puppy or kitten?

Kitten!

A kitten or even two

We've decided not to get another dog since we had our last one put to sleep but the house is very still with just one fat, black cat.

Are you thinking of getting one Jess, do you have any others?

One of each. Or two even.

I think dogs create less mess [I only realised that when I no longer had cats*]. And, if you like having a bird table in your garden a cat is a no no [*]. Easier to find someone to look after your cat if you plan on having holidays. But, the main difference for me is that I lost so many cats on the road that I was no longer enjoying them as I was worried the whole time they weren't in the house. And I tried having indoor pedigree cats but they tied me down more than a dog and, in retrospect it wasn't fair on them. I agree with Ana that a kitten is the most delightful creature on the planet [oh to have one again!] but a puppy is something that wees and poos and eats your furniture for weeks/months/years. I do miss having a cat, though . Which is why I have whippets as they're like a cross between the two.

Do you want a pet that you can train to come when called and will keep you company, share walks with you.
Or a ball of fluff that does completely as it pleases, scampers up your curtains and claws your furniture.
I've had both, separately and simultaneously, at the moment we share our house with a cat from CPL. I would always go for a cat at least 12mths but a puppy of 8-12 wks before it's picked up bad habits.

Oh I forgot about the curtains. We had cats/kittens for years that never climbed curtains and then, for some reason they all did. I've only just got round to buying new curtains after years of scruffy curtains with catches all over them. And I used to have two lots of clothes; my cat clothes and my going out clothes [the latter being the ones without catches all over].

Lightbulb moment!! Dogs are supposed to come when you call them. Cheers nina I've just explained that to my 3 year old basset. She gave me a withering look and says that is wrong

Always a puppy....love the challenge!

Basset when of course the rules don't apply

I was planning to have a dog in my retirement, but dog-proofing the garden would have been quite an undertaking, and the temptation to paddle/swim in the brook at the end of the garden would have been overwhelming. Standard poodle would have been my choice. A cat would have met its end on the road which is quite busy.
Get one of each Jess, if you're really thinking about it.

Definitely puppy. One like the guard dog called fang that the concierge for our building has.

It's a chihuahua

I've known a few chihuahua's in my time. I think fang is a very appropriate name .

Actually the only two dogs who have ever bitten me were a chihuahua and a Pekingese with no teeth but VERY hard gums!

Jess You don't like cats. What on earth are you talking about?

If everything was equal, I 'd have a couple of both. I dream about having five Dobermans, called Daisy, Buttercup, Caroline, Bluebell and Pansy. I also dream about having Figaro the duck, whom you must not feed because he sinks, Alphabet the pig, and the two horses. Rowan is a pretty little mare; the big he-horse is glorious, but I cannot remember his name when I am awake. There was bad moment in my dream when I went to the library and a parking warden slapped a ticket on the he-horses' bum. He bit her.

Whatever absent is on, I would like some too, please!

I used to know a mare called Rowan. Wonderful to ride but, go in her stable and you were a gonner.

Sounds good doesn't it

Hypothetically absent kittens are adorable. Fluffy balls of cuteness. So I can see the appeal.
Puppies do have it on the smell front though. Not the pee and poo but the smell of warm puppy.

Thats only for the first few weeks, I find; wonderful smell of milk and puppy. I bred a few litters of cocker spaniels and they were adorable [while their mum was still cleaning up the mess ].

Smell of warm puppy is great; but smell of wet dog??

To be truthful, I adore both and am sad that I have made up my mind that there will be no more of either (once the last Fonts have said goodbye). Good reasons but a sad decision.

Aha; don't get wet dog when you have a whippet. Won't go near wetness of any kind. Except, possibly snow which fools them in some way.

This isn't going to be one of those puppies and kittens threads is it?
Grace and her predecessor also hate(d) getting their tootsies wet and her fur is so thin she dries in seconds if she has been caught in the rain without her designer Greyhound raincoat.

What are you suggesting gracesmum? Small soft little things very therapeutic - just to think about even. Feeling tense? Cup your hands in your lap and imagine they are cradling something warm and fluffy. If that fluffy thing happens to be an imaginary kitten/puppy, all the better.

Neither. Said with great, great regret. I do not want to be responsible for anything else, now; we travel a lot, some of it to do with our charity work, and it just wouldn't be fair to a dog or cat, who would need us. It is sad - we have always had pets, but now we just have our "grand dog" who knows us, knows our house, knows where the treats are (ring a bell?)

It is part of what I call our "self- ish" life. as opposed to "selfish". I do miss the unconditional love, though..