Sewing machines and table hockey

She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild wrote:

I am suddenly very glad indeed that Fidget's one and only rat was very
dead indeed. It was a fine sturdy specimen, glossy fur, bright eyes ...
raised the question "How did a cat that size get a rat that size through
a cat-flap that size". The little s0d didn't do it again though.

Ours have had occasional rats outside, but they just murder them neatly
and leave the evidence in the garden.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

I.E.Z. wrote:

"Karen Maslowski" wrote in message
...

That's nice to know! ;-

Yep, Dalmatians can be vicious dogs, but so much depends on the owners,
almost as much as the breed.

Karen Maslowski in Ohio



Any dog can be vicious - or not!

Iris (had a Dal who was a powderpuff - even when my baby son pulled her
tail!)


I've known Dalmations, Dobermen, and Staffordshire bull terriers who
were all as soft as butter, and the most vicious dog I ever met was a
Yorkie! Nasty little yapping rat! The other nasty dog I met was a
spaniel. Both the nasties had owners who let the dogs rule the house.
The big softies were brought up to know their place: bottom of the pack.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

In my city, especially in the summer, the poor cat would run the risk of
being scooped up as bait for some bozo trying to train dogs for dog
fights. Small dogs run the same risk.

IMHO, that's what's cruel. I leave my cats in to play hockey on the table.

She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild wrote:
In article , Arri London of no uttered

Because this is a stupidly-designed 'open plan' house: no doors
between kitchen, dining room and living room.


Oh blimey. How about putting them out at night? They have fur coats,
after all! (hehehe! I know, i'm cruel)

My dd #1 has two dogs--a 9-yo Border collie, and a 2 yoblack Lab/mix
(who may have some Dalmatian in him, since he has white spots here and
there, and a tiny head). The collie is definitely the alpha dog, despite
being half the size of the younger one. It's comical to see the big dog
getting cowed by the little one.

A friend of ours has had two pit bulls (illegal in many places here in
the States), but they were utter pussycats for him. They scared me to
death, but were gentle as lambs. An old neighbor had a Sheltie, on the
other hand, who nipped and bit on a whim, that dog was the most
unprincipled little cuss I'd ever seen. Again, it's all about the owners.

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

Kate Dicey wrote:

I've known Dalmations, Dobermen, and Staffordshire bull terriers who
were all as soft as butter, and the most vicious dog I ever met was a
Yorkie! Nasty little yapping rat! The other nasty dog I met was a
spaniel. Both the nasties had owners who let the dogs rule the house.
The big softies were brought up to know their place: bottom of the pack.

I.E.Z. wrote:

Any dog can be vicious - or not!

That is certainly true, but some dogs tend to be higher-strung than
others.

Karen Maslowski wrote:
My dd #1 has two dogs--a 9-yo Border collie, and a 2 yoblack Lab/mix
(who may have some Dalmatian in him, since he has white spots here and
there, and a tiny head). The collie is definitely the alpha dog, despite
being half the size of the younger one. It's comical to see the big dog
getting cowed by the little one.

We have a border collie, too. Thankfully he's a love muffin type.

A friend of ours has had two pit bulls (illegal in many places here in
the States), but they were utter pussycats for him. They scared me to

Well, the dog in Spank's Gang was a pit bull and he was a sweet dog.
And Rotts have a reputation in some books for being vicious, but what
about Carl of board book fame? He was a Rott, too.

I am only talking about statistically speaking. Of course any dog can
be a nightmare.

Cynthia Spilsted wrote:

Thing about the dead/mangled cats story is that it seems to be the people
with the dog who were finding the bodies in their yard!

He was a really nasty dog.

She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild wrote:

My last one used to sit on my knee ... which made machine knitting an
interesting exercise. He did learn to sleep on his own towel and not in
the fabric boxes though.

My first/previous cat always liked to "time stamp" my faxes -- she's
chomp one little bite in each page.

She who would like to be obeyed once every Preston Guild wrote:
In article , Debra of AT&T
Worldnet uttered


I'm glad your pets can roam in a country that has many less dangers
are there are here. But please don't look down your nose at those of
us who are protecting our pets from the very real dangers that exist
in our own country.

Hmmm. I have friends in a number of differing environments in the US,
and they don't see the need to keep their pets under house arrest ...
but then they do view their cats as just that. Cats. Not child
substitutes...

My cats are companion animals. The kids have grown up and moved out --
well, all except for the youngest who recently moved back in while he
gets his business started. But my vets are very insistent on not
letting cats out of the house, and my second cat (gotten after one was
hit by a car) was found at the SPCA who require you to agree to keep the
cat(s) indoors. Up until then, my cats did go out, and I have kitty
doors to the back porch and to the yard. I've closed the one to the
yard but keep the litter boxes on the (enclosed) back porch. The SPCA
cat has no desire to go outdoors. The other one, whose brother it was
that was hit by a car, thinks he should go out and dashes through an
open door at any opportunity, but once out, hunkers down under my car or
in another protected location and waits to be brought back in.

Dog owners are supposed to keep their animals on a leash or in a fenced
area. I wish they all did. There is even a dog park area in the park
across from our house. A special enclosure where dog owners can take
their dogs and let them off the leash. But it seems that there are
often dogs roaming the neighborhood without their humans.
--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

Pogonip wrote:

My cats are companion animals. The kids have grown up and moved out --
well, all except for the youngest who recently moved back in while he
gets his business started. But my vets are very insistent on not
letting cats out of the house, and my second cat (gotten after one was
hit by a car) was found at the SPCA who require you to agree to keep the
cat(s) indoors. Up until then, my cats did go out, and I have kitty
doors to the back porch and to the yard. I've closed the one to the
yard but keep the litter boxes on the (enclosed) back porch. The SPCA
cat has no desire to go outdoors. The other one, whose brother it was
that was hit by a car, thinks he should go out and dashes through an
open door at any opportunity, but once out, hunkers down under my car or
in another protected location and waits to be brought back in.

Dog owners are supposed to keep their animals on a leash or in a fenced
area. I wish they all did. There is even a dog park area in the park
across from our house. A special enclosure where dog owners can take
their dogs and let them off the leash. But it seems that there are
often dogs roaming the neighborhood without their humans.

Many years ago, our local council (and I think it was pretty much
Australia-wide) brought in legislation that all dogs must be registered
and not allowed to roam. More recently, there's been a campaign for
people to keep their cats in, especially at night, to protect native
wildlife from being hunted.

I recall being Very Miffed that my lovely border collie wouldn't be able
to romp about behind me on my horse as he had been used to do and would
have to be taken everywhere on a lead. Yuck!

However, my sister and I were talking about this the other day and we
realised there have been a few good effects from this legislation:

i) you *never* see or hear of a dog chasing a cat any more! Amazing!
ii) you never see a dog chasing a car or being hit by one
iii) and 'roadkill'? What's 'roadkill'? The only things I've seen dead
on the roads lately are the poor kangaroos that get hit at night by
fast-moving trucks. But that's another problem that needs fixing...

The fact is, an animal's an animal. It will hunt, mate, defecate and
fight wherever the need takes it. That doesn't always suit everyone in a
neighborhood and it's not always good to put an animal's need to roam
ahead of a community's need for cleanliness, peace and safety.

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, Australia