Comments on: Border Collie vs. Kitten http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/ Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:01:45 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Melissa R. http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-1972 Melissa R. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:22:57 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-1972 Janey - Thank you so much for sharing your story! It was heartbreaking, and heartwarming! Janey – Thank you so much for sharing your story! It was heartbreaking, and heartwarming!

]]> By: janey abner http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-1970 janey abner Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:49:13 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-1970 i would like to tell you about kitty tom. i bought for my boyfriend, for christmas the first year we were together. kitty was a black bob tail kitten around 7 months old. we lived in milton fl at the time and decided to move to biloxi ms, cause it was easier for doug at the va. well we had kitty, peany our little chihuahua, and molly another kitty we adopted before we left fl. well while we were loading up the truck to leave we hear a tiny meeew, and there was a beautiful yellow kitten. of course we took him with us after asking around if anyone owned him. we got to biloxi and all the pets love the fenced in yard and soon became a fixture in the neighborhood. everyone loved them all. the along came jackson a pure black himalayan. he and i had a bond that would never be broken. he had such a bad life until he came to us. he was found in a trash bin. a couple of years later, katrina hit and we couldnt collect our cats they were all off, somewhere and wouldnt come when we called. police came to our door on sunday before katrina hit, and we had to leave, without our kitties. we drove and drove trying to find them but to no avail. we left and couldnt back into biloxi till friday. doug and our roommate went to biloxi on that friday, and we were in dothan alabama. they came back to dothan that evening and there was jackson. oh my how i cried. he jumped into my arms and i thought he would never leave them again. but there were 3 others, that didnt come back with them. we all 3 went back to biloxi on sunday and we had lost everything. i called kitty kitty kitty as soon as we drove into what was left of the drive, and molly and sammi stuck out there little heads out from the next door building. we stayed there all day and brought them back to alabama, but still no kitty tom. we called posted flyers did everything we could to hopefully find our final baby. we figured we-d never see him again, and we were truly truly heartbroken. our phone rang on the 94th day and it was our old landlord in biloxi. he knew we were hoping to find kitty tom we had gotten so many false leads on him. he asked if i were sitting down told him no. and he said to me your old bob tail black cat is here. Oh My God.i almost passed out. i was alone so i just started crying. i told him wed be there first thing the following day and yes we were there by 8 am. there he was on the porch, an empty house and i think he recognized the car. i cried, doug cried and yes real tears were coming out of kittys eyes. we fed him gave him fresh water and held him and left biloxi and never looked back. we are now in slocomb alabama, kitty tom is here fat and sassy, doesnt venture very far. molly is still with us .but jackson was killed by a loose dog and sammi just dissappeared. we have many rescued animals now. 3 dogs 10 cats 2 parrots 2 teils and 2 hamsters. all but 2 are rescues and we love them all dearly. so never give up, we feel so blessed, and we thank GOD for ours and our pets lives. janey abner slocomb alabama kitty tom was gone for 95 days i would like to tell you about kitty tom. i bought for my boyfriend, for christmas the first year we were together. kitty was a black bob tail kitten around 7 months old. we lived in milton fl at the time and decided to move to biloxi ms, cause it was easier for doug at the va. well we had kitty, peany our little chihuahua, and molly another kitty we adopted before we left fl. well while we were loading up the truck to leave we hear a tiny meeew, and there was a beautiful yellow kitten. of course we took him with us after asking around if anyone owned him.
we got to biloxi and all the pets love the fenced in yard and soon became a fixture in the neighborhood. everyone loved them all. the along came jackson a pure black himalayan. he and i had a bond that would never be broken. he had such a bad life until he came to us. he was found in a trash bin.
a couple of years later, katrina hit and we couldnt collect our cats they were all off, somewhere and wouldnt come when we called. police came to our door on sunday before katrina hit, and we had to leave, without our kitties. we drove and drove trying to find them but to no avail. we left and couldnt back into biloxi till friday. doug and our roommate went to biloxi on that friday, and we were in dothan alabama. they came back to dothan that evening and there was jackson. oh my how i cried. he jumped into my arms and i thought he would never leave them again. but there were 3 others, that didnt come back with them. we all 3 went back to biloxi on sunday and we had lost everything. i called kitty kitty kitty as soon as we drove into what was left of the drive, and molly and sammi stuck out there little heads out from the next door building. we stayed there all day and brought them back to alabama, but still no kitty tom. we called posted flyers did everything we could to hopefully find our final baby.
we figured we-d never see him again, and we were truly truly heartbroken.
our phone rang on the 94th day and it was our old landlord in biloxi. he knew we were hoping to find kitty tom we had gotten so many false leads on him. he asked if i were sitting down told him no. and he said to me your old bob tail black cat is here. Oh My God.i almost passed out. i was alone so i just started crying.
i told him wed be there first thing the following day and yes we were there by 8 am.
there he was on the porch, an empty house and i think he recognized the car.
i cried, doug cried and yes real tears were coming out of kittys eyes.
we fed him gave him fresh water and held him and left biloxi and never looked back.
we are now in slocomb alabama, kitty tom is here fat and sassy, doesnt venture very far. molly is still with us .but jackson was killed by a loose dog and sammi just dissappeared.
we have many rescued animals now. 3 dogs 10 cats 2 parrots 2 teils and 2 hamsters. all but 2 are rescues and we love them all dearly. so never give up, we feel so blessed, and we thank GOD for ours and our pets lives.
janey abner
slocomb alabama
kitty tom was gone for 95 days

]]> By: Melissa http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-1304 Melissa Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:03:26 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-1304 Lori - Thank you for your comments. They really were insightful and nothing I had thought of. I never even considered what Mocca thought of our other 2 cats because she didnt pay much attention to them - but maybe I just didnt notice, or because the didnt do much she didnt have to! Mocca is very "un" Border Collie, so I tend to forget about her BEING a Border Collie, but she is afterall, and I ought to consider that more. BTW - Mocca & Cirrhi are doing quite a lot better. Mocca still gets very oriented on her from time to time, but it is definitely not as much. The 2 of them spend hours together staring out the deck door at bunnies, squirrels & birds though! Thanks again Lori! -Melissa Lori – Thank you for your comments. They really were insightful and nothing I had thought of. I never even considered what Mocca thought of our other 2 cats because she didnt pay much attention to them – but maybe I just didnt notice, or because the didnt do much she didnt have to! Mocca is very “un” Border Collie, so I tend to forget about her BEING a Border Collie, but she is afterall, and I ought to consider that more.

BTW – Mocca & Cirrhi are doing quite a lot better. Mocca still gets very oriented on her from time to time, but it is definitely not as much. The 2 of them spend hours together staring out the deck door at bunnies, squirrels & birds though!

Thanks again Lori!
-Melissa

]]> By: Lori R http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-1303 Lori R Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:00:20 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-1303 Great story, Melissa! I have a border collie named Bonnie and 8 cats. After I read a book about border collies, Bonnie's behavior made more sense. She sometimes nips at the cats (sometimes very aggressively), but she never once has hurt any of them. I believe that the nipping is part of the "power" trait in border collies. They use "eye" and "power" when herding. If the cats respond to the collie's "eye," there is no need for extra display of "power." It sounds like Cirrhi doesn't pay much attention to the "eye," which prompts Mocca to use more "power." I also wonder if Mocca feels a sense of failure with the loss of your other two cats. Pleasing one's owner can be VERY important to border collies, and having lost two from your "herd" and the possible sense of failure over that could be prompting Mocca to work even harder to keep Cirrhi safe. I'm not an expert, and I'm just speculating, but I've read a lot on border collies and have a lot of experience with my border collie and cats. Maybe something I said will make sense. Great story, Melissa! I have a border collie named Bonnie and 8 cats. After I read a book about border collies, Bonnie’s behavior made more sense. She sometimes nips at the cats (sometimes very aggressively), but she never once has hurt any of them. I believe that the nipping is part of the “power” trait in border collies. They use “eye” and “power” when herding. If the cats respond to the collie’s “eye,” there is no need for extra display of “power.” It sounds like Cirrhi doesn’t pay much attention to the “eye,” which prompts Mocca to use more “power.” I also wonder if Mocca feels a sense of failure with the loss of your other two cats. Pleasing one’s owner can be VERY important to border collies, and having lost two from your “herd” and the possible sense of failure over that could be prompting Mocca to work even harder to keep Cirrhi safe.

I’m not an expert, and I’m just speculating, but I’ve read a lot on border collies and have a lot of experience with my border collie and cats. Maybe something I said will make sense.

]]> By: Marie http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-899 Marie Sat, 05 Dec 2009 07:27:42 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-899 Melissa- I love this story! I had an older dog that didn't like cats. He was a poodle mix but he loved to act tough & chase after cats if he could ever get out the front door. Years later I found 4 cats in one week. Brought one home that attacked him & ripped the inside of his poor nose open. Took tender loving care to heal that wound. I found homes for 3 of the 4...The 4th one, a 6/8 wk kitten, I brought home. I expected pure madness, prayed it wouldn't happen. Instead...It was unbelievable. The kitty hadn't been exposed to dogs so had no fear of him. He didn't know what to think of the little kitten. He followed the kitten everywhere it went. All around the house. At this same time I found a puppy someone had dumped & brought it home too also 6/8 weeks old. So two babies with our little old man. He was in shock but enjoying the company. He trained them both. The cat and puppy were best friends. He became their Daddy figure. By the end of the week I had picture's of them lying in a circle together, each touching the other, wanting to make sure they knew where each other were at all times. They'd become a family. And our little old man was a Daddy for the first time. It was amazing! Melissa- I love this story! I had an older dog that didn’t like cats. He was a poodle mix but he loved to act tough & chase after cats if he could ever get out the front door. Years later I found 4 cats in one week. Brought one home that attacked him & ripped the inside of his poor nose open. Took tender loving care to heal that wound. I found homes for 3 of the 4…The 4th one, a 6/8 wk kitten, I brought home. I expected pure madness, prayed it wouldn’t happen. Instead…It was unbelievable. The kitty hadn’t been exposed to dogs so had no fear of him. He didn’t know what to think of the little kitten. He followed the kitten everywhere it went. All around the house. At this same time I found a puppy someone had dumped & brought it home too also 6/8 weeks old. So two babies with our little old man. He was in shock but enjoying the company. He trained them both. The cat and puppy were best friends. He became their Daddy figure. By the end of the week I had picture’s of them lying in a circle together, each touching the other, wanting to make sure they knew where each other were at all times. They’d become a family. And our little old man was a Daddy for the first time. It was amazing!

]]> By: Melissa R. http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-892 Melissa R. Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:29:08 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-892 Congratulations to the lucky winner – Desire' H. and her Boston Terrier Tonka! Thanks again to everyone for sharing your comments with us. (Desire', please email your full name and shipping info to admin@dfs-pet-blog.com – thanks!) Congratulations to the lucky winner – Desire’ H. and her Boston Terrier Tonka! Thanks again to everyone for sharing your comments with us. (Desire’, please email your full name and shipping info to admin@dfs-pet-blog.com – thanks!)

]]> By: Michelle http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-889 Michelle Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:22:56 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-889 My husband and I call our dog, Murphy, the Best Boy Ever! He is most definitely on the "nice" list. He was a rescue, severely abused as a puppy, which you might think would make him a suspicious or even aggressive dog. Not so. Murphy is the sweetest, most lovable, and most obedient dog we have ever had. He's very smart, and does many of the things he's supposed to without even being told, like sitting before his food if put down, or to have his leash put on. When we got him, we already had our cockatiel, and while Murphy was curious about him, he has never tried to bite or hurt, or even play with Pixie. He sniffs him, and has licked him gently a few times, and surprisingly, Pixie doesn't mind a bit. He loves Murphy, and whenever Murphy leaves the room, Pixie whistles for him to come back. When he does, Pixie sings to him. Recently, we added a shelter kitty to our family. Romy is already about two years old, a Siamese, and was a stray before the animal shelter took her in. Murphy was VERY curious about the kitty when we brought her home, and followed her from room to room while she figured out her new home. But not once has he chased her or been territorial with her at all. He doesn't even mind when she drinks from his water bowl, which, for some reason, is much more appealing to her than her own. For her part, Romy has never been frightened or threatened by Murphy. She rubs up under his chin, and will curl up next to him on the futon and our bed. This all just proves what my husband and I already knew and felt--Murphy really is the Best Boy Ever, and everyone loves him! My husband and I call our dog, Murphy, the Best Boy Ever! He is most definitely on the “nice” list. He was a rescue, severely abused as a puppy, which you might think would make him a suspicious or even aggressive dog. Not so. Murphy is the sweetest, most lovable, and most obedient dog we have ever had. He’s very smart, and does many of the things he’s supposed to without even being told, like sitting before his food if put down, or to have his leash put on.

When we got him, we already had our cockatiel, and while Murphy was curious about him, he has never tried to bite or hurt, or even play with Pixie. He sniffs him, and has licked him gently a few times, and surprisingly, Pixie doesn’t mind a bit. He loves Murphy, and whenever Murphy leaves the room, Pixie whistles for him to come back. When he does, Pixie sings to him.

Recently, we added a shelter kitty to our family. Romy is already about two years old, a Siamese, and was a stray before the animal shelter took her in. Murphy was VERY curious about the kitty when we brought her home, and followed her from room to room while she figured out her new home. But not once has he chased her or been territorial with her at all. He doesn’t even mind when she drinks from his water bowl, which, for some reason, is much more appealing to her than her own. For her part, Romy has never been frightened or threatened by Murphy. She rubs up under his chin, and will curl up next to him on the futon and our bed.

This all just proves what my husband and I already knew and felt–Murphy really is the Best Boy Ever, and everyone loves him!

]]> By: Joy http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-887 Joy Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:31:00 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-887 Check out Patricia McConnell's blog entry - she just wrote about her own BC http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/all-incompatible-behaviors-are-not-equal/ Check out Patricia McConnell’s blog entry – she just wrote about her own BC http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/all-incompatible-behaviors-are-not-equal/

]]> By: Linda F. http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-885 Linda F. Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:35:18 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-885 Roxy is a 3 year old cat who has cerebellar hypoplasia (CH). Her feral mother was probably not vaccinated against panleukopenia, which is similar to distemper in dogs. Most kittens born to affected mothers die. Surviving kittens have some degree of disability. Roxy is a "wobbly cat" who was humanely trapped and fostered with a family until I adopted her at 8 weeks old. CH cats have various degrees of wobbliness. Roxy cannot jump very high and sometimes flip-flops when she runs, but this doesn't stop her from playing fetch with her toy mice! She retrieves them like a dog when I throw them and drops them at my feet! She is a "special needs" cat, but I think she is special just because she's mine! Roxy is a 3 year old cat who has cerebellar hypoplasia (CH). Her feral mother was probably not vaccinated against panleukopenia, which is similar to distemper in dogs. Most kittens born to affected mothers die. Surviving kittens have some degree of disability. Roxy is a “wobbly cat” who was humanely trapped and fostered with a family until I adopted her at 8 weeks old. CH cats have various degrees of wobbliness. Roxy cannot jump very high and sometimes flip-flops when she runs, but this doesn’t stop her from playing fetch with her toy mice! She retrieves them like a dog when I throw them and drops them at my feet! She is a “special needs” cat, but I think she is special just because she’s mine!

]]> By: Stephanie http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/2009/12/dog-cat/comment-page-1/#comment-884 Stephanie Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:21:27 +0000 http://www.dfs-pet-blog.com/?p=3006#comment-884 Great article. I have two pups. And they are evenly split. I have a pointer/lab mix that is 8 years old, named Jessy. She is the best dog every...listens doesn't destroy stuff...so she is definitely on the 'nice' list. However, I also do have a 4 year old German Short Haired Pointer named Tucker aka the Demon Seed. His latest obsession is with the sucker fish in the fish tank...he stares at them all day barking and pawing at the fish tank. Thank GOODNESS its a 75 gallon tank. He also can not be left alone for longer than 6 hours or else he gets into trouble. He sure is lucky that he's cute. Great article. I have two pups. And they are evenly split. I have a pointer/lab mix that is 8 years old, named Jessy. She is the best dog every…listens doesn’t destroy stuff…so she is definitely on the ‘nice’ list. However, I also do have a 4 year old German Short Haired Pointer named Tucker aka the Demon Seed. His latest obsession is with the sucker fish in the fish tank…he stares at them all day barking and pawing at the fish tank. Thank GOODNESS its a 75 gallon tank. He also can not be left alone for longer than 6 hours or else he gets into trouble. He sure is lucky that he’s cute.

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