Post a picture of your awesome pet; include a story

Post Reply New Topic

This is Duke. My sister named him after the famous jazz musician Duke Ellington. We got him from a shelter when he was 3 months old. I'm training him to be a service dog for my sister.





(for some reason the images won't show)

Niceee dog

I wish I had something that could take photos and connect to the PC so I could put my cat up My phone won't do it

This is my beloved Goku when she was a kitty

Her birthday was 31 march 2001, a day that northern lights were visible in north Italy (and unfortunately that day i was in Florence). I ve seen her first time when she was 10 days old. Her eye were already open and she had the size of my hand.
I took her at my home the 13 may 2001.
She had her near-death experience in june 2th 2001, when she has fallen from balcony. I screamed but i didn't cried. My bond with her wasn't so strong. When us excepted that Goku would die, she survived and after two days she could walk perfectly.

Goku started to explore the world outside home only after being neutered. She was 1 year and half. My family maked this decision because my cat was going mad. She attacked us without reasons.
In first days Goku had panic attacks when she was outside the home, after few days she learned to behave like a normal cat. She stopped to be aggressive (though she's always a bit aggressive). She also risked to be hit by a car, but the experience has been enough scary for her, since that day she never cross the road.
She also got an addiction to papyrus plant. Papyrus plant for cats is like drugs for human. She had always over-dilated pupils and she staggered. My mom though Goku had alucination. After some research, we understood that papyrus was cause of strange symptoms of my cat and we decided to trash the papyrus plant. Goku had slight abstinence for some days, after she returned to act normally.
Another day she make us worried is when she has been biten by a dog (we think). One evening she didn't wanted to be touched and she screamed at us if we tried. The day after we discovered a severe wound on her right shoulder. The muscle was clearly visible. We took Goku to veterinary. She received two shots of an antibiotic and after 3 days she was perfectly healed.

We always have kept well our cat. We vaccinated her regulary, we payed attention to her health, we bought the right food for her. At the age 8 she didn't seemed an aged cat (i've seen 5 years old cat without teeth and with poor fur).
But september 6 2009 i discovered a little lump between Goku's shoulder blades. The day after (sunday) i did researches on internet and i discovered what Goku could have: Vaccine-associated Sarcoma (VAS). The lump was hard to touch, still moveable and i could fell clearly it had two rots. In my research i've found that 80% of VAS cats die. Sarcoma has high chances of recurrence.
I took a decision. disaffecting process. I started to avoid Goku, to not allow her to sleep with me and i cried a lot. I didn't wanted to loose my cat because of a cancer that could be avoided. The tuesday, Goku gave me a lesson. I tried to trow her out from my bedroom. She defended herself, trying to bite me. The strange thing in her behaviour was the fact that she tried to bite me only if i tried to take her. But she allowed me to pet her. I think in that moent she gave me a lesson of life. When i cried she also tried to cheer me up. And she has never been that kind of cat.
The day after we took Goku to veterinary. Goku has been diagnosed with VAS and she got surgery. Veterinary has removed 4 cm of margins from her back, the tumor was pretty underdeveloped, with two short roots and without what normally you should except to find into a sarcoma. Probably it was in early stage, no older than 10 days. But it was G2, and possibility of recurrences were 80%.

Luckily the tumor has never returned (Goku is now 21 months VAS survivor). My cat now looks healthy, the only sign of VAS is a deep sinking between her shoulder blades.
[img][800:675]http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/346/7/4/goku_and_the_plushie_kitten_by_alicesacco-d34r0tt.jpg[/img]

This is Miss Kitty. She is 10 years old, turning 11 this fall. My dad and brother brought her home one day near Christmas when she was a kitten. Nobody else wanted her and she was getting too big to be with her mommy. I remember how tiny she was (she was the runt of the litter). When she was about 2 or 3, Miss Kitty herself had a litter of kittens. I kept one, a black one. I named him Miroku after a character from the anime Inuyasha. He wound up running away a couple of years later. Miss Kitty got into a fight with another cat one day. The bridge of her nose was scratched and she got a nick in her ear. The nick in her ear is still there. I like it because I think it gives her character.

When I was between the ages of 16 and 19, my family moved around a lot and we had to live with other family members. During this time, Miss Kitty started spending most of her time in my bedroom, scrubbing up against my legs while I was at my computer and sleeping on my bed. I would talk to her and pet her and even lay my head against her side when she laid down and listen to her purr. In our current house, whenever I come inside from running at the park, Miss Kitty runs up to me and talks to me, scrubbing up against my legs. She also warns me if there are strange men at the park.

I admit that when Miss Kitty was younger, she and I didn't get along very well. She has an aggressive streak and attacks people for no reason sometimes, and she attacked me a lot. There were even times when I wished that mom and dad would give her away. But during those times when it was just me and Miss Kitty in my bedroom, my feelings for her changed dramatically. Now Miss Kitty and I are the best of friends. Everyone who comes over to the house comments about how attached Miss Kitty is to me. I love and adore Miss Kitty very much. I cherish every moment I have with her, and I will be heartbroken when she passes away.

She's here from only one week and since it seems we can't find a family for her, we will take care of her.
I name her Ægir after a character from scandinavian mithology and her name does means 'Sea' (my older cat Goku has been named after a character from Dragonball and her name does means 'heaven')
My mom panicked a little when i explained her how to write the name Ægir.
Now we allow her and Goku to meet each other. If Ægir will stay with us, my two cats need to learn to live togheter peacefully.