Of course, I buy my cats Christmas presents. They bring us so much joy, during the year, they deserve presents. This year, there's a big jar of organic catnip, cat treats, and a replacement for their old chase track toy. The best investment, was a huge cat tree.

The only critters in my house are mice/rats.

I've kept bananas in a cardboard box with top open on the first step to the basement for a long time and they weren't bothered until a few days ago, when I found major holes chewed in the sides of three or four of them. Put a chunk of banana on the big trap, tied down - but no bites, so far.

(ETA Next day: mid-sized rat in trap this morning. More bait, mixed with hope, added to trap).

Bananas now temporarily stored in the dryer, which gets minimal use in summer ... but winter's coming. Have to store them under a metal pan, I guess.

Bag of cookies sat on a ledge in the dining room for something like a month - choc. chippy ones, they were, too - with no molestation ... until a few days ago, when a big hole had been chewed in a corner and one of three trays demolished. Bag went to a shelf in top cupboard ... no retaliation, thus far.

(ETA Next day: cupboard with boards made of sawdust and glue, covered with faux wood-appearing plastic, with heavy paper tacked on back to keep it from wiggling off of its intended vertical position sitting on a table, and back-up loaf of raisin bread placed on top shelf, about shoulder-high.

Began to use the bread. Found major chewing from about fourth slice. Brads holding back of shelf had pulled enough to allow small critters to enter.

Loaf replaced by trap with bread, raisin ... few hours later ... bait gone.

Critters 1; Ed 0.

New bread, raisin ... tied down with string.

Keep tuned.).

Have very little incentive to offer

(ETA next day: non-paying co-tenants)

either toys or feed for Christmas.

ole joyfuelled ... who also likes bananas ... and cookies (among other things)

(ETA next day: plus raisin bread ... sometimes "what's left")

We give Ali chewys for Christmas. We walk our friend's dogs 3 times a week, plus we throw for them. So we get the girls Kong balls & a box of treats. Plus treats for their 3 cats.

I buy treats for my son and daughter's cats and dog. My cat is 17 years old and doesn't play anymore and his stomach can't take the cat treats anymore.

Yes, bought some for my daughter's dogs too.

Yes, always have, always will.

This year I'm even thinking about gifting the granddogs with some homemade chicken strips I will dehydrate.

The cats get presents throughout the year. Same as dh & me. We don't do gifts at Christmas anymore. It makes the season so much more enjoyable.

This will be the first year having a pet (dog) in about 17 years...I think she'll get a few things ;-)

Yes!

Nope. They get new toys every few months to keep them occupied. Plus Otis attempted to pee on my Christmas tree last year,(before we brought it in the house)so he's on the naughty list anyway.

Since Georgy Girl doesn't know one day from the next, I wait until after Christmas and get her a new toy at half price. Knowing it's going to get ripped up, I don't want to invest too much money. She will get a special treat on Christmas day.

Sure. The dog always got a stocking although I had to put it where he couldn’t get into it before the morning. One year he got a sweater which he did not appreciate. The cat got a catnip mouse and watching the cat do drugs was part of our Christmas morning routine.

I use Christmas as an excuse to replenish the chuck it glow balls for our lab. I buy her new toys all the time, not because she needs them, but because it’s fun to see her reaction. When I return from the store, I tell her she has a new toy and she starts poking her nose in the bags to find it. She gets so excited and once she has it, she carries it around with her all evening.

Eye witness news reports: 1 in 4 pet owners say they will spend more on gifts for their pet than their spouse.

Mine always get presents. I don't want them to feel left out on Christmas. :)

Our Bingo has his own Christmas stocking. He normally receives a few new toys, a special bone he loves and some treats. One of his aunts always gives him a present. He’s a big part of our family, so I treat him as such.

Lol, OJ. :)

I do. They enjoy opening the paper and play with toys. So it's a lot of fun for me, for a small outlay of cash. Totally worth it.

I've never WRAPPED a present for my five cats, but certainly I buy and make things for them. They have a small toy box that is filled with squeaky mice, catnip mice, several balls, batons I've stuffed with catnip, fidget spinners, silver vine and more. We've bought second hand tables to place in front of the living room window for their viewing pleasure. What are they viewing? We've attached hummingbird feeders to the window and placed a seed feeder there, too. I call it "cat TV". I'm working on training them to pick up their toys when they're done, but not having much luck with that.

I buy my dog new toys regularly. She loves tough built fuzzy toys with squeakers, the bigger and more squeakers the better. But she likes to carry around smaller toys too. Currently her favorite toy is a six foot long snake that originally had 12 large squeakers but now has less than half of them left. The toy is about 2 years old and she carries it everywhere. She also likes to bring it to bed with her. it's a nasty dirty thing but she would be heartbroken if we took it away.

She tends towards false pregnancies with each heat. At that time she takes a toy and it becomes her new "baby". Before she chose smaller toys but the last time it was "snake". She is blowing coat and about to go int heat in a week or so. I have already stashed a few smaller new toys to give toward the end of her cycle. Hopefully she will adopt something smaller than "snake". We knew she was ready to "wean" snake last time when she offered him up for a rough game of tug. LOL

I guess if she loved toys, I would. She isn't much into toys these days. She has two that she likes and all she does is carry them around for a minute and she wants us to throw them about twice and then she's done with it...HA! I have bought new toys but she only likes these two. She wouldn't have a clue about opening presents though, it means absolutely nothing to her.

Watchmelol, I am curious. Is there a reason you don't have your dog spayed?

jtc Only because she is a Rottweiler. I will never breed her. She is pure but not fully pedigreed and I will leave breeding to those who do it professionally and responsibly.

Studies done on female Rotties spayed early have shown a female Rot who still has her ovaries increases her chance of an exceptionally long lifespan for the breed 13 years as opposed to at best around 9 years. A female spayed before the age of 4 loses this advantage and new studies wonder it spaying at all is advisable. There are downsides. It takes a responsible owner to keep a bitch in heat away from males 8-10 weeks out the year. (2 heat cycles). There is a slightly higher risk of mammary cancers and pyrometra but those are calculated risks against bone cancer.

Early spaying/neutering in both male and female Rotties increases their chance of osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Studies have shown the increase of as high as 1 in 4 for Rotties fixed early in their lives. No large breed should be spayed/neutered before puberty. Even barring cancers, if their growth plates haven't closed they have a greatly increased risk of fractures and cruciate ligament ruptures.

I have always felt in my gut that dogs should not be sterilized early. I used to have it done around two years. But with new research and studies leaning toward more negatives than positive large breeds I am more convinced that maybe for this one I will try leaving her intact. I am keeping an eye on how she does. Her last heat was very easy for her. If it continues to be easy then I may not spay her at all. But I know I did the right thing by waiting for at least her 4th year.

Small dogs are fully grown and mature at a year. Large breeds can take 2-3 years Rotties can take even a bit longer.

All my life I have also followed my instincts on vaccination being done too frequently. I simply stretched the time before vaccinating my dogs further apart as they got older after the first year boosters were done. I skipped a year early on and later up to 3 years. With the exception of rabies. Low and behold the American Veterinary Medical Association came out with similar guideline in 2019. Now it's every 3 years after the puppy shots and the first year adult dose. Sometimes it's just common sense.

We always do. For the bird it's a food treat. For the cat, a small toy. Kitty doesn't play with his toys much, but when DD was little, we didn't want her buddy's stocking to be empty on Christmas morning. He IS a bad boy sometimes, but not bad enough to not deserve something from Santa :) Now that DD is older, she enjoys helping Santa with kitty's stocking.

We are lucky if we even see the cats on Christmas morning, they are usually still hiding behind the furnace from all the folderol on Christmas Eve.

Or, come to think of it, maybe they are sulking because we didn’t buy them a present.

I buy toys and treats for the dogs for Xmas. This year I have to find different toys since I have a new rescue dog Brownie who destroys the stuffed toys that Shiloh likes so much. But since he's a chewer, I've discovered Shiloh also likes to chew on his kong toys. Rocky has never played with toys, but loves treats.

When I was in Highschool we had a Cockerpoo-essentially my dog. Her first Christmas she was so excited about the tree and gifts and as they were handed out she followed each one to its owner. When they were all gone she sat back and was the saddest looking dog you ever saw. She didn't get anything. Fortunately I had made elaborate Christmas cookies to hang on the tree. I made a big deal of taking a couple off and gave them to her as her gift. One happy dog. I have given gifts ever since.

Mia only plays with one toy and she currently has I think 7 of them. She doesn't eat treats. I have bought so many types of dog treats but she won't touch them. She loves a warm fluffy little blanket to have over her in a lap. I do occasionally buy her a new one for Christmas. I enjoy them too lol.

I do buy a few things for my friends 2 black labs. They were my nextdoor neighbor at the flood house. We get together every year and share gifts. I buy gifts for their dogs and they buy something for Mia.

They are toy destroyers and I challenge myself to find a toy that will last more than a day. It is not easy!

I have never bought a pet, I consider that all animals deserve to have a home, but I am very much in favor of adoption.

I have a puppy that I rescued from the streets, she is beautiful! I have had her for 7 years and it was the best decision I could have made, she is part of the family!

Last xmas I received a gift card to Target. I don't shop there but used it to buy my cat her treats. She love Greenies tuna treats ad Target has the cheapest price.

"Loli Yoshi" might return and edit that post. That's a Russian stock photo.

of course!! and our grand-pups! our dogs and cat have their own stocking!!

and we buy for "gotcha" day!

I buy "people cookies" for my horses.

Nah…i would love to make my animals happier but they are as happy as any animals could possibly be. i give lots of love and talk to them a lot.

"According to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the risk of your dog getting mammary cancer is: 0.5% risk for female dogs spayed before their first heat cycle. 8% risk for female dogs spayed after their first heat. 26% risk for female dogs spayed after their second heat."

@Loli Yoshi....no. The question is: Do you BUY presents for your pet. Ie: For Christmas or Birthdays?

@Stax....She uses pronged collars on her dogs too.

Duchess the chihuahua LOVES balls and kongs, so yes I buy her toys and we have quite a collection. Also sweaters and clothes for the winter.

Yes, I do it occasionally. It gets them excited and I'm happy seeing them wagging their tails.

Never have, never will. Its a cat who sleeps, eats and poops. He could not care less if we bought him a ”gift”.

"Its a cat who sleeps, eats and poops."

Just like people.

Will skip buying Christmas presents for people this year based on your advice!

I don't but I have to say that when my husband and I are opening our presents, she sits there and watches us and gets all nosy and excited about what we are doing. I just realize that she doesn't have a clue what a "present" is so I don't bother with it. Besides that, every day is Christmas for our dog...HAHA! She's one spoiled little girl! :)

Yes, but it's usually stuff we use anyways like dog treats.

My dogs are all in heaven, but they always got presents, and they gave presents to us in return.. Actually, one of them sends presents to my daughters every Christmas. He hated getting his nails cut. The screams coming from the vet's office were incredible. So, every Christmas, he sends the girls enough money for a pedicure. Nice of him, don't you think?

The only present we could buy our cat would be food. He believes he is CONSTANTLY starving! It's a fight to keep him at the 14 lb stage, and even that is 3 lbs over what he was when he first snuck inside the house as a stray, LOL.

We had to take him in for $3K worth of dental work (8 yrs old, had to have teeth cleaned, two root canals and several pulled!).

A week later the surgeon called me to ask how he was doing. "Is he eating okay?" the doctor asked.

I replied, "Oh, if he's breathing....he's eating!"

Jakkom. Our cat loved treats and expected some everytime someone walked into the kitchen. but when he got older they bothered his stomach. I'm not into cleaning up cat vomit. So I bought a different kind of dry cat food than his usual and put it in the cat treat container. As long as it came out of that container he thought it was a special treat.

No I don't buy my cat presents but she gets a new toy every once in awhile

Yes but not necessarily at Christmas. They love shopping day when I bring home the dog treats and the catnip. :-)

Last Xmas I received $25 gift card to a store I never shop at. But I went there and found my cats favorite treats so I bought those instead of something for myself.

Nope, but I did buy my one cat with claws a fresh corrugated board yesterday at Aldi. Does that count? Otherwise no. (I did not declaw my other two cats but they were rescued like that)