messy bums, er, buns
January 31, 2006 l 2 Comments
I give them food, shelter, and everything their little bunny-hearts could desire…and this is how they repay me.
ingrates…
okay…
January 30, 2006 l Comments Off
I must have spent 20 minutes on my cell phone with the vet’s office (in my car, in between classes), trying to get the mice in for a second opinion. The receptionist was very nice, albeit somewhat spacey, and she squeezed us in for 12pm this Wednesday (my only other option was Sunday evening – um, no thanks).
But do you know what this means? I have to skip Bio lecture. For mom and anyone else who may be concerned, I talked with my professor, and she said it was fine. This was after she gave a schpiel to the class about how humans and mice are quite closely related. Yeah, I know it’s a stretch, but if it works to generate sympathy in my favor, I’ll take it.
Now it’s just a matter of taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I don’t have control over everything. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been praying that these mice stay active and strong – so far, so good…Thanks, God.
the mice love this
January 28, 2006 l Comments Off
Supplies for one Treasure Box:
1 empty box (if it is cardboard, it will be destroyed)
Hay (I prefer Timothy)
Small Treats
I usually use a 12-pack soda box for rats, and a small Kleenex box for mice. The size and type best for you will depend on what will fit in your pet’s home and what you have on hand. The hay can be purchased in small pre-packaged quantities from most pet stores, or by the flake from many feed stores. I use grain mix, cereal, or raisins for treats, but any small food item will work.
Step 1 Put a small handful of hay into the box. Use enough to cover the bottom with a thin layer.
Step 2 Scatter in a few treats. Use 3 or 4 raisins, pieces of cereal, or a small handful of grain mix.
Step 3 Stuff in a large size handful of hay.
Step 4 Repeat step 2.
Step 5 Continue repeating steps 2 and 3 until either the box is stuffed so full of hay that you cannot get any more in, or until you run out.
This is your finished Treasure Box. You may want to gently shake it so that the treats get mixed in well. Place the box in your critters’ home, and have fun watching your “pi–rats“ (and mice) hunt for the buried treasure. After they have found all the treats, they will take the box and hay and make it into a snug nest. 
from the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association
second opinion has me second guessing
January 26, 2006 l 4 Comments
After posting the vet’s diagnosis on the RMCA forum, a poster replied and was quite adamant that our vet was wrong. This person is fairly well respected as a mouse expert, so I heard him out. He said I should put the boys on antibiotics to see what happens. If there is an improvement, then in was an infection, and if not, then it couldn’t hurt. He didn’t buy the “allergy” diagnosis.
Well, I had a few thoughts as I responded to this:
- Antibiotics also act as anti-inflammatories. A positive outcome does not confirm that there was an infection, because lung inflammation due to allergies would improve with a round of antibiotics. But of course, the root cause would still be there, and at some point the mice would “relapse”.
- The mice have been chattering for several weeks now; it hasn’t gotten better, it hasn’t gotten worse. And dusty/moldy hay is a very plausible cause.
So I’ll be cleaning their cages, changing bedding, and completely removing the hay, to see if that helps.
However…
I am not willing to discount this person’s advice completely. Respiratory ailments are very common in mice and rats, with no apparent cause. Antibiotics are common treatment, and they are generally well-received, with very few side effects (I’ve seen enough upset tummies lately, thankyouverymuch)
There are a few mouse-friendly antibiotics that can be bought without prescription, and I am looking into that option. Of course, actually getting the medicine into the mice should prove interesting.
hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to the vet we go (again)
January 25, 2006 l 2 Comments
Well….classes were cancelled due to snow, so I was able to make an earlier appointment. Unfortunately, our rodent-savvy veterinarian was out of town for a conference, so I had to schedule with visit with the cats’ vet (who is one of the greatest vets imaginable, and has experience with rodents, so that set my mind at ease a little).
Anyway, the diagnosis is airborne allergens.Most likely suspect being the field hay that they nest in, but it could also be their bedding (recycled paper pulp) or just dry winter air.
No discharge, no wheezing, absolutely no respiratory distress. The vet had a good listen to both mouth and lungs, and he said it’s kinda like “staccato” breathing. The fact that they don’t live together, yet both have the same symptoms, suggest an allergen vs. an infection.
And of course, both vet and techs thought they were the cutest lil’ things. And I was only charged $35 to see both of them.
So…the vet recommended we switch to commercial, pre-bagged hay, and change the bedding more frequently. He also said that an air purifier and/or humidifier might offer some relief.
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I had to stop by the pet store to pick up some litter, and while checking out I asked one of the employees if she had any recommendations for a rodent vet (this was after I found out that our regular exotics vet was out of town). She couldn’t think of anything, but the manager was standing nearby, and said that they used tetracycline on small animals with respiratory problems. Then she says, “It’s kind of expensive, I don’t know if you want to spend that much money on a mouse.”
Oh right, I forgot – they’re small and therefore completely worthless. Right? Would she have said that about a cat? Or, perhaps, a dog?
Chuck and Martin go to the vet
January 24, 2006 l 2 Comments
They’re both making on-and-off chattering noises. Funny thing is, if I hadn’t read a thread on the RMCA forum entitled: “My Male mouse is making sounds…”, I might not have known right away that it was a problem. In all my efforts to learn about these little guys, I had never once heard that mice aren’t supposed to make noise. So thanks, RMCA forum.Unfortunately, I have classes until mid-afternoon tomorrow. I’ll call the vet* as soon as I can, and pray that they can squeeze me in. Still need to figure out the best mode of transportation; it’s about a 40-minute drive.The upside is that mouse visits don’t cost a whole lot, which is a nice change from the cats’ vet bills as of late.
*our highly recommended rabbit-savvy vet, is also a highly recommended rodent-savvy vet – who knew?
well, what do you know
January 23, 2006 l Comments Off
In the midst of all the recent vet visits, I found out something interesting:
Miko weighs 12 poundsWhen did my itty-bitty baby girl grow up into cat?? I used to be able to hold her in two hands. Now she sprawls out over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes (purring potatoes, mind you)
Miko is by far the biggest of the four cats. Scully, her mom, is around 10.8 pounds, and her sister, Stephanie, is a petite 9.5 pounds. Beeper has shrunk in her very, very old age – she weighs in at little more than 5 pounds.
Here she is: my chunk-o-cat.
The cats seem to be doing better. There hasn’t been much activity in the addition these past few days (aside from the hurricane-force winds), so the kitties have relaxed and stopped worrying their mother so danged much.
Now if they would only take their medicine without a fight, then we’d have progress…
still having issues with the cats
January 19, 2006 l Comments Off
It’s becoming clear just how stressed they are about the construction of the addition.
When I came home from school the other day, Stephanie was freaked out by the presence of workers. She was running back and forth with her tail down, even snapping at her mom. My family tried to comfort her to no avail, but as soon as I got there and started to talk to her, she relaxed and actually went to sleep for awhile.
Miko is still straining in the litterbox, though she’s producing a lot more urine. And on top of the stress, the Clavamox for Scully and Miko’s UTIs is causing vomiting and diarrhea. Not to mention they fight us tooth and claw when it’s time to give them their pills, so that’s been a real downer.
It just kills me that this is affecting them so much. They’re really great at night when it’s just the family and we’re all relaxed, but during the day they turn into different cats.
Praying, praying, praying for my girls. It’s just about all I can do at this point.
mmmmm…papaya
l Comments Off
