories here...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

I had a kitty who'd prowl around the house with a dirty sock in her mouth, mrowwwwwling as if she'd caught some rare prize. :)

[m-jean03]

1. When my dog was a puppy he'd build things with sticks, logs,

or driftwood. Pretty intricate structures he'd put together. He would often dig holes in the sand at the beach and cover them very neatly with multiple pieces of driftwood placed next to each other. No joke.

Now, he barks and goes nuts when we tell flies to shoo. :shrug:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. Maybe he was an architect

in a past life...

[nuxvomica]

30. There was a photo book out many years ago

Showing the structures created by dogs. Amazing stuff.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. Really?

This is the first I've heard of this behavior.
Maybe they're building dens like foxes or wolves?

[nuxvomica]

53. I had to call my sister for the title

I'm a pretty good googler but this had me stumped. Everything I tried returned 1000s of pages on dog houses. So I called my sister to whom I had given the book as a present some time ago:

Dog Works: The Meaning and Magic of Canine Construction
by Vicki Mathison
ISBN 1-58008-244-0

link: http://www.tenspeedpress.com/catalog/tenspeed/item.php3?id=1045

[m-jean03]

57. Thanks!

Fascinating stuff!

[m-jean03]

35. I heard about this, actually

I would love to see it, if anyone has a link. :hi:

[nuxvomica]

55. See my post above, #53

:-)

[trof]

2. Ace-the cat is a chatterbox.

You can't turn him off.
We've finally figured there's a lot of stuff going on around here that he needs to tell us about.
Like all night long, while we're sleeping.
Ace is up, and on the job.
First thing in the morning, here he comes, talking a blue streak.
If we only had a translator.

[m-jean03]

5. That's too funny

Chatty kitties crack me up and totally intrigue me, I want to know what they're saying too!

[trof]

16. OK, here's what I THINK he's saying.

DUDE!
You shoulda seen the roaches in that kitchen.
Christ almighty!
I saw one that coulda stood flat-footed and screwed a turkey.
I swear!
What the hell did you feed Nasha-the-dog last night? Was that chicken? Jesus-effing-Christ on a crutch! You know that gives me the runs.
Oh...my litter-box need dumping. Seriously. I mean right now.
HEY! It's time for my shot. C'mon. Get your ass in gear. I don't mean after you've had a cup of coffee and a smoke.
I mean right effing NOW!
I want OUT!
It's time for me to go OUT!
RIGHT NOW!
HEY!
YES YOU!
OUT!
NOW!
jeez
thank you

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. LOL!

That must be it!

[m-jean03]

37. Pretty funny stuff, trof

You should be on stage. I bet you're right, too. :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. He must have something on his mind...

Or a song in his heart.

[Dookus]

3. the little girl in my avatar

hunts worms.

Brings 'em in at night with that mrowwwwl you mentioned, acting all proud of herself like she'd done something special.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. LOL!

Does she wash her face afterward?

[TommyO]

4. I have a few!

I have two cats right now, one of them (the mostly Maine Coon) loves nothing more than to roll around in dirty laundry. Burying himself under piles of underwear is his favorite pastime.

An older cat that we had to put to sleep a few years ago did many amazing things, but the most interesting involved a sick house-guest. A friend and her husband were visiting, he wasn't feeling well and decided to stay around the house while we did the touristy thing. We asked Seba to watch him while we were gone. She did, all day, never leaving his side to eat or use her litter box once.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Wow!

What a sweetie!

[Southsideirish]

6. My Maltese got rained on for the first time in his life last night -

totally freaked. He is 8 and, as he has the very long Maltese coat, we never let him get wet. If we do have him out and it starts to rain, we cover him with an umbrella.
Last night he was sitting out on the deck and I was on the computer in the room next to him when he started barking furiously. I looked outside and 'didn't understand what was provoking him - then I noticed it was raining - very softly -and he had a "layer" of moisture lying on his coat.
I had to scoop him inside and dry him off pronto - saved a $40.00 trip to the groomer!!

[Dookus]

9. heheh

my long-gone Scooter, a siamese mix, used to get caught in the rain. He'd come in the window I left open for him and complain vociferously. Then he'd run over to the door and cry until I let him out. He'd look out the door (about 6 feet away from the window), look at me, and meow really loud. I guess he figured the "window world" was different from the "door world" and he was pissed it was raining in both places. Then he'd blame me for it.

[geniph]

22. He was looking for the door into summer!

That's a Siamese thing. Robert Heinlein even wrote a book with that title that included a cat who did the same thing.

[Dookus]

27. really?

What's the title?

[geniph]

32. The Door Into Summer!

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-0345413997-0

[GoddessOfGuinness]

40. I'll have to check that out...

My husband has all Heinlein's books.

[prole_for_peace]

7. I know this is specific to my cats...

I think it is so funny when they go potty and then come TEARING out of the litter box and run around the house like they are crazy. I always said that they were trying to get away from the smell. My brother thinks that are celebrating because it felt so good to get that out of themselves.

My Abbie is, right this minute, watching me type this. He love to chase the letters and my cursor. It is cute but sometimes, when I am typing something important, like homework or something, it can get a little annoying.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. They love to mess with us

Mine don't like to make me mad; but they love to be a little annoying.

[Beaverhausen]

8. Annie- the pack rat

When I got my now-3-year-old black cat Annie, she was rescued from living on a golf course. I got lots of toys for her but kept noticing that while she loved playing with them they disappeared fast.

One day I was looking for her under my bed and noticed a pile of "stuff" - not only her toys but anything that had been dropped on the floor for the past 3 weeks - pencils, hair thingys, tissues. It was so funny.

She doesn't do it anymore.

But she does do that run out of the litter box thing.

Thats the story of Anner-bananer.:loveya:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. That must've been the way she did things on the golf course...

Lucky for her that you came along! :)

[-..__...]

10. My birds drinking habit.

My Senegal parrot, Attila loves roasted peanuts in the shell. When he eats one, rather than cracking the whole shell, he'll make just the right size hole in one end and then uses his beak and tongue to extract the meat from the shell. Later on when he's thirsty, he'll climb down to the bottom of his cage and retrieve one of the shells. He then makes his way up the cage bars (shell in beak), saunters over to his water cup, and drops the shell into the water. Once the shell fills up with water, he'll carry it back up to the very top of his cage (he has a small hutch that he loves siting in), and drinks the water from the shell like it was a cup.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Oh how cute!

If I didn't have cats, I'd love a bird.

[Darth_Kitten]

21. LOL I'm discovering how "nutty" birds are!!

:)

[BlackVelvetElvis]

70. Two of my friends roomed together. One had a bird.

A yellow-naped Amazon. This bird HATED the roomate and when out of his cage would walk menacingly towards her with an evil cackle. The roomate would run away and we would all laugh. This bird also had a decent vocabulary.

[northofdenali]

11. One of my kitties (the calico Asskkkroft deterrent)

will NOT go potty outdoors. She comes in from our protected back yard (Cat Fence-In, TM) at a dead run, heads for the litter box, completes her toilette, then tears back outside. Occasionally leaving skidmarks......................

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. Well why would she go outdoors

when you don't? :D

[northofdenali]

43. Who says?

Not many rest stops in this big state.........and I spend a LOT of time on the road.........

Been known to have a quick "go" at 45 below.........very quick :P

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. So THAT's where the term

"Chilly Willy" comes from!

[Darth_Kitten]

19. My bird beats me up over broccoli.......

if I touch it when I'm putting it in her cage (well, I have to put it in, Murphee, just wait a second)

then bends over wanting a scratch. :evilgrin:

plus she rubs her little bum against her toys. :evilgrin:

she always chirps to "Rockin Robin" that oldie tune.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Heehee...

What kind of bird?

[Darth_Kitten]

28. Cockatiel

her picture is up on DU, in the pets gallery.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

39. Birds are so quirky...

I was visiting a friend last weekend who had a song sparrow nesting on her property. I got up early to watch him.

The bird saw his reflection in the windows and went batty. He'd beat at his reflection then sing as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. Then he'd fly past me, very close, making a point of flapping his wings loudly. Then it was back to the window again...

[redwitch]

24. OMG! Our Trouble kitty does that

But for her it is a piece of yellow plastic wire- or an elastic hair tie. She does this at the oddest hours and though at 3 AM it is a bit annoying it is also quite funny. She HOWLS with the thing in her mouth.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. Once the cat was yowling like that

in the middle of the night, and jumped up on the bed. I felt the sock drop on me...only it wasn't a sock...it was a soggy dead mouse.

[redwitch]

59. I don't think Trouble could stand the excitement

of an actual mouse! I rescued a mouse last night from our Mac. He was in the driveway giving one a merry chase. He was quite annoyed when I picked him up and brought him inside.

[Darth_Kitten]

26. it's the hunt, not the kill, that's important.........

I bet kitty felt mighty proud of her find. LOL :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

41. When she played with her "Feline Flyer"

She'd do the same thing, once she'd clearly caught the swirling feather. I'd walk with her, holding the wand while she paraded through the house showing off her catch. Toooo funny!

[geniph]

29. It'd be easier to list the NORMAL things they do...

I mean, my three cats are WEIRD. Fire likes to insist on being carried around like a baby monkey. He leaps up on the bathroom counter, mewing his pitiful tiny raspy little baby mew (which is absurd from a 17-pound Maine Coon bruiser), then swarms up my front and puts his front legs tight around my neck. He'll sit contently on my arm with his "arms" around my neck for as long as I'll let him. I can walk around the house, doing laundry or whatever, and still have my baby monkey boy clinging to me. He also has a nightly habit of wandering the halls with his sheepskin rat in his mouth, howling at the top of his lungs. If you come out and look at him and ask him what the hell he's doing, he spits the rat out and looks embarrassed. He only does this when he's alone. He shows zero interest in the rat otherwise.

Cappy runs to claim any plastic bag the second I come in the house with one. It doesn't matter what's IN the bag, he just wants to sit there and obsessively lick the bag. I could have a whole salmon and a pound of fresh catnip buds in the bag, he'd still just want to lick the bag.

Yankee sits and stares at guests who dare to sit in her chair and tries to intimidate them into leaving. She'll periodically start bitching at them, in the whiniest yowling meow you've ever heard. Sometimes she'll jump up into their laps, but not to get pets - to try to make them move. She'll stick her butt in their faces, then turn around and yell at them. It's really obnoxious. I've tried to break her of the habit, but she does not like strange people in her house.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

33. Plastic grocery bags

taste sweet to them. Mine will chew on the handles if I don't get them put away immediately.

Yankee sounds like quite a character! :D

[northofdenali]

44. My "bruiser" Maine Coon also has

that "little bitty baby kitty" mew........ very absurd from a 23 pounder!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

46. Got a pic?

I love Maine Coons!

[northofdenali]

51. Here you go! She's my queen, Cinnamon, about 12 years old

a rescue, so I don't have an exact age:



We call this one "Her Majesty" but she can be as playful as a kitten.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

61. She's gorgeous!

Queen of the beasts!

[northofdenali]

74. Ok, what's with the frog and the aurora?

Hmmmmmmmmmm?

[geniph]

83. My three are up in the Gallery

They were on the first page of pets, but that might have changed as new pictures have been added.

[Ithuilwen]

38. My cat would come running

whenever she heard the ice machine in our refrigerator door CRRRACKING away. We'd give her an ice cube to scoot across the tile floor with -- she loved it.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

42. Haha!

What a great cat toy!

[Ithuilwen]

50. Yeah, but

we were always worried my grandmother would slip on a melted ice cube. Ah, well, no harm came. The worst that ever occured was walking through a small puddle in stockinged-feet. :)

[Corgigal]

47. Tino

my orange and white tabby cat didn't have I would say an odd behavior but it was endearing. You guys know when you get a new kitty you want to find that perfect toy and purchase this and that and sometimes you luck out. Well inside one of my kids breakfast cereals was a sesame street character called Guy Smiley. Of all the ones to find lets say the kids weren't excited with this one. Anyway it found itself on the floor and for a year it became Tino's little stuffed human. Do you know when he came to bed with my hubby and I he would bring his stuffed human with him? I always thought if he had an extra 100 lbs or so we would be so doomed.
I still have Guy Smiley but it's funny he doesn't smile anymore. Ha.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

48. Awww...

That's even better than those dog biscuits that look like mailmen!

[achtung_circus]

49. My Doberman, Lucy, bless her

used to play tag with the horses. You'd see the horse galloping past with this dog in full pursuit and then out of sight. Minutes later, the scene would be reversed, a pack of horses chasing Lucy, but never catching up. They'd do this for hours. The other dogs would watch with puzzled looks on their faces.

<>

[GoddessOfGuinness]

62. That must have been a sight!

What a beautiful dog! :D

[MaryBear]

89. Gorgeous creature!

My dog and cat do that!

[ScreamingMeemie]

52. Merlin spends hours laying on his back with his paws tucked under

his chin. Silly kitty. He also howls "Nooooo...whenever I trim his nails. He walks by Jessie, our dog, and drags his tail across her face.

Jessie is our official bathroom escort. She has to, you see, because the toilet flush is an event. She goes nuts for flushing toilets. She will play soccer for hours in the backyard. Herding a ball around and around. She runs in circles around the swingset when the children are swinging. She "escapes" from the back yard and then cries at the front door to be let in. She is afraid of Chihuahas, Yorkies, any small dog...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

63. Haha! You should get a pic of him like that!

Cookie, our calico, likes to affectionately rub against the dog's butt. Wolfgang's horribly embarrassed by this, and will sometimes growl at her; but usually he just lets her have her way with him, and gets this ashamed expression on his face.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

54. She's doing it right now...

Grrlie my abby/tabby mix likes to eat the ends of used Q-tips.
:puke:

She started doing this when she was very young. I've tried to keep them away from her by burying them in the trash or moving them out of the bathroom into other garbage cans, but she will dig through bags for a "delicious" snack. :crazy:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

64. Ewwwww!

I had a dog as a kid who'd lick our ears clean. No Q-tips necessary!

[SW FL Dem]

56. My 16 yr old cat has always howled after eating her

canned food as if she is celebrating her great kill.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

65. The mighty huntress

16 is a ripe old age!

[MisterP]

58. our dog Lily is confounded by her lack of thumbs

and has to "hike" a container about to get at the cookie crumbs inside. She also has a beagle-like bark when she gets excited, but not wild.
Budgie Little Cloud takes after Catherine the Great and will make Attila look like a bit of fried bread after she gets through with Earth. Now she has a friend--or accomplice to the fact--a rescue budgie called Julius.
We have 16 ring-necked turtledoves with the combined IQ of pancake batter.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

67. Do your budgies talk?

I've heard that some do...

Pancake batter! LOL!

[MisterP]

99. no, thank goodness:

"Mortal meat-puppet! I hunger! Give me seeds!"

[mfritz]

60. cat in fridge

My cat likes to jump into the refrigerator when I open it. She does this almost every time I open the fridge door. Once I didn't see her jump in and I closed the door. She was in there for maybe a half hour before I found her. When I opened the door she was purring and rubbing against the shelves and didn't want to come out. Now I have to be alert to make sure I don't close her up in there. Is this normal?

MF

[GoddessOfGuinness]

68. Welcome to DU!

Sounds like she knows where the good stuff is! I'm glad she didn't suffocate.

Is it warm where you live? My kitties head for the basement when it gets hot. I can't figure out why, though. The air is much dryer and cooler where the air conditioner is running.

[MissB]

66. We had an Aussie

She was a wonderful and sweet pooch. The only drawback was that she hated a dear friend of ours. Absolutely went ballistic whenever she saw him.

The dear friend temporarily moved to another state and we visited his city during one of dh's business trips. We drove the van instead of flying, so we took the dog along with. We were sitting at a sidewalk table having a beer and she was at our feet. The dear friend came strolling down the sidewalk, and she picked him out from two blocks away. In a strange city.

I've never quite figured out what it is about our friend that she didn't like.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

69. Was he afraid of her?

Dogs smell the pheromones humans emit when afraid, and often react in a hostile manner.

Could she have been abused before you got her? We recently had an experience with a strange dog who was very sweet to my son and I, but barked like crazy at my husband. We couldn't figure out why until we realized that it was probably his cane that the dog didn't like.

[MissB]

71. We raised her as a pup (8 week old)

And she never liked him. He was tall and confident- he didn't exactly excreet fear (of course, I can't smell fear myself, so I don't really know).

He tried many many times to reach out to her, but she'd rather snap at him than let him pet her. We never could figure her out. I'm assuming she sensed something about him.

She was epileptic. We lost her on a camping trip- she had a seizure and disappeared. We searched for days.

[OnionPatch]

72. Attack Cat!!

Last year my old calico cat died at the age of 22. When she was younger she was my personal attack cat! She attacked my ex-husband several times when he was in my face yelling....she shot out from under the table, grabbed his leg and started biting. She attacked my nephew once when I was play-wrestling him on the floor. Jumped right on his back and began biting and clawing. Another time a neighbor's dog jumped on me and she attacked him. (He was HUGE.) She was used to him being around and never bothered him but because I had on dressy clothes that day I yelled when he jumped up on me. I guess she thought he was hurting me. She was a great cat. Sigh. :cry:

My new cat also is a little strange..... He's a good boy but has a fetish for fleece. Everytime he finds a particularly soft fleece garment or blanket he bites into it and starts humping away. (Yes, he's neutered :shrug: )

[GoddessOfGuinness]

85. That's amazing!

I'll bet she misses you too!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

73. My pets are odd...

My cat Midnight was Queen Bitch Cat Supreme (except to me...we've always bonded) until she got herself lost in a blizzard. Basically, she went out, 3 or so feet of snow fell, I was convinced she was dead, etc. Then, 2 weeks later, she shows up at the basement door, all-bones but otherwise none the worse for wear. Well, we always knew she was a tough cat, so the survival wasn't too odd. The fact that she came home and became a friendly cat was the odd part. I guess she started to appreciate people more after her brush with death. I'm still her favorite though.

When my female German Shepherd gets distressed, she'll hump one of the male cats. Midnight has never been humped. I think this has more to do with the fact that she's still Queen Bitch Cat Supreme to the other pets (she was there first, damnit). Apparently, Midnight also chases the next door neighbor's cat out of their own yard, because her territory can't be confined to our mere property lines and she likes to stare at their Yorkie through their glass door and hiss, while the dog barks away.

My cat Ginsberg, the baby of the bunch, likes to sit on my back and chew on my hair while I'm trying to sleep. That's only because he likes the taste of my John Masters Organics Hair Vanilla Bourbon Tangerine Hair Texturizer. Hey, at least the cat has good tastes. The dog looks for treats in the litter box.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

86. I guess Midnight found the answer to that timeless question:

"Am I better off with them, or without them".

[peacebuzzard]

75. I've read all of your great bios--here are odd stats of my crew...

Bella was my 2nd Bassett rescue who was meant to be a companion for Jake, my sweet first rescue Bassett. Bella never acquired an affinity for Jake, she would grumble and complain every time he lumbered within "her space". Jake basically learned to ignore her unless he unwittingly infringed her territory and she would lash out a deep baying scolding. He would usually make wide circles around her. Jake would always be the one to scold me when I would come in from my working trips and start a deep monologue bark bark bark "Where have you been? Why did you leave me here? You knew you shouldn't have left" I swear that is what he said.
Bella and Jake were both on a leash walk in a pouring rainstorm, they had not been out of the apartment all day and were doing the bathroom thing before bedtime when they both found the puppy--6 wks old under a branch by a lit Rudolph sign (it was close to Xmas). Rudy had a tight rope asphyxiating his neck and a slash on his belly. I guess someone tried to kill him. He was found by the road, perhaps he was thrown out of a car. But he is great now. Four years old and snoring on the rug now. Bella is still here but Jake had a peaceful death at home two years ago. Rudy nursed him and wouldn't leave his side for Jake's last few days. He even kissed him as he took in his final breaths.
Since then we have added Pal, another rescue, a collie who would not come up to me for six months but now jumps and plays and barks and is totally overjoyed. He is the tallest collie I have ever seen. The latest is Mikey, a beagle-mix who had been hit by a car and was very skinny and only used 3 legs, he hopped for two or three months. Mikey is the yard boss now and demands everyone's cooperation, except for Bella. He totally respects Bella. Since Mikey is so full of energy, he spends all day outside with the collie Pal and chases Pal all day giving out his orders. Pal runs and plays with him most of the time but every so often he complains and tackles Mikey but that little beagle makes such a fuss that Pal stops complaining immediately and goes back to running and jumping. At night I bring the outside guys in to sleep but they go to their respective cages. Mikey runs to the little cage immediately to check out his blanket and make sure his toys squeak. Then Mikey barks incessantly at Pal until Pal gets in his cage. Pal will try to sniff around the room but Mikey won't let it go until Pal goes in his huge cage and I close him up for the night. Those two are so comical I call them Mutt and Jeff.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

87. That's quite a family!

It's a wonderful feeling, to rescue a pet from cruel circumstances. You never need to doubt their devotion to you.

[funkybutt]

95. my cat's name is Bella n/t

[LiberalManiacfromOC]

76. My dog loves to run around with socks or tissues

He refuses to take socks unless they're dirty though. And, if you tickle the back of his lef tleg right, he runs around in circles until he falls over. This is Alex

[GoddessOfGuinness]

88. Wolfgang likes snotty tissues

When I catch him with one, he gets a guilty look on his face, as if to say, "I'm sorry...It just tastes so good!"

Ewwwwww

[baldguy]

77. Zelda the dog

She's a shepard mix, about 65 lbs. Cute as hell.

She doesn't like eating out of her food dish. She'll take a mouthful of food out of the dish, dump it on the floor, then proceed to munch on the kibbles off the floor.

Sh'e also got a couple 4x4" peices of wood, about 18" long, as outside toys. It's a problem when she wants to bring them inside. She'll sit there at the door looking at me, like she's saying "please, please let me bring it in!"

During the day, she'll sleep under my bed. If I don't keep it clean she'll get all dusty, not that she cares.

[OnionPatch]

80. My dog does that with the food too!

She just won't eat the food unless she takes a mouthful out of the bowl and dumps it on the floor. She's a shepherd...maybe it's a shepherd thing.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

81. I have cat that does that!

Junior grabs a mouthful of his food and walks it to an entirely other room to place it on the carpet to eat! His been known to carry it 20' before putting it down for a nosh. I have little grease stains all over the rug from the turd.

[geniph]

84. Mine are just sloppy eaters...

they'll grab such a big mouthful of kibble that half of it spills out of their mouths onto the floor. But they're such prima donnas that they don't want to eat it from the floor. I finally put a tray under their dishes because they make such a mess, and after a few days, the tray will be full of kibble. Periodically, I sweep all the kibble up and refill their dishes - Cappy and Yankee are bright enough to complain about the old stale food, but Fire is just happy not to see dishbottom again and munches it down as if it were fresh from the canister.

Fire likes to run over and steal a mouthful of kibble when I refill the canister from the big bag. He sneaks up on me, grabs a huge mouthful and runs away with it, scattering kibbles as he goes, because he takes so much he looks like a cheneying chipmunk. Little butthole.

[MaryBear]

90. My dog does that, too, baldguy, except

he takes one piece at a time to the carpet from wherever his dish is (usually not on carpet!), puts it down, picks it up, eats it, goes back for another piece, etc.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

91. How big is her dish?

I had a border collie mix who'd eat that way, and I learned that they don't like their whiskers rubbing the edge of the bowl when they eat. From then on, I gave him his food in an aluminum pie pan. It worked like a charm!

My dog wants to bring sticks in, too; but we've cured him of the habit. The only trouble is, when I do yard word that involves pruning of any kind, I have to shave the limbs straight into the trash can, or Wolfgang will strew them all over the yard!

[MaryBear]

100. That's interesting, GoddessOfGuinness.

I'll give it a try, although he uses an on command feeder . . .

[funkybutt]

96. I trained a cat to roll over for a treat!

His name is Thomas and he's my parents cat but while i was living at my parents' house, he was a kitten. I trained him to do this then. He'll come by you and beg for a treat..sometimes by standing on his hind legs and pawing at your legs. Then i take a treat out for him and make a circle with the hand holding the treat. He doesn't do it as eagerly as a dog would (obviously). I takes a little coaxing but after saying "roll over Tom, Roll over!" and a couple of loops with the hand, he reluctantly lays down, rolls over, then demands that well earned treat!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

98. Wow!

It's tough to train a cat to do anything beyond using the litterbox! Congrats!

[bratcatinok]

78. All 3 of my critters are strange

Brat, the calico cat, will jump up on the arm of the chair and stare at you waiting to be petted. If you ignore her she pats your arm 3 times and it's always exactly 3 times and then she waits. If the patting doesn't get your attention she then pats twice and then gently nips your bare arm.

Eve, the black cat who is part siamese, talks all of the time. She loves to watch the toilet flush and after the toilet has stopped running, she'll dabble her paws in the water. We have a window in the bathroom that I keep open on nice days. She loves to sit in the window and watch the world go by. What's funny is when I close the window and the shades she still tries to get up there. There's not enough room for her without the window being open so she ends up sliding in slow motion down the side of the wall into the bath tub.

I almost forgot another thing Eve does. She loves to knock things like pens, jewelry, cigarette lighters, fiance's pocket knife, eyeglasses and other similar things off of tables. She and the dog have a partnership thing going in this though because she knocks them off where Rufus (the dog) can get to them, take them to his cave under the coffee table and attempt to chew them into pieces.

Rufus has his own pocket knife which was a promotional item given by jenn-aire to fiance. He keeps it in his cave and if one of us gets it out and starts talking about 'pocketknife' Rufus knows we're talking about his. He'll figure out which one of us has it, do everything he can to get it back and once he gets it back he very gently takes it into his mouth and carries it back to the cave. He doesn't chew on his pocketknife though, he just puts it back in its place. He does chew fiance's pocket knife though when it gets knocked to the floor.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

92. I had a friend who trained her cats

to use the toilet. No joke! She started out with a litter box that attached to the toilet seat, and eventually, they were able to go in the toilet.

She never could get them to flush, however...

[SiouxJ]

79. My dog Tasha has to lie down to eat

I've never had another dog do this. She's done it since the day I adopted her. She sometimes pulls the bowl into her and curls up around it. Guess it's just more comfortable. I tried giving her one of those raised up trays but she resorted to knocking all the food on the floor and then she'd lay down in it and eat, lol. Her twin brother doesn't do this. He always stands. But then again, Boris likes to lick anything made of metal and she doesn't. If he can't get his fix any other way, he'll lick Tasha's dog tags which makes it looks like he's sucking her blood like a vampire or something. They do lots of other funny things but these are the first two that came to mind. :-)

on edit: lie/lay urgh!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

93. Awwwwwwww...

She looks like a Border Collie.

[SiouxJ]

97. Hmmm, perhaps because . . .

she is one ;-)

thanks! yes, she is awwwwwwable. So is her brother.



I call them "The White Stripes" (for obvious reasons).

[Beaverhausen]

82. kick

what a great thread! Don't you feel sorry for people without pets?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

94. Definitely!

They're as much a part of the family as the children!