Things Mammalian Pets Do That Reptiles Do Not...

[ceduke]

Vomit under the bed while I'm sleeping and then vomit under the bed AGAIN right as I'm finished cleaning up the first one and getting back into bed. Thanks pooch. -_-

 

[vetusvates]

They don't have toes, so no toe nail trimming PERIOD.

That is a major plus! The whole neighborhood thought I was committing slow murder by torture,...so Brutus's nails get clipped and ground at PetSmart now.

 

[wstphal]

Snakes don't wander around with smelly lumps of poo stuck to their butts & scream when you try to clean them up.

 

[Daenerys]

Snakes don't need to be walked multiple times a day to go potty...or wear belly wraps to keep from marking the furniture.

 

[Hypancistrus]

I don't need petsitters for my snakes for a week or two, let alone the three days we will be at Daytona. Unfortunately mammals expire quickly without food, water, and constant attention to those things.

So we arranged for Dear Grandma to watch the cats. She is an old lady and very lonely in her old house. We took the cats down there yesterday in preparation for leaving today. They immediately skulked off to hide under furniture, giving me looks that said that this was the equivalent of a cattle car in Germany in the 1940's.

I wished them luck, hugged Dear Grandma, and headed back to my house.

I received the first call around 2:30 PM. Grandma wasn't sure where Sterling was but could see Evie's ugly tail sticking out from the wash basin.

The second, more panicky call came at 3:45 when I was driving the tortoise to the vets. Sterling was missing this time and she'd looked everywhere for him and couldn't find him. I suggested she look under the furniture again and assured her I'd swing by on my way home if she had not yet found him.

I got a call around 4... he was lodged under the China cabinet in a space so small she'd not thought to look there.

Finally at 8:30 while I was talking to my man Jim (Tricksterpup) about burmese pythons and whether or not cats make good food for them, we received the final call. Evie had crawled behind her microwave, yanking the plug from the wall on the way out and making it so she couldn't make coffee. Come and get these things, Dear Grandma cried!

So we drove to Dear Grandma's house. It took me a solid 10 minutes to talk Sterling out from under the china cabinet (how DID he fit under there?!) and then we started calling Evie.

Usually if you even hint at calling Evie, she is right there, winding around your ankles and crying pitifully about the horror that is her pampered spoiled life. Not last night.

Apparently the trauma of being stuck in the cattle car-- I mean Dear Grandma's aging house-- had caused her to be struck mute. We called up and down the stairs. In all the rooms. Under all the furniture. To no avail. The cat was gone. I called my mother, who grew up in the house, as Dear Grandma was sobbing on the couch while Tara tried to calm her, and asked my mother if there were any hidden hidey holes in the house that we might be missing. Mom said she'd be over to help.

I finally found Evie under my Grandpa's workbench in the very back of the basement, hidden behind a toolbox. I only saw her because her fur is white in color and sticks out like a sore thumb. So we bagged the cat, consoled Dear Grandma and told her we understood, really. My mother offered to feed the cats but that would require her to enter the snake room/ basement to which I said NO! It's fine, we'll leave a giant bowl of food and eight things of water out.

Are we in Florida yet? And does anyone want a pair of cats who are really good at hide and seek?

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

@Sweet Nichole: Every tried sitting on your dog to clip nails? What about doing that in addition to using a candy or peanut butter to distract? When my Scrap was little, she screamed bloody murder every time I tried to clip her nails. One strawberry lollipop solved that. Once she realized she would get something if she held still and shut up, she let me clip to my heart's content.

Oh, we try everything. Lately we have been trying to bride him with dried duck fillet treats, which he loves. He goes through about 10 of them in the time it takes to trim all his toenails, which causes him to have extremely bad gas because he has a sensitive stomach (anything that snakes don't have!). It takes 2 of us to trim the nails - my bf immobilizes him and keeps him occupied with the treats, while I quickly do the nails. He still growls the entire time, even as he eats the treats! ~LOL~

They don't have toes, so no toe nail trimming PERIOD.

Exactly! ~LOL~

 

[ratsncorns]

I love cats . I dont know where you guys got yours but mine are perfect companions. My oldest is 11 (I have had her since she was 10 weeks old), the other is 10 and the newest is only 1. I am not a dog person, at all. My cats are very calm and are always cuddling with me, but not the point of being annoying. They dont scratch the furniture and use their box all the time. Dogs I could never tolerate. Maybe my cats have fed off of my own personality. I am a calm person and very patient with my animals. Very rarely do my cats annoy or aggravate me. They are strictly indoors and are quite content.

I love it when they snuggle with me at night. I rub my face in their soft fur as they purr happily. Cannot do this with dogs. I hate dog smell.

Hairballs are pretty rare at my house. I find one maybe every other month. It never bothers me though, it comes with having cats as companions.

I love it when the kitten gets late night zoomies! She and my other cat chase each other around, but never knock anything over. They also run around the house with those silly glitter balls in their mouths.

 

[zamora]

Snakes don't:

1. Steal your flipflops every time you take them off and hide them out in the yard (dogs)

2. Start barking up a storm in the middle of the night because they heard a noise . . . any noise . . . or even THINK they heard a noise (dogs)

3. Yack up their food because they ate too fast (cats)

4. Come drool on you with their slimy jowls after drinking from the water bowl (dogs)

5. Stomp all over your chest in the middle of the night and pat you on the cheek to wake you up because they have to have attention. . . NOW! (cats)

6. Try to lick UP your nose every time they sit on your lap (dog - what the heck is up with that? WHY does my chiweenie like nostrils so much???)

7. Shed all over the place!!! (both)

8. Have to be muzzled to get a toenail trim because they hate it so much and will bite you when you try to do it (dog)

But I love them and wouldn't want to live without them

This is an awesome thread!

EDIT: Oh, forgot a good one:

9. Crawl under the covers at night and then vomit on your feet! (dogs - that was a really fun night, changing the sheets and cleaning my feet at 1 o'clock in the morning!)

LOL! I have a Chiweenie too! Adorable aren't they?

Here's one:
Chew the eyeballs off the stuffed zebra and swallow them which causes an upset stomach and then yak in the hallway where it will be instantly noticed. Very interesting cleaning up vomit that has two eyes staring back a you!

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

OMgosh, my face is soooo red right now ~sheepish grin~

I hope none of the moderators saw that! It is very unfortunate that the "i" is right next to the "u" on the keyboard . . . .

Always preview your posts for errors, people!!!

 

[kathylove]

Haha! I noticed that. I thought maybe it was special kind of fish or something - wondered about that!

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

No, that would be me typing too fast then not going back and reading before I hit the post button!

I am such a dork!

 

[dogsNdragons]

1. Chew stuffed toys apart to get at the plastice sqeaker, then eat the plastic resulting in expensive surgery to have plastic removed.

 

[dogsNdragons]

oops hit send to soon

2. Track muddy footprints all over the tile floor you JUST cleaned.

 

[Daenerys]

Run right between your feet as you're walking which almost results in a near fatal fall

Show their appreciation of you petting them by digging their claws into your leg.