Shortie

Smokey used to have a habit of stealing food if you were not paying attention when eating. We had to be really careful so she didn't grab anything she wasn't supposed to have.

I started posting on forums in around 2003 and have been posting on forums and have owned my own forums on and off since then.

This is awesome! Congratulations on 2K! 🙂 Here's to 5000!

I would never keep rats, tarantulas or snakes as a pet. We have neighbours a few doors down who have a snake and a tarantula as a pet. They keep them safe in tanks though.

Smokey used to do this when she was younger but as she got older, she didn't do it as much. She was a pain for doing it when we were cooking in the kitchen though LOL.

Smokey used to take small naps during the day but would be active throughout the day and sleep on a night. She always knew it was bed time and used to sit and wait for me to go to bed, she hated it if I was a little later than normal to bed.

Smokey used to always get rewarded for good behaviour and it really helped in getting her to not do things such as scratching the furniture and such.

Smokey used to always do this if she didn't want to eat the food we had given her. As she got older, she got picky with her food and this was her way of telling us that she didn't like it LOL

It is still early for me today but so far, my day has gone well. My shopping turned up early this morning and I have been able to do everything so far I have wanted to do. Just waiting on a delivery and then I can chill for the weekend 🙂

Smokey always hated the heat during the summer months. Each year it would get hotter and we would have frequent heat waves and she always struggled in them. The year she passed, July 2022, a few weeks later we had the hottest heatwave we have ever had and I was thankful that she did not have to go through that.

We have a lot of cloud cover today and it looks like we have rain heading in with a storm. I am happier it's warmer but hate that we get rain and storms when it does get warmer.

Smokey used to always be drinking a lot more water throughout the warmer months. We found that she preferred bottled water to water straight from the tap.

When we had Smokey, she used to follow us quite a lot around the house but she never followed any of us into the bathroom. She would instead sit outside the bathroom and wait for us.

I feel that in some cases, kids can be a little too rough with kittens and cats until they are told otherwise or it is explained to them that being rough with them will hurt them.

As much as I prefer to be a night owl, my body does not allow me to stay up as late as I used to.

Every cat we have ever had when I was a child and also when I got older has never enjoyed a bath or a shower. I always remember with each cat, we would have to attempt to bath them with special shampoo if they had fleas, luckily that is not something we have to do as much now due to the offering of flea treatment that works well. When we bathed or showered the cats, it was crazy, water everywhere, not something I would rush to do again unless I knew the cat enjoyed it. Do your cats enjoy baths or showers?

I have always been someone who has had a huge fear of spiders, even the house spiders we get in the UK throughout the summer months into the autumn months scare me and I panic and end up in a cold sweat. Some people love spiders though I have noticed and most will go as far as to even have tarantulas as pets, I know my neighbours a few doors down have a tarantula but they keep it safe. Could you have a tarantula as a pet?

I have been lucky in that Smokey was not much of a tree climber when we had her but I always remember a cat we had as a family pet when I was a child, she was fond of climbing trees and it was the reason her first owner gave her up because she used to climb a tree and being the owner was older, it was too much for her to handle. I remember once incident we had with Nala when she got herself so high up in a tree near where we lived, she couldn't get back down and my dad had to use a ladder and climb up to get her. I always remember my dad shouting to my mum "catch" and dropping her to my mum, claws came out and my mum's arm got scratched pretty badly. The tree was finally cut down and it never happened again. Have you had a cat or do you have a cat that likes to climb trees? Have you had any issues with them climbing trees?

I live two doors down from a couple who I knew had a dog and a cat as a pet but I later found out that they also keep a snake and a tarantula as a pet too! We don't mind the fact that they keep a snake as a pet as we know that they are careful and ensure that the snake is secure to prevent the risk of the snake escaping. I could never have a snake as a pet, I have always had a fear of snakes but it got me wondering if anyone here would ever keep a snake as a pet or even if you may have or do. Would you ever keep a snake as a pet? Have you ever had a pet snake?

When I was younger growing up with my brothers, we had a few hamsters over the years that we took care of. Unfortunately, we lost one because it fell from a three-tier cage which my mum was unaware was bad for the hamster even though stores sold them, we lost the hamster due to a broken back. We had hamsters after that but we never opted for a three-tier cage again, all other hamsters either passed due to illness or old age after that when we were kids. Back in 2017, I got a dwarf hamster as a family pet and my kids loved taking care of the hamster, unfortunately, Lightning died of old age at the end of 2019. We would love to get a hamster again at some point when we feel ready.

I and my daughter are huge cat lovers and it is never nice to see a feral cat outside, they are always so scared and worried and it's not something as a cat lover you want to see. My daughter and I are always cautious when petting a feral cat, but we wouldn't say we are scared to pet a feral cat. I know my daughter petted a cat that we knew a few years ago that has now become feral and he did scratch her slightly out of fear, we made sure she cleaned the scratch fully and did anything else that was advised. She is now cautious even with the same cat when we see him around.

When we had Smokey before she passed, we used to be sure to brush her at least once a week. She was never too fond of being brushed and in most cases tolerated it when we groomed her and brushed her coat. She was always a cat who wanted something to be done when she wanted it doing and was never happy if you did it on your terms.

As much as I know it can be tempting for people to feed cats dog food and vice versa, it could affect the cat and their health due to the different nutrition needs between the two. I have known dogs to steal cat food and cats to steal dog food before, it happens very little and should not effect the animal but it is wise to keep an eye on them to be sure they are not always doing it and eating what their body needs.

Smokey used to love hair, but she would like a certain type of hair. I remember she loved my brother's hair and beard and would rub around his beard and hair for ages when he would visit. She would also lick mine and my daughter's hair too like she was grooming.

I honestly never thought to do this or even thought it could work to make cat litter last longer. I remember when we had Smokey, we would have to clean out her litter tray at least twice a week and it became costly to keep buying the litter the way we were. I do not have a cat at the moment as we still do not feel ready for another yet but when we do, this will be something I do. Awesome tip 🙂