Bipolar Type II Support Group

I am interested in knowing what kind of pets everyone has. Would also love to know the story of how you came about adopting them and maybe if they've helped you in hard times you can share that story too.

I have three cats, two dogs, and five rats (but I have to give up my rats ) , also a Betta fish. My youngest cat Kiki I got almost 3 years ago. She was a feral kitten. Born in the wild. I took her when she was about three weeks old and bottle fed her, weaned her, and was basically her surrogate mother. She grew up to be a healthy kitty. A mean kitty, but a healthy one. lol The middle kitty who is about 5 years old my brother adopted from the animal shelter. She was born at the shelter and my brother fostered her (hiding her in his room because my dad didn't know about her), and later finally adopted her. My dad finally found out there was a cat in his room, but he wasn't too upset lol. My oldest cat is my age, a whopping 19 years old! She is a very old, fat cat. I think she's invincible. LOL. I don't really know the story of her because we grew up together and I don't remember my life. (sad I know). I think my mom got her from a back yard breeder. =( They were going to drown the kittens because they weren't being sold. That's all I know of that. But my mom basically saved her.

My two doggies. =) Both are girls. One is a mutt, probably mixed with rat terrier, dachshund, hmmm all the terriers? haha. She is about 7 years old? Maybe older. We adopted her from a shelter for my sisters birthday about 5 years ago. She's a very sweet dog, but people in my house are mean to her because she's a bit naughty. But what do you expect from a terrier?! lol I love her, she is always here for me. But I do get annoyed with her constant barking at every little thing. My other dog is an outside dog (sadly...but its not my choice, I live with my parents and my dad won't allow her inside) I rescued from the streets. Well she kinda came to my house. lol My brothers were sitting outside with their friends and this "pit bull looking" dog comes prancing up our drive way to the boys. I wasn't home at the time but got home shortly after. When I got home she was still there, sweet as could be. I knew my father would never let me keep this dog, so I begged him to let me keep her until I can find a rescue or some one to take her. She was not in good shape at the time. She was a bit skinny, her ears were severely fly bitten and bleeding, she had a severely infected eye, and a rotten tooth. I couldn't let this dog just go back out on the streets. She was so sweet. We instantly formed a bond. I named her Lucy. So I got in contact with a rescue and they told me she wasn't a pit bull that she was likely a shar pei lab mix. Which yeah she is lol. They tried to help me find a home for her but time kept going by and my dad told me I could only keep her a week or she would have to go to the shelter, which would be certain death. So I begged my dad to let me keep her, but nothing. Then I talked to my brothers and they said they would help pay for her food and stuff. So that kinda convinced him. I got to keep her! The rescue I was in contact with help me raise money for vet care and she got all the vet care she needed and we got her spayed and microchipped as well. We raised over $400 bucks for her vet bill. It was amazing. I am glad I saved her because she is the best dog. I just wish she could be inside. She is about 4 years old maybe older.

Sorry for writing so much. But thats the stories of my animals. =) Please share yours.

I have 2 cats bro and sis and also a Betta fish lol it's a gorgeous male

We have three kitties. One is Sassy she is 14. We got her at the humane society with her Bro. Unfortunately we lost him last year, but she is still around. The we have Chloe who came from a farm. My hubby used her to propose to me when she was 7 weeks old. She is 12.

Lastly there is Buddy he is our newest addition. He is 2. We got him from my sister in law's friend who couldn't bring him in an apartment he was moving into.

We have a dog named SYD he is almost 2 also. He is a cavalier king charles spaniel.Lastly

my daughter has a guppy and an alge eater fish in her bedroom.

I have my precious kitty, Angel. I helped her mother give birth to her, she is very special and will be 11 this year. My daughter gets so jealous that "I love Angel more" my darling cat sleeps next to me in bed and is always ready for an afternoon snooze

She has always been my Angel. No matter where I am or how many times I move (used to be a lot) she is right by my side. When I was going through hell, she never left me. Just stroking her soft fur or holding her in my arms, feeling the warm body next to mine often kept me going. Times when I was suicidal, I couldn't do it because I loved her too much. She really has been my Angel

I don't have any pets now but I used to have a bearded dragon and three Burmese pythons. My boyfriend has a pug. He is the cutest!

Joy never figured you for the exotic. You're so down to earth and sensible. I have a house full, all rescues, including a rescue person right now. A shitzu, Saucy, a Pit Bull, Jaffy, Black Lab, Drake, Lab mix, Dakota. The cats are Goose-Goose originally named Ringo, Mookie, black & white like a cow, Tiger, my mothers, and Noire. Lost my southern cat named Jolene Biscuit.

I definitely have the mothering urge, but they bring great comfort to me and I can't imagine my home w/o a lovable.

xx hedap

I have two spaniels. Rupert, a cavalier king charles spaniel, and Smo, an english springer spaniel. We got Rupert when a family friend ended up getting a replacement dog from the breeder (their dog was having seizures and the vet said there was no way it was going to live, but it did). Needless to say, it's hard to take care of two un-potty trained puppies.

We got Smo as a hunting dog for my brother from a local bait shop. She's amazing. I don't know what I would do without my dogs when things get tough. They are my kids.

I've got three kitties who are the best.

Neko is 13. He's been with me ever since I moved out on my own. He's a stubborn kitty and he dominates the other cats. Other than that he is very sweet and loves to fetch. Yes, my cat plays fetch and he loves my hair ties. It's so darn cute. A friend found Neek as a stray and asked if I wanted her. I said oh yeah, I've never turned down a kitty. Neek doesn't cuddle, but he is always nearby. He loves hanging out in my bedroom and he is skittish when people come over.

Boo Boo Kitty is my other boy, he's 4 years old. I adopted him from PetSmart. He used to have a sister named Peeka [get it - Peekaboo] but I think she was ran over. I came home one day and her collar was on my door That couldn't be a good thing. Boo Boo Kitty loves to eat and he's a fat gray tabby. He's my little social guy. He approaches everyone at the door. He cuddles sometimes.

My baby kitty Tommy is probably about 3 years old now. A friend of mine found him walking around and he didn't seem to have a home. So again, I said yes he can join my family. I got him fixed and he is a sweetie. He doesn't like to cuddle, but he loves to lay next to me when I'm on the computer. He comes when I call him, unlike my dog. LOL Tommy is a little lovebug, total sweetie.

I initially went to PetSmart to adopt one kitty. I came home with Boo Boo Kitty, Peeka, and a Beagle mix named Bailey. Bailey is about 9 years old. She was just sitting there in the kennel...just looking at me with her sweet puppy eyes and ears. We put some kitties in her face to see if she'd react in a negative way. She didn't. Other people wanted her but I claimed her first. She's a sweet girl. She rarely barks which is good cuz barking is annoying. When I first adopted her, the doc told me that she had heart disease. I was devastated, as I just adopted her. The doc said that it is progressing so slowly that she could die of natural causes. Then last year in June she had a seizure. It scared me so bad; I thought that she was having a stroke. I rushed her to emergency and by then she was fine. Her first seizure lasted a minute or two, which seemed eternal. They did blood work and said she's fine, you can go home. Then I was almost home and she began having another seizure, even more severe and it lasted for about 10 minutes! It was awful. Drove back to the vet, crying my eyes out, asking them to help me with my dog. They gave her some antiseizure meds and she was still having a seizure. They had to keep her for four days to get her stable. She's been on meds ever since and has not since had another seizure, thank God. They did discover that she has a brain tumor, which is what induced the seizures. Kind of a blessing, to find out that she had the tumor. I asked the doc how long she had to live and he said it could be a few months, a year or two maybe. She is still going strong today and is seizure and pain-free. She is a champ!

I've lost three cats since I lived in this house for four years. Used to have a 9 year old sweet kitty named Caszhmere. His nickname was Fuzzy and he responded to it. He got outside one day, which was weird because he rarely went outside. One day he never came back. Broke my heart in a million pieces, losing my cuddly Fuzzy. He was the sweetest cat ever.

Then as I mentioned, I lost Peeka too. She kept going outside and wandering. I think she was hit by a car but I'm not sure what happened.

My ex-husband and I adopted a cat in 2008. We named her Bobbie. As in Bobcat. lol. Like Peeka, she liked to explore outside. She never came home one day. We were heartbroken.

Then a few months ago, my cat Tommy was outside exploring, which he loved to do. He was in my neighbor's back yard and he tried to shoot Tommy with a BB gun!!! My neighbor scooped up Tommy and told me what happened. I called the cops on him. I confronted him and asked him what the hell do you think you're doing? This is my cat!! He almost shot my neighbor. The cops came and they said yeah we know this guy, and they told me to stay away from him. I told the jerk to never mess with my cat again. He said my cat was in t he backyard taunting his little chihua [spelling??]. I told him I was very sorry that my cat did that and it wouldn't happen again. I thought we reached an understanding, and as I was leaving he yelled that he was gonna call the cops on me. Dude is crazy. Since that day, I don't let my Tommy outside. I don't trust that guy.

I have had many kitties. I had an orange tabby named Benjamin years ago, early 2000s. My roommate's dog MURDERED him. He didn't have any claws to defend himself and he was killed. I had to come home and see his body. I was so upset!! He was my baby who had been with me since I went out on my own. Neko and Fuzz were able to escape and hide in the closet from that terrible dog. We buried him in the park and made a grave for him. It was so hard.

There's the gist of my animal stories. One more thing I'd like to mention that in the past when I was suicidal I thought to myself, who would would take care of my babies? I stayed alive for them, among other reasons. But I love my kitties so much, they are my children, since I don't have any kids. They're my life. Whenever I am down or sad, they come and hang out with me. Tommy is at my side a lot and he taps my arm with his paw when he wants to be petted. It's soooo adorable. I love my babies so much. They truly saved my life. I live for them. I love animals!!!

Joy, I too used to have a bearded dragon. He was so cute. I wanted to get a snake but my parents wouldn't allow it because they have this fear of it getting out. lol If it's in a proper enclosure it will not get out.

I saw a couple of you have Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Those are one of my favorite dogs. I want one because I know they are very sweet docile dogs, only thing is I don't buy from breeders and even if I did they are soooo expensive. Not many rescues around here have them. I would like a dog I could take to the beach and stuff and take places (where dogs are allowed). My dogs aren't good for taking places. They are terrified of water, and one of my dogs is not socialized. I really want a dog who will be by my side all the time (I am home most of the time). I dont think my dad would allow another dog though. =( Not even if it were going to help me cope. Sadly.

Spiderwoman, you sound like me. But I HAVE to turn down animals because I live with my parents and my dad doesn't really like animals that much. My first cat, Lucky Blue, who I got for my 13th birthday, loved going outside I didn't like him going out side though because people around here drive like maniacs. I would always tell my family not to let him outside but they never listened to me they just were like "It's not fair to keep him in the house when he loves going outside" I thought it was plenty fair. I was trying to protect my beloved cat from dangers outside. He meant so much to me. One day (3 years after I got my baby) at around 10pm the usual time I go to get him from outside, (He would come when called,) he didn't come. I was going to be gone that weekend because it was my friends 16th birthday and we were going to disneyland. I was completely devastated. Days went by and my cat still wasn't home. We figured he was hit by a car...my worst nightmare... I could never figure out why no one would listen to me to not let him outside. He was my angel. It's been almost 3 years since he's passed and I still cry about it. I miss him so much. I always think about if he was here I know he would comfort me and I would be okay. But he's not, and I could never have him back. He was like a son to me. He was my baby. I will always love and miss him.

Awwww, Amy, I'm so sorry about Lucky Blue It's so hard to lose an animal!! Like I said, I don't let my cats out except for Boo Boo Kitty. He's so fat that he couldn't jump the wall if he wanted to. He always just lays around in the backyard and he likes to play in the dirt. LOL. He is always home though and he knows when it's time eat is when mommy is home! I miss the cats I lost so much. Cats have the most amazing personalities, same with dogs. Fuzzy was a beautiful and sweet cat and I miss my little cuddlebug. I won't be able to accept any more animals because I am going to be moving out of my house and renting another one somewhere. I can't bear thinking that they won't let me move in with 4 animals. I will find a way somehow, because I can't imagine giving my babies away to anyone or living without them.