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Edited: Phyllis, check out my comment.
This is a note to Phyllis who asked about getting a cat even if though they are eskie people.... I don't have a contact email address to write you back at, so I'm posting here instead.
Hi Phyllis,
This is Prints' Mom. (aka Prince's Mom) Thank you for your comment. I am very sorry to hear about your eskie that passed away recently. Our eskie, Hana, passed away last November. As you've read, we adopted Prints about a week later. I was very skeptical, as I have never been a cat person before. But my husband had cats (and a dog) growing up and he really wanted to get a little furry creature for our home.
Getting a cat was a big change for me, in interesting ways.
- Instead of looking down, I had to learn to look up, like on the kitchen counter! Or on our dresser! But now I'm quite used to it and when I see Prints sitting curled up on the floor, I wonder... what is he doing way down there? He should be up on the table!
- Water. Cats like running water and will drink from the faucet! It's quite cute when Prints comes running to drink water.
- Litter box. This is quite interesting. Prints knew exactly what to do in his litter box! Hooray! Cats don't need any training on this matter, at least Prints didn't.
- Independent. We've been quite busy the past year. It's actually been great that Prints is independent like most cats are. But, he is also very loving and enjoys attention. He likes to sleep on my husband! But, as for when we go out, it's nice not to have to worry about leaving a cat at home. With a dog, they always want to go on a car ride with you and I always would feel horrible about leaving Hana at home. She loved going out with us and I hated to disappoint her when we couldn't take her with us.
- I am a cat person now (and a dog person still). When I see the pics and read stories on the cat blogs, I think... ohhhh, what a cute cat. If you had told me 8 months ago that I'd be Ooooing and Ahhhhing over cats, I would have told you you were crazy. But, well, I really like cats now.
- Some people may not know this, but now they will. I even tried to adopt a 2nd cat! It unfortunately didn't work out between the two cats, so we had to find a new home for the 2nd cat. But, wow, it really turned out that I love cats!
- Yes, I do long for another eskie. And we will get another eskie when the time is right. At this time, we are just too busy in our lives to take in a puppy, do the training, etc. But, we are in touch with a lot of eskie people (The Eskie Board - http://forum.eskie.net - please visit us there and introduce yourself!) and am fortunate I can visit with friend's eskies throughout the year. We still think about Hana all the time. Tonight, we decided to take a walk down the street to see the airplanes in the sky. This is the VERY FIRST TIME we have done this without Hana. We used to do this walk with her, to the end of the street to see the airplanes, then we'd all turn around and walk back home. It's been 7 months since we did this, since she passed away. It didn't feel right without her :-(
I think it is a good idea for you to get a cat if you want the familiar pitter patter of little critter paws in the house. Kitties are less work, and that works for us at this time. I love our little Mr. Prince Peepers. He is a great cat! We are lucky to have found him!
Phyllis, I have one question for you.... how come your husband is thinking of getting a cat rather than a dog (eskie)?
~ Prints' Mom
10 comments:
We agree, cats are COOL! tee hee!
You summed up cats very well! While I like dogs too, cats truly have their own uniqueness about them. And it really is nice not having to feel guilty leaving them home by themselves while you go off for the day to work. Especially when cats sleep 16 hours a day! Ha!
Have a very Happy Thursday!
xo Catherine
Prints is lucky to have such a loving home...Too bad it didn't work out with Kit, but you guys are wonderful and did the best thing for him and found him another loving home...Any animal baby would be lucky to call your house their home!...We love you guys and your kind hearts...xo...Calle, Halle, Sukki
Oh Wow, I'm so grateful that you made an entire post to answer my questions - thank you! It's a very thorough reply and I must admit - I think you have me sold. Of course I will be doing my own research for a good while to ensure it's a good fit for us.
The looking up/looking down thing will def. need some time for me to adjust. The one worry I have is a cat hanging out on my kitchen counters - I've read there's no real way to stop them from doing it if they're determined. I'm a little concerned about litter box germs in my food prep area.
Hubby wants a cat because I keep saying no to another dog. He's always had pets his whole life and the way he deals with a loss is to bring home another one. But I can't bring home another Eskie so soon b/c it would just remind me of Lily too much.
Will you be trying another cat with Prints or have you realized he needs to be a single cat?
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis,
I've heard it is pointless to try to stop cats from visiting the kitchen counters. Even if you use a water squirt gun, when you are not home, they'll still visit the counters. At least that's what I hear. We just always clean off the counters before preparing food. More often than not, we prepare all food on plates or the cutting board, which are kept in cabinets until we need to use them.
If you think you want another Eskie and there is nothing holding you back other than you're just not ready because you're still grieving for Lily, then if it were me, I'd give it some time, and then when you're ready, adopt your new eskie. For us, we are just very busy with things (life issues such as dealing with my husband's Dad who is going through many life changes.... the passing of his wife... moving out of his house... moving into a senior home, remodeling his home... etc) and know we would be unable to devote time to a new doggie. It could be that you will be ready for a new eskie within only a couple months. If you get a cat before then, everyone will have to go through an adjustment period. But I know it's impossible to estimate how long it would be until you're ready for a new eskie. And I hear cats and dogs do get along.
We are not going to try again with a 2nd cat. Instead, we will wait a year or two before we get our new eskie.
By the way, cats do have personalities and they are all different from each other, just like people! Prints is a lazy bones. The 2nd cat we tried was such a lover and very playful, too! Also, the personality you see at the cat shelter of the kitty may be very different than when you bring them home. If the cat has been fostered, then maybe you can talk with the person who will really know the cat's personality.
Good luck! Let us know if you have more questions.
By the way, I do think Prints is best an only cat. I tend to think when we add an eskie to the mix, he will do okay because he can always escape onto a dresser or kitchen counter if the eskie is hounding him! With cats, the new cat would end up chasing Prints, counters and all! Gates don't mean much to cats, too. With dogs, it is a boundary.
Cats are THE BEST even if we do say so ourselves!
We have an award for you Prints. please drop by and pick it up.
Of course our mom loves cats, which is plain to see, and we are almost no work at all, and super independent. (sshhh, mom, we really are!).
But mom loves dogs and eskies too, as she loves all cats and dogs. We think your friend should get a cat.
--JB
Cats are entirely different from Dogs...They are both loving and fun, but the little wheels in their heads turn in entirely different ways! And it's SO much fun to watch a Cat think.
We have decided! We went to go visit some kitties in the shelter just to see and for me to get acquainted with cats in general. We haven't found our cat yet, but we will be adopting a cat from there and then (eventually) get another dog. Sounds like you have the same plan!
Phyllis
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