Pets!
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There is no sorrow like that of a dog being denied running out the front door and having a merry romp in the street.
(Also this jerk managed to get his collar off again. How he does it I don’t know!)
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I recently lost both of my parents, which required a drive from NJ to FL with their cats. I had three cats, but we lost Luke (15) in March 2022 and then Piggy (15) shortly after him last year. This left the baby, Lizzy (now 2), as lone cat since then. She and Luke never really jived, but she and Piggy mostly got along.
She is not happy about new cats, and we have them in separate parts of the house. I think Lizzy and Possum will be fine, but Tippy is about as happy about Lizzy as the other way around. Like, hissing & growling when they glance each other through the gate we have up (often covered with a blanket).
Any helpful advice? I really want to avoid having to rehome these two cats but also can’t keep them all separate forever.
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This is a fairly good guide!
It is okay to keep them separate for as long as it takes to develop mutual apathy. My Calypso has now been here for over a year and my Lyra still thinks Calypso is the worst thing that has ever happened to her. However, they have mostly agreed on mutual avoidance (except when Calypso decides to take her life in her hands and pounce…) The fights are to a minimum and no one gets hurt. At this post we just sigh and let it be and intervine when we notice Calypso has given up her senses.
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Thank you!
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@Tori I used to co-run a feral cat colony that occasionally got a non-feral cat we’d have to take in, clean up, and rehome.
We had a lot of luck using sentry calming collars and wall plug-ins to introduce new cats to each other. They mimic the pheromones released by mother cats to soothe kittens.
Cats are scent socializers, so quarantining one cat in a bathroom and then switching its bedding with the bedding of the other cat can help acclimate them to one another. Or just fully switching which cat is locked in which room.
Also, feeding them at the same time while they are on the other side of a door from each other (but not within line of sight) helps them associate their scent with something good.
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I actually just got two of those Feliway plug-ins to try to help but wasn’t sure about them - some of the reviews weren’t great. This makes me feel like it was a good purchase. Thank you!
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@Tori I think the trick is just not using them in big open rooms where there’s too much aeration.
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Agree. We used them for a while and found they worked best in smaller rooms.
Our shelter uses them also when we have cats super struggling to adjust.
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@Tori My ex roommate told me he had to get out for Scout after I moved out, and put it by the litter box because Scout was peeing outside the box rather than in, and it helped to get him to use the box again.
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I love this thread only click it to awww at cute pets, so if you don’t care about How2Husky talk skip to the bottom for that.
@Kestrel When we are ready to get another bonded pair, I’m really torn between getting two great pyrs or two huskies. We need to repair some holes in the fence, that our grown puppies can’t get through but smol puppies could, before we get anymore puppies.
I love my husky unconditionally and think she’s the best and cutest dog in the entire world.
That said, they’re a lot of work! A lot a loooot of work. Everyone warned me and they weren’t wrong. In the picture I posted, she’s off-leash, which many husky owners will tell you is incredibly dangerous and should never be allowed. From my perspective, I’m extremely proud of how successfully I’ve trained her recall, because without it I’m honestly not sure I’d be able to handle her at all. She gets a minimum of two hours of exercise a day, most of which is off-leash, because I could otherwise never keep up with her need to run, run, run like the wind on a daily basis. It also helps that my dad, a runner, lives nearby and often picks her up for his morning jog.
You may have an easier time than me in at least one respect, which is that I imagine raising a husky in the company of at least one other dog means they have sources of entertainment other than just you. Mine lives glued to my side and is an insatiable attention whore, which only works because I work mainly from home and am also an attention whore.
If you’re having more thoughts about this, weighing pros & cons and want advice, feel free to DM me ‘cause I’m never gonna get bored of a chance to talk about how much I love my dog. There’s at least one other husky owner in the BMD community who probably has useful advice too (I’ll tag them pending permission), and a Discord server for husky owners to share advice/memes here. (Not MU* associated.)
Anyway for everyone else not invested in the above, here are AI-generated images of my husky as a cat. They made me laugh:
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@Kestrel Word. Husky owner and runner, here. Pictured here with my rotty-mix.
Note: Only one of these boys is allowed off-leash.
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@helvetica Beautiful ginger.
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@helvetica he remains the most gorgeous princess
I have a designated distraction for this monster, but it’s not very effective. Getting a husky is straight up adopting a child, it’s validation and rewards all day with howling tantrums and dramatic flops whenever she doesn’t get what she wants.
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Thank you for the advice!
I ended up getting another Great Pyrenees/Husky mix (which Willow is). A lady I had previously talked to told me one of her puppies was returned to her and needed a home and could I take it.
The teenager (who lost her pitbull) has named her Elsa.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/590027372372295690/1099171697048952922/IMG_5561.mov
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.>……
Meet Squire Beauregard “Beau” Steele…. Elsa’s brother.
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Bad puppies dragged their pee pads all over their pen, but here’s a few minutes of them playing before I interrupted play time to straighten the pads out.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/590027372372295690/1102056801324761098/IMG_5650.mov
I love their little baby growls.
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I have a sneaking suspicion my foster fail Calypso decided I had done enough sad days in bed. She keeps doing things with the potential to unalive herself which require me to get up and save her.
I love her so much.
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Miescha. -
@moth Reese’s kitty!
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@moth That is a gorgeous tortie!
