"You have to come in to work. My hampster's having a stroke."

I was home yesterday. The phone rang and he answered and had this really strange look on his face. Then he hung up and went over and sat down for awhile looking bemused. Then he completely cracked up.

It seems a cow-orker was demanding, screaming that he come in to work so she could go home and be with her hampster so it wouldn't be alone when it died or she could take it to the vet or something. Who knows.

Apparently it was keeled over on its side when she woke up.

Now exactly what she expected the vet to do (other than keel over laughing when she went out the door), I have no idea.

Exactly how sentient are hampsters, anyway?

I used to have a rabbit that wiggled its nose faster if someone came within eyeball range. Its display of affection was to bite you hard enough to require medical attention.

He couldn't come in because his goldfish was having an anxiety attack.

many people have and love their hampsters.

I understand her behavior.

In order of importance:
1) Eat and drink
2) ESCAPE!
3) Make baby hamsters
4) Sleep
5) Pee and poop (anytime, any place)

Any time a hamster is not occupied with tasks 1,3, and 4, it seems to devote 100% of it's tiny little brain's power time to trying to escape.

#5 is just something it does without thinking, concurrent with all the other activities above.

Those cute ways it "explores" and "exercises" on the wheel? Well, all it's doing is trying to find a way to escape.

I used to have a hamster once.

It escaped.


On edit:
When an animal (even a hamster) is in pain, you are obligated to try and ease its suffering. For example, taking it to the vet to be euthanised.

But by the time you got the thing to the vet, sat in the waiting room, and then actually got the shot, hours could pass with the animal needlessly suffering. Unless it likely died during the trip.

It would be better to find a way to put a hamster down yourself as humanely as possible, right there in your house.

I will abstain from suggestions of exactly how to do it.

As for not letting the hamster be alone, well... I don't think it would CARE. I think it would rather die SOON than wait to die WITH COMPANY.

It's just selfish to make the hamster wait for you to be present so it can end its misery.

:)

:spank:

:D

Vets treat hamsters and all kinds of pets. I can tell you that a vet would take a dim view of making light of an animal's suffering.

I like hamsters.

They're clever, cute and fun to watch. It's even easy to be attached to them.

They just really couldn't give much of a damn about YOU.

I was just saying that it's much more important that a mortally wounded hamster have its pain abated quickly than it is that some human who thinks woodland critters fawn over her like Snow White be present so they can feed their own ego that demands every little creature on Earth must love them.

fawn over them and has a huge ego that's fed by attending to perishing hamsters?

She has a lot of personality. She stuffs food in her cheeks and cleans her face with her paws and runs around and all kinds of stuff.

The cats love her. :)

think. :)

Although Smitty has recently taken to getting up on one of the counters in the kitchen since he discovered that from that angle he gets a better look at her cage, which is way up near the ceiling.

if it were a dog, or possibly a cat, it would be acceptable.
People laugh at hamsters just because they're smaller.
It's true that a pet is a pet no matter what the size.

But as to your post. Pets no matter how sentient have meaning to their owners. Hamsters have a distinct personality. People can get very attached to them.

Personally I am not sure I would like the idea of a humanity that couldn't get so attached to furry little fuzzballs.

You can get a good 20 foot arc through the air.

The idea is for them to land safely, while still infuriating the cat that leaps up into the air to try and catch them.

You don't want hamster pee dribbling down your chin.

"My llama died."

One of my good friends and co-workers. And it was true. His llama did die.

<insert inappropriate sex joke here>