Basically Books! discussion

A place to talk about animals. Whether they're furry cats that think they're rabbits (That'll be my Mischief then) or snakes or fish or whatever else. Lets try to stay away from spiders though *shudders*

Oooh I love animals too! If I could I'd run a farm!! XD
I also dislike spiders (though I call them bisters, don't ask.)

What animals do you have then? A kitty?

I want to have a big house and lots of dogs and cats that I've rescued. I don't think I'd be any good on a farm though.

Hmm... I won't.

I do have a kitty, he's called Mischief and goes up and down stairs like a rabbit so I call him Bunny. Do you have any pets?

My life-long obsession has been horses. I started riding when I was 3. My dream is to one day have a horse of my own.

In Holland I have the bunny (<--- photo). He's called Bruce. They told me he was a dwarf lop when I bought him but he's actually about the same size an average-sized cat! He's not very social. But he will come and groom me if I sit on the floor.
We also have two rats, Muis ('mouse') and Witte ('white one'). They're very interactive and have very distinct personalities. They like to jump around on the bed.
And we have a fish. He's supposed to be a goldfish but he went white about 3 years ago. Apparently he's about 8 years old now!

And in France with my parents I also have a golden ret. called Pepper - she's a bit of a doofus; and two cats - the black cat and mini cat (mini cat is bigger than black cat, though, and her official name at the vets is Tabby II but we all call her mini cat.)

I wanted to learn but I wasn't allowed.

Awww he's pretty, such lovely colours. He's the same size as the average cat? My cat's quite big though but I can imagine Bruce being slightly smaller than Mischief. My first pet was a rabbit, I was 2, in a moment of greatness I called him Blackie. That tells you everything about the rabbit that you need to know lol.

I don't like rats, I've held them and everything but I'm not too sure, plus they're like bigger versions of mice and mice are always brought to our door by cats that want to live a pampered life.

I've never had a fish and I'm not allowed one now for obvious reasons. 8 years? I didn't know that fish lived that long.

You have pets in France as well? You can't go wrong with cats and dogs, unless you're scared of them. Yeah, I never call Mischief by his name but everyone else has to because he gives them dirty looks if they don't.

Are there any animals you like randomly? I like frogs, they're cute. Some live in the long grass in our back garden. =)

Haha, what a coincidence! My first pet was a rabbit when I was 2. Mine was called Snowy, which I think is just about as original as your name!!

Rats are cool. When they were still babies one of them used to climb down my shirt, curl up between my boobs and just sleep! Occasionally waking up to give them a lick. Mmm, sexy, rofl.

I also didn't know that fish could live that long, but this one just keeps going.

I had my pets in France before I had the ones here. I only came here just under two years ago.

Random animals, I like tigers. I think they're so majestic. I hope man doesn't manage to render them extinct.

As for frogs, we have two in our tiny little pond in the garden! :) You get a lot here, being so close to water no matter where you go.

Haha, it's the power of the 2 year old's mind XD

Sexy indeed. Your rats know how to treat a lady lol. Hmmm.... my cat likes my boobs, he seems to think they're for his paws lol

Cool. I'm only allowed one pet because Mischief's allergic to fleas.

Tigers are really beautiful. I want to adopt an amur leopard because there are only 25 of them left but my mum said no because I've got some polar bears.

Aww frogs! Sweet, the only water we're close to is the sea.

My rabbit also gets interested in my boobs when he deigns to come sit with me... I wonder what it is about animals and boobs!

Our mini cat is also allergic to... something. It could be fleas, could also be her food. My mum's dispairing, though, because the house there backs onto a huge field that just gets used for hay production and all three of the animals go in and out of the house as they please, bringing fleas back. She's trying very hard to keep the house clean but isn't finding it easy (it's a big house). For a few weeks we were actually considering shipping the cat to Holland to live here with us as we don't have as many flea problems here and we don't have other animals constantly bringing them in. Alas, mini cat is a hunter and we have prey animals here, and she gets destructive if she's forced to stay inside and my 800 euro curtains do not like the sound of that. Fortunately, she seems to be picking up a bit... but this could be because she had to have emergency surgery a few weeks ago and has been wearing a collar since so she hasn't been able to lick her legs down to the flesh.

I don't have the money right now to be adopting animals, but as soon as I get a bit more money coming in I'm going to look into doing so. I want to get my hands on an airmiles card, so every time I shop at certain shops I can put money onto the card to help monkeys and apes.

We're quite close to the sea too. I actually live 5m below sea level and they keep it that way by using a series of drainage systems. There are no fences between the fields here, but water-filled ditches to drain the land! So we get lots of frogs, ducks, various types of fish, etc.

Weird. I would love to know the answer to that question.

Awww, poor kitty. The allergy can be really stressful. I know Mischief was insane, he only had one flea on him! we were given a spray and flea spot ons (they offered me a spray but I begged them to reconsider). I also got some tablets to help his skin. He wouldn't take them until I told him they were an 'enhancement'. I swear he understands every word.

I got my polar bears for my birthday, it was a one off price in WHSmith so it wasn't too bad.

We don't get ducks, we live near some trees so we do get some beautiful birds and squirrels. We also get those tiny mice. =)

We've been offered tablets too, but I can't see us ever getting the cat to take things that size. She gets the anti-flea spray and such, but as the other animals bring them in too, it doesn't help much. We'll just keep an eye on her. My mum's decided that she doesn't want any more cats after this.

I want a ragdoll! Just got to save up now. I also want another Bernese.

That's so cool that you got polar bears for your birthday. I got a Zumba game and a day out to a city of my choice, which I have yet to cash in on.

You live in a more rural area then?

We were told to give ours half a tablet every other day which we hid in his food. I guess that's why the vet asked us if we had other pets.

I want a ragdoll! I also want a persian. When it comes to dogs I want a cavachon which is a Cavalier King Charles bred with a bichon frise, they are just the cutest looking little things. Saying that I also want a rottweiler.

I bought them for myself on the technicality that they were from the cat lol. I got a writing set off my mum (Hello Kitty) and my brother got me a book.

No I don't, it's just that there's this piece of land next to our house that no one owns and it's overgrown. I nicknamed it the Forest of Hullaballoo and insist that unicorns live there.

If we try to hide tablets in the cats' food, they find them and eat around them... Sigh.

Ragdolls are so cute, aren't they?! Plus, they generally like laps. I want an animal that's happy to be submitted to hugs, as all ours (including the male human) don't like them but I like giving them out! Cavachons sound cute too, but Bernese are my dog breed, so beautiful, so intelligent.

Lol, I like that! I'll have to remember that for next year. "Who bought you this gift?" "Bruce!" My parents took me out for two meals this year, both lunch and dinner, bought me a new bike, chipped in for a new laptop and my choice of four English-language books. I feel spoilt!

Ooh unicorns. Squirrel unicorns! Though I've never seen a squirrel unicorn. There are lots of dog unicorns, though. Maybe you have one of those :P
Everything here is very built up. I grew up in more rural areas, though, so I don't really like it. I prefer lots of green and empty fields.

Mischief did at first too, but he quickly realised that he got attention for eating the tablet and did it. The one time he didn't he realised that it was small enough for me to just slip it in his mouth.

They are, my cat hates sitting on my lap, unless I'm in bed. I do give him lots of hugs, he pretends he hates them but when he goes all night without them it's the first thing he wants in the morning. =)

Haha, you should. If no one gets me the leopard I think my cat will. He seems to always know what I want, I have no idea how =P. I can't go out for meals, I'm a fussy eater and on top of that I'm allergic to cheddar cheese. This means a lot of altering when it comes to making things.

A squirrel unicorn? I want to see one of those. Hahaha I can't say that I do =P
I've never really lived in a rural place (except Denbigh) I want to though. I'm not a massive people person when it comes to actually seeing them.

My fave animal is Rabbits!! But people cannont see why

I love rabbits, except for the one that weed in my face. =(

Haha!! What? tell; tara the story?

First thing my bun wants in the morning is his breakfast, and if I'm not fast enough getting it to him he'll stalk me and headbutt me until he gets it!!

My bun pissed in my dog's face. The dog didn't know what had hit her! She had this startled expression then licked her lips and looked at him very accusingly!!

Haha!!! Well i have never owned a rabbit, and i really want to , but my mum wont let me!!

Depending on their personality they can be quite unsocial creatures. Mine doesn't want to be picked up and doesn't really want to be touched. If I try to do yoga or anything like that he'll sometimes come and sit on my back, though. And when he was little he used to eat my hair.

You have to train them to use a litterbox, too. I was quite lucky in that I gave my bun two cages and he automatically chose to use one to sleep in and the other to do his business in. We still get the occasional pellet on the floor, though. And sometimes he'll do those special ones that they have to eat again right next to us when we're watching TV but won't eat them immediately - by God, they stink!

Haha. Well it's quite a simple story Tara, I was 7 and Peter (poor Blackie had died by this time =()was under his hutch, so me and my brother were trying to play with him, and he just turned around and peed in our faces - mainly mine. This is why I now have a cat. He's very good at weeing in his litter tray.

Rabbits can be awesome, but then again if you give any animal a chance it can be awesome. I was scared of my cat when I first got him. (British parenting. She could have got my brother a dog but no!) I do adore him now.

Eeeew my rabbit didn't do that, but that might be because he wasn't allowed out of his hutch Blackie liked wires and Peter had bladder issues XD

Ha!! Maybe i will wait, till i have a place of my own to maybe think about getting one, but it will always be my fave animal! :)

I've had rabbits my whole life. My grandad used to breed them and I'd get some from him for a while, then he'd take them back to breed them and give me new ones. my Snowy lived a good 8 or 9 years and had lots of babies!

Rabbits are cool, but they're still wired as prey animals and will act as prey animals.

We've protected all our cables. Rabbits have an obsession with nibbling. They also like getting into small places and can't always get back out of them. They're relatively cheap and easy to look after, though.

My Brucie lives inside with us. He used to live outside but I brought him in after his operation (got his balls chopped off cuz he was constantly bonking my arm and it was leaving me all scratched) and he's been inside since. He seems happy in here :) Has specific places that belong to him and he knows exactly where the food / treats / carrots are kept and will follow me if I look like I might be going into certain cupboards! :p

Now i want one even more!! :@

They think they're prey, that is exactly why I'm not allowed one with Mischief.

I know but they didn't used to have all the protection stuff.

Bahaha, Mischief refused to acknowledge me for a week after I had his chopped off. I didn't give him a chance to develop any arm bonking ways. The second he was 6 months he was in the vets, boob groping is enough, thank you very much =D.

Rofl, I was a bit late with my chopping as we were having a very cold winter and my in-laws kept trying to convince the bf that the rabbit should be stuck outside again after his op, leading to agruments between me and the bf. He came on my homework once, though. The excuse of the year!

Rabbits and cats actually get on really well. They produce some of the best friendships because rabbits have a social hierarchy, so two rabbits that are equally dominant will never get on, but cats don't. So the rabbit generally tends to be the bossy one and the cat puts up with it. It's a bit harder if your cat has a high hunting instinct, or has been allowed to hunt in the past. A rabbit introduced into "base camp" is usually not viewed as prey whereas one out "in the hunting grounds" is.

You have to take your time introducing the two, clip the cats claws once a month, and never leave them unsupervised. They are prefectly capable to just lying together and grooming each other, though.

Haha, my mum isn't for it still, I'm not for clipping my cats claws either, he refuses to a scratching post, I don't want to go there. He might get my tattoo for a start.

My cat's really anti social. He's had one friend in his life and we had to split them up when the flea allergy arose (the owners of the other cat don't de flea theirs. The flea collars don't work.) They're still struggling with their separation, it's quite heartbreaking actually.

Lol, you want a tat?

Already got plenty of scars from the kitty? I've got some from the pooches but not from the cats or the bunny. We clip the bunny's claws but it's a two man job. We have to keep on top of it, though, as he has one that grows at an odd angle and it quickly ends up growing into his foot.

That's so sad for both the kitties. It's better for yours if he's kept flea-free, though.

No I have one. It's on my arm, right where he can get to it with his claws lol

Yes I do, but the worst one is from a tree - when I was chasing the cat (this was before the flea allergy). Aww poor bunny, nobody else has the balls to hold Mischief in a bad situation. He can get very grumpy.

It is really sad but mine is my priority.

Ah, my tat is nice and hidden on my hip so none of the animals are going to get to that!

Cats are very temperamental creatures, aren't they? Black cat holds it against me if I try to deknot her (her fur never stops growing and she can't keep on top of keeping it clean because there's so much of it) so I can just imagine Mischief giving you the cold shoulder because you wronged him in some way!

Your cat will always be your priority. Even if he thinks you're punishing him in the process. How old is he now?

I wasn't thinking. I wanted it where I could see it. Luckily it's on the arm I carry him with so he's more likely to scratch my other arm.

They are. I've never had a cat before, I'm learning a lot from him. Grooming is the one thing that Mischief loves. So checking for fleas is easy thank God. Aww poor thing, it must be pretty painful though. His tantrums don't last that long now. He's matured.

I know, the thing is, he's had 2 things taken away from him and it's driving him mad. He'll be 5 in a couple of weeks. I've had him since he was a baby so we have a nice bond.

What's your tat of? If you don't mind sharing! And any plans of getting more in the future?

At least he's matured! Older cats do tend to forgive and forget faster than younger one. Same with other species. I used to ride a lot of adolescent horses and there were others who would refuse to ride those specific horses because they'd act up. I loved it, more of a challenge!

Aww, 5, that's a lot of de-fleaing to go, then! Is he still allowed outside? It's good that you've got a bond with him, at least he'll always have you even though he doesn't have his kitty friend any more!

My tat is 7 stars on my right forearm. It has quite a personal meaning. I want another one on my shoulder. I want a guardian angel but I want her to look all dejected and like she's given up on me. So I want her to be walking away, just looking over her shoulder, underneath it I want 'Wash me away
Clean your body of me
Erase all the memories
They will only bring us pain
And I've seen, all I'll ever need'
which is from Citizen Erased by Muse.
That's quite a lot for my shoulder so maybe it'll go down half of my back. What's your tat? If you don't mind sharing.

They do, especially if you bribe them with treats and catnip. I get why you'd like the challenge, because then when you've done it you feel a bigger sense of pride.

It is. No he isn't, we thought he might be able to go out once in a blue moon but he escaped, was out for a couple of minutes, 5 minutes tops. He came back in, within a day he had five scabs, he only had 1 flea on him. It's safer to keep him in. Not that he's missing much. It is, when he chooses that he wants to be with me. Sometimes a guy just wants to be on his own.

My tat is a fiery butterfly. It represents my personality in a lot of ways. Got plans for plenty of others, though! First will probably be a chain of various flowers that represent Taurus around my ankle, slipping down over my foot with the Taurus symbol dangling from it.

Well, a lot of cats like to have alone time. Ours will climb onto your lap but she doesn't want to be touched, she just wants a warm bed to sleep on! She'll keep shuffling until she manages to force her head between your legs and kinda hangs off you. But then she gets her pins out when she starts slipping. Owch.

Oooh. I have a friend that thinks butterflies are going to take over the world. I think that would make an interesting story lol. That sounds like a nice tat, I've heard that getting your foot done is painful though.

I know, my cat likes to go in the airing cupboard, or in my mum's bed when he wants to be on his own. My cat did something similar the other day, he was lying on my bed and decided to move but he fell off my legs, the only thing that stopped him from landing on the floor was my arm. It hurts when they do that, I have scratches on my leg from that.

The closer it is to the bone, the more painful it is. Apparently skull tattoos are the most painful. After that, it's the bottom of your foot (as it's naturally ticklish there anyway). The bf has one on his spine - he says he could feel the vibrations in his skull! It's good to refrain from lower back tattoos as a woman, though - especially if you wanna have kids!

Just think of the scratches on your legs as war wounds! Show your grandchildren some day! I've caught on with my cat, I spend my time shuffling her back onto my lap instead of letting her slip off even the slightest bit.

Oooh, I'm not having one of them. I like my hair too much.

Aaah they won't last that long. I know but if I do the shuffle Mischief thinks it's a game and goes for my hands. For something so clever he can be a bit dim. XD

We get that with mini cat too, everything's a game. But black cat is content to be shuffled back into position. I suppose she is busy donating bits of grass, tree, slugs, etc. to us, she might as well let us push her bum back on our legs.

Hahaha, Mischief donates toy mice and the occasional drip of water. He always ends up with water on his chin when he has a drink.

Lol, that's cute! Certainly better than real mice! We get those, and often enough the cats seem to feel they should be hidden from us so we don't find them until they start decomposing... Yuck!

It is. He gave me one once and it barely fit in his mouth, it was just too cute for words. We've had real mice brought to us by cats that aren't mine. It's weird... and slightly disturbing, I don't like dead creatures. I'd hate to find them when they're decomposing.

I dislike decomposing animals, too. I think it's something to do with all the writhing maggots that you get all over them. I've had to get used to clearing up the abattoir (basement), though. When they bring us mice, they only ever eat certain parts of them.

The bf, on the other hand, is fascinated by them. We were cycling in Hungary last summer when I spotted a dead snake. I told him about it and he made me stop, turn around and cycle back to it so he could get a good look at the corpse and give it a bit of a poke!!

Ewww. I'm not a fan of maggots or any other sort of bugs I'm very squeamish.

I could never be fascinated by corpses or decomposing animals. A bit of a poke! That's not very nice.

I dislike most bugs. I blame is on my aracnophobia. People tend to flick bugs at me, forgetting that I'm scared of spiders, then burst into laughter when I'm busy screaming and trying to get away from the flying bug!

Poking the dead isn't very nice, but I suppose it shows his mindset! I was quite happy to just cycle past it! There were plenty of dead animals along the track, anyway.

I do too, I also have aracnophobia. I scream like a girl and then run like a penguin. My brother finds that amusing. It happened like that on Sunday, then he saw that this time I wasn't exaggerating.

There were plenty of others? Did they get hit by a car or something? Poor, poor dead animals.

We were cycling around Lake Tziba (I think that's the spelling) on a track where cars frequently passed, but it was also a busy area for small animals moving from the fields to the water and it would seem that they often get squished.

We saw water buffalo there, though, and they were awesome! And I got to ride a Nonius (horse)! I was overjoyed! I even got to try out the Hungarian saddle that doesn't have a girth (the strap that goes around the belly) so the position of the saddle depends on your balance. I want a Nonius of my own now! lol.

Awww, I'd hate to get squished, it's not very dignified.

Haha, wow 'd be rubbish with a Hungarian saddle. My balance is pathetic. Lol, I guess you would since you love horses so much.

It isn't, is it? I felt very sorry for all the frogs that we went past. To make things worse, there'd recently been heavy rain in the Ukraine and it had brought all the rubbish (apparently the Ukranians chuck their rubbish in the rivers and not in landfills like the rest of us) down to this lake. There were huge stacks of plastic bottles every few metres or so!

When it comes to me and balance I'm a bit weird. On my own I have no balance at all. I frequently tip over my own feet, or my knee collapses under me, or similiar. In the saddle, it's like I'm attached with glue. I'm even pretty balanced when there's no saddle there and I'm just sitting on the back.

Nonius are beautiful, though. They're rather large for horses and are usually used for either jumping or pulling carriages. Here's a photo of one: http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=ht...

No it isn't. That is disgusting. I'll never drink any water from Ukraine, no matter how they treat it.

Haha, I fall over my feet all the time, no balance and clumsiness mix very well with me.

Wow, such a pretty horse. I want one! I have nowhere to put it, but still. =D

From what I gather, the water there is ok because all their rubbish goes into the rivers near the borders and thus goes straight into the neighbouring countries.

Do you have the Wii fit per chance? I play it a lot, but I'm useless at the balance games, no matter how often I practise! hehe.

I have the same problem - no space! Plus, I'd have to drive all the way to Hungary to purchase it, drive it back and as far as I know they're relatively rare and have high 'infant' mortality rates - they don't even name them until they hit two. But I'd still love one.

So they've actually planned it so their water is fine? That makes it worse somehow.

I do have Wii fit and Wii fit plus (I'm a Nintendo geek) I know. I just fall off the board. It's ridiculous.

Awww, I hate it when animals die. I cry if they die on the TV. Marley & Me, by the end of that film I had a pile of tissues at the side of me.