This is what happens...

[bluedogz]

... when you can't burn.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Lol...my dog just lays on the couch and stares at the cold stove like she's willing it to turn on. Our old house had a gas stove on a thermostat so it would pop on whenever it was cold enough so we figure she thinks this one is the same way. Our cat that passed away earlier this year used to live in front of that stove in the winter practically-the part of the couch closest was HERS and anyone sitting there better be ready for her to be sitting on them!

 

[firefighterjake]

My cats get progressively closer and closer to the woodstove as it dies down . . . generally starting from farther away and eventually ending up right in front or behind the stove on the hearth . . . until it gets too cold for them and then they find a blanket to nestle into.

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

I have a red one of those

 

[Gasifier]

Cool pic. They are resting until it is time to work. That's all. Dog protects you, home, wood, loved ones, other valuables. Does the dog have a harness to pull wood for you? Cat....... Ummm? Lil help here. :lol:

 

[GAMMA RAY]

I have a red one of those

Hey....what's in the glass container????? ;-)

 

[snowleopard]

Came home a few days ago to find cat and dog snuggled up sleeping together. The ignominy . . .

Early in the morning, as soon as she hears me stir, the cat arrives at my bed. She either is there for a little attention, or I am being summoned for one of three tasks for which I am responsible. She will a) lead me to the door to be let out to attend to bodily functions, b) to her dish to witness her dismay that it is empty, or c) to the stove (invariably out and cold), where she sits down in front of it, and looks at me meaningfully. At first I thought I was surely imagining this, but it's happened too often for coincidence.

Also, when she has been outside and the door/window is opened to let her in, esp. in the bitter cold, she zooms past and heads for the stove. All doors lead to stove.

 

[Dix]

Came home a few days ago to find cat and dog snuggled up sleeping together. The ignominy . . .

Early in the morning, as soon as she hears me stir, the cat arrives at my bed. She either is there for a little attention, or I am being summoned for one of three tasks for which I am responsible. She will a) lead me to the door to be let out to attend to bodily functions, b) to her dish to witness her dismay that it is empty, or c) to the stove (invariably out and cold), where she sits down in front of it, and looks at me meaningfully. At first I thought I was surely imagining this, but it's happened too often for coincidence.

Also, when she has been outside and the door/window is opened to let her in, esp. in the bitter cold, she zooms past and heads for the stove. All doors lead to stove.

Isn't it nice to be picked ;-)

 

[BrotherBart]

You obviously need 1. A bigger dish and 2. A bigger stove.

Don't even mess with number 3. If they are happy not crapping in a box in the house, feel blessed.

 

[pen]

If this stove runs I don't have to see the cat. If the stove goes cold in the winter the damned heat whore is in my lap. Doesn't matter how many flying lessons she's had, she just doesn't get it.

This animal makes poor judgements regarding the people who want to spend time w/ her >:-(

Wife could be sound asleep on the couch, or the boys in bed, and she feels the need to cuddle w/ the enemy.

The winter she finally kicks it I'll probably drop down from 4.5 to about 3 cords of wood per year to heat this place.

brb, an overabundance of food in her bowl helps keep her away too

pen

 

[tfdchief]

Animals, man's best friend, they know what is really important in life. I don't know about the rest of you, but I would do most anything for my best friend!

 

[Joey]

Heat Whore.....lol...lmfao......thats my quote of the day....! :lol:

 

[snowleopard]

If this stove runs I don't have to see the cat. If the stove goes cold in the winter the damned heat whore is in my lap. Doesn't matter how many flying lessons she's had, she just doesn't get it.

This animal makes poor judgements regarding the people who want to spend time w/ her >:-(

Wife could be sound asleep on the couch, or the boys in bed, and she feels the need to cuddle w/ the enemy.

The winter she finally kicks it I'll probably drop down from 4.5 to about 3 cords of wood per year to heat this place.

brb, an overabundance of food in her bowl helps keep her away too

pen

From your description, I believe you are unbeknownst in a training program. I'm sure your cat is well-aware that your wife and children are available for cuddling; she probably considers them fully domesticated. You, however, require further work.
Our almost-13-y.o. GSD was a reputable cat-hater, and drove off scores of the dangerous beasts in her youth. When this cat scoped out our household for possible infiltration (a process that took weeks), she evidently determined that the dog could be managed. When she finally reeled us in and came in for a snack and a snooze, the dog tried frantically to explain that we had a security breach in sector six, and that with immediate containment, it was not too late to expel the creature. When the gravity of the situation could not be communicated, the dog settled for non-stop monitoring and whatever hostile behavior she could get away with, including little nips here and there. Cat calmly stood on her hind feet, swelled to twice normal size, and gave a polite smackdown. She finally had to draw blood, and the nips tapered off to sneers and eye-rolling. Six months later, the dog has become docile to the point of sleeping with the enemy; she is trained.

You are clearly a valuable member of her pride, as you have been well-managed in the area of heat production and bowl filling. She's just got a few finishing touches to work on. Cats understand the importance of consistency in this process.

 

[pen]

That's a riot snow. I think there may be more truth to what you say than I am willing to admit.

pen

 

[tfdchief]

That's a riot snow. I think there may be more truth to what you say than I am willing to admit.

pen

+1 That is absolutely a hoot :snake:

 

[Dix]

That's a riot snow. I think there may be more truth to what you say than I am willing to admit.

pen

+1 That is absolutely a hoot :snake:

This is quite true


We have an 18 YO black cat named Salem ( from the Sabrina The Teenage Witch Days !).


People come in, and ask who he is. We say "That's Salem, he lives here"

 

[snowleopard]

Isn't it nice to be picked ;-)

Nothing like it.

You obviously need 1. A bigger dish and 2. A bigger stove.

Don't even mess with number 3. If they are happy not crapping in a box in the house, feel blessed.

I don't know about the bigger dish. The expectation appears to be that it will be filled with delectables at regular intervals and washed frequently. Not that she demands that--but she appears to appreciate that nicety. Noticed that she has thickened a lot at the midriff, and my son explained that she has been requiring an after-school snack in addition to her regular meals.

I'm not sure that she's exactly happy to go outside at -40, but go she went. However, when it's that cold, visible icy air rolls in low like a ghostbuster baddie and she stands up and defends against the assault from above. The preferred method in that weather is that I pick her up in my arms, open the door, and then she safely hops down to go outside. She's back very quickly at those temps.

We're enjoying milder weather now, and she hangs out and works the woodpiles. Came in so fast she brought a squeaker in once, left him blinking on the threshold while she went racing for the stove. I scooted him outside, and she came back looking for him later, didn't find him, looked at me with narrowed eyes. I didn't eat the mouse, but I got the feeling she suspected I had.

 

[BrotherBart]

19 degrees this morning so I got to see Michelle's winter morning ritual for the first time this year. When I come down she is talking to me. Wanting to go out and do her bidness. I crack the door, she flies through it and comes to a screeching halt when she hits the cold air. And then does what she does whenever anything annoys here. She lifts her right paw and shakes it once. There is never any need to wonder if something irritates her. I have only seen her shake it twice one time in three years. There was a wall of snow outside that door that morning.

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

I have a red one of those

Hey....what's in the glass container????? ;-)

we'll call it "hair of the dog"

 

[TTS22]

Hey Bluedogz.....I have a blue one as well....

 

[bluedogz]

I have a red one of those

Hey....what's in the glass container????? ;-)

we'll call it "hair of the dog"

We collect ours on the couch.

 

[snowleopard]

My 13-y.o. old GSD had surgery today to remove a mass on her back leg. Spendy! Vet said that it was deeply adhered and that was typical of the more aggressive growths, so probably realistic to expect it to return, but might have bought her a few years. She is deaf, developing glaucoma, and getting creaky in the rear end. Still seems to be having a good time, though. Looked pretty goofy after the anesthesia tonight, but found her way to the dinner bowl anyway. Need to explain to the kids that unless circumstances change, we probably won't be doing this again, for a variety of reasons. Sounds like we may not need to make the decision, but better to have it made in advance.

After the dog returned home, the cat checked her out--somehow knew that she wasn't firing on all 8 cylinders--double nose-touching protocol, careful sniff of the muzzle. Gotta say, it makes me grateful again for the day she wandered in and decided to stay. Somehow knowing that there's going to be another critter around will make this easier. Anyway, she's patched up for awhile.

 

[gyrfalcon]

My 13-y.o. old GSD had surgery today to remove a mass on her back leg. Spendy! Vet said that it was deeply adhered and that was typical of the more aggressive growths, so probably realistic to expect it to return, but might have bought her a few years. She is deaf, developing glaucoma, and getting creaky in the rear end. Still seems to be having a good time, though. Looked pretty goofy after the anesthesia tonight, but found her way to the dinner bowl anyway. Need to explain to the kids that unless circumstances change, we probably won't be doing this again, for a variety of reasons. Sounds like we may not need to make the decision, but better to have it made in advance.

After the dog returned home, the cat checked her out--somehow knew that she wasn't firing on all 8 cylinders--double nose-touching protocol, careful sniff of the muzzle. Gotta say, it makes me grateful again for the day she wandered in and decided to stay. Somehow knowing that there's going to be another critter around will make this easier. Anyway, she's patched up for awhile.

Been there (not exactly, but similar) and done that. I think you're right not to contemplate putting her through too much more "treatment," is my opinion. We can do for our animals what we can't do for our human friends and relations, take them out of their suffering, and we should, I think. My late mother always said it depended on whether the animal was "having any fun." If not, time to end it for them. If so, it's not time yet. Animals have a different relationship to pain and discomfort and adapt to a minor degree of it a lot better than we people do. They live utterly in the moment. They'll let you know.

My sympathies. It's hard. My heart needs to have multiple animals in order to get through the inevitable loss of one from time to time.

 

[gyrfalcon]

19 degrees this morning so I got to see Michelle's winter morning ritual for the first time this year. When I come down she is talking to me. Wanting to go out and do her bidness. I crack the door, she flies through it and comes to a screeching halt when she hits the cold air. And then does what she does whenever anything annoys here. She lifts her right paw and shakes it once. There is never any need to wonder if something irritates her. I have only seen her shake it twice one time in three years. There was a wall of snow outside that door that morning.

Don't you love that gesture of shaking the paw in disgust? One of my cats gets as giddy about snow as dogs do, he races down the path I've shoveled with his back humped and tail high, then veers and leaps into a snow bank, leaps back out, "sees" something intruding nearby, whirls around and jumps on that, then back out and into the snowbank again. Amazing.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

TTS- that pic is killin me. I laugh every time I see a French bulldog- just a hilarious critter