Chinchilla !

Well, before I got miss Kitty there was Lola the chinchilla. I adopted her because she needed a better home than the pet store and was so cute. That was a very dumb thing of me to do. She wasn't very nice when she came home, and after two years of lots of love she was still VERY mean and aggresive. It's sad and weird when an animal just doesn't respond when you've tried so hard, but in the end I realized that's just the way she was.

I've heard that other Chinchilla's can be very nice and even loving, so maybe the pet store just traumatized her beyond repair. Anyways, last summer my fiance bought me a kitten for my birthday, and it turns out I'm a total cat person now! The chinchilla went to a very good home with a sweet lonely friend of mine. The cat loved playing through the cage with her, and the chinchilla didn't seem afraid of her at all! But, I would never take the chance of letting them out together. Anybody had chinchilla pets that were really nice?

Also, if anybody needs advice on chinchillas I learned so much from having Lola that I'd be happy to help if you need it

Oh, the many personalities of chins. I've had four in my life (five if you count a baby that got adopted out), and I've had every end of the spectrum. My first one was the sweetest little angel. She loved me and she loved playing with me and she loved snuggling with me. I could go on and on about her! Her name was Sarah, and she died about 8 years old. She was never very healthy- she was epileptic and very small.

Two of my others- Nigel and Toku An- are right in the middle. They're cute and love their treats, so all I am is the hand that feeds them! Though they do like their occasional scratches. Now Fed, she was the exact opposite of Sarah. She HATED us. She was a breeder chin, though once she came to me I decided to give her a better life. Seems she didn't approve. Suffice it to say, we had to give her up to a rescue because she hated us so badly.

So, I understand completely about how heartbreaking is when, no matter what you do, your pet just hates you. And obviously, with 3 other chins that love me (ok, the two love the treats I give them!), you know it's not something I did to her. She was just mean and aggressive... And all I wanted to do was give her a better life, like you with Lola! I often wish they could just understand... But sometimes there's nothing you can do.

And now you have your Kitty! So there's a life time of love!

PS- my cat is the same way with our chins. And they're not afraid of her, either- Nigel attacks her every chance he gets- and WINS when she gets too close to his cage! One of these days she'll learn. Or not.

That's good to know about your chins, cause man was she a meenie. I get updates on her occasionally, which is nice, and I hear she is exactly the same. At least somebody is loving her and that's all that really matters