Friday Five: Beasties

Jan has given us a 'beastie' Friday Five:

In my experience in the United States, people are either "Dog People" or "Cat People." As the graph above illustrates, not everyone is limited to those types of animals. So I am wondering about pets and experiences with them.

1. Are you a DOG or a CAT person? Or OTHER?

I am a cat person.  I have always been a cat person.  Both of us are cat persons.  J even more than I.  She will stop by the SPCK just to get a 'kitty fix'.  
2. Who were the pets of your childhood and what were they like?

When I was quite small (before 4) I wanted to adopt a stray dog but he bit me. I still have the scar. That ended the 'dog desire' for me as a child.  I like dogs now but we never had a fenced yard when I was growing up so that we could never have dogs.  My first cat was named Sparkle after the Dick Tracy character.  Her brother was a black tabby called BO Plenty after the other character.  They were outdoor kitties at a time when most pets were outdoor beasties.  Then I had a yellow tabby.  He was rather indecisive about going out the door and we wondered "Will he or Won't he?"  He was named Willhe.

3. What pets do you have now?  

We presently have Tyke, a 9 year old grey tabby and Little Bit, who is a tuxedo.  All of our beasties have

been rescue beasts.  Most of them have been strays that have been dumped at the churches we have served.  But these two were formally adopted from the local SPCK.

4. Have you ever had any unusual pets in your household or visit your home?

Not really.  I have'beast-sat' for birds and horses.  I have blessed many different animals but I have only had cats.

5. What have you learned from your pets? Give one recent example, if possible.

I have learned that cats seem disinterested but are far from it.  They know your mood and if you are ill they come and stay close.  They are quite miffed if you leave them for days on end even when they are fed and watered, they miss YOU.  Each of the cats I have had were different, with amazingly different personalities.  They have different ways that they want to be petted or cared for.  Tyke, for instance, is all boy.  When he was little he would go out and stomp in puddles like a little boy.  Little Bit was named for her diminutive state as a kitten but now that she is grown she is called Bit because she does.  Not hard but she wants to play with her teeth.  So we have had to come up with "NO TEETH" command to help her learn.  She also loves to claw the furniture.  We have learned that we can either have cats or furniture.  We have chosen cats... 



BONUS: Pictures or anything else related to animals you love.