Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Well, that certainly is something.

The small animal thing drives me up a wall too. "Why would you take your guinea pig to the vet??" Um, because I love him and don't want him to die or be in unnecessary suffering?

Ugh, try having to explain to people why you'd 1) have pet rats in the first place and 2) spend more money a year on them a year at the vet than you do on your two dogs and two cats combined (seriously! those little buggers were expensive).

Most people seem to be able to just leave it at an eye roll for rabbits or guinea pigs, but pretty much everyone feels the need to express their disgust for you having "vermin" and make sure to let you know that you're completely insane for taking them to the vet, as well as for even having them as pets in the first place.

Whatever, my little furballs were awesome and they were worth every penny.

Seems about right. Going with the flow and reinforcing the status quo are always the hardest things.

I bet he keeps backsliding and cooking lentils

i have a facebook friend who is a vegan and supposedly an animal advocate (one of those people who constantly posts horrifying PETA videos) but repeatedly says nasty things about my guinea pigs when i post cute pictures.
things like "wow you let vermin live in your house?"
or stuff like that.
i just feel like saying "dude i dont think you understand how much i love these little furballs so back off!"
seriously if they didnt poop and pee whereever they felt like it i would probably have them in the bed with me snuggling up a storm.

I will admit that small animals in general freak me out but I wouldn't say anything like that to someone who had them. I think the first time I saw a ferrett in a pet store, I screamed because I grew up in California and had never seen one. Ferretts are the worst for me, especially videos of them going under doors and then I have nightmares of ferretts coming under my doors. I sat at someone's desk at work that had pictures of her ferretts, I apologized to her but told her I had to face her pictures toward the wall. I do understand how someone can love certain animals that I don't and that is cool but some of them do freak me out.

Best!

Yes, I have friends who do rabbit rescue and they talk about having to drive 2+ hours to get to the nearest vet that has any idea of what to do with rabbits, because they are such complicated little animals and so few vets have a ton of experience with them because people buy them and then basically just let them die. They're basically treated like teddy bears - especially those unfortunates, stuck in a hutch that is not species-appropriate housing.

It makes me so sad. We're going to hang out with a rescue Flemish Giant bunny (25lbs!) next week and I am SO EXCITED! Leela weighs 27lbs, so to see a bunny that is the same size as her will be hilarious. Plus, its going to be her first time meeting a bun.

AR slacktivism, especially from people who basically don't pay attention to animal issues the other 364 days of the year.

Someone I know just shared a post on FB about live-animal key-chains being sold in China and how unacceptable it is (which, of course, I agree with). On the picture, it says "Share this now if you agree this is animal cruelty and needs to be stopped". Well, duh, it's animal cruelty, but sharing it around facebook doesn't really do much to stop the practice. Plus when I clicked on the picture, I was flung into a world of hideously racist comments that made me want to vomit. Of course, the implication is that if you don't share it, they you think it's ok.

Last week, someone else I know on FB shared a petition addressed to "China's Ambasador" (sic) to stop torturing animals for fur. I appreciate the intention behind it, but it just seems so ineffectual. China's ambassador to what? The US? The UK? The UN? And even if it were addressed to one particular ambassador by name, an ambassador would not be in the position to actually do something about the fur trade. Wouldn't it be more effective to approach politicians in your own country to BAN fur from China? (Or ALL fur? As if the fur trade in other countries is going to be cruelty-free?)

There are so many things that bug me about this type of post. One is the focus on China. It seems really othering. I mean, I know that there's a lot less legal protection of animals in China than in a lot of Western countries, but it seems like the emphasis in these posts is "Look at how horrible THOSE people are. Stuff like this would never happen in OUR country."

Also, I feel like by simply sharing these things, people feel like they've done a good thing and are fighting against animal cruelty, when really they haven't done squat except make themselves feel better. I mean, yes, I know that awareness has to start somewhere, but a lot of the times I feel like it never really goes any further. (Although this gripe pretty much applies to slacktivism in general.)

I dunno. Maybe I'm just a cranky-pants, and I should be happy that people who aren't really involved with animal issues are outraged about cruelty. It just feels like stuff like this just lets people feel like they're striking a blow against animal cruelty while being able to pat themselves on the back that "we" are too "civilized" in our countries to perpetrate cruel practices.

(Pretty sure both of these people got puppies from backyard breeders in the last year, too.)

went to a Mexican place last night, they had Vegetarian Enchiladas on the menu so I asked if the rice and beans were vegan. The waiter said that the rice was cooked with meat so did I want extra beans? I said sure, so I ended up with two tiny enchiladas and a huge pile of refried beans.

I am surprised the beans did not have lard, I know most places use chicken stock in the rice. There is a local Mexican chain here that has a vegetarian menu, well - veg if you consider lard okay to eat...Hmm!

If you need a ripe avocado tomorrow, buy some bananas and put them in a bowl together! I've had success with this method with even the hardest of rocks avocados. Bananas ripen other fruits hella fast. Just make sure you check them the next day, because they will go overripe really quickly.

I hope not! It wasn't a real traditional Mexican place, more of a trendy one, which is why the rice thing annoyed me. So I think I trusted that the beans were vegan, but it was annoying overall nonetheless.

I see a lot of chicken stock rice in vegetarian burritos/entrees in San Diego. They don't use lard because that is consider unhealthful to Americans but chicken stock is definitely used in the rice.

I feel really lucky about the Mexican place here. They've got a ton of vegetarian stuff on the menu, all labeled, and they'll even switch out the cheese and sour cream for Daiya and Tofutti if you ask.

Is this a Boston restaurant? Which one?

Make a mix CD, alternating between his/her favourite songs and sad mooing and agonized oinking.

there are actually tons of small animals im not super "into"
i seem to like mainly the fat furry ones like guinea pigs, chinchillas, etc.

im not a rat/mouse person, ferrets freak me out for some reason.
BUT i think it's totally awesome for people who are rat people or ferret people and THEY love them. i totally get that because i love piggies.

i just dont understand claiming you love all animals and are an "animal advocate" and then saying how disgusting rodents are. (that comment is pointed at my friend not you!)
i mean if you dont want one that;s fine but they are neither filthy nor disgusting nor vermin!

i dont like slimy or scaly things either.
you will never find a reptile in my house probably and im not a bird person either (i like my outside birds) but i totally can see how someone else would love birds and have pet birds and love them just as much as i love my piggies or dogs.

same thing with guinea pigs. they have really specialized care. lucky for us though we only have to drive 20 mins to an exotics vet and not 2 hours!

the thing that really frustrates me is that sometimes even an exotics vet isnt enough. sometimes weird/mystery illnesses come up and since there is very little money being put into small animal health research you are just basically stuck guessing.

my very first guinea pig had a lump and was very sick and they couldnt figure out what it was and finally i had it surgically removed and they were like "it's a thyroid tumor, very common in cats, super rare in guinea pigs" and then she died post-op. :-/

This is amazing. Thanks for sharing that tip.

You're welcome!

It was at Max & Dylan's but they do a Monday night thing where they serve the menu of Papagayo. I've never been to the actual Papagayo so I wasn't sure about their vegan-ness.

I have an avocado in my fruit bowl with bananas right now coincidentally. I sort of thought it might help it ripen but I had no confirmation of this fact, so awesome! I should eat that sucker tonight.

Sometimes the veg option is called 'soup beans' basically black or pinto beans just cooked in water. I have seen places use olive oil in place of lard and other places using pig bits. It is wise to ask. Like chips can be fried in lard...

My last avocado batch took 10 days to ripen, of which 7 days under bananas.

What the hell?! I hope this was just a Max & Dylan's screw up and not a regular Papagayo's thing. I work right next to that restaurant and have eaten there a few times.