rats and cat update

Well, it seems I'm in my normal state - 500-1000 messages behind and
trying to catch up. Blanket purrs and prayers going out for all in
need, in case I miss some as I finally get caught up (though I'll
undoubtedly fall behind again in no time).

First off, the cats are all doing fine. Frank, the neighbor cat,
spends more and more time inside. Used to be he would only consent to
come in if it was extremely cold - now he wants in if it's hot, going
to rain, or sometimes just to visit. I really wouldn't mind his
visits, except he absolutely refuses to use the litter box and a
couple times when he spent the night he left presents behind on the
carpet. I think it may be that he considers my boxes too small, as
he's a big guy and the boxes are medium sized. They're fine for the
girls, but maybe too small for him. So, next time I replace the boxes
I'll get a bigger one and see if that's more to his liking.

The girls are all fine. Little Bit is more active than she has been
since she had her episode where she lost the use of her back legs.
She's even back to climbing up to the middle platform on the cat tree
- which was as high as she ever climbed before she was hurt. Visitors
who don't know her history don't notice that she doesn't have much
strength in her rear legs, and walks with her rear a little sideways.
Guess I'll never know what caused her to lose the use of her legs for
a week. At the time her TED didn't seem to know what to think as
nothing showed on the tests. I could have taken her to Oklahoma city
for more definitive tests, but didn't. Nothing much else to say about
the girls - they're all doing fine and seem fine with having a new
species move in.

I think I've finally found a food that everyone is happy with. You may
remember my complaints about what we have available here in Lawton,
OK. I was buying one of the premium brands at wal mart, but they don't
have much. When they were out of stock of the normal brand and I tried
something different, Little Bit had an allergic reaction and had to go
to TED for a shot. I've given up on buying local, and for now I'm
planning on visiting the closest Pets mart a couple times a month. In
fact, I'm going down this afternoon for my second trip as they've
about gone through their first case. It's about an hour drive each
way, which isn't bad and gives me a chance to drive the car at highway
speeds instead of poking around with all the stop and go of delivering
pizza - which is probably good for the car anyway.

Rat update:

It's been a couple weeks since I brought mama rat, henceforth known as
Hanna, inside from the patio. I read somewhere that having rats is
like eating potato chips - you can't stop with just one. So, I went
out and brought Blondie home - now I'm already thinking a third would
be nice. The two rats are getting along fine. They sleep together
sometimes, and I've seen Blondie grooming Hanna, though so far haven't
seen Hanna reciprocating. Mainly, Hanna ignores Blondie

The girls have decided that Blondie is fun - but I think they're all
bored with Hanna. Being a youngster, Blondie is much more into
exploring and scurrying around, while Hanna is much more relaxed. I've
had Blondie out for supervised visits with the cats. Little Bit and
Sammy don't know what to think of her, and they go into the other
room. Spotty, Princess and Furby are more interested. Spotty and Furby
have been known to touch noses with Blondie, while Princess stands
back and observes.

One thing I learned this past week is that Blondie has no trouble
getting out of the cage when she wants. I was at the computer reading,
glanced over and saw Blondie on top of the cage. I went and put her
back inside, sat down and watched as she climbed back through the
bars. She ended up spending the night in the carrier. I checked out
the ratshack site that Moon minnow steered me to, and the next morning
I went and got some wire mesh and zip tied mesh over the cage.

Sort of makes for an ugly cage for now, but I think it will look
better when I take the time to find some black wire instead of the
silver I bought - and take a little time fitting it better. The other
option will just be to check and find a cage with smaller gaps between
the bars, as this cage has about an inch gap. Course, having just
spent over a hundred bucks on a cage, it will be a little before a new
cage fits into the budget. Eventually, though, I'm sure to replace
this cage - it's a pain to clean and change the bedding or rearrange
things inside through the little doors. Probably about the time I'm
ready to replace the cage Blondie will have grown enough that she'll
stay inside, but like I say this cage is sort of a pain to clean
anyway. Besides, it seems that the population may go up if I keep
thinking of getting another rat - you can never have too many cats or
rats, don'cha know ;-)

well, I've gone on long enough, so will cut this off and go back to
lurking - and hopefully catch up on reading this weekend.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
news
Well, it seems I'm in my normal state - 500-1000 messages behind and
trying to catch up. Blanket purrs and prayers going out for all in
need, in case I miss some as I finally get caught up (though I'll
undoubtedly fall behind again in no time).

First off, the cats are all doing fine. Frank, the neighbor cat,
spends more and more time inside. Used to be he would only consent to
come in if it was extremely cold - now he wants in if it's hot, going
to rain, or sometimes just to visit. I really wouldn't mind his
visits, except he absolutely refuses to use the litter box and a
couple times when he spent the night he left presents behind on the
carpet. I think it may be that he considers my boxes too small, as
he's a big guy and the boxes are medium sized. They're fine for the
girls, but maybe too small for him. So, next time I replace the boxes
I'll get a bigger one and see if that's more to his liking.

The girls are all fine. Little Bit is more active than she has been
since she had her episode where she lost the use of her back legs.
She's even back to climbing up to the middle platform on the cat tree
- which was as high as she ever climbed before she was hurt. Visitors
who don't know her history don't notice that she doesn't have much
strength in her rear legs, and walks with her rear a little sideways.
Guess I'll never know what caused her to lose the use of her legs for
a week. At the time her TED didn't seem to know what to think as
nothing showed on the tests. I could have taken her to Oklahoma city
for more definitive tests, but didn't. Nothing much else to say about
the girls - they're all doing fine and seem fine with having a new
species move in.

I think I've finally found a food that everyone is happy with. You may
remember my complaints about what we have available here in Lawton,
OK. I was buying one of the premium brands at wal mart, but they don't
have much. When they were out of stock of the normal brand and I tried
something different, Little Bit had an allergic reaction and had to go
to TED for a shot. I've given up on buying local, and for now I'm
planning on visiting the closest Pets mart a couple times a month. In
fact, I'm going down this afternoon for my second trip as they've
about gone through their first case. It's about an hour drive each
way, which isn't bad and gives me a chance to drive the car at highway
speeds instead of poking around with all the stop and go of delivering
pizza - which is probably good for the car anyway.

Rat update:

It's been a couple weeks since I brought mama rat, henceforth known as
Hanna, inside from the patio. I read somewhere that having rats is
like eating potato chips - you can't stop with just one. So, I went
out and brought Blondie home - now I'm already thinking a third would
be nice. The two rats are getting along fine. They sleep together
sometimes, and I've seen Blondie grooming Hanna, though so far haven't
seen Hanna reciprocating. Mainly, Hanna ignores Blondie

The girls have decided that Blondie is fun - but I think they're all
bored with Hanna. Being a youngster, Blondie is much more into
exploring and scurrying around, while Hanna is much more relaxed. I've
had Blondie out for supervised visits with the cats. Little Bit and
Sammy don't know what to think of her, and they go into the other
room. Spotty, Princess and Furby are more interested. Spotty and Furby
have been known to touch noses with Blondie, while Princess stands
back and observes.

One thing I learned this past week is that Blondie has no trouble
getting out of the cage when she wants. I was at the computer reading,
glanced over and saw Blondie on top of the cage. I went and put her
back inside, sat down and watched as she climbed back through the
bars. She ended up spending the night in the carrier. I checked out
the ratshack site that Moon minnow steered me to, and the next morning
I went and got some wire mesh and zip tied mesh over the cage.

Sort of makes for an ugly cage for now, but I think it will look
better when I take the time to find some black wire instead of the
silver I bought - and take a little time fitting it better. The other
option will just be to check and find a cage with smaller gaps between
the bars, as this cage has about an inch gap. Course, having just
spent over a hundred bucks on a cage, it will be a little before a new
cage fits into the budget. Eventually, though, I'm sure to replace
this cage - it's a pain to clean and change the bedding or rearrange
things inside through the little doors. Probably about the time I'm
ready to replace the cage Blondie will have grown enough that she'll
stay inside, but like I say this cage is sort of a pain to clean
anyway. Besides, it seems that the population may go up if I keep
thinking of getting another rat - you can never have too many cats or
rats, don'cha know ;-)

well, I've gone on long enough, so will cut this off and go back to
lurking - and hopefully catch up on reading this weekend.
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

Funny, the unexpected directions life takes us in, just look at you now, a
Rat Man!
I don't know what that means, I just made it up, so I get to make up a
definition too. A Rat Man is a pretty wonderful person with a heart full of
love for all creatures.
Karla

Steve Touchstone wrote:
snip
Besides, it seems that the population may go up if I keep
thinking of getting another rat - you can never have too many cats or
rats, don'cha know ;-)


chuckle So glad everyone is getting along so well.

well, I've gone on long enough, so will cut this off and go back to
lurking - and hopefully catch up on reading this weekend.

I still have over 1000 messages unread from when I was on the island.
Trying to catch up, if only everyone would shut up meanwhile.

--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban.
In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
news
a very nice newsy update that I enjoyed reading.

Be careful about getting charmed by a new pet that you hadn't had before and
wondered why you'd never realised how fantastic they are and how could you
have missed this fact?

Although having had dogs for many years, when I got a whippet I was smitten
by this delicately elegant dog who adored me. I had to have more of them.
I ended up with 11.

This is a warning ;-)

Tweed

On Fri, 7 Aug 2009 18:00:03 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
news
a very nice newsy update that I enjoyed reading.

Be careful about getting charmed by a new pet that you hadn't had before and
wondered why you'd never realised how fantastic they are and how could you
have missed this fact?

Although having had dogs for many years, when I got a whippet I was smitten
by this delicately elegant dog who adored me. I had to have more of them.
I ended up with 11.

This is a warning ;-)

Tweed

ah yes, the infamous pet creep where one pet becomes two, which turns
to three, etc etc. LOL

The thing you have to remember, and which I keep reminding myself, is
that there's a lot more to keeping a furry (or feathered) companion
then just the food, bedding, and litter. The biggest expense, or at
least one of the biggest for a responsible hoomin (which I try hard to
be) comes at the TED office. TED doesn't charge by the pound, an
office visit is an office visit and it costs the same whether it's an
mastiff d*g or mouse, they want their $50 for an office visit. I've
already had the one office visit for Hanna when I took her in right
after I brought her inside to have her checked out to be sure she
didn't have any dead babies left inside or parasites. Over on the
ratshack forum I read where somewhere was asking how many rats they
should get, one or two. One of the answers, which was seconded by a
couple other responses, was to allow around $200 for TED visits,
depending on where you live and the cost of TED.

Oh, BTW, there's now a third rat in the cage - the cutest little
albino girl............. Don't have a name yet - Whitey, Pinky, nah
I'm leaning towards Binky
--
Steve Touchstone
Little Bit, Sammy, Spotty, Princess, Furby
and Rocky (RB)
Pix at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8
Vids at http://tinyurl.com/4yb6nj

Steve Touchstone wrote:


Rat update:

It's been a couple weeks since I brought mama rat, henceforth known as
Hanna, inside from the patio. I read somewhere that having rats is
like eating potato chips - you can't stop with just one. So, I went
out and brought Blondie home - now I'm already thinking a third would
be nice. The two rats are getting along fine. They sleep together
sometimes, and I've seen Blondie grooming Hanna, though so far haven't
seen Hanna reciprocating. Mainly, Hanna ignores Blondie

Hanna's your alpha, which is somewhat typical of mama rats with younger
rats. Trios are nice, especially when it comes to not having to rush in
a new friend when one of your crew passes.

One thing I learned this past week is that Blondie has no trouble
getting out of the cage when she wants. I was at the computer reading,
glanced over and saw Blondie on top of the cage. I went and put her
back inside, sat down and watched as she climbed back through the
bars. She ended up spending the night in the carrier. I checked out
the ratshack site that Moon minnow steered me to, and the next morning
I went and got some wire mesh and zip tied mesh over the cage.

Sort of makes for an ugly cage for now, but I think it will look
better when I take the time to find some black wire instead of the
silver I bought - and take a little time fitting it better. The other
option will just be to check and find a cage with smaller gaps between
the bars, as this cage has about an inch gap. Course, having just
spent over a hundred bucks on a cage, it will be a little before a new
cage fits into the budget. Eventually, though, I'm sure to replace
this cage - it's a pain to clean and change the bedding or rearrange
things inside through the little doors. Probably about the time I'm
ready to replace the cage Blondie will have grown enough that she'll
stay inside, but like I say this cage is sort of a pain to clean
anyway. Besides, it seems that the population may go up if I keep
thinking of getting another rat - you can never have too many cats or
rats, don'cha know ;-)

You're showing distinct signs of GGMR here. Time to either look at all
the cute baby threads on Jorats' forum, or avoid them like the plague.
Be careful, though; I started with 2 and now I have 24.

If you're sticking with girls and/or getting babies at any point, the
only cage you'll find that's big enough for their activity level and
with a small enough gap between the bars to keep them in consistently
will be the Critter Nation. Any other cage that's big enough for them to
have their own spaces to retreat to you'll have to mesh. The second best
thing as far as cleaning and rearranging things is a Ferret Nation with
mesh zip-tied on. Everyone I've known with either cage has fallen in
love with them because they're just such easy cages to deal with.


Maeve ^..^ blanket purrs to all, and back to lurking
--
http://moonglowminnow.wordpress.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnow/

On Aug 7, 5:30*pm, Steve Touchstone
wrote:


Oh, BTW, there's now a third rat in the cage - the cutest little
albino girl.............

3 weeks ago you didn;t have one rat- 3 weeks later you have 3! I'm
getting worried about what will happen in 30 weeks time!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 7 Aug 2009 18:00:03 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
news
a very nice newsy update that I enjoyed reading.

Be careful about getting charmed by a new pet that you hadn't had before
and
wondered why you'd never realised how fantastic they are and how could you
have missed this fact?

Although having had dogs for many years, when I got a whippet I was
smitten
by this delicately elegant dog who adored me. I had to have more of them.
I ended up with 11.

This is a warning ;-)

Tweed

ah yes, the infamous pet creep where one pet becomes two, which turns
to three, etc etc. LOL

The thing you have to remember, and which I keep reminding myself, is
that there's a lot more to keeping a furry (or feathered) companion
then just the food, bedding, and litter. The biggest expense, or at
least one of the biggest for a responsible hoomin (which I try hard to
be) comes at the TED office. TED doesn't charge by the pound, an
office visit is an office visit and it costs the same whether it's an
mastiff d*g or mouse, they want their $50 for an office visit. I've
already had the one office visit for Hanna when I took her in right
after I brought her inside to have her checked out to be sure she
didn't have any dead babies left inside or parasites. Over on the
ratshack forum I read where somewhere was asking how many rats they
should get, one or two. One of the answers, which was seconded by a
couple other responses, was to allow around $200 for TED visits,
depending on where you live and the cost of TED.

Oh, BTW, there's now a third rat in the cage - the cutest little
albino girl............. Don't have a name yet - Whitey, Pinky, nah
I'm leaning towards Binky


Stop NOW.
I completely agree that the cost of food etc is not an issue when deciding
on more pets,but the cost of TED is.
It's why I won't have more than two cats, I could easily afford to feed more
and there is certainly plenty of room for them here, but vet's bills here
are crippling. So I have to be sensible.
If Boyfie got run over (unlikely) and got his leg broken it would cost
hundreds of pounds to repair. Although it's unlikely, I have to allow for
it.
KFC, in the last years of her life, almost cleared out my bank account with
her vet's bills.

As fast as I earned it, TED took it.

It's why he drives a BMW and I have a small Citroen

Tweed

"Christina Websell" wrote in
message ...

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 7 Aug 2009 18:00:03 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Steve Touchstone" wrote in
message
news
a very nice newsy update that I enjoyed reading.

Be careful about getting charmed by a new pet that you hadn't had
before and
wondered why you'd never realised how fantastic they are and how
could you
have missed this fact?

Although having had dogs for many years, when I got a whippet I
was smitten
by this delicately elegant dog who adored me. I had to have more
of them.
I ended up with 11.

This is a warning ;-)

Tweed

ah yes, the infamous pet creep where one pet becomes two, which
turns
to three, etc etc. LOL

The thing you have to remember, and which I keep reminding
myself, is
that there's a lot more to keeping a furry (or feathered)
companion
then just the food, bedding, and litter. The biggest expense, or
at
least one of the biggest for a responsible hoomin (which I try
hard to
be) comes at the TED office. TED doesn't charge by the pound, an
office visit is an office visit and it costs the same whether
it's an
mastiff d*g or mouse, they want their $50 for an office visit.
I've
already had the one office visit for Hanna when I took her in
right
after I brought her inside to have her checked out to be sure she
didn't have any dead babies left inside or parasites. Over on the
ratshack forum I read where somewhere was asking how many rats
they
should get, one or two. One of the answers, which was seconded by
a
couple other responses, was to allow around $200 for TED visits,
depending on where you live and the cost of TED.

Oh, BTW, there's now a third rat in the cage - the cutest little
albino girl............. Don't have a name yet - Whitey, Pinky,
nah
I'm leaning towards Binky


Stop NOW.
I completely agree that the cost of food etc is not an issue when
deciding on more pets,but the cost of TED is.
It's why I won't have more than two cats, I could easily afford to
feed more and there is certainly plenty of room for them here, but
vet's bills here are crippling. So I have to be sensible.
If Boyfie got run over (unlikely) and got his leg broken it would
cost hundreds of pounds to repair. Although it's unlikely, I
have to allow for it.
KFC, in the last years of her life, almost cleared out my bank
account with her vet's bills.

As fast as I earned it, TED took it.

It's why he drives a BMW and I have a small Citroen

Tweed



Our vet has a small airplane. Tells you something.

Jo

On Aug 8, 9:55*am, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I completely agree that the cost of food etc is not an issue when deciding
on more pets,but the cost of TED is.
It's why I won't have more than two cats,

Same here- also with us space is an issue but we could probably have
another 1 or maybe 2, which would be nice, apart from Speedy Joe our
cats have always been litter sisters and when Fugazi left us it didn't
seem fair to introduce Isis who was 12 years old to a new cat so there
was always the sense that when she left we'd be catless but we really
could not stand the vet bills for 3-4 cats. Our local vet is very
reasonable but it's still £15 per cat for their annuals and these are
still young cats at 6 but the older they get the more they'll cost in
vet bills

It's why he drives a BMW and I have a small Citroen


LOL! Ain;t that the truth!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs