Kitten

[Dr T]

Came home to a kitten today. Wife and children call played the, 'Look how cute she is. Can we keep her, can we keep her, please" card.

[StrawberryFields]

So Dr. T is this your first family pet?

[Dr T]

Hey Berry,

No, it is not our first family pet. While in school, my wife wanted a dog. (I am not a dog person.) We bought a beautiful Golden Retriever. We were in school full time, worked 30-35 hours a week and had 20 hour "slave labor," I mean clinical practicum all throughout school. Our dog, Madison was left at home all alone all day long. My wife said, "Madison needs a friend." We went out and bought a Beagle, Zeus. Madison ate a mushroom (across the street at the elementary school where we would let her run around). SHe was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, went into a coma and died. We bought another Golden, Brinkley (“to keep Zeus company”). One day I heard Zeus yelp in pain. I woke up, went to look for him and started walking across the street when a lady came up to me and asked, "Did you used to own a beagle? I said, "No, I own a Beagle. She said, "A truck hit it and it ran under the rose bushes over there." Zeus had two dislocated hips, a visit to the vet, surgery to "fix his paw" etc. It was the weekend so we had to take him to a weekend animal hospital. They said, "You can't stitch him up like this, it has to bleed, cut it off, bleed and cut it off to get rid of all the dirt. Zeus was in the hospitals for a long time. Morphine, etc. We got him back and moved to SLC. He was a great dog, obedient, loving, etc. When we moved to Salt Lake he did nothing but bark. Neighbors complained, we tried a bark collar... we eventually gave Zeus to a family member (100 acres) and they told us, "We found Zeus dead on the porch one day." Hmm. I suspect poisoning/murder. We visited some friends in Las Vegas. Put Madison on their fenced patio and went out to dinner. When we returned, Brinkley was missing. We could not find her. She could not squeeze between the fence, couldn't jump over or go under it. Someone must have taken her. She was another beautiful Golden. No more dogs/pets. When we became pregnant with our first child I was scared saying, "If we can't even keep three dogs alive, how are we supposed to raise a child?!" REcently, a cat adopted my son. He cared for her, she had 5 kittens, we gave them away and my children loved their cat, Magic. She disappeared a couple of months ago. I think she was eaten by something, Eagle, Mt. Lion or something. I don't really know. We were petless for a while. Now this new "cute" thing. No name yet. Any suggestions. She is while with black spots.

[Guest MrsS]

Meagan

[begood2]

Spot or Spotty!

[Gwen]

we just got my son a kitten for an early bday gift. he turns 5 in aug. he has been talking about a cat for a yr now. he takes care of the dog and any plants i have yet to kill with a dilligance. one day i over heard him tell the neighbor boy how he takes good care of the dog. the neighbor asked if it was his dog (when we got the dog he asked if we could get a cat instead lol, we've had the dog a yr) he said "no, i don't really like the dog, but if mommy and daddy see how i can take care of her maybe i can get a cat". i went into shock, we never discussed this concept. i figure if at 4 he can plan and plot and "show" for a solid yr that he wants and can care for a cat, the boy needs one. so anyway. we found one of those free kitten adds you get every spring. so i took him to pick one out. it's black with the white chest, paws, tummy, and a bit on it's tail and chin. he named it fudge. lol which is the name he told me 6 months ago he was going to use. he said 'mommy, when i get a cat i'm gonna name him fudge'. he takes such good care of this cat, it's been wonderful. only problem we've had is he wants to take it in the car when we go places. fudge doesn't like the car.

interesting how we come to this earth as cat ppl or dog ppl or not animal ppl at all. i'm a dog person, that's why we started with a dog. lol but my boy, he's been a cat person from day one, even picked out a stuffed cat around 18months to sleep with at night, and still sleeps with it (except for when mommy will let him get away with 'sneaking' fudge into bed). lol

[StrawberryFields]

Dr. T, it sounds as if you have a new cat. Now for the name... this is hard ...never owned a cat more than a few days.

Almom I agree on how we are either cat or dog people. I am a dog person.

[Dr T]

Never more "more than a few days"? Why Berry?

[StrawberryFields]

Cats freak me out...they creepy way they move.

This one cat greeted my husband by running up the front of him then down his back.

[Dr T]

LOL

[StrawberryFields]

LOL

HUH? lol

we took a cleaver to the cat....

just kidding we gave it away pronto.

[Dr T]

made me think twice when I was reading that.

[StrawberryFields]

[Maureen]

Now this new "cute" thing. No name yet. Any suggestions. She is while with black spots.

We have actually given our male cat a middle name, his full name is Ptolemy Tiberius. We've been trying to figure out a middle name for our female cat, her name is Buffy. My daughter is the one who usually doesn't like what's been suggested. I mentioned Clementine and she liked it. Does your new kitty look like a Clementine?

M. :)

[Dr T]

First of all, correction: not "your new kitty" but "their new kitty." I kind of like the Clementine name. I'll run it by the kids. Thank you all for the suggestions. Keep the names coming.

I didn't see the typo of "while" instead of white. LOL. When I was fixing it, I did it again. My fingers just do that. :)

[Blessed]

I think it is sweet you have a kitty. No name suggestions though.

I am sorry about your other pets though.... gosh.

[sixpacktr]

Came home to a kitten today. Wife and children call played the, 'Look how cute she is. Can we keep her, can we keep her, please" card.

Dr T.

Put your foot down NOW! Tell them in absolutely no uncertain terms that cats are of the devil and you won't have one in your house!

They poop inside, they chew string and then hork it everywhere, they lick themselves and their hair and then hork everywhere, they eat and then hork (are you getting the common thread here???).

Yeah, when they are kittens they are SOOOO cute, but then the litter begins, they grow up, and they ###### as a pet.

Give me a dog anytime. I have a cat, and every day wish I could take him out for target practice, but my love for my daughter stops me. I have already told here I am bringing that rotten spawn of Satan and his litter box to her graduation day from BYU and handing him over after she gets her diploma!

I HATE CATS!

[begood2]

I'm an animal person. I like most all animals. Dogs are a favorite though. What I don't like are: bugs, spiders and snakes!

Now back to the cat. How about Sylvester or Snaggletooth?

[Dr T]

Other names while I was working:

Roxy

Dabble

Babs or Babers

Sissy

Sugar

Talia

Chika

Cassie

Jumjum

Freckles

Yin or Yang

(sassafras) call her Sassy

Tia

Votes?

Other name options to consider?

[Shade]

i recently adopted two kitten brothers - almost identical and cute as hell.

which is a pretty good indication that all the years of substance abuse REALLY did do something terrible to my brain... i'm allergic to cats. but i'm coping for now.

my 2yo daughter has named the one "cattie" and the other (very original) "cattie". kinda reminiscent of the "Darryl" brothers...

which is pretty smart on her part seeing as, until recently, there were only 4 types of creatures in this world: all types of birds are "birds"; all types of spiders are "spides"; all other bugs are "boogs"; and EVERY OTHER creature, including all types fish, mammals, reptiles, etc are "doggies" - including dogs. until the new arrivals, all types of cats were "doggies", too, and she has now learned that these little kittens are actually "cats" or "catties". ummm... leopards, lions and tigers are still considered to be "dogs", however.

she, like her 9yo brother, loves animals of any sort. they love trips to game parks, zoos and any "national geographic" type shows on the telly.

dunno, how about naming the kitten "cat" or "cattie"? it's kinda original.

[Dr T]

Six,

I said, "She is cute now but she eventually turns into a cat," to my wife. I also said, "We are not paying thousands of dollars for your (the rest of the family) cat like with did with the dogs. Amputated toes, vet and hospital bills, etc. If this cat gets sick, she's sick. We'll take care of the simple things but it stops there.

===

Begood,

I like those names too. They will be part of the list.

===

all,

When can a cat be spayed (what age)?

[Maureen]

When can a cat be spayed (what age)?

Here in Edmonton the SPCA says 6 months old is good. I think that's a little young and prefer 9 months. Your vet would know. My niece used to have a cat called Sarafina!

M. :)

[pushka]

Dr. T. Congratulations on your family's new addition! :) I'm sure you will grow to love the new kitty as you did your former pets. I too am very sorry to hear of what happened to your other pets, and wouldn't blame you for being cautious about having another.

I'm afraid I can't think of any names either...as you know my cats are called Pushka, which is just a variation on the word PussCat, and Kitty, which is highly original-not!

Good luck :)

My cats were spayed at around 6/7 months too..the vet will take into consideration the size and weight of the cat before offering to do the surgery tho, because they have to be a better weight for the anaesthetic.

[Palerider]

we have 2 female cats here.....they are named Bailey and Pebbles.....they have been fixed and de clawed. My wife found what I call an automatic cleaning litter box.....plug it in and when the kitty is done it cleanes the box and scoops it into a container....then the lid closes. You do change the cartridge or container as needed........

[Dr T]

I like that idea Pale. Technology today!