The Care and Protection of Plushie Pets

Well, I had been hoping for this moment for a long time and upon getting over my shock that yes, the Fountain Faerie really had just given us a quest, we assured her that we would find her item and went out to search.

A few neomails, a lot of hard earned neopoints and an accepted trade later, I was well on my way to becoming the owner of one of my dream pets. (And my Eyrie was bouncing at the thought that I was finally going to buy him a paint brush, which, if not for the Faerie we could not have afforded).

It was when we were walking home in a heavy shower of rain which left my poor pet soaked inside and out that we realised that reality was a lot harder than our dreams.

So I thought I would share with my fellow Neopians the ins and outs of caring for plushie pets. Believe me when I say it's harder than it looks.

So you are now thinking 'how hard can it be? After all, plushies don't eat. Do they?'

Unfortunately yes.

Food

The following is a list of foods which you really shouldn't feed to a plushie unless you take extreme care.

Fresh Fish - the bones have a tendency to get stuck.

Fresh Meat - Make sure you slice it, so that once again you don't give your pet the bone.

Fruit - As I mention further on, getting stains off your pet can be very difficult.

Sticky foods - Probably best to stay away from these; they really aren't good for digestion.

Also, beware of giving your pet some toys, which normally would be the safest available. I feel it is necessary to give this warning after the attempted eating of a Rainbow Doughnutfruit plushie. (Unless your pet is a Skeith, in which case that is probably safe).

Cleaning

Whatever they manage to stain themselves with, be it Achyfi or Chiaberry juice, do NOT, under any circumstances, resort to using fabric cleaner. It soaks into them and leaves your pet with a smell of chemicals for several weeks.

If I could advise buying your pet a Swabby at this point I would. A petpet that assumes the duties of a mop with no effort on your part can only be a good thing, especially when your pet tends to create rather large puddles whenever they come in from the rain and squeeze the water out of their paws (or hooves).

And as for drying: you can't really tumble dry your beloved pet or hang them out on a washing line.

Or at least I hope you never have.

In my case I have found that 1.5 metres of towering soggy Eyrie is not a good thing, however I have yet to find a good solution. A hairdryer will dry the worst of the water from the surface, but remember that the stuffing inside will most likely stay slightly damp.

This inability to completely dry your plushie pet can cause problems in cold weather as water freezes. Not a good thing for your poor pet. This problem also extends to visits to Terror Mountain. So it is essential that you have a large supply of warm clothing available for your plushie for the winter months or excursions to any colder areas.

Unfortunately moving to the Lost Desert will not improve conditions. While pets may not be freezing, sand can have a tendency to work its way into your pet's coat, leaving him or her with sand in their stuffing. I have been assured that this is not a pleasant experience.

Battledome

If your pet is one of those that really can't go without fighting, don't worry. Fabric may tear very easily but just think of the neopoints that you can save with this next tip.

Forget healing potions and fancy elixirs. All you really need is a needle, thread and some spare stuffing.

If your pet is clumsy in any way then plushie really isn’t the colour for them. Weapons can be quite dangerous and any sharp object can easily create a large rip, requiring a lot of stitching to put them back together.

It can be hard to find patches to match their coat colour so your pet can end up with lots of different coloured and patterned patches. Although if your pet wants to go for the patchwork quilt effect this will not be a problem.

If you wish to see the damage that can be caused by repeated mending of a plushie pet then I would suggest that you visit the Battledome and take a good look at Punchbag Bob (or Sid if he is about) before you start to fight.

Other Problems

Also, be aware that some other pets may mistake your greatly loved and cherished pet for a toy plushie. If this happens, don't panic. Just be thankful that most Neopians are intelligent enough to realise that a plushie that moves is not a toy.

Plushie pets have an aversion to fire. Not surprising given that they are fabric. However if you have a neohome it may be wise to invest in some safe heaters and stay away from those cosy roaring log fires. Do not therefore be ashamed if your fighting pet, which has defeated the Snowager time and time again refuses to fight a weaker fire coloured pet.

I would also advise all owners in instructing their pets that Poogles have two varieties of plushie colouring. One is the agreeable, calm tempered Poogle plushie. The other is the Malevolent Sentient Poogle Plushie, or MSPP. Do not, under any circumstances get these mixed up. Although they do look similar the red eyes and evil grin should give away the MSPP. Treat this plushie pet with respect.

In closing

I have not yet come across any other problems associated with this rather rare colour; however, I'm sure that I will find out the hard way sometime in the near future...