January Month in Review

January's big happening was the addition of Miss Madison to the zoo.  She seems to be adjusting well and finding her place in the family.

She and Clooney are not yet friends but it seems like its getting a little better as time goes along.  Kitties are doing well - Zoey seems to have gotten over her ferret anger and the others have accepted the new little one with no issues.  Emma is not quite sure what to think about this wild child who climbs all over her.  She is gentle and careful with her and is quite tolerant.  Even Nigel seems to be less fearful of Maddie than he is of Clooney.

All in all it was a good critter month....

Kitty Love

Ollie and Phoebe have quite the love affair going - they are inseparable....

13 pounds

Zoey weighs 13 pounds today.  I weigh her often and poke at her belly to see if I feel anything funky.   So far nothing to report.  She still seems to have lots of energy, a good appetite, and seems quite happy and content so I can't ask for more than that.  She gets her supplement every day - not sure if that is what is helping but it makes me feel like I am doing something for her and it certainly isn't hurting anything.

So long as she has good quality of life I am happy.

Treasure Hunt

So - we went out to a movie yesterday leaving the critters home alone. We have been using the playpen to keep Madison downstairs but she really does love our bedroom. I shut all the doors upstairs except ours and decided to leave the gate open so she could go up if she wanted.  When we got home - she's not downstairs and she is not upstairs in our room....hmmmmm.... Come to find out - she is so little she fits under the office room door.  Little brat.  So after some searching we did find her.

There there is Nigel - who I left sleeping on our bed in his blanket.  This is not unusual and in the past he has never really strayed from his bed.  Well - tonight he had a big hedgehog adventure.  He got down off the bed and while I am not sure exactly where he went I found him pulling himself up the top step.  He was happy to see me and seemed very excited with himself. He also worked up quite an appetite because he went face down in his food bowl when I put him in his cage.  I have to say it was one of his cutest moments watching him pull himself up the step....

I am glad we found everyone safe and sound.....

Pet Peeves - Volume 10

My pet peeve for this month - they naughtiness of Miss Emma.  Wow.  Is she pushing her mommy's buttons....
She has decided that she is going to do what she wants when she wants with total disregard for what she has been told....UGH

A couple of solid weeks of this has frazzled my nerves.  I am happy to report that today was a very good pup day - no working of the nerves at all.  I have my fingers crossed that the naughtiness phase is over.

In Emma's defense - she is amazing with the other animals.  She is patient and tolerant and gentle.  Madison uses her as a speed bump crawling all over her and Emma never complains.  In fact  - today when I came downstairs Madison had her whole head in Emma's mouth - guess that dog food smells good....

Side By Side

So here they are - a side by side compare....Madison is much lighter than Clooney.  Her mask goes all the way across - a unibrow if you will.  Clooney has more the eyebrows.  Clooney has such character in his nose with lots of brown speckles and spots.  Madison has a perfectly pink girly nose.

The obvious difference is their size - more than a pound between them.  Can't wait til they are friends.....

Isabel's Old Cat Bed Gets a New Visitor

Isabel's old cat bed gets new life with little Madison.  She plays in it, on it, around it...I think Isabel would like that somehow:

She is way faster than the camera - as you can see - all I got was her foot:

And a half shot - she's wiggly too....

Sleepy Weasels

Ferrets sleep lots - some as many as 18 hours a day.  My guys not quite so much as they have me and the other critters to wake them often.  They have lots of spots - most of which you can't get to with the camera.

Maddie found this box in the dining room and spent the afternoon napping in there:

She spends most of her downstairs time sleeping behind a cabinet in the laundry room.

Since the weasels are not friends yet - we have to keep them separated so Clooney isn't sleeping in his regular closet spots.  He has a spot in the guest room - I have yet to find where he goes.  He also has a spot in the office room closet.  And...since he is older he is much more willing to sleep out in the open:

Phoebe Loves the Fire

Miss Phoebe loves when we have the gas fireplace going.  She finds just the right spot where the blower gets on her and she stretches out as long as she can get.  Sometimes all four kitties line up right in a row.....

Critter Snaps

Here are some miscellaneous critter snaps - I have been slacking on the pictures this month - man its been busy:

Phase 2 - Establish Dominance

Okay folks - we have moved from ignoring to scaring the bejeebers out of the little ferret.  Clooney is trying to show Madison who's boss.  He tries to scruff her which I might add - she really doesn't think is all that great.  She is a very vocal little ferret and clicks and screeches to show that she is not a happy camper.

Ugh - hopefully this will pass....who could hate a face like this?

I Can't See You....

Clooney is in ignore her mode - just complete denial that she even exists.  She tries to approach - he moves on as if nothing happened.  He just doesn't even want to deal....

Home Alone

Today was Maddie's first day home alone as I had an all day training and needed to be in the office.  Not sure what she was up to while I was gone but she was certainly happy to see me when I got home!

I picked her up to give her some loves and wasn't allowed to put her down for almost an hour.  Every time I put her down she climbed up my pant leg.  She wanted to be held.

MIA

Update - Madison can go up the stairs by herself.  Too bad we didn't know this as we tore apart the downstairs looking for her for an hour last night.  Cripes.

I have observed that she is much more fearless than Clooney was at that age - he was much more cautious.  She is not afraid of anything and especially not heights - she gets down from high spots with no fear. She is so small that she fits anywhere she wants to go.  Needless to say the baby gate will be going up tomorrow to keep her downstairs.

Zoey the Ferret Hater

Yes - my cranky Zoey is back in full force....she feels no love for little Madison. She is mad enough about it that she no longer feels any love for Clooney either.  She is growling, hissing, swatting and just generally being ugly to the poor little critters.  Madison isn't nearly as sensitive about it as Clooney - she just keeps on going and comes back for some more a bit later.  Clooney on the other hand tends to get his little feelings hurt - he is very sensitive.

Hopefully Zoey will get over it soon....

Maddie's First Full Day

So - we calculated this morning and determined that Clooney was 3 - 4 weeks older than Maddie when we got him.  He was already on solid foods.  First order of business was to head to the pet store and get her the slop they had in her cage as she hadn't eaten in about 12 hours.

She is eating Marshall Ferret Diet - but the trick is you have to wet it and turn it into slop.  So I made her a bowl of warm goo and she pretty much went face down.  Once her belly was full it was time for a nap.

She is so tiny that she fits places that Clooney can't - she's tough to find. She likes behind the bookcase in the living room and behind the storage cabinets in the laundry room.

She has been playing with Oliver - who wants to be as rough with her as he is with Clooney. We are working on that.  Phoebe and Aggie don't seem to mind the newest addition.  Zoey is a ferret hater now - not only does she not like the new baby but she is taking out her frustration on Clooney as well.  Other than Zoey complaining - Maddie joining the troop has been a non event.  No one seems to care much.

I am not sure Clooney knows quite what to think yet.....

Welcome to the Zoo - Madison

Wow - the hubs met the little critter and she had him wrapped in like 2 seconds so we now have an addition to the zoo.  I would have never guessed he would go for it.  So - welcome to the family Miss Madison...

We discussed several names for her - Ursula, Angelina, Ginger, Jasmine, Arielle, Bailey, Regan - but after spending the afternoon and evening with her we decided on Madison - Maddie for short.

Her birthday is 11/6/11 and she weighs maybe half a pound at best - she is way too squirmy to get on the scale yet.

Clooney's Sister....

Clooney's sister is at the petstore.  I have been looking for 2 years for the right companion for him. A ferret that is mellow like him, not bitey, not hyper, not a chewer.....I have looked and looked and now I think I might have found.  Ugh - hubs is never going to go for this. Let the convincing begin....

Almost Mid Month Update

I am back from my blogging hiatus and feeling refreshed.  Wow - January is totally flying by!  Its been a calm month so far.  Emma is still struggling a bit changing over to her new food - I may have to abandon that plan.  Kitties seem to be doing well - including Miss Zoey who continues to prosper.

Clooney seems to be doing great - he is happy and active and generally a happy little guy.  Nigel is doing great as well - letting visitors hold him and pet him and playing frequently downstairs where he loves to investigate.

All in all critters are starting off 2012 well - let's keep it up.... :)

A Blogging Vacation

So - I have been going strong -posting every day since March 2011 and I have decided to take a new years break.  I will be back in a couple of weeks with more antics from the critters.....