to our GPW visitors

[fashion victim]

Originally Posted by GuineaFood

Just because YOU do not use wooden chopping blocks, that does not mean that NO ONE uses (or should be allowed to use) wooden chopping blocks!
From what I have seen of my guinea pigs, they ALWAYS potty in the same part of their hutches, maybe mine are just extremely habitual animals, all I can go by is the behaviour that I observe in them.

So yours live in hutches? No wonder you're trying to disprove the people here. And as you said, that may be YOUR case, but try reading all the posts from months ago. You'll see that most people's piggies don't go in one exact same place, even with a litter pan in their cage.

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by claudie123

You know what? Your ignorance makes me want to cry. Honestly. Why is it wrong to try to keep an animal in the best optimal conditions? Why is it delusional to keep it in an environment where it will be as healthy as possible?

Your liberal tree-hugging attitudes do not make me want to cry, they make me want to scream. I never said that any of those things are WRONG, I said that they are not always POSSIBLE! Sometimes people have to make the best of the situations they have.

Don't you know guinea pigs are susceptible to heat strokes? It's very hard for an animal covered with so much fur to feel comfortable in high temperatures!

Yes, I am aware of this, this is why I think it is laughable that people who claim such expertize on guinea pigs think that they can keep them comfortably indoors. How hot is it where you are in Puerto Rico? How hot is it in America? How hot would it be in a centrally heated home? We're talking about at least 65 f (or 20 c), that itself is above the comfort zone of a guinea pig.

[Myspoiltpiggies]

My cat was an outdoor cat. I feel, and have always felt that cats should be allowed to free roam outside. I think it is a bit mean to keep them in. Our cat lived till her 18th birthday (which I've heard is very good for a purebred persian!) and she turned blind at the end of her life. Once she turned blind, of course we had to keep her in. She HATED it. Even though she couldn't see a darn thing she would whine and whine to be let out. We felt so guilty, she wanted to venture out.. like cats do.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by Myspoiltpiggies

eeek sorry for the double post!

My cat was an outdoor cat. I feel, and have always felt that cats should be allowed to free roam outside. I think it is a bit mean to keep them in. Our cat lived till her 18th birthday (which I've heard is very good for a purebred persian!) and she turned blind at the end of her life. Once she turned blind, of course we had to keep her in. She HATED it. Even though she couldn't see a darn thing she would whine and whine to be let out. We felt so guilty, she wanted to venture out.. like cats do.

Sigh. A completely other issue. My vet tech friend has picked up 20 dead cats off the road this year between her house and the vet clinic. They cremate them if their owner never comes looking.

[fashion victim]

Originally Posted by GuineaFood

Your liberal tree-hugging attitudes do not make me want to cry, they make me want to scream. I never said that any of those things are WRONG, I said that they are not always POSSIBLE! Sometimes people have to make the best of the situations they have.


Yes, I am aware of this, this is why I think it is laughable that people who claim such expertize on guinea pigs think that they can keep them comfortably indoors. How hot is it where you are in Puerto Rico? How hot is it in America? How hot would it be in a centrally heated home? We're talking about at least 65 f (or 20 c), that itself is above the comfort zone of a guinea pig.

How hot is here? It goes up to 100F. And I do intend on getting a couple of pigs when I have EVERYTHING they'll going to need, including proper food and hay, a C&C cage plus toys and proper bedding. And I'm not that stupid, give me some credit. OF COURSE I'll make arrangements for the pigs. I can turn on the ceiling or floor fans or even the air conditioner if things get too hot. These people do, too. They either have their pigs in a fresh, shaded INDOOR room, where it's MUCH cooler than outside, or they have constant air conditioning.

[fashion victim]

Originally Posted by Myspoiltpiggies

My cat was an outdoor cat. I feel, and have always felt that cats should be allowed to free roam outside. I think it is a bit mean to keep them in. Our cat lived till her 18th birthday (which I've heard is very good for a purebred persian!) and she turned blind at the end of her life. Once she turned blind, of course we had to keep her in. She HATED it. Even though she couldn't see a darn thing she would whine and whine to be let out. We felt so guilty, she wanted to venture out.. like cats do.

Honestly just because an animal wants something it doesn't neccesarily mean it's the best for them. My dog likes to eat every single thing I eat, including chocolate. If I let her have her way then she'd die.

Cats outside means territorial fights, possible contagion of diseases that they can then pass on to humans, getting lost, falling from a high place, be POISONED by people who find them pesky or PHYSICALLY HURT by cruel people. I can go on and on telling you about stories from personal experience, let me know if you want to hear them.

Edit- I've also seen a lot of cats squished by cars with all their intestines strewed all over the place. You wouldn't want this to happen to yours just because it wanted to be outside, do you?

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by claudie123

So yours live in hutches?

If you'd bothered to read my posts, you would already know the reasons for this, I am not wasting my time repeating myself.

No wonder you're trying to disprove the people here.

I'm not trying to disprove the people here, because to be honest, I couldn't give a damn for their self-righteous narrow-minded and hypocritical opinons. I KNOW that guinea pigs can live perfectly long lives in ADEQUATELY manufactured outdoor hutches. All I am trying to do, is let the people who come here and know nothing about guineas realize that the opinions enforced on this forum are NOT THE ONLY ways for keeping guineas, and that THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS.

And as you said, that may be YOUR case, but try reading all the posts from months ago. You'll see that most people's piggies don't go in one exact same place, even with a litter pan in their cage.

Which to me, suggests that they are in such large cages, that they might not feel the need to be habitual.

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by Jennicat

Sigh. A completely other issue. My vet tech friend has picked up 20 dead cats off the road this year between her house and the vet clinic. They cremate them if their owner never comes looking.

How many of those cats died because they were hit by cars? There's a difference between picking up cats off the road, and finding a cat frozen solid in a ditch dead from exposure.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by GuineaFood

Which to me, suggests that they are in such large cages, that they might not feel the need to be habitual.

One of our adopts has three pigs that are free range in her home and are litter trained. There goes your theory on that, eh? Maybe you shouldn't make up theories based on the few pigs that you own?

[Myspoiltpiggies]

Originally Posted by Jennicat

Sigh. A completely other issue. My vet tech friend has picked up 20 dead cats off the road this year between her house and the vet clinic. They cremate them if their owner never comes looking.

Well I guess that's understandable if you live near a busy/main road. Someone left the door open to our house once and the cat got out. She was completely blind and somehow managed to wonder across a road and someone found her. If you live near a busy road I agree, care should be taken and cats should be kept in the home most of the time. But it isn't bad to let them out when you don't live in a busy area, or even the countryside.. like in our case.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by GuineaFood

How many of those cats died because they were hit by cars? There's a difference between picking up cats off the road, and finding a cat frozen solid in a ditch dead from exposure.

Um, how many cats go into the road to die of exposure, first of all? And second of all, our winters are mild, and we only get snow or ice every couple of years. Third of all, I said "in this past year". It's only now turning winter. "The past year" covers Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by Myspoiltpiggies

I agree! Although I would sooo love to have my guinea pigs indoors and I do feel guilty about not being able to have them in the home, mine are outside.. well in a heated shed. I live with my parents though and the maximum amount of pets in the house is 2; the dog and the hedgehog. I will of course have all my pets in the home when I have my own accomodation. That's the one thing you have to put up with living with your parents; going by their rules. Anyways if I were allowed, I could never fit 10 guinea pigs into the house... unless of course they lived in tiny cages. Perhaps you could say I have too much then, but I don't have the heart to rehome any of my babies.:eye-poppi

I do think that if you are going to have them outside the home though you should provide a shelter (ie. shed), heating, lighting, fans..etc... to house them in the best possible way outside.

Absolutely, it might not be the absolutely ideal situation, but it is possible to make an outdoor hutch as well insulated and protected as possible.

[fashion victim]

Originally Posted by GuineaFood

Which to me, suggests that they are in such large cages, that they might not feel the need to be habitual.

! Well if I had a small space to live in then I'd make sure I only dirtied a very small part of it, too! No one wants to have to live in a bunch of poop and on an urine-soaked floor! Specially ANIMALS, who can NOT speak for themselves! That's why WE, the OWNERS, HAVE to provide them with an appropiate housing, i.e. with plenty of space, made of suitable materials!

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by claudie123

How hot is here? It goes up to 100F. And I do intend on getting a couple of pigs when I have EVERYTHING they'll going to need, including proper food and hay, a C&C cage plus toys and proper bedding. And I'm not that stupid, give me some credit. OF COURSE I'll make arrangements for the pigs. I can turn on the ceiling or floor fans or even the air conditioner if things get too hot. These people do, too. They either have their pigs in a fresh, shaded INDOOR room, where it's MUCH cooler than outside, or they have constant air conditioning.

So in that environment, it is unsuitable to keep a guinea outside because it get's too hot. Here in the UK, the highest it gets outside is 30 c, and while in the winter it can get cold, it rarely drops below freezing, and when it does, that's when it is possible to use heat lamps and blankets to keep an outdoor hutch insulated.

[Jennicat]

Originally Posted by Myspoiltpiggies

Well I guess that's understandable if you live near a busy/main road. Someone left the door open to our house once and the cat got out. She was completely blind and somehow managed to wonder across a road and someone found her. If you live near a busy road I agree, care should be taken and cats should be kept in the home most of the time. But it isn't bad to let them out when you don't live in a busy area, or even the countryside.. like in our case.

Honestly, I grew up on a 40 acre farm. I lost many cats as a child, to natural predators that were competing with them, like opposums, and raccoons, to other people who, quite frankly, didn't want a cat wandering their property, and yes, even to the road. Our road was very infrequently travelled, but I did have two cats hit by a car.

I just really feel like it's inappropriate to let an animal roam. It's discourteous to your neighbors (we have neighbor cats that roam our property. They get into our sheds, crap in our gardens, and annoy our fenced dog), and there's always some danger to the animal. And, most places that have a leash law apply it to dogs and cats, so in many places it's also unlawful.

[GuineaFood]

Originally Posted by Jennicat

One of our adopts has three pigs that are free range in her home and are litter trained. There goes your theory on that, eh? Maybe you shouldn't make up theories based on the few pigs that you own?

According to Claudie, the majority of people have had