What are the pros and cons of having a pet?

[Guest guest]

Like a dog, cat, fish, etc.?

[Sunanda]

i was thinking about a cat lately... the only problem is that they eat meat... or they can be vegetarians....

 

Dogs are kind of dirty... but anyway, do as you like bro, there's no regulative principle forbidding to have pets... you can feed them with prasadam...and save them.... easier than with humans ha ha !!

[Guest guest]

I heard that if you have a pet, you will run the risk of being born as an animal in your next life.

[gHari]

I got him some hamsters, because I travelled. They made babies. The prasadam did make them holy little fellows though, I must say. Thank goodness that's all over. I'd say it is best not to have pets; they're just so filthy. We need to keep that right hand clean always, in case Krsna might allow us to put it in the bead bag for some merciful association with His holy name.

 

Talk to the spiders and flies that Krsna sends to you. Cultivate the friendship of Paramatma and Syamasundara. You are never alone.

 

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

I am a householder and - we have 9 cats.

 

All but two are sad souls thrown away by their owners who we've rescued from the street.

 

Yes - I have to clean up after them - but boo hoo - so what - I would rather clean up after them - than them living in the street.

 

If you get a pet DO NOT DO IT IN THE MODE OF PASSION - we cannot take in an animal then later [in six months or two years] get rid of them - because we find out there are issues that we were not smart enough to consider before the choice.

 

Do not be like so many creeps who get pets - let them become attached - then - good bye.

 

Not fair to that pet to do that - so if one wants an animal - choose this activity in the mode of goodness - or there may for certain be more karma from it.

 

Do not let your cats outside either!

 

Yes there is a risk of having our last memory being that of the cat etc., - but if one is fixed up in K.C. - and has understanding and faith - then I would not fear that.

 

As for what to feed - if they will eat prashadam only - that's great - but these cats won't [we are working on it].

 

Yes - I feed them commercial cat food - yes - I know where it comes from.

 

It may be reasoned like this; the cat food is made from the throw away parts of slaughterhouse victims.

 

Since I am a vegetarian - the animals were not killed for me.

 

Feeding that 'throw away' to my pet - when one is a vegetarian - is the least bad.

 

I am maintaining these innocent cats with that nasty 'throw away' - I am sure that the animals who were thus murdered would not have an issue with this - at least their death which was 100% for the tongue of a human - has this one point to counter-ballance that selfish end to their lives.

 

I know that many readers shall pounce on me for this - but I do not care.

 

Due to time and circumstances I have flesh eating companion animals - and I may be some-what 'unclean' do to my interaction with their feeding ec., but I will say that doesn't matter - they are here and that's that.

 

In the last couple of years - we had a cat that left his body while we chanted for him - he was almost 20 years old when he left. Before that there was another she was 13 years old.

 

Last year we saved an old cat from the street who was deaf and mostly blind - she was placed in a home of friends - but she later passed away - at least it wasn't alone in a snow bank!

 

We feed at least 12 more cats everyday outside!

 

They all hear the Holy Name all the time!

 

So if the souls of these cats were once people like me [and you?] - then they too need a place to be for that last animal life - because as Krishna says:

 

"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail." [bG 8.6]

[Guest guest]

Just remember that the pets tongue is also used as toilet paper!!!!Then it licks its entire body....in the case of cats and dogs. They also like to lick you in a friendly way.

 

We had a cat at our temple...a stray cat that landed there as a kitten and then just made it's home there. Devotees kept it as vegetarian. It loved paneer and any prasadam. The kids just loved to cuddle it beyond reasoning until they saw it eating a huge rat one Sunday. Of course this is natures arrangement that it is attracted to eating rats.

 

I feel that if i needed to get a pet in future i would get a parrot that talks back...then i would let it hear krishna katha the whole time and so it would speak back in a beneficial way to me. I really wouldn't mind serving it....even sharing my prasad with it. I think that this is the best arrangement for spiritual advancement.

 

You can still feed stray cats prasad...thats compassion.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Ohhh. I assume that they were remebering Jad Bharat pastime in the Srimad Bhagavatam when they told you that you could take rebirth if you got attached to your pet....Becareful...Jad Bharat was on the stage of bhava when that happened!

[Guest guest]

Pets are so loyal and faithful. Chances are that one can get very attached.

 

Your need to serve something, some pet should be healthily dovetailed into serving a Deity of Sri Krishna. Also when serving read about the way the Deity reciprocated with devotees.

 

 

[water]

 

First of all, having an animal is a great responsibility, in many ways.

Providing proper food and space for them is not always easy.

Esp. if you adopt a stray animal, consider that it my be carrying a dangerous disease, and that by keeping such an animal you may be endangering yourself and other people around you.

Also, animals do not want to be left alone for longer periods of time. If there is nobody to keep it company during the day, consider to get two animals. They don't have to be of the same kind. Cats and dogs can get along well; and so do birds and cats (but first get the bird, then the cat; cats tend to not seriously attack those that have been in the house before them; the same goes for hamsters, mice or fish).

 

Secondly, animals can get parasites. Fleas, ticks, worms, mites, some of them also carrying other parasites, bacterial and viral. Some of them are species-specific, some don't mind getting at you as well. If you don't take care of them, the parasites can become a serious health-threat both for the animal and the owner as well as other people it comes in contact with.

 

 

* * *

 

As for attachment:

I grew up as an only child in a very dysfunctional family. At age 8, I got myself a cat. I was practically raised by this cat, as my parents didn't have much time for me, and we didn't have a very positive relationship with the people around here.

My cat and I lived together for 20 years, all his life. When he died, I cried, but I felt no pain, and I needed no consolation.

One could say I was very attached to my cat. But looking back, it was far more than that. I was attached, and still am, to the way we were together -- but this was nothing that had specifically to do with him being a cat.

There is much more to having an animal than just liking to have a fluffy living thing next to you.

So I don't really understand this fear of attachment.

[Guest guest]

There are animals that are always around, I guess others would call em pets, and I admit I slap em around a bit, which could be called "petting".

 

They are animals, but they are also associates. These big, old, useless dogs keep the deer away, so we can have some berries this time of year. They keep the 'coons at bay, so the trash cans keep upright (except when I forget to get their food). They eat on their own mostly, but i GIVE EM FOOD BANK BREAD.

 

The slugs are the real pets for dog owners. Two slugs per pile = no pile in two hours.

 

Birds fly in my house all the time, bunnies raid my garden, coyotes sing me to sleep, cougars sometimes make disturbing noises on the back forty. Bats are cool during termite season, chipmunks and squirrels abound, mosquitoes do their thing. The bald eagles and screech owls are the best of critters (must be my affection for Sri Jatayu), and do not disturb the little guys on my land, but use the 40' maple trees on the ridge overlooking the valley to wreak havoc on the road kill candidates that have no sense to climb the mountain and stay in the brush.

 

I got lots of pets, but they remain free to come and go as they wish. Al have great utility, and I do not treat them like animals, they are Jiva Atma, and when they die, I sing to them. It has made many dying creatures calm down at that moment when they find out that death is a lie.

 

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

[Guest guest]

 

It may be reasoned like this; the cat food is made from the throw away parts of slaughterhouse victims.

 

 

It's not just made from waste parts. Most lame cows (cows with leg problems) will be killed for cat food as they are considered unfit for human consumption.

 

 

Since I am a vegetarian - the animals were not killed for me.

 

 

The shastras says 8 people are held fully accountable for the killing of the animal, including those who purchase it, sell it or transport it.

 

Vegetarianism isn't recommended in the scriptures simply as a diet, it is really about ahmisa - nonviolence. Supporting the killing of animals in anyway makes one's clean diet pointless. If one doesn't develop compassion for the suffering animals who are killed, there is no point in being a vegetarian.

 

There are many people who buy leather using the same logic. "The animals are killed for food. The leather is just a waste product. Anyway the cows would be killed for the meat."

 

 

Feeding that 'throw away' to my pet - when one is a vegetarian - is the least bad.

 

 

Supporting the killing of animals in the name of helping other animals is crooked logic, regardless of how we try to justify it. Prabhupada would criticize those who would kill the cow while advocating the protection of endangered species. Why save one while killing millions of others? Why save a cat at the expense of killing so many cows for its food.

 

This doesnt mean that wedon't help the cats. Learn to feed the cats without meat. Lord Krishna also kept a dog as a pet. Do you think he fed it meat? Cats love milk products and many other vegetarian foods. Just find out what it can eat that doesn't involve the sin of killing animals.

 

If you gave your excuse to the cow in the slaughter house, do you think she would say "I understand, it was for a good cause," or would she still curse you for being involved in her death?

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

You are correct - but I also see that I am correct too.

 

I know you think that mine is crooked logic - but that's just the way it is. I see it as a minute good that comes from a selfish death.

 

As well I try not to feed them a product with cow in it - as there are lots that are chicken and corn based.

 

Yes - I am working on making them a good food that has no meat - but I am at this time poor and limited to what I can buy for them - also - yes most cats love milk [and milk products] - but they cannot live on milk products - I tried that - not good for their internal plumbing.

 

In any case thank you for your reasoned comments!

 

Yer servant,

 

BDM

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

I was intending to reply this post - I am dealing with so much that I get side tracked - but I would like to say I thought your post was nice - actually I like your general outlook as I've seen it posted within these discussion srings.

 

We will have to converse more!

 

I ask - could you please pray to Lord Dhanvantari for my one cat - his name is Narasingha - he has devloped some tumor like infection under his jaw and near his throat - just over the last four days - please pray that he gets well soon - he is such a sweet soul and he is in pain - I cannot afford to take him to vet. I am going to try concentrated soy powder in [offered to Prabhupada] lactose free milk - that may help.

 

Do you have another "fluffy thing" living next to you now - I do hope so.

 

So in any case - may Krishna bless you and yours!

 

Your Servant,

 

BDM

[Guest guest]

i 2 will pray 4 ur cat. Pleeeeeeeez make sure the cat hears Srila Prabhupada's chanting. These mayb his final days...Give it a good dose of chanting n Ganga jal

[water]

Bhakta Don Muntean,

 

 

 

I ask - could you please pray to Lord Dhanvantari for my one cat - his name is Narasingha - he has devloped some tumor like infection under his jaw and near his throat - just over the last four days - please pray that he gets well soon - he is such a sweet soul and he is in pain - I cannot afford to take him to vet. I am going to try concentrated soy powder in [offered to Prabhupada] lactose free milk - that may help.

 

 

Can you describe this tumor-like infection?

Is it under the skin, the size and shape of an almond?

Or is it on the surface of the skin -- a wound?

 

If it is under the skin, under his jaw and near his throat, and symetrically on both sides of the throat, then it is likely to be his glands (those same kind of glands are also

placed in the armpits and in the groin, like in humans).

If it is the glands, then such a swelling is possible; but for it to lessen, may take months.

 

Can you observe the cat having other unusual signs? (Teary eyes, hair without shine, inflamed gums, fever ...?)

How old is the cat? Do you know what breed it is?

How do you know he is in pain? Does he cry more, is he more sensitive?

 

(This last cat we got is a stray, and she came with several diseases, so I'm now quite familiar with these things ...)

 

I know quite a few things about cats, and also some tricks (like how to give them pills). Just let me know and I'll do everything I can to help!

 

 

 

Do you have another "fluffy thing" living next to you now - I do hope so.

 

So in any case - may Krishna bless you and yours!

 

 

I have prayed for Narasingha. May he get well soon, and not suffer. And if his time is nigh, to depart peacefully.

 

* * *

 

I have a cat now too, Spelca [shpel-tsa]. She is a stray who came to our house this spring. I once must tell you the story around her arrival ...

 

 

I will be praying for your cat and you.

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

He went to the vet today [Friday] - he had an infection abscess - from a bite in the neck from Kurma - Kurma can be kinda aggressive - but he is doing better now - it was drained and cleaned and he was given meds. He hears the chanting all the time - all these cats do - they find it calming.

 

Thank you for your prayers...

 

yer servant,

 

BDM

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

Thank you for your prayers - I TOOK HIM TO THE VET [due to Krishna's mercy today] he is ok now - I am so happy to hear you rescued a stray from the street - God bless you!

 

The Lord surely was listening when you prayed to him - I can see that his quick come back is due to this concern others have for him - enough so to pray for him.

 

Thank you! I am looking forward to hearing how Spelca the kitty found herself in the house of such a grand devotee!

 

Take care and may Krishna bless you and yours...

 

yer servant,

 

BDM

 

[Guest guest]

yes most cats love milk [and milk products] - but they cannot live on milk products - I tried that - not good for their internal plumbing.

 

I adopted a stray for about 7 or 8 years. Actually it was abandoned by a neighbor who acquired a 2nd cat, who in turn chased out the original cat and made it a stray. Anyway, the stray "adopted" me. I fed it strictly milk products. Cottage cheese was the main meal. Milk. Some hard cheese now and then. Every now and then some sliced processed (soft) cheese. The cat seemed more than satisfied with this diet. Oh, also, once in a while, we fed her some vegetarian dog biscuits which we got from the health food store. She didn't even hunt rats or mice, which seemed to indicate that she wasn't starving for meat. Squirrels would run up to her and sit next to her in the back yard, whereas most cats I saw in the neighborhood chased squirrels with the intent to kill. I never noticed any health problems. No vomiting or diarrhea. She did seem to lose her hearing the last couple of years of her life. According to our neighbor, at the time we adopted the cat, she was 10 years old. She passed away when she was 18.

 

Also, as far as not letting the cat outdoors, this cat preferred the outdoors. We would bring her inside on cold nights or on hot summer days, but if the weather was half-way decent, she preferred to be outside. I think Srila Prabhupada used to say that dogs and cats belong outside, didn't he? (Not sure.)

 

Anyway, just some observations based upon my own experience.

[water]

 

He went to the vet today [Friday] - he had an infection abscess - from a bite in the neck from Kurma - Kurma can be kinda aggressive - but he is doing better now - it was drained and cleaned and he was given meds. He hears the chanting all the time - all these cats do - they find it calming.

 

 

Wonderful!

Yes, cats sharing the same territory can be quite aggressive towards eachother.

But they also have empathy for eachother. If a cat is crying, other cats will come.

When we had two cats, this happened: I was cleaning a wound one of the cats had, and he was very sensitive and cried a lot. The other cat came, meowed angrily at me, and also bit me in the leg.

Or the other day, I was cleaning Spelca's mouth with camomille tea (she has inflamed gums), and she cried. Soon, the two neighbour's cats came.

 

 

Thank you for your prayers - I TOOK HIM TO THE VET [due to Krishna's mercy today] he is ok now - I am so happy to hear you rescued a stray from the street - God bless you!

 

The Lord surely was listening when you prayed to him - I can see that his quick come back is due to this concern others have for him - enough so to pray for him.

 

Thank you! I am looking forward to hearing how Spelca the kitty found herself in the house of such a grand devotee!

 

 

Spelca came to our house thus: This spring, on the afternoon of March 29th, I prayed to God to give me a sign of His presence, and a sign I would understand to be from Him. It rained, and I thought a rainbow would be such a sign. But there was no rainbow. And nothing happened that day.

The next morning, father brought home a cat -- a stray that one of his students found at their home, but didn't want to keep.

So this is how Spelca came to our house.

 

I believe God makes signs -- and they are such that people can understand them in accordance with their abilities, and those signs are such that require to be acted upon.

 

May God grant me the wisdom and strength to be a good servant to Him.

[water]

Most cats love cow milk, but not all cats can digest it. Kittens have the necessary enzymes to digest milk, but grown-up cats don't have those enzymes anymore, and milk may give them diarrhea or cramps.

Mabye some cats, who have been regularly fed milk retain those enyzmes.

 

Next to cheese of many kinds, a good thing to feed cats is sour cream. I'm not sure it can be bought everywhere; it seems to be more of an European thing.

 

Also, some only mildly salted vegetable soup or such with noodles also seems tasty to some cats.

Ideally, cats shouldn't eat the same cooked food as humans, as there is too much salt in that.

 

But because of keeping their teeth healthy and firm, cats must eat some firm food as well, something they can chew on. Pet shops usually have some things precisely for this purpose.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Yes, good points. I did sometimes mix in some sour cream into my cat's cottage cheese. She seemed to really like that. The veggie dog biscuits gave her something to chew on, as did the chunks of hard cheese.

 

But I think my cat was probably the exception to the rule. She seemed satisfied with a veggie diet, otherwise she would have hunted mice and rats.

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

I will reply...

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

I am so very glad you have taken in the cat - there are too many who are too aloof. Nrisingha is doing much better now - he's back to normal for him - we do have to note the periodic struggles they have - to see this is prevented - but Kurma is a Siamese cat so...

 

Yes Krishna gives us many signs - we need only be paying attention - I get so many little nudges [usually when most needed] from him.

 

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. [bG 6.30]

 

I think about how Prabhupada knows each of us - even I was not yet two years old when he wrote this letter - what Prabhupada says here - it is still my situation:

 

In the conditioned stage, we chant Hare Krishna mantra officially without any attachment and try to finish the rounds as soon as possible. Sometimes we also forget to chant the prescribed number of rounds. [Letter to Jayapataka Brahmacari, March 11, 1969]

 

I will read scripture - for ten hours 'without blinking" - but – I sometimes try to chant and “get it over with” just like Prabhupada says - I aspire to the platform of true chanting ecstasy – and less conditioned faith.

 

I thank you for your prayers! May your prayers for yourself be answered quick and positive!

 

Yer servant,

 

BDM

 

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