The Relationship Between Pigs and Other Animals

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Stacy
Supporter in '11

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2002 3:56 pm


My new piggy, Wuzzy, and my cat, Lucy, seem to really enjoy each other´s company. Lucy sleeps by Wuzzy´s cage, meows at him, and watches him play. Wuzzy, in turn, wheeks at her and noses her through his cage. I think Wuzzy thinks Lucy is a big guinea pig! By far the funniest activity they engage in though is a game that is similar to hide and seek. When Wuzzy has floor time, he runs around the room and then hides. Lucy goes over to where he is hiding, and Wuzzy then popcorns and runs out from his hiding place as if to say, "You found me." He then chases Lucy across the room, and she will go behind something and hide. It is insanely funny to see a guinea pig chasing a cat!

Do any of your pigs engage in such antics or have a special relationship with your cats or other pets?
Last edited by Stacy on Tue Jan 08, 2002 3:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Jill

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2002 4:29 pm


Such a cute photo with the cat. That is quite a herd you have there.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2002 5:40 pm


Stacy, I love your pig story. It would be great to have a cat and guinea pig have such fun together.

From what I gather, Pinta´s cat has an altogether different relationship with the pigs and can be a real pain (though not all the time). Didn´t you say something about Cheddar (?) blocking the doorway and batting at the little pigs? Was this something he picked up from you?

pinta

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2002 6:29 pm


His claws are in.

Cheddar´s preferred sleeping place is anywhere the pigs have slept. If a pig towel is left on the floor - Cheddar will curl up on it. He´ll sleep on their newspaper while they are gathered around him, munching snacks. If there is a pig in your lap, Cheddar will clamber aboard demanding equal time. And we´re constantly having to pitch him out of the travel basket when we need to take the pigs to the vets.

I think Cheddar´s attraction to the pigs does go back to kittenhood. Being brought up with pigs - he actually thought he was one, shredding newspaper and trying to eat Romaine. In fact, we adopted Solomon - a big black and white "Tuxedo" cat from the SPCA, just to get Cheddar some tutelage on how to be a cat.

Deep down, though, he still thinks he´s all pig.
Last edited by pinta on Tue Jan 08, 2002 6:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mon

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 1:27 am


You´re pigs are adorable Pinta. How on earth you can keep up with so many of them is beyond me! I am especially taken with Nougat. He´s beautiful! Or is it a she?

As for Chedder and Lucy, I think its great that you guys have cats that get along so well with the pigs. I want a cat and when I do eventually get one, I just hope it loves the piggies as much as your cats do. Pinta, how is Tuxedo with the pigs?

pinta

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:33 am


Unfortunately a few of the herd pictured are now gone, Nougat included. She died of heart disease at 18 months old. We had thought it was a URI but when she died within 12 hours of showing symptoms, we had an autopsy done. On the results of the autopsy and the fact that one of her sisters had keeled over at 3 months of a presumed heart attack the vet examined her surviving brother and sister and mother and put the mom, Quinn, and the brother, Apatche, on blood pressure meds. The sister´s, Soot, heart sounded fine. They´re still with us in good ahspe ec xcept for Soot who has bad arthritis. Incidentally, this is the family who all drool when they are relaxed.

Gone are Miranda, Willie, Leo, Lennard, Latte and Samantha. Not pictured and "new" to the herd are Dot, Sasha, Fanny, Nigel, Beatrix, Brindelle, Shiraz and Beaches.

Solomon the tuxedo cat regards the pigs as a responsibility. He guards them when they´re outside. We took a basket of pigs to "interview" cats at the SPCA and he was the only cat who didn´t swish his tail and was totally uninterested in them. So we took him straight to the vet to be neutered and home. The pigs can run right by him, including babies and he is fine. Although with babies you can see him mentally going "must not eat pigs, must not eat pigs, must not eat pigs". So far he has resisted temptation, even when a pig tests his tail to see if it´s edible.

They are so used to cats they don´t mind the clinic vet cat joining them in their basket in the waiting room. (The vet clinic cat is a little bit "not all there".) They also have a tendency to frighten neighbourhood cats when they´re outside by running up to them. I´ve seen these cats backing away in shock and turning tail and running with 3 or 4 pigs waddling after them. I think the cats don´t know what to do when they are about to stalk, and suddenly get stalked themselves. Solomon seems to know which neighbourhood cats are harmless and just there for a ringside seat and which ones present a risk. Mango from across the lane has been coming to pig watch for about 4 years, since he was a kitten. Totally harmless. His owners always know where to find him on a sunny day.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2002 7:51 am


I like your cat stories. Sorry if I got the wrong impression of Cheddar. He sure does sound like he thinks he´s a pig.

mon

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 5:27 am


Sorry to hear about Nougat. She was beautiful. Time to update your picture Pinta! I´ll have to remember to interview a cat before I bring it home! Pigs stalking cats? Hilarious!

pinta

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:14 am


Haven´t got a clue how to get a pic on the internet. That site wasn´t Mac accessible so Jackie(sp?)(think I got the person right) put them up for me.

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ladyveg

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:27 am


Pinta, I have space and Heather taught me how to FTP files so if you wanted to email pictures to me I could put them up for you.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 10, 2002 7:32 am


Pinta, would you like an avatar of any particular pig? We could do one up for you.

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