Do you include your animals in your holiday observations?

awatkins · Dec 18, 2006

We always serve special goodies to the birds and this year Darby will be in on the treats. We also give them gifts (parrots LOVE to tear wrapping paper!) and have already gotten sets of plastic keys for the birds and a few chewy toys for Darbs. Oh, and I still have all the ornaments I made over the years for our pets that have since passed on. *sniff*

Does anyone else do anything special for pets or animals for the holidays?

MidnightMuse · Dec 18, 2006

Every year I buy my Mother's Westie a new squeaky-cow toy (her favorite) and my cats get new cat nip toys, new mice, fresh catnip, a few packages of tuna fish just for them, and a new hair brush that they share.

My guys love presents - Rumor will open them himself, then open his brother's gifts for him. He'll even open the new bag of kibble whenever we go shopping, since he knows it's his anyway!

awatkins · Dec 18, 2006

Oh! I just remembered this! If you look at the edge of Rio's picture, you'll see part of his Christmas stocking for that year ('86 or '87). I cut it out when I resized the pic for my avatar.

< -- Can you see it?

truelyana · Dec 18, 2006

Little Red Barn · Dec 18, 2006

Yes, we always put up stockings for our pets and we don't forget our feathered friends outdoors.

And unbelievably my teen still gets out the oats just before midnite Christmas eve and sprinkles the ground for Santa's reindeers...

TheIT · Dec 18, 2006

Informally. I was at the pet store last night and picked up some new catnip toys for my cats along with the other necessities. Milli wore a blissed out smile for the rest of the night.

MidnightMuse · Dec 18, 2006

TheIT said:
Milli wore a blissed out smile for the rest of the night.

Rumor is still completely stoned out of his mind!

alleycat · Dec 21, 2006

Everyday is a holiday for my cat. But, yes, she gets included at Christmas. My mom even said she's getting something for Anna.

endless · Dec 22, 2006

All of the dogs get to wear Christmas jingle bell collars. These are received with mixed emotions on their part. They get lots of treats and watch all the Christmas specials along with us. Christmas music is played in our kennel.

The cats get canned food (which they love) and sit under the Christmas tree. I don't put Christmas collars on the cats. Tried it once and wound up with two very shredded collars. Apparently they were itchy....

aliajohnson · Dec 22, 2006

Absolutely. The dogs get bones--separately or it could ugly. This will be my first christmas with the stray I took in and he'll be getting all kinds of goodies. My parents' cat doesn't care for toys we buy him, so we leave the mess of unwrapped presents and he goes nuts with the paper and boxes.

And of course, they'll be included in our Holiday photos.

tlblack · Dec 22, 2006

I don't have any pets right now, but... We used to have this hound that we adopted from a no-kill facility in Florida. After we got her used to the fact that we weren't going to hurt her (She had been beaten and the people who took her to the animal shelter found her tied to a tree in the woods with four puppies.), she absolutely fell in love with those rawhide chew sticks. So... every Christmas she had a bag of them under the tree. My son always wanted them wrapped in Christmas paper. Chanel (aptly named by the no-kill facility employees) would rip the paper off of them just like a little kid opening a new toy and then whine until she got one to devour. She turned out to be very very spoiled and loved every minute of it.

MMcC · Dec 22, 2006

I include my animals in everything. We have two dogs and a cat. One of the dogs and the cat came with the husband. The other one is my constant companion to the point of absurdity.

If I blow through Starbucks without Max the guys/gals at the window want to know if he's sick.

the bunny hugger · Dec 28, 2006

I sat down to open my presents. The dog hears a rustle, thinks food, and is write there sticking his nose (literally) in. So I tell him off, "This is not for you. Not everything is for you, dog." Make him go sit on his mat, sit down again, pick up the parcel.

Is the squeaky bone toy for him from my sister. Sigh.

ChunkyC · Dec 28, 2006

The cats got more presents this year than I did. Then again, they get more presents than me every year.

As soon as we put up the tree, the boys start to get wrangy as all get-out. Then, come christmas morning, they're right over by the tree when I come out to the living room. They get so excited, we have to keep all the presents including our own in the closet until Christmas morning, otherwise they'd tear them to shreds.

Yeah, the extra-large tub of catnip might have been a factor.

MidnightMuse · Dec 28, 2006

Aww !

We gave my mother's Westie two new squeak toys, and it was really adorable to watch her go crazy with them for nearly an hour. We wrapped them (of course) and made them squeak just once, and that little terrier ripped that wrapping paper apart in seconds flat!

Meanwhile, my cats were at home, snorting all their fresh 'nip.

alleycat · Dec 28, 2006

My mother gave my kitty a nice, warm blanket to use as a bed.

I got holiday towels.

:-(

Nancy · Dec 29, 2006

My cat got the amazing "mylar on a plastic stick" that is always his favorite. I guess he's into newer materials.

The fake dead mouse his human grandmother gave him was of less interest.

awatkins · Dec 29, 2006

Darby got a squeaky candy cane, rawhide stocking with rawhide chews, another squeaky toy, a rubber duck (it squeaks, too) and a great big new crate! He loves the crate and takes all his naps in it.

Rio and Pancho got toy keys that they promptly threw down and pooped on. I guess they wanted squeak toys, too.

I loved reading about all your animals!

jdkiggins · Dec 30, 2006

Yes, I do give my pets gifts. They each have a stocking, too. It's fun watching them rip open the wrapping paper. This year we bought them each a new chew toy and lots of rawhide bones and mini treats. The cats got little balls with bells in them. It's comical to watch them bat them around the porch and toss them in the air.

Do you include your animals in your holiday observations?

awatkins

Not harboring illegal parrot

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

awatkins

Not harboring illegal parrot

truelyana

Set yourself free

Little Red Barn

haz own threads

TheIT

Infuriatingly Theoretical

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

alleycat

Still around

endless

Of course I'm listening....

aliajohnson

tlblack

nothing simple here

MMcC

the bunny hugger

practical experience, FTW

ChunkyC

It's hard being green

MidnightMuse

Midnight Reading

alleycat

Still around

Nancy

Masquerading as normal...

awatkins

Not harboring illegal parrot

jdkiggins

Troubled-Talks with animals.