I promise that we are very responsible...

it's been a sad zoo here this fall. At least for the pets here. In September, Toadie...the little frog that we raised from a tadpole, died all of a sudden during a habitat cleaning.
Cobb was in charge of cleaning and blamed himself and something that he must have done wrongly. I finally convinced him that he was in no way responsible and that 3 year-old frogs do sometimes die.

Then a couple of weeks later, our old dog Stamper passed away in his sleep. This was the dog that ZD and I found on our wedding night. He had parvo and we had to postpone our honeymoon to get medical care for him. He was our first "little boy" and we had in in our lives for 16 years. Matty was the one who found him and was horribly upset. Making matters worse was that Cobb was off at his Order of the Arrow Ordeal camp out and came home to help bury his favorite pet.
It was such a sad day.

Unfortunately, it delayed a decision that ZD and I had made about our other 16-year-old dog, Angel. Little girl was having a really tough time before Stamper died. Afterwards, she was just totally lost. She didn't eat. She paced around the yard all day and most of the night. She was confused most of the time. When she finally stopped drinking unless one of the boys put her nose in her bowl, we decided that the inevitable had come. The older two boys went with ZD to the vet's office to spend a few more minutes with her without pain and pet her as she took her last breath.

We buried her beside her partner for 15 years in the yard where they had spent 12 years of their lives.

Now....as a final blow...we are missing a cat. Chloe got out of the house somehow on Monday night and we haven't seen hide nor hair of her. She is spayed and micro chipped but she didn't have a collar because she wasn't supposed to be outside. She had lived for 18 months as a stray and had been spending a lot of time trying to get outside.
I home she comes home soon. She is the most loving and cuddly cat I have every seen.

Thankfully, we still have Mango cat. Unfortunately, she can't stand us.

Chloe la chat

I mentioned that we adopted a new cat.
Chloe was a stray on post who was trapped and socialized. She spent 4 months living in a kennel until we brought her home to live with us.
She's a beautiful tuxedo cat with a sweet disposition.

She seems to be adjusting just don't you think? But she's a little odd.

Her new favorite spot to sleep in on the back of the love seat, right behind my head. That part is not odd though....this part is.

She sleeps stretched out like that. Cobb calls her "Thriller cat" because she looks like she's doing a Michael Jackson move.

After pestering her for a while with the flash, she rolled over. But stayed all stretched out. I like the hands over her head pose.

Yep...she's an odd one.

Another little hamster grave

My oldest boy's hamster died today. He was suffering from tumors and a bad case of "wet tail" that he just couldn't shake.
My oldest did his very best, even offering him cola lids of water and medicine every hour day and night. But the little fuzzy guy couldn't get well.
It was all so very sad.

Cornflake was probably the sweetest hamster that I've every encountered. His friendliness was a testament to my my oldest son's dedication to him. That little ball of fur loved his owner and thought that his cage or Oldest boy's hands were the be places on earth. His cage was left open one night and he didn't even try to get out. He just sat waiting at the door for the treat that he knew had to be coming. Why else would the door be open?
He never bit or swatted at fingers.
He loved be held and picked up.
He was a good little fuzzy thing and his passing brought my man-child to tears.

I gave him the speech my father always gave me: "He lived a good life and you did right by him. You did every thing that you were supposed to do."

Cornflake was the last of our hamsters and he will probably be the very last hamster. he was worth knowing though.

Good-bye Goldie

Your little owner is very sad that you have passed. He really liked you even though you were the meanest hamster in existence. He fed you every day and tried to pet you...as you tried to chew his finger off. But he never got angry. He thought it was his fault instead of your bad personality.

You were fun to watch. You loved your wheel and the hamster ball. And you were great at climbing the tubes. You never, ever escaped or tired to. That is a big plus for hamsters. You were also a very good mother. Your son and two daughters are very good pets.

And most importantly, you did bring smiles to a little boy who doesn't smile nearly enough. So rest in peace little Goldie. I hope you like your place in our little hamster cemetery.

PTS Cat

Max is the laziest cat I have ever seen. He also has a penchant for sprawling out in middle of the high traffic areas of the house.

Today's nap took place while I put together the tree. (Deep South...not many tree farms...hubby who hates buying a tree every year.)

After lugging the box in I realized that I didn't get the remote control plug. Stepped over the near comatose cat to get the plug and then back over him. Then I discovered that the fuse was blown, two more trips over the cat to get a new fuse.

I couldn't remove the old fuse so once again I'm walking over the cat to get a small screwdriver and once again he sleeps right through it. When all the lights are on and the bottom two sections are fluffed, I discover for the 37th year in a row that I am too short to reach the top section of the tree. So...it's out to the garage for the step ladder and over the cat two more times. He never even open his eyes.

At least not until I dropped the Christmas tree box on him. Then he just lifted his head.

I think the daily noise and busyness of a house with four boys and one clumsy mom have traumatized him. Oddly enough, he disappears as soon as the Santa hats come out.

And BTW, the tree fit in it's new 'spot.' I rearranged the whole room a few months back and didn't think ahead to tree placement. I did have to move the old fish tank base and a side table, but the tree has a window spot and a cat (not Max) eyeing it as I type. I believe Mango is planning a tree siege.

Infested

Hi y'all!

I'm back. I'm back and I have news but I can't go sharing the news just as yet. So, technically...I'm back and I have a secret. But it's not really a "Secret" secret. It's really just news that we can't tell everyone yet. But some people already know and just have to act surprised when we start telling everybody. (So y'all keep your lips tight.)
Whew!
And no....it's not that I'm pregnant. Though someone in the house was.

We are currently infested...with hamsters.

Andrew wanted a hamster. And after the death of our two giant Oscars (yes, the giant scary fish died.), we...strike that...I decided to get him one.

I got him a cute little Robo Dwarf hamster and a Jetson style hamster pod house. her name is Speedy because she is a wickedly fast little rodent. Mango the cat was pleased by this event. She takes great joy in watching the little rat though she is frustrated that she cannot actually obtain her.

This hamster purchase led to a series of events as follows:

Matthew, envious of the hamster that Andrew owned, asked for his own hamster.
He wanted a panda bear hamster. (Very cut teddy bear hamster with panda-like markings.) The boy loves pandas.

Of course, there were no panda bear hamsters in town anymore. Not at any of the three stores that we visited. Though one store promised that would have them next week.

We went back next week and they didn't have them. By this time, Matthew had spent about 10 days planning for his new hamster. The boy was not leaving without a fuzzy rodent of his own. He had already cleaned and set up his old cage, all ready for it's new inhabitant. He had food, bedding, and little chew snacks all set to go. Just no hamster.

Now, if you've ever met an Apserger child or any child on the Autism spectrum, you'll know that they do not respond the change very well. Especially, for something they've been looking forward to.

But crisis was averted when we found a lovely long haired hamster that was dark brown and white. She kind of looked panda-like. All was good.

Matthew waited to name her until he "found one that suits her." You don't want to rush into something as important as a name. He took wonderful care of his little friend and played with her every day. He never woke her from her naps and fed her fresh veggies. Changed her water everyday.

He did comment that she slept....a lot.

Then one day, he casually mentioned that she had been sleeping for a whole day........................................................................................................................

yes.

Just what you think.
Dead hamster.

Oh, the tears. He wanted to see her. He wanted to help bury her. he even placed his stepping stone over her burial spot. He cried that he had not taken good care of her and that he didn't ever want another pet.

So that day, I took him to buy a new hamster just to help shake his self-doubt. And as luck would have it, the store (different store...I learned my lesson) had a mother and child pair up for free adoption.

Well, free hamster at least. Then I went on and bought a second hamster pod house and more tubes, and more little treats. Not-so-free hamsters.
Matthew loved them though. He set to taking dilligent care of his new little family. He even filled their water bottle with filtered water.

Matthew named the mom, "Gold." He waited until we could tell the sex of the baby since he didn't want to give a boy hamster a girl name. You don't want to offend a hamster, after all.

A few days later, I noted that "Gold" was kind of chubby. (You know what that means.) In fact Gold was chubby and the "chubby" was kind of hard. I noted this to ZooDad to warn him but he poo-poo-ed the idea.

Yesterday, the boys and ZooDad went down to the farm to visit MIL and I was left in the quiet house to enjoy the peace.

I heard a faint "squee, squee" that wasn't coming from our "baby" hamster. Upon further investigation, rather slender "Gold" came out of the little hidey hole.

Oh no...she didn't.

She did!

I shifted her bedding slightly and I caught a glimpse of at least 5 little pink bodies before mom returned to slap at me.

Holey Moley.
Want a hamster?