I went to Petsmart the other day to look at rat cages, but unfortunately ended up meeting a cat at their adoption center (which just happened to have a fair that day with volunteers all around). This is unfortunate because now I've been drawn in to the cuteness of cats. Today I also went to the Humane Society's main building to "compare" other cats to keep myself from rushing into anything. It's nice to know that if by the time I decide on a cat (or get rats instead), there will be one I like there- even if it's not one I'm looking at now. That said, there are three I really liked:

( Trying to decide on pets )

I'm leaning towards maybe adopting the two older rats and getting one of the older cats. I probably liked the kitten more (so cute!), but I know she'd get into "trouble." The older cats seem like they won't do too much playing, but will want tons of affection- which might be better for me, given that I'll be leaving the cat alone for the 9 hours while I'm at work. That's a long time for a kitten. The older cats will probably end up sleeping through most of it.

The good news is that no matter what I decide, I will probably have a pic-spam post within the next few weeks to show off total adorableness.

A few years ago, my mom told me there was a kitten in a big bush down the street that was meowing. It had been doing that for some time and wouldn't come out. I walked down there, spent a few hours trying to coax him out. Finally, the owner of the house gave me some fish and water to offer the cat. I guess between that and the fact that I had spent time with the cat, he came out. I put him in a cage and brought him home. We have no idea who his mother was or where she was- just that this guy was in there alone, and crying out. A few weeks later, my mom said she thought she saw was another cat in that same area- but didn't stay too long.

We ended up keeping the kitten we found. I decided to name him Lotto. Since it was summer, I spent a lot of time with him. I was actually the only one he really liked when he first came home, since I had helped him out of the bush, spent most of my time with him (including spending the first few nights sleeping on the couch with him). At the end of that summer, though, I moved into the dorms and lost my bond with him. Now he doesn't really like me. He runs away whenever I walk around the house. I can still pet him, and once in a while, he'll come up to me- rub against my leg, but it's usually only briefly. He mostly bonds with my mom, since she's the one who feeds him every morning (not to mention the fact that I stay in my room most of the day).

( Kitty pictures )

This morning I got news that my cat Chance passed away. My mom was out grocery shopping this morning. When she came back, she saw his body in the neighbor's driveway. It doesn't appear he was hit or anything, though. Chance was quite an old cat (probably between 13 and 15- not sure of his exact age). He spent most of his recent years especially enjoying cuddling with everyone. He loved to be cuddled and be given all sorts of attention. When he did, though, you probably didn't want to wear any good clothes because he'd start drooling. He would make sure you paid attention to him. If you didn't, he'd "gently" remind you he was there by raising up his paw. He was also quite vocal when he entered the room. He simply could not be ignored.

Chance was always a control freak

( More pictures )

It's time to give my answer to the question of which is "better"- cats or dogs. I began thinking about what type of pet I'd prefer for the future a few months ago. At first, I was thinking cats would be the preferred animal- you don't have to walk them, they can live full-time in an apartment without much trouble, and they're fairly independent. Chance, my oldest cat, has changed my mind. While the above is true, cats also want attention on their time. It doesn't matter if I'm sleeping at 5 in the morning- if he wants out, he'll let me know. It's especially bad if I'm in the kitchen since he can get up on the counter.

Dogs, even though they require outdoor exercise, I think might be preferred over cats. They can be trained more easily and will adapt to fit my schedule moreso than a cat. A dog will be more loyal- in the sense that I'm not there just when it needs something.

Of course, rats are superior to both. They're small, can be kept in a cage and can be just as loveable. Plus, having a rat is like having your own minature dentist (they like cleaning teeth)!

For the past few weeks, I've been training to be a volunteer for the county humane society. I've learned a lot about dogs so far (and will learn about cats on Tuesday). We've been learning about training dogs, dominance and agression, behavior, mostly anything you'd need to know when handling a dog. I probably won't be dealing with any agressive dogs, since volunteers usually just work with the "adoptable" pets and not the strays.

( More humane society stuff- including a red/white husky story )

Edit: Petfinder has a picture of Sebrina (note: that's how her name is spelled. Sebrina).

If you had a pet- any kind of animal companion, whether it be dog, cat, rat, hedgehog, horse, pig... whatever- what would you do if a disaster suddenly came about and you had to evacuate? Keep in mind that it might be much more difficult to find shelter with your pet, especially with the more exotic or unusual pets (rats- people have a fear/dislike of rats... perhaps pigs).

Would you risk taking the animal, knowing it could prevent shelter or other aid, or that you might not be able to have enough (food and water) supplies for your pet as well?

Or would you leave it to hopefully find its own way?

Or another option- if you couldn't find a place that would take you and your pet/s, would you remain in your house with your pet, and risk surviving the disaster?

*sigh* That'd be an incredibly hard decision to make- it could mean risking a lot for love.

Today I spent ~$17 on pet stuff. Down the street from my house was a garage sell. They happened to have a mouse/hamster/gerbil cage for $5. Even though my parents won't let me have a mouse, I figure they wouldn't stop me from having a mouse cage. :-P The CriterTrail X seems like a neat little cage. If I ever do get a mouse, I'll probably buy a second (larger) cage and connect the two. This is nice for the price, however, especially considering it is expandable.

( 5 books for $12.90- Discount prices from the  )

It seems as though I lost a cat, but gained a mouse. Alas, it's not a pet mouse. Last night as I was watching tv/trying to get to sleep, I heard a squeak from my closet. It seemed to come from a rolled up poster. I picked it up to find something drop out... and then run underneath some organizer things in my closet. It remained pretty quiet for a while. I think I heard him make some noise and I tried to find him, but no luck. Today I'll possibly clean out some of the junk in my closet. I'm hoping to find him, pick him up in something (like an old butter container) and put him outside someplace. My brother suggested a mouse trap. I don't think that'd be very compassionate.

My cat, Random, is very sick at the moment. I'm not sure exactly how old he is, but I know he's at least 10 years. For an indoor/outdoor cat, that's a pretty full life. My mom tonight said she thought he was 12 years old. The human equivalency to that would probably be 60-64 years.

( Random was sick... now he's passed on )

Just so everyone knows, I am taking this well. I am sad, sure... but... these things happen. I've thought a lot about life and death- and have come to accept that that death is an inevitable, necissary part of life. I'm actually pretty content/accepting about it, but still sad. Yes. It makes sense. Yeah, so I just wanted to make this point to let everyone know I'm fine... or relatively fine, given the circumstances.

I visited the 4th (and last) pet shop in Las Cruces- Animal Friends. It's much better than I was anticipating. I was expecting another Jerry's for some reason. I guess the name "Animal Friends" makes it sound all cute and cuddly... so I figured it'd be bad. It wasn't too bad--- at least not as bad as Jerry's Pet Shop in the mall. My biggest concern is that the rats didn't have any toys or even any hiding places in their cage. There were 3 rats in a fairly large aquarium, so that was nice. There wasn't a special little rat house or a fake log or anything for the rats to hide under. I mentioned this to a sales person, and she just said they hadn't put one in. The mice cage was also like this. These rats probably wouldn't be much healthier than the ones at Jerry's. Physically, they might be- since there is no overcrowding... but mentally, without a place for hiding (which rats like to do), I don't think they'd make great pets... or as great of a pet as a rat who has some kind of toy and/or a place for privacy/hiding.

On another note, I've been bugging my parents to let me keep a rat in my room. My mom is insistently saying no. This is in part because she doesn't like rats- largely due to the bad reputations that wild rats have. Wild rats can be very bad, indeed. Pet rats are different, though. Think about wild dogs versus domesticated dogs. There's a huge difference. It's relatively the same with rats. Domesticated rats can make very great pets. They're clean, intelligent, and social. The other problem is that we do have 3 cats. I can understand the concern. My big argument is that I keep the door to my room shut most of the time, so the cats wouldn't be able to get in. The rat(s) will also be kept in a cage, so if a cat does get in, I'll probably be able to save the day before anything happens.

Oh well. Time to start thinking about applying for a summer job.

I held a sugar glider a little while ago. I went to a pet store that happened to have one, so I asked to see it. It was a cute little thing... although very nervous. I don't know if I'd want to have one, however. They make awful screechy noises if they're nervous/upset/etc.

( Suglar glider photos )

I was visiting SelectSmart.com, and I found a "Pet Selectors" test to determine what type of pet I should get. The first time I took it, I visualized myself at least giving a good amount of attention to the creature (I still chose low grooming, little cleaning, etc.--- but as far as being there with it, showing it love, playing with it, etc.). For this, rat came up with a 100% match, followed closely by dog (98% match)... and some others I can't remember. Cat was at 88% match.

I took it a second time- but thinking how lazy I am, changed it to give the creature little/no attention, aside from feeding and cleaning. Once again, rat was a perfect (100%) match. This time, dog and cat were towards the bottom of the list (with good reason). Various lizards and reptiles were listed at the top (gecko, for example was a 98% match)... and so were birds.

I think having a rat or a lizard might actually make a good pet. They don't require large amounts of space. "Maintence" is fairly easy- feeding and cleaning... occassional playing/exercise (rats especially). Oh, and they're cheaper to keep around than a dog or cat. I think once I find a semi-permanent city to reside in, I might take up a pet. It's likely to be a rat/lizard-ous animal... until I can get more room, a fixed routine, fixed budget and a more permanent location- in which case, I'll likely get a dog or cat.

Over winter break, I caught Lotto playing... well, biting... a soccer ball. I caught it on video. It's a 15 second clip, ~4mb, and is QuickTime compatible (.mov format). Here's Lotto!. (note: You can either click the link and watch it in your browser or you can right-click it and "Save target as..." to save to your hard drive)

There are four pictures of Lotto available for viewing. Yay!

Here

I got a new kitten---- he was found down the street, without a mother. After some time, I finally managed to lure him out a huge stick pile. I took some pictures, but haven't uploaded them... and now my cat's demanding attention.