42 Things for Your Pets

We only have one fur baby right now, a cat – a boy named Coco.  He’ll be eight years old in June.  Hard to believe that we’ve already had him almost eight years and it’s hard to believe that he’s the only pet we have right now and have had for the last eight years.

In our early years of marriage, we had 2 cats and 2 dogs.  That’s because I’ve always been a pet lover and have always had them in my life.  So, we acquired our pets, quickly, in the first few years of marriage because I’m not wired to be pet-less.

When I met Charlie, he didn’t have a pet.  He had them as a child growing up, but mostly “pets” to him were working farm/ranch animals.  Dogs helped herd cows and cats lived in the barn and kept the rodent population at bay.  So, his experience as a pet lover was different than mine.

When I met Charlie, I had a cat named Rusty.  Rusty was crazy about Charlie and would climb on his chest (Charlie would be sitting down, of course), put his paws on either side of Charlie’s neck and then rub the top of his head under Charlie’s chin.  You see, Charlie had (has) a beard and Rusty must have loved the sensation he felt when rubbing the top of his head under Charlie’s chin, purring all the while.  How could Charlie NOT fall in love with that cat?

We later adopted a kitten that we named Tin Man that was adored by all of us, especially Rusty.  Even though Rusty was a male, he nurtured and cradled Tin Man, showering him with affection at every opportunity.

Sadly, Rusty was lost while Charlie and I were on our honeymoon.  He escaped from the house and the house sitter was never able to find him.  We returned from our honeymoon to the news.  No one wanted to tell us while we were on our honeymoon, so by the time we arrived home, Rusty had been missing more than a week.  The anguished cry that Charlie wailed when he realized that Rusty was gone seared my soul.  And we cried buckets…

A while later, we adopted a dog from our local Humane Society, a female Dalmatian/Australian Shepard mix.  We named her Haley.  Then, later, we took a kitten from Charlie’s family’s ranch, a female we named Dorothy.  And, a few years later, we adopted a Black Lab/Chow mix from the grocery store that we named Jack.

So, we had Jack, Haley, Tinman and Dorothy as part of our lives for years and years.  Do you see a pattern to their names?  Well, the old house that we lived in at the time (Charlie’s childhood home) used to be owned by Jack Haley of The Wizard of Oz fame, so we collected Wizard of Oz memorabilia and named our pets after him.

Over the years, we lost all of these treasured pets, one-by-one, to cancer.  To say we were heartbroken doesn’t describe the anguish and pain we felt from the loss of each.  Readers who are pet lovers will understand this.  I don’t need to say more…

This is a long story to give you a list of 42 Things for Your Pets.  If you are a new reader to the blog, I do lists of 42, mainly for household inventory purposes.  We lost our home in 2007 from a wildfire and spent 9 months creating our household inventory list for our insurance claim.  This series is meant to help all who want to be proactive in their household inventory OR to help those who have suffered a catastrophic loss.

As I write this, the news is filled with the mudslide in Washington state.  My heart goes out to the victims and families who have lost loved ones.  Rescue efforts are still underway searching for, hopefully, survivors, but already the loss of life stands at 24.  Chances are that cherished pets were lost in this catastrophe, too.

And, mudslide is not normally covered under a standard homeowners policy, so  chances are that these victims of this catastrophic loss may never recover financially.  This moment in their lives will always color and define their lives.  Their lives will forever be “before the mudslide” and “after the mudslide”…

My heart breaks for them.

Here’s the list of 42 Things for Your Pets and a FREE printable is at the end of this post:

1. Cat or dog bed
2. Bedding, litter
3. Furniture, steps, ramps
4. Cat tree and/or scratching post
5. Crates and kennels
6. Cat or dog carrier
7. Pet houses, cages, hutches
8. Outdoor enclosures
9. Pet gates and doors
10. Cage and habitat accessories
11. Perches, playstands, stands
12. Nests and nesting material
13. Fish tanks, aquariums, terrariums
14. Aquarium and terrarium equipment
15. Fish tank and retile décor
16. Collars, leashes, harnesses
17. ID tags
18. Water bowls, waterers
19. Food bowls and feeders
20. Feeding accessories (placemats, etc.)
21. Canned and dry food
22. Treats, chews, rawhide
23. Food storage
24. Litter box, litter, liners
25. Cleaning supplies and accessories
26. Stain and odor control products
27. Grooming supplies and tools
28. Pet toys
29. Medicine – prescription and over-the-counter
30. Vitamins and supplements
31. Dental care supplies
32. Ear and eye care
33. Flea and tick supplies
34. Skin and coat care
35. Hairball remedies, catnip
36. Calming aids
37. Rehab and mobility aids
38. First Aid supplies
39. Training tools and equipment
40. Pet apparel
41. Pet books and media
42. Pet memorials

And, here’s your FREE printable checklist:  TS4T Checklist – 42 Things for Your Pets.

And, here’s a picture of my beautiful boy named Coco:

Tootles,

 

Related Posts:

(other posts about pets and Coco)

• A Boy Named Coco
• Dorothy, the Purrful Cat
• Emergency Planning Checklist
• Herding Cats
• Pet Owners:  are you Ready?
• Picture Perfect:  The Art of Photobombing