Author Topic: Animals In Our Lives  (Read 1006430 times)

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #70 on: July 28, 2007, 12:49:31 am »
Delalluvia,

Your Kabuki is one gorgeous cat.  I guess I like my animals long and lean, too.

As for sighthounds and cats, I know there are some ex-racing greyhounds that are cat-friendly.  Maybe it depends on the dog. 

Ashley Whippet is famous.  He even has an entry in Wikipedia.  How cool that your brother got to see him in person!

I found this at wwwcoloradodiscdogs.com:

In 1974, 50,000 spectators at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles jumped to their feet and cheered when an uninvited canine athlete named Ashley Whippet ran 35 miles an hour, leaped nine feet in the air, and caught Frisbee discs from his owner Alex Stein for eight uninterrupted minutes between innings. But neither that audience, nor the millions watching the pennant-crucial game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds on television, could have predicted they were witnessing the birth of a canine competition that would soon thrill legions of dog lovers throughout the world. Ashley's national stadium debut was engineered by his owner Alex Stein, then a student at Ohio State. When Hollywood talent scouts failed to return Stein's calls, he took matters into his own hands and smuggled Ashley into Dodger Stadium on the evening of August 4, 1974. Ashley went on to break all records, winning the Canine Frisbee Disc World Championships three times.

Later, Ashley starred in a television commercial, entertained Amy Carter and her friends at the White House, performed at halftime at Super Bowl XII, and was a guest with Stein on such television programs as: "Wide World of Sports," "Good Morning America," "The Tonight Show," and others. He entertained at practically every NFL and Major League Baseball stadium in the United States and Canada, and starred in "Floating Free" -- a film documentary nominated for an Academy Award.





OMG!!  What an amazing dog!!!  I would have loved to have seen him in action!!!  Dogs like that have a lot of heart and are pretty special.  I guess his owner knew it and had the chutzpa to show the world.

I'm so glad he did.  I like the fact how the dog had two names and that's what everyone called him.

Did I mention I love whippets?

I hope you're right.  Maybe if the cats stay inside and I play with the dog outside, a sight hound won't have any problems with my cats.  If I had a yard, I'd've adopted or fostered a greyhound by now and had my own whippet.    Saluki dogs are cool too.

Offline Fran

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #71 on: July 28, 2007, 01:03:21 am »
Saluki dogs are cool too.

Borzois, too... but probably a lot more work.  :)

Offline Shasta542

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #72 on: July 29, 2007, 01:15:09 am »
My cat who is an indoor/outdoor cat is 16 years old. She stays in the backyard when she is outside. She has a shelter and food and water out there, and she likes to lie in the sun. When the dogs come out she gives them cat love or slaps them according to her mood. Tonite, unfortunately, when I let the dogs out, she had proudly brought a baby rabbit to the door. I wrestled it away from her---she was guarding it against the dogs and me. I brought him in and he was alive, but he died a little while later. Poor little thing---he was so cute. I guess he ventured into the back yard--or she may have fooled me and took a trip out of the yard. Anyway---that was a bummer. In her younger days, she would bring rats, squirrels, rabbits, birds---full-grown ones--and lay them on the front porch. She was always proud.  :P  I did appreciate her keeping my house mouse free, tho.
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Offline Shasta542

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #73 on: July 29, 2007, 01:48:58 am »
She has stuffed toys and balls and squeaky toys, but this is one of her favorites. It's an old (empty) pill bottle that she has chewed up and flattened out. She gets it and tosses it, fetches it, gnaws it (loudly), and dares me to try to get it out of her mouth. Cheap toy!! When she was a baby, she loved to play with toilet paper/paper towel rolls.

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Offline Kelda

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #74 on: July 30, 2007, 07:53:29 am »
This is from the BBc News website - thought you huys who have posted here would be interested.

Can pets sense illness?
WHO, WHAT, WHY?
The Magazine answers... 


A cat has apparently "predicted" the deaths of 25 residents in a nursing home in the US. It seems fanciful but can pets detect illness or even death?

The residents of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Rhode Island would be forgiven for getting a little anxious if Oscar was to curl up next to them.
Not generally friendly to patients, this show of affection has been used to warn families that their loved one has not long to go.

Sounds far-fetched? Animal behaviour experts in the US say Oscar is probably smelling a chemical given off by the body.

And Jacqueline Pritchard, an expert in animal behaviour in the UK, agrees the explanation is biochemical, rather than psychic.
"I don't doubt that the cat in this case is sensing death approaching. There's little we really know about it but as the body is shutting down, I would hypothesise that the cat is sensing and smelling the organs shutting down."

But there could also be a more simple explanation for Oscar's "ability", she says.

"We change our behaviour when we know someone is dying, so animals will pick that up."
Dogs with an acute sense of smell and awareness are known to detect cancer and predict epileptic seizures.

A ground-breaking study by Dr John Church, published in 2004, claimed to prove in principle that dogs could detect bladder cancer in urine. Since then a pilot study at a charity in Buckinghamshire has continued the research.

There is also anecdotal evidence of dogs scenting a wide range of cancers such as lung, breast and skin, ahead of conventional diagnosis.

Housebound

A woman in Wiltshire said her Chihuahua detected her breast cancer on three occasions, while a Dalmatian kept smelling a freckle that the owner discovered was a malignant tumour.

The work of dogs in epilepsy is more advanced. The charity Support Dogs has provided 45 seizure alert dogs to epileptics such as Tony Brown-Griffin, 35, from Kent.
Twelve years ago, prior to her getting her first alert dog, she was suffering 12 major seizures a week and countless minor ones, so was housebound and childless. Now she is independent and a mother of two.

Ajay, a golden retriever, licks her left hand 40 minutes before a major seizure, which only happens twice a week now, so she can get herself out of harm's way.


"It's a major stress reduction. I don't have to worry about epilepsy at all unless my dog alerts me. Before I was thinking 'Do I have time to cross the road, will I have a seizure?'"
But neither Tony nor her husband knows exactly how Ajay is doing it, because the slight changes in Tony's behaviour prior to a seizure are imperceptible to them.

"He doesn't get a crystal ball and headscarf and say 'I predict you will have one three weeks on Tuesday' but whether it's a change in blood pressure or body temperature or whether I sweat or smell differently, or a combination of things.

"In the early days it was very difficult to go with the dog because I would feel so well but he was 100% accurate, 100% of the time."

Despite the persuasive evidence of dogs' prowess in these areas, the case of Oscar the cat is still a bit of a mystery, says animal psychologist Roger Mugford. Although they can detect illness, he has never known of pets picking up on impending death, and cats would be unlikely candidates to behave like this if they could.

"The question is what motivates a cat to engage in this behaviour. Dogs being trained to detect cancer are trained with a pay-off of play if they do the right thing and if it's your own dog they have a familiar affectionate relationship and will pick the site of the tumour. But a cat in a nursing home?
"Dogs are very good at picking up on emotional changes and when people are depressed and inactive they are very good at comforting people in these circumstances. Elephants show the same altruistic tendencies, but not cats, they are very much more selfish, solitary creatures."

One theory about how dogs have evolved this capacity is that their wolf ancestors developed an ability to tell when one of the pack was sick.

But it is not just in health that the heightened senses of animals have proved to be more advanced than humans'.

Scientists remarked at how few wild animals died in the Asian tsunami in 2004, because they were able to sense the disaster and move to higher ground.


Add your comments on this story, using the form below.

I had a sick chicken a few months a go (we had eight at the time) and thought it very odd when my pet cat sought out the chicken and curled up next to her - an hour or so later the chicken was dead. The cat had never done this before or since with any of the other chickens.
sue, Hampshire

When I was a child we had a spaniel. When she was a pup she was friendly with a Labrador along the road. As they got older they didn't see one another. Suddenly one day, our spaniel turned up quite out the blue at the home of the Labrador, was given access to the house, sought out the Labrador, sniffed him for a short time and came back home. Two days later the Labrador died. The houses were about a quarter of a mile apart.
Mike, Edinburgh

I have always had at least one cat, and have noticed how they pick up on my mood. If I am upset or ill, my cat will come straight to me to provide comfort. I even observed this with a cat we took in from a rescue shelter, who would not come anywhere near me when I felt well! I think it is more extraordinary for a cat to do this (and they clearly do) despite being independent creatures, whereas a dog is dependant, and it is in their interest to keep their host happy.
Jane, Kent

Cats also show an empathy for people who are suffering a bereavement. When my father died, and my mother came to stay with us, both our cats would not leave her side and even slept on the bed with her, something we don't normally allow, but we could see the comfort she was getting from them.
Helen Waite, Appleton, Abingdon, UK

My family cat, also called Oscar, almost predicted our family dog's death. She had been ill for some time and we decided to have her put down at our house. Oscar and the dog had never been particularly friendly, but in the hours leading to her death, Oscar never left her side and was cuddling her. I don't know if it was psychic or due to him being able to tell biologically, but it was nice for the old dog.
Hilary, Edinburgh

I have known cats to behave in this way. When my mother was dying of cancer her normally aloof British Blue cat spent almost 24 hours a day lying next to her on the bed. More recently, when I was laid up earlier this year with glandular fever my two cats who never normally stay in the house during the day spent three days snuggled up with me on the sofa. I have also owned boxer dogs in the past, both of whom would spend hours cuddled up to whoever in the household was under the weather. There doesn't always need to be a logical explanation for these things - sometimes they just are!
Jane, Preston


Our budgie went into a squawking fit within seconds of our first gerbil dying. Three weeks later it did the same thing when our second gerbil died. Animal instinct needs further attention.
Brian, Slough

Animals may pick up pre-deceasement because of a change in chemicals given off by the person in question. This could be due to the breakdown of enzymatic activity. As to weather forecasting this could be due to the obvious one of high or low pressure. Other than that I am sure there is nothing paranormal involved although the theory is more exciting. People who have had a near death experience often claim to have travelled along a wide tunnel with a bright light and a sensation of peace. This is probably due to a lack of oxygen. All rather mundane but probably the more accurate.
Maurice de Ville, Chesterfield

I worked night shift in a care home and I would take my dog to work with me. One evening after bedding down the residents; myself and the other member of staff, were having a tea break, when my dog started pacing between me and a resident's room. After the second time he came back, we followed him, to the room only to discover the resident had died following a massive heart attack. I am convinced that animals are able to sense death.
Hazel O'Neill, Scotland

I do not agree that cats are very selfish and unfeeling. When I had a miscarriage and was in mourning my cat offered me more comfort than any human. He waited for me to sit down at 11am each day and purred and comforted me when I was crying. He definitely sensed my emotions and helped me recover more quickly.
J. Turner, Torquay Devon UK

For a large part of last year I was having several seizures a week, our dog (who we only got in December '05) was able to pick up on it and would alert my wife by walking beside her and nudging her. If we were at home alone, when I came round after a seizure I would always find him next to me. And he would stay with me until he felt I was okay.
Rick, Toronto, On, Canada

When I was a child living in Canada, we had a Russian wolfhound who never displayed the slightest sign of intelligence! But one day, he tore into the house in terror and hid in the basement, flatly refusing to come out. The weather was clear and fine and we could see and hear nothing unusual to have upset him. Exactly 40 minutes later (to the minute) we experienced a major, grade four, tornado which destroyed a vast majority of the county. Once the storm had passed, he came out of the basement and never entered it again!
Charlotte Cheshire, Telford, England

My cat always sits next to me when I feel unwell. She will stay there for hours, whilst normally she doesn't bother that much. OK - she may detect physical or behavioural changes in me which cause her to do this. Explain this one though. In the 80s, I lived in London and would come home most weekends. When I came in my mother would have a cup of tea waiting for me on the table. How did she know when to make it? Because about 5-10 minutes before I arrived home, my cat would sit in the window and start crying. Every single time. Sense of smell or detection of mood change? Probably not. I like to think it is psychic ability. I can't really think of another explanation.
Gill, Newport Gwent

I think there is an inexplicable and possibly mystic connection between animals and humans. My cat left our house and went to live up the road with an elderly neighbour. He lived there for over two years and in that time he never came home. The neighbour became ill and was taken to hospital. Although we were feeding the cat he never left her house. Then one day about two weeks later he suddenly showed up at house, curled up and went to sleep. About half an hour passed, and we received a phone call telling us our neighbour had died about half an hour ago. I've never been able to explain it but I do believe there are things that are just unexplainable.
Erica Fowler, London

Maybe the cat is going by biochemical signals and IS rewarded, by attention from the staff every time he gets it right? Another possible explanation would be that he is reverting to his wild state. In the wild he couldn't attack something the size of a person but if the person is dying the wild animal which detects that first is first in the queue for eating the body. Don't jackals etc gather long before someone is actually dead? At a less bloodthirsty level he might see people as a threat but very sick people don't have the energy to lash out while still being warm to cuddle up to. I have noticed that wild animals were much less fearful of me when I was ill and came closer. I assume this was because my movements were slower and more predictable. I looked less likely to attack them.
Louise, Edinburgh

Our old tabby, Kinky, climbed into the bed and curled up on my mother's stomach hours before she died. Lifted off, he climbed back up and resumed the same position. Kinky had never been affectionate toward my mother, and I found his behaviour inexplicable until I read the story about Oscar.
Mari, Honolulu, USA

I have heard of stories of cats leaving the home of someone who was dying a day or so before the death and not returning until a couple of days after the death. In fact I heard of one case where a woman knew she was terminally ill and knew it would be imminent as the cat left - and sure enough, the cat was right!
Lisa Perkins, Nottingham

I don't know how animals do this or whether it is just coincidental but I do know that my cat, Odin, woke me up one night with really loud wailing in my ear and pushing his head into my face and he seemed really alarmed. Eventually he calmed down and left me alone. The next morning it turned out there was an earthquake in Birmingham I think it was and scientists said that their detectors had detected it as far away as London. I cannot help but wonder if it was the earthquake he was trying to alert me to.
Andy, Bristol UK

A couple of coincidences, people make a silly superstitious association. Then when the moggy the curls up on their bed - superstition leads to psychosomatic illness in an already weakened person. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that... Then again, maybe people on the way out just give off more heat) Statistical question - How many people does that cat settle down next to that don't imminently die? At any rate, let's hope someone has been sensible enough to check the cat isn't carrying any pathogens. Whatever, I think the cat should be re-housed. Maybe it's doing contract work for the grim reaper?
Dave Pritchard, Manchester

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/magazine/6919063.stm

Published: 2007/07/27 12:06:28 GMT

© BBC MMVII
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mvansand76

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #75 on: July 30, 2007, 11:27:08 am »


Oh it's great to see other people who love sight hounds, as I wrote earlier in this thread we used to have an Afghan Hound, Muscha, but before I was born, my parents has a blac-white Saluki, called Yoljons. Muscha and Yoljons were best friends, they actually went out on adventures together, coming back to the house all dirty after three hours of wandering around the neighbourhood. They were both lazy as hell too. Once they were back home they would sleep for hours. They even once peed THROUGH the couch while sleeping. When my parents took them to the beach they always just let them run, and they would be gone for long stretches of time, but they would always come back.

Yoljons always jumped up from wherever he was lying when he heard the cookie jar. One day he jumped up, landed on the floor and he was dead, he had suffered a heart attack.

 :'( :'( :'( :'(

Offline Fran

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #76 on: August 03, 2007, 12:14:18 pm »

Yoljons always jumped up from wherever he was lying when he heard the cookie jar. One day he jumped up, landed on the floor and he was dead, he had suffered a heart attack.

 :'( :'( :'( :'(

Oh, wow.  That's sad.  How old was Yoljons at the time?

I don't know what would be worse:  finding your dog dead or perhaps making the decision to have it put to sleep when it's suffering.  As my dog gets older, I realize I'm going to be facing one of these options eventually, and I know that either one is going to break my heart.  :(

Offline Shasta542

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #77 on: August 07, 2007, 12:49:46 am »
Cam is some kind of extreme mix!! People ask me what kind of dog he is and I just tell them that I have no idea. His pregnant mom was dropped off in the country and she found her way to my house--they can always sniff out a sucker. I fed her and made her a "nest" under the deck. She gave birth early one morning and I woke up to baby whining. The first time I went out to check on her, there were 5 fat roly poly puppies. The next time--a couple hours later--there were 11. This was a small dog, but 10 of the puppies were fat and they were all jockeying for an eating position.

One pup lay to the side, scrawny, stiff, and cold. I thought he was dead, but he was still breathing. (Later I described him to friends as a "pupcicle") I brought him in and wrapped him up in a warm heating pad. I kept a close check on him so he wouldn't get tooooo warm. When he'd warmed up, he started whining and moving, so I took him to his mom so he could eat.

He was the runt and as they grew, he was always 1/2 the size of his brothers and sisters. When they reached 8 weeks old, I found homes for the pups. I kept the runt---and that's why I have CAM!!!! He is my buddy-boy who smiles at me and licks me in the ear--the sweetest and gentlest fellow. But very OVER-PROTECTIVE of me, so I have to keep him close. He doesn't allow trespassers. Lol  Sometimes he kisses the cat and sometimes he tries to bite her--not to hurt her, just to assert himself, I guess. He gets in trouble when he tries to bite her, tho.

I think he knows that I saved his life, so he dedicated it to me. I've had to get between him and at least 3 men. And I was kissing one of them goodbye at the gate.  :P

His eyes are beautiful and the markings there make him look like he's wearing eye-liner. He's black and light brown, about 70 pounds, 10 years old, and he did NOT want his picture made. I love the little mutt!!






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Offline Kelda

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #78 on: August 07, 2007, 03:41:01 am »
heheheheh. I like the kissing goodbye story!

I think runts do make very good pets - they seems to be almost always very affectionate and friendly and docile.
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Offline Shasta542

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Re: Animals In Our Lives
« Reply #79 on: August 07, 2007, 09:46:15 am »
heheheheh. I like the kissing goodbye story!

I think runts do make very good pets - they seems to be almost always very affectionate and friendly and docile.

 ;D 

Cam sheds 24/7/12/365 --all that--I don't see how he keeps from being bald! He always has very thick fur. And, yes, I brush him. I could brush him for hours and still he would be shedding. Anyone have a homeopathic remedy? (Besides shearing.)  :P 
"Gettin' tired of your dumbass missin'!"

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