HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: bdm@druwa.ATT.COM (Brian Millham)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Cannibalistic Gerbils?
Date: 20 Nov 92 18:51:09 GMT
Distribution: rec

Please don't read this if you are easily grossed out.

A friend of mine called me last night with a problem.  He found one
of his daughters gerbils dead in the cage last night.  The head and
internal organs were eaten away.  When he found it, the body was
not stiff, so it was sometime that day.  They had been feed the
evening before, so they weren't starving.  He said that when he
looked in the cage that the other gerbil was breathing hard, and
had a strange look in it's eyes.  They have no other pets, and the
cage was sealed, so nothing else could have entered the cage.

Are gerbils cannibalistic?  Did the gerbil die of some other cause
and then the other gerbil ate him, or did the other gerbil kill
him?  My friend is concerned about this, because if the surviving
gerbil is a killer, then he doesn't want another one in the cage
with it.

Any suggestions?

Sorry for being gross, but I feel that this is a valid question for
this group.
--
Brian Millham     |Kitty      |Fletch |Dragon's Lair |Kick Man |New World
AT&T Bell Labs    |Ferrah     |Buddy  |Space Ace     |Sinistar |High Speed
Denver, Co.       |Dr. Pepper |       |              |         |
bdm@druwa.att.com |(ferrets)  |(cats) |(laser disc)  |(video)  |(pinball)
From: bdm@druwa.ATT.COM (Brian Millham)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Ferrets
Date: 19 Nov 92 19:30:20 GMT

in article <1efbg6INN96j@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, garvey@skybridge.SCL.CWRU.Edu (Heather Garvey) says:

> 	Well, Chelsea loves to get onto my desk and nudge things off.
> As soon as I figure how on Earth she gets up there, my possessions
> should be safe. (Although I'd like to know where all my pens and pencils

If your desk isn't pushed tight against the wall, she is probably
squeezing between them and climbing.  I have several things that are
pulled 6 inches from the wall to prevent mine from doing this.
--
Brian Millham     |Kitty      |Fletch |Dragon's Lair |Kick Man |New World
AT&T Bell Labs    |Ferrah     |Buddy  |Space Ace     |Sinistar |High Speed
Denver, Co.       |Dr. Pepper |       |              |         |
bdm@druwa.att.com |(ferrets)  |(cats) |(laser disc)  |(video)  |(pinball)
Xref: sparky rec.pets:3606 rec.pets.cats:13745
From: dcw20@ccc.amdahl.com (Dave Whitehead)
Newsgroups: rec.pets,rec.pets.cats
Subject: Free cat to good home.
Keywords: Free cat to good home.
Date: 17 Nov 92 18:16:51 GMT
Reply-To: dcw20@juts.ccc.amdahl.com ()
Distribution: ba
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

Mikey needs a home!

Mikey is a 2 year old gray and white neutered cat.  We found Mikey about
a year ago, when he wandered into our backyard.  Mikey had been in a
fight, and he had a large abscess on his jaw.  We took him to the VET,
and nursed him back to health, and he has been temporarily living at my
parent's house.  My Father liked cats, and since they already had one cat,
they decided to watch Mikey for a while until we could find a home for him.
Recently, my Father passed away, and my mother no longer wants to have any
cats in the house.  We are unable to keep Mikey for ourselves, because
our two cats are too territorial.

Mikey is an EXTREMELY LOVING/AFFECTIONATE, playful cat. He always uses the
litter box, he is not a picky eater, he doesn't spray, and he does not
climb on tables and counters.  Mikey loves to be outside, and he gets
along with other animals and children.  Mikey has his own pet tee-pee
that he likes to sleep in at night.

Mikey is current on all of his shots, including leukemia.  He has
recently been to the VET for a teeth cleaning, bath, flea dip, and
checkup.

Mikey is free to a good home where he will be cared for.  He has
everything a cat needs.  He comes with a litter box, cat carrier, food
bowls, food, litter, etc.

We have pictures of Mikey, or you can come and see him.  We live in San
Jose near Los Gatos.

If you are interested, please call Sheri work(408-746-6334) or
Dave work(408-944-5097) or call us at home(408-266-9066).

P.S. Mikey is 100% gauranteed.  If you are not satisfied with Mikey for
any reason, simply return him and we will find another home for him.
Mikey's welfare is most important to us.
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: tedybear@ravel.udel.edu (Heather A Rothwell)
Subject: Harnesses and question
Organization: University of Delaware
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 02:30:58 GMT

I think this is the first posting that I have done here, so I better tell
you a bit about my bun.  He came to us from the house rabbit society in
Sept. after much careful consideration.  His name is Spice and most days
he is a joy.  When we are home, he runs free, but when we are not home he
is ain a large cage.  (we discovered why we cage him when we aren't home
this weekend, but that is another story).

When we first got Spice, we wanted to be able to take him outside to run,
but there are dogs around, so we had to be careful with just letting him
on a short leash.  What we have for the bun is a harness (one part goes
behind his front feet, the other over his head (behind the ears, thats
always the fun part).  It is NOT one of those ferret and rabbit leashes
that come on cardboard (he would chew through that in a second), it is a
small H-harness made for dogs (he doesn't seem to mind that it was
intended for dogs, though.)  The leash is the best part of the whole
thing.  It is designed like a tape measure in that is extends out to a
max. length, and can lock at shorter lengths as needed.  The one we bought
allows eight very happy bunny jumps before we have to move with him (which
in human terms is 16 feet).  It is called Flexi 1, but I cannot remember
who manufactures it.  Hope this helps.  

No it is my turn for a quick question:  
Do rabbits teeth need clipping, or something?  All of a sudden this
weekend Spice has begun chewing on everything.  He has always had a "bunny
board" for chewing on, and uses it sometimes, but now it he is not watched
closely, he'll chew on anything hard!!!  HELP, what do I do to make him
stop?  Is he telling me he has a problem?

Thanks
Heather Rothwell (tedybear@ravel.udel.edu)


Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: mporter@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mitchell Porter)
Subject: What to feed rats..
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 03:14:32 GMT


Help! My flatmates have left for a week, and they have left me a note
suggesting that I leave some food on the floor every so often for their
pet rats. I left out a dimsim last night, and it was gone this morning, so
either it was accepted or we have cockroaches MUCH bigger than I realized.
I don't want to feed them just dimsims for a week, however. Any suggestions?

Newsgroups: rec.pets,osu.for-sale
From: echristo@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Elena A Christofides)
Subject: Free Kitten
Keywords: Columbus, OH area only
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 13:25:01 GMT

Attention all cat lovers!!!!!!!!
A very young male kitten (about 4 months old) has been abandonded near our 
apartment. His testicles have not descended yet, but he is male. He looks to be
in good health - soft, shiny coat, clear eyes - etc.
As it is getting very cold at night, he needs a good home. I'm going to bring 
him inside today, but I can't keep him because I have another cat already and
our apartment complex only allows one cat.

Please respond immediately!
Call me at home (614) 451-6169
   or at school (614) 292-9018
   or by email  echristo@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
Thank You
Elena Christofides
From: arussell@OAVAX.CSUCHICO.EDU (ANNE RUSSELL)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: chocolate/dogs
Date: 17 Nov 1992 20:50:18 GMT
Organization: California State University, Chico
Reply-To: arussell@OAVAX.CSUCHICO.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: oavax.csuchico.edu

What are the symptoms when a dog ingests too much chocolate? (No, my dogs
are fine - I'm writing an article in our humane society newsletter about
the dangers of chocolate).

thanks

Anne Russell
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Darwin was neutered!
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Distribution: rec
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:27:59 -0500

In article <1992Nov18.153622.16034@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> wd5j@vax5.cit.cornell.edu writes:
>There's been a dearth of rabbit postings so...here's another Darwin
>update.  He was neutered on Oct. 25th or so, on short notice (the
>surgery service had an opening).  I miscalculated his post-anesthetic
>abilities and left his Elizabethan collar off overnight, so he chewed
>out all his sutures and ended up with an open wound that had to granulate
>in (heal by filling in, rather than a quicker healing by sutured surfaces).
>For a week I kept the e-collar on him because he literally tore at himself
>whenever he could.  He got it off one day and did quite a number on it--
>finally I began to leave off the collar because it was changing him into
>an irritable, hand-shy bun.  It seemed that every time I checked on him, I
>had to turn him over to see the wound, and his exercise was restricted.
>Ugh, it was not a fun two weeks.

Wow!  That was a bunch of trouble!

Dink's was no problem at all... I took him in, she did the operation
around noon, I picked him up a little after 2:00.  She normally keeps
them longer, but they do gas anesthesia, not a shot, and I promised to
keep him confined and quiet for 12 hours, so she let him come home.
He was like a limp rag (but he ate, of course!) for a few hours, but
then was alright.  I let him out later that night (real late) and he
lopped around a bit.  Next day he was right back on track. 

amy


-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.

Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: dschlow@epas.utoronto.ca (Deborah Schlow)
Subject: Re: Ferrets
Organization: University of Toronto - EPAS
Distribution: rec.pets
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 14:15:44 GMT
Followup-To: Re: Ferrets
Summary: ferrets as pets (longish)
Keywords: ferrets, care, problems

In article <HNFguB1w164w@gatecom.UUCP> lpman@gatecom.UUCP (Mike Flemming) writes:
>Hi I have been considering getting a ferret for a pet. I am relocating to
>Arizona in a few weeks as was wondering if they are legal there. Also
>whats the true story with ferrets I suspect what I see in the media is
>mostly hype, am I right??? What kind of care level do they require??
>Is it similar to a cat in respect to its care or is it alot of work???
>How about domestication, will it destroy my house???? Any help would
>be much apreciated.


Hi Mike,

My SO, Eric, and I have one ferret and two cats. The ferret is called
Skeezix. Although she and I are not the best of friends, I would have
to say that after the initial period of ferret-proofing and training,
that they are less work as pets than my cats. One MUST ferret-proof
the house or apartment or room that the ferret will live in. This
means covering up and holes that they can get into, no matter how
small. You wouldn't want the wee critter to get into the walls of a
high-rise and never be seen again, and if a ferret finds a hole she
will try to get into it. The night we brought Skeezix home, she got
into the body of our couch by sqeezing through the back under the
cushions and we had to cut a hole in the back of the sofa to get her
out. Of course, this is her favorite sleeping place, next to my
nightgown drawer. She also stores massive quantities of food there.
Also, put any breakables that you care about away or very much out of
reach. If the ferret can get to them, and you would be amazed at how
they can climb, it will knock them over. They also love love love to
dig in plants. The only really time-consuming issue is training them
not to bite. The babies tend to be nippy with fingers and toes and
ferret teeth are sharp! The secret is to be consistent. When the
ferret grabs your finger and won't let go, grab the scruff of its neck
until it lets go, flick it HARD on its nose with your thumb and
forefinger and yell NO loudly. This takes as long as three or four
months with some ferrets, but once they get the messaged they almost
never bite. On the other hand, they are great pets, fun to play with,
easy to care for and great for attention when you take them for a
From: jhors@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jennifer L. Horsman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Buns and "leashes?"
Date: 23 Nov 1992 23:42:49 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: planecrash.berkeley.edu

I use a figure eight harness for my rabbits. I would suggest
buying the kind that has separate adjustable parts for the
head and "waist". Some harnesses have a non-adjustable part
for the head. This is ok as long as it fits your bun. (This
is usually on the smaller harnesses.) *Don't* buy the kind
that is one long piece that you twist around into a figure
eight. This kind of harness tightens up around the neck when
the "waist" portion loosens. If your rabbit were to step on
it, then he might choke himself. Plus, rabbits can easily
escape from these.
My rabbits don't seem to mind wearing the harnesses as long
as they are on a long leash and are free to roam quite a
distance. It keeps them safe from larger and/or curious
animals (and overly enthusiastic children!) Hamlet actually
doesn't like going outside. He gets frightened and hides
under my legs. There are so many noises to evaluate. He
likes quieter places ok. Guinea loves to go outside and
dig in the grass and eat dandelions. He also loves to jump
and flip and spin. My favorite part next to watching the
buns myself, is watching other people's reactions!
Jennifer, Hamlet and Guinea
horsman@geo.lbl.gov

Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: craigdo@microsoft.com (Craig Dowell)
Subject: Re: Ferrets
Date: 20 Nov 92 23:23:06 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation

In article <HNFguB1w164w@gatecom.UUCP> lpman@gatecom.UUCP (Mike Flemming) writes:
>Hi I have been considering getting a ferret for a pet. I am relocating to
>Arizona in a few weeks as was wondering if they are legal there. Also
>whats the true story with ferrets I suspect what I see in the media is
>mostly hype, am I right??? What kind of care level do they require??
>Is it similar to a cat in respect to its care or is it alot of work???
>How about domestication, will it destroy my house???? Any help would
>be much apreciated.

Will it destroy your house?  Most likely.  My daughter's ferret is doing
a very fine job of that!

-- Craig


Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui)
Subject: another way of interacting with our beloved Bun
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 92 02:16:56 GMT

Ever notice how our Bun likes to lick his/her own hand? Knowing rabbit
anatomy, the "back side" of a Bun's hand is always the top side. Well,
try to snuggle up close and stroke just that "back side" of the Bun's
hand! When I did it to my beloved Big Wig, he gently closed his eyes,
and snuggled his chin onto my fingers, so I was both stroking his hand
and his chin! Most interesting. And the Bun obviously loves it.
-- 
Michael MY Hui  ~{~}  myhui@bnr.ca  Ottawa Canada
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui)
Subject: How do rabbits play?
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 03:31:03 GMT

A great disservice to any animal is for a human to blame the
animal for dysfunctional behavior when in fact the behavior
is entirely within the parameters but the human observer lacks
the knowledge or experience to discern it as such.

In other words, if you've never seen how real rabbits play, in
the wild, then how would you know just what is their normal play pattern?

Could someone who lives in the wilderness among many rabbit warrens
please post their observations of happy rabbit families at play at sun-
down right after they have had their first foray for the evening siflay?

Rabbits have been with us for thousands of years. I'm sure _someone_ on
the net have seen real wild ones at play with abandon, and secretly
wonders why millions of dead ones are wrapped up and frozen for sale
all over supermarkets in Europe and even now in the USA, why millions
are immobilized and then their eyes sprayed with chemicals and the
result of the test is based on how much of their eyeball remain after
so many days or weeks (the Draize test), and why so many of them have
their fur shaven off and their skin plastered with new variations of
chemicals to check how much irritation it causes the skin. IMNSHO,
society must find a better way as soon as possible, or strive to
eliminate any need for such testing by eliminating any need for the
products completely.
-- 
Michael MY Hui  ~{~}  myhui@bnr.ca  Ottawa Canada
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Buns and "leashes?"
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 22:05:33 -0500

I've been thinking of trying something... in the spring, when the
weather gets warm, I would LOVE to take Dink outside in the sun and
the grass. I have thought of making him some sort of harness thing,
however I was at the pet store the other day, and the range of
harnesses they have is amazing; from horse size to teacup chihuahua
size.  

Would one of the harnesses work for him?  I've done stupid things like
put little dollclothes shirts on him (it was so CUTE!) and he doesn't
mind... he just hops happily along.  

Ok, ok, so I'm really strange.

amy


-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Dislcaimer:I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.
			(This means NOT my employer!!)
Newsgroups: rec.pets

A related product: cloth glove with rubber bumps. You've seen them for 
gardening and work gloves...the "no-slip grip". Pet your bunny with them 
and they remove loose hair. They seem to like it! 
Bob
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui)
Subject: Re: Rabbit worry
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 05:26:16 GMT

Meanwhile, my Big Wig, the big bundle of bun, sure knows how to play:

1. loves affection, and often comes right up to me and lies down
   with head to the carpet, waiting to be petted. I of course give him that.
2. sits underneath my desk, somethine acting as my wonderful feet
   warmer, when I study at my desk in my bedroom.
3. runs circles and twirls at the same time every morning before
   I go to work and every night for numerous sessions in the evening,
   often late into the evening, since the Bun obviously has adjusted his
   schedule so that his real rest is during the day, not during the night.
4. comes into my bedroom right on cue as I step off my bed onto the floor.
   I can never figure out how his hearing can be so perceptive from far away.
5. chases me from one end of the living room to the opposite corner of the
   dining room, for about six times, and gets tired and flops down.
6. loves to squeeze between my legs when I'm standing up and he's running
   circles around me and through me. Then, he flops down right between my
   feet and I squeeze his body tight between my ankles and he just loves it.
7. we do mind melds regularly by doing my [tm] Forehead Presses.
8. likes to tear my pants all to shreds with his very sharp teeth, which
   he likes to sharpen even more by gnawing on his compressed hay chew block,
   and eating the hay in the process, of course.
9. jumps up to my lounger chair when I'm watching TV and flops down his whole
   body lengthwise right between my legs, so I squeeze him tight and he
   snuggles in for a few minites, his huge ears protruding straight up.

<< hug them >>
-- 
Michael MY Hui  ~{~}  myhui@bnr.ca  Ottawa Canada
From: horsman@geo.lbl.gov (Jennifer Horsman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: runny-eyed bun
Followup-To: rec.pets
Date: 23 Nov 1992 23:53:13 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: geo.lbl.gov

Hamlet is a one year old male lop. He seems to have this
problem with drainage in his eyes. It is clear, but clumps
up the hair around his eyes so that it irritates him. The
vet told me that lops tend to have allergies that can
affect them in this way - that don't need to be treated.
He seems to be fine otherwise, except that his nose makes
a small whistling noise when he breathes that augments to
a snore when he is asleep. Is this normal? Should I be
more concerned than the vet seems to indicate? He has a
little bit of a wet nose sometimes, but it isn't like
what comes from his eyes.
Jennifer, Hamlet and Guinea
horsman@geo.lbl.gov

Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: dcw20@ccc.amdahl.com (Dave Whitehead)
Newsgroups: rec.pets,rec.pets.cats
Subject: Mikey needs a home!
Keywords: Free to good home.
Date: 16 Nov 92 18:07:16 GMT
Reply-To: dcw20@juts.ccc.amdahl.com ()
Distribution: ba
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

Mikey needs a home!

Mikey is a 2 year old gray and white neutered cat.  We found Mikey about
a year ago, when he wandered into our backyard.  Mikey had been in a
fight, and he had a large abscess on his jaw.  We took him to the VET,
and nursed him back to health, and he has been temporarily living at my
parent's house.  My Father liked cats, and since they already had one cat,
they decided to watch Mikey for a while until we could find a home for him.
Recently, my Father passed away, and my mother no longer wants to have any
cats in the house.  We are unable to keep Mikey for ourselves, because
our two cats are too territorial.

Mikey is an EXTREMELY LOVING/AFFECTIONATE, playful cat. He always uses the
litter box, he is not a picky eater, he doesn't spray, and he does not
climb on tables and counters.  Mikey loves to be outside, and he gets
along with other animals and children.  Mikey has his own pet tee-pee
that he likes to sleep in at night.

Mikey is current on all of his shots, including leukemia.  He has
recently been to the VET for a teeth cleaning, bath, flea dip, and
checkup.

Mikey is free to a good home where he will be cared for.  He has
everything a cat needs.  He comes with a litter box, cat carrier, food
bowls, food, litter, etc.

We have pictures of Mikey, or you can come and see him.  We live in San
Jose near Los Gatos.

If you are interested, please call Sheri work(408-746-6334) or
Dave work(408-944-5097) or call us at home(408-266-9066).

P.S. Mikey is 100% gauranteed.  If you are not satisfied with Mikey for
any reason, simply return him and we will find another home for him.
Mikey's welfare is most important to us.
From: almanb@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Bob Alman)
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 06:16:50 GMT
Subject: Re: Darwin was neutered!
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA