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#1
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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 |
#2
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rats and cat update
"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 |
#3
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rats and cat update
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. |
#4
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rats and cat update
"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 |
#5
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rats and cat update
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 |
#6
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rats and cat update
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/ |
#7
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rats and cat update
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 |
#8
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rats and cat update
"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 |
#9
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rats and cat update
"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 |
#10
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rats and cat update
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 |
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