happy hippie bunnies
December 30, 2006 l 1 Comment
the kitties enjoying Christmas
December 27, 2006 l 2 Comments
Make her stop biting me…
Oh, and did I mention that Rex has developed a taste for cat litter?
December 23, 2006 l 2 Comments
Yes, you read that right.
*blech*
The brand of choice in our multi-cat home is World’s Best, a corn based litter that clumps and absorbs odors far better than it’s silica counterparts. Not to mention the fact that it lasts longer and is biodegradable.
But corn is, apparently, a yummy food in any form. You can imagine my shock to see Rex sitting in the cats’ litterbox munching away like a kid in a candy store. I didn’t even realize he could jump over the fourteen inch high sides. Obviously, this behavior poses some serious health issues, both from the bacteria present in cat litter and also from the fact that clumping litter, when ingested in large quantities, has been known to swell and create blockages in pets’ stomachs. Oy. What’s a zookeeper to do?
Switch the cats back to the non-clumping, non-tasty, yet still environmentally friendly Feline Pine. At least for the two litterboxes that the bunnies have access too. Given our small house and the number of boxes it contains, moving them was not an option. The cats haven’t minded the switch at all, but Rex seems a tad…disappointed.
cross-posted from Rabbits Only:
So what does the Mighty Pea mean?
“Pea” was the nickname Dr. G gave her when she first got sick, something a little softer than Peanut (or her other nickname as Sir Poops-a-lot’s sidekick, the Mighty Crapper)
When she was sick she seemed so tiny and frail. I don’t know how many times I whispered into her ear, “S’okay, Pea”, “It’s alright, Pea”, “I know this stinks, Pea”.
To see her hop around now, the tilt is certainly dramatic, but you may not realize there was a time she couldn’t even walk without shaking and rolling over. It takes an incredible amount of muscular strength to hold your body upright when your brain tells you that you’re supposed to be sideways. First she learned to stand, then hop. It took her a good month before she could start to groom herself. And she absolutely did not want to leave the secure walls of their pen.
The first time she did walk out into the bedroom, she was very disoriented. She spun in circles, rolled over, and bumped into the gate more than once. With the way rabbits’ eyes function, her field of vision is the upper part of the walls and ceiling, and much like a blind rabbit she navigates on memory and scent. It was so brave of her to even attempt leaving her safe place that I said she was a “Mighty Pea”, small but resilient. The name stuck.
“This is where I eat.”
December 21, 2006 l 1 Comment
PJ is now out with the girls 24/7, except for at meal times. Things still get a little tense when they’re hungry. The girls have a carefully structured hierarchy that’s most evident when they’re eating: Scully first, then Miko, then Stephanie. Even then there’s the occasional spat when two cats want the same chunk of meat. Understandably, the girls are not receptive to a new, much larger and much stronger cat dominating the dinner plate.
Only once the kitties have eaten to their full and commenced the post-meal bathing do I let PJ out of Stephen’s room, where he eats. This morning the girls left a large portion of chicken neck uneaten, and I casually told PJ he could eat it if he liked. He picked up the neck and with it in his mouth walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway, and into Stephen’s room where he finished it off.
Such a well-trained boy.
A natural life?
December 20, 2006 l 2 Comments
I was recently sent this question from AllExperts.com:
I choose to live naturally & like the idea of not fixing or manipulating something unless it needs to be. But where does this belief stand on the issue of spaying/ neutering? Does it make me a hypocrite to believe in living all natural, yet altering my animals? I just don’t want to feel like I went against nature in doing so; because after all, animals have just enough right to do what they want as people do. I really was considering the health of my pets when deciding to have them neutered, but now I’m feeling bad & regreting it. How can I get over this?
This was my response:
You know, I’ve struggled with the same thing. But here’s my thinking on it…I believe in letting my cats live as natural a life as possible. I feed them a biologically appropriate raw diet, but I don’t let them kill their own food. Why? Because putting a prey animal in a situation with no means of escape certainly *isn’t* natural.
I also don’t let my cats outside. Sure, they may still have the instincts of their distant wild ancestors, but cars, domestic dogs, and spiteful neighbors are not natural predators. And if I care about the health and safety of my pets, I sometimes have to sacrifice what may seem natural for what is best for them.
In the same way, leaving our pets intact may seem natural, but in the long run it does more harm than good. Unless you’re prepared to allow your cats to procreate freely and accept all of the NATURAL by-products of that behavior (overpopulation leading to disease, life-threatening birth defects, and kittens being killed by male cats: all things that happen in the wild) then you can’t say you’ve made the natural choice. I’d argue that it’s far crueler to leave a cat intact and sexually frustrated than to to spay or neuter them and avoid potentially deadly problems like cancer and pyometra.
No, we do what’s best for our pets because we realize that ultimately, being domesticated isn’t 100% natural and while we try to mimic a natural life as much as possible we can’t ever duplicate it. And we probably wouldn’t want to, because let’s face it, nature can be cruel. What we’d really like is to have our pets live in the Disney ideal of the “peaceful wild”. But that doesn’t exist, and so I’m comfortable with the choices I’ve made to balance both a natural and safe existence for my pets.
PJ spent the night out with the girls
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Mostly by accident. When I went to bed last night I didn’t see him anywhere. I wasn’t sure if Stephen had already brought PJ into his bedroom, but the girls were sound asleep so I just decided to go to bed. He did great, no brawls during the night. Scully still hates even the sight of him, but she’s not hiding anymore, just hissing and growling…a lot. Hopefully her stubbornness will die out before her vocal chords do.
Martin update
December 16, 2006 l 1 Comment
I’ve decided not to put him back on meds, at least not while he’s doing so well. I don’t like the idea of prolonged antibiotics, both because of their effect on the gut and the possible build-up of resistant strains. On constant antibiotics, a simple infection could potentially be fatal.
He’s already a middle-aged mouse, I’d like to let him live out his life in relative comfort. He’s chattering, but otherwise seems to be feeling well, still active and doing all his usual mousey activities.
PJ and The Girls
December 15, 2006 l 1 Comment
I said that we were hoping for a full integration by Christmastime, and that seems to be happening. PJ is out with the girls all day every day, with the exception of meal times, nighttime, and when we’re out of the house. Miko and Stephanie still have their hissy moments, but they tolerate him. Scully tolerates him as well…by keeping herself hidden when he’s around. But there are no fights and no real signs of aggression, just a little territoriality. The best part is that they seem to be accepting him as a permanent, albeit slightly annoying, member of the household.
coexistence, part two
December 14, 2006 l 2 Comments
sleep tight, little ones…
