Happy Leap Year

This year is leap year - the 29th of February....

I am still on business travel and the hubs is still in charge of the zoo.  The latest updates I have from him - kitties are doing well - hedgehog is doing fine - Emma is being a naughty dog leaving some unpleasant surprises and the ferrets are wild.

I will be so happy to be home to the hubby and to the critters.....

Naughty Critters

My furries are not being very cooperative for their Daddy.  Maddie is crazy, Clooney is hiding, Emma is leaving nasty surprises in various places in the house, kitties are not eating wet cat food like they are supposed to.  At least Nigel is being good - but heck how much trouble can a 1 pound hedgehog cause.

Will be happy to get home and relieve the hubs of critter duty....only a few more days.

Reality Check

I received a funny phone call from the hubs today when he got home from work.  I guess he never thought about the fact that I interact with Madison during the day resulting in her being somewhat calm and somewhat well behaved when he gets home at night.

Since I am away on business travel he got the full force of the little one's exuberance. She is only 4 months old after all.....

The phone call went something like this:

Me:  Hello
Hubs:  What the %$&# is wrong with the ferret?
Me:  Which ferret?
Hubs:  Madison - she is insane.
Me:  She has been alone all day with no interaction - she is excited you are home
Hubs:  MADISON - STOP BITING ME!  MADISON - THAT'S BAD!!

We had several rounds of this conversation before the end.   She is very hyper in her diaper unless you wear her out.  I think he might be glad when I get home......

Cuddle Time

I am getting ready to travel for work.  I so hate leaving my guys - even though they will be fine with their Daddy at home to take care of them.  I have lots of chores to do to get ready to go but I find I am spending the majority of my day taking care of critter things and spending time with my little ones.

Nigel is snuggly today which is nice.  Madison is snuggly too once she gets sleepy.  Kitties are sprawled out over the bed.  Emma is hanging out with us.  Clooney is sacked out in his chair in Nigel's room.

I will miss them terribly next week.....

Baby Pics

Look what I found - Nigel's baby picture - the one with his hedgehog mama and his siblings.  He is the one at the top - standing next to his mom.

Look how much he has changed and grown.  He was 6 ounces when we got him and now he weighs a pound.  I can't believe I have had him for 14 months....

Well....

Its official - I can say with a high level of confidence that all critters and humans in our household are healthy. Lets just say its been a long couple of weeks with a sick ferret and sick people.  I am happy we are all feeling better.

Today is excessively warm for February - 78 degrees or so - and also excessively cloudy.  Emma is hiding under the bed in the anticipation of rain.  Clooney is sleeping in his chair in Nigel's room.  Nigel is sprawled out in his cage - I went to get him out but he was so comfy I didn't want to disturb him.  Kitties are napping and Madison is playing with a shoe.  She is entertained by the simplest things....

So happy everyone feels good.....

Totally Uneventful Day

Well - I guess that's not entirely true.  I was awakened at about 2 am by a horrible thunder storm accompanied by lots of howling wind.  Since I am not a great sleeper anyway I couldn't go back to sleep so I moved to the bonus room with critters in tow.

Since then however - its been an uneventful day. Madison is doing her thing - which is comprised of sleeping, then playing wildly, then sleeping. Clooney is doing his thing which is more sleeping and less playing.  Nigel is sacked out on the cat tree.  Kitties are in various spots being lazy, snoozy cats.  Emma is leaving me ugly piles of ick in the living room - not sure what that is about.  The spot bot will be busy in a few minutes.  Naughty dog.


I kind of like days like these - minus the piles. Everyone is content and relaxed.  It's kind of nice....

Emma and Clooney

As I look back over the last few weeks there haven't been many posts about the Emma dog.  She is still in camera hating mode so I am not pushing her.  This is why there haven't been many snaps of her on the blog - its not because we don't love her lots.  Em is doing great - she is not quite sure what to think of the little ferret who jumps on her and bites her toes.  She has settled back down to being a very nice dog after testing her mother for several weeks.

Clooney hasn't been around for picture time - rest assured he is still loved as well.  He continues to bully the baby ferret but other than that he seems to be doing pretty darn good.  He has recovered from his ECE episode and is doing his thing - he has taken up residence in Nigel's room - he can't bring himself to share the closet in our room with Madison.

So - no pics but a quick update.  I didn't want anyone to think my babies were being neglected......

Madison

She is tough to take pictures of as she is not still for more than half a second.  I did manage to get a couple of cute ones -  loving the tongue....

My Four Kitties

Ah the kitties - they are so great!  As I type this Oliver is chasing Madison up and down the hallway.  Phoebe is laying with me on the bed, Zoey is patiently waiting for me to do the wet cat food and Aggie is watching all the happenings from the cat tree.  They took good care of me when I was feeling icky.

Nigel

Now that I am feeling better I can have the Nigel man out to play and hang out.  I forget just how cute he is sometimes.  He is doing really well these days - he seems happy and healthy.  He is eating up his bugs which he loves and he pretty much owns the middle level of the cat tree where he plays and sleeps during the day.  He loves to cuddle especially after his bath....love this little guy.....

Oliver and Madison

The baby ferret LOVES her big brother.  Oliver is so great about playing with the ferrets, the hedgehog, the other cats and the dog.  Here are some shots of the boy kitty and the baby having some playtime:

The Crud

OMG - just shoot me now.  I picked up some horrible icky crud on the plane and am feeling horrible.  The bad news is that three of the critters are susceptible to catching human viruses so there is no loves, kisses, pets or general interactions with Clooney, Madison or Nigel til I am feeling better.  Seems like the hubs is starting to come down with it as well.  UGH!

The kitties know I don't feel good and they are in for the long haul laying with me and keeping me company.  Emma is sticking pretty close as well.  I am spoiled with very lovey critters.

Energizer Maddie

Um - wow!  I had forgotten how much energy a baby ferret has - cripes!  Madison is a complete wild child.  She has two modes - sleeping and wild.  Its so interesting to watch her vs Clooney who is mellow and sleepy and calm.

Maddie is working on biting - or rather lack of biting.  Since she is teething she sometimes forgets when she gets wound up and excited that she isn't supposed to bite.  Luckily she is pretty good about stopping once she is told and she doesn't bite very hard which is also a good thing.

She loves to wrestle and attack your feet while you walk which makes moving about very tough.  Really enjoying her and the energy she brings to the household.

Back in the Groove

Now that we are home and all the critters are back where they should be and relatively healthy we are starting to get back in the groove.

Emma is happy to be home and is on significantly good behavior right now - a welcome change from the weeks of naughtiness that we experienced in the recent past.  Kitties are all good to go - they are pretty go with the flow.  Maddie is doing well - still afraid of Clooney but wanting to be friends.  Nigel is doing great!

Clooney's ick seems to have cleared up and he appears to be doing very well.  He is happy that the medicine part is over for sure.

Glad to be back on a regular schedule....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Home!!

Its late but we are finally home.  Kitties and hedgehog are doing fantastic and they are happy we are home.  They seemed to do pretty well with their automated feeders while we were gone.  Can't wait until tomorrow when I can pick up the other three babies and have everyone back together again.

Sunday

Its Sunday and there is no one at the vets office so I can't call to check on the babies.  The kitties and Nigel are all doing great - I love being able to check on them whenever I like.  We will be home to them tomorrow night. Unfortunately we land too late to pick up the ferrets and the dog so I won't see them until Tuesday morning.  I will be glad to have everyone back together again.....

Happy Birthday Clooney

Clooney is 4 years old today - happy birthday sweet boy!

Checking In

So far so good.  I have checked in with the vet and Clooney seems to be doing just fine.  Seems like the antibiotics are working.  Madison is showing no signs of ick and Emma is doing well.  Cameras show that the kitties are as lazy as ever snoozing in various places without a care in the world.  Missing my babies already....

Emergency Travel

We head off to Canada tomorrow for a family funeral.  With Clooney being on antibiotics he will need to be boarded and just to be on the safe side I have decided to board Madison as well just in case she were to get the ECE while we were gone.  I have never boarded the ferrets before so this will be a new experience.  Packing for them is ridiculous - three bags of crap for them to be entertained for the long weekend.

Emma is going to the kennel as well but she is an old pro so that one is not nearly as stressful.  Kitties will be roughing it - home alone with Nigel.  They have their feeders and we have the 6 cameras so all should be good.  As always we have 2 back up folks on call should we need to have someone head in to find a critter or to take someone to the vet.

Still Fighting

Well - the little ferrets are still squabbling.  Not nearly as much or as intensely but Clooney still chases Maddie and when he catches her she puts up quite a fuss.  She wants to be friends but is pretty afraid of him.  He wants to play but I think he is just too rough at this point so we will have to wait and see how things go.

The good news is that Maddie has lots of other friends - Oliver plays with her, Phoebe chases her, and Emma lets her crawl all over her so she is not lacking for attention.  I hope the two little ones become friends soon.....

Progress report

Today Mr Ferret seems better - not well yet but better.  He is active, eating and drinking and not producing green poo but he is not back to normal.  He HATES taking his medicine but he does it anyway.  I have been giving him a tiny drop of honey afterwards to get the bitter taste out of his mouth.  Poor little guy.  I think we are on the right track though.

ECE

EPIZOOTIC CATARRHAL ENTERITIS - also known as green slime disease....Clooney has it.  UGH.  Poor guy.  Its believed that Madison most likely had this at the ferret farm and is now an asymptomatic carrier who gave this lovely little gift to her brother.


Emergency appointment at the vet results in finding out we caught it early enough that Clooney is not dehydrated which is good.  He is now on Metronidazole for the next 10 days to help clear up his symptoms.  He seems to be feeling okay - he is eating and drinking and playing like normal.  Fingers crossed this works quickly for him.

Who's a Handsome Worm Eating Boy?

It's Nigel - that's who!

I'm Cute - oh yeah

I am cute and I know it.  Miss Madison is too funny.  She has endless energy and she leaps and hops and dances all day.  She is quite the vocal little girl making the happy noise all the time and letting Clooney know she doesn't like it when he pulls his bully routine.  I am so happy she came to live with us....

Phoebe Cat

Miss Phoebe is doing well these days - still in a bit of her naughty mode but not as bad as it was at its height.    She loves her Oliver and gets on well with Zoey.  She has been very tolerant of Miss Madison coming into the family.  Still no love lost for Aggie - not sure that will ever get any better.

Phoebe is the tattler of the group - if anyone is doing something she thinks isn't quite right she is sure to come find mom and tell me all about it.  She is the lover of toys still - playing with many toys every day and conversing with them as she plays.

She still has her lump on her side - the collagen filled cyst we had diagnosed last year.  Other than that and the occasional runny nose she seems to be in great health.  She is my sweet girl....

Nigel Update

So - how about a littlest critter update?  We haven't had one of those in awhile.  Nigel is doing great.  Health-wise he has had no issues.  He has a predictable schedule each day where I get him out during the day to hang out wherever we are even though he is sleeping.  He gets his treats of bugs and occasionally some fresh fruits, veggies and yogurt.

From a tameness perspective things are going pretty well.  He is okay with being passed around to strangers and he lets me get through maintenance items like ear cleanings and nail clippings with little fuss.  He has the occasional bath but not so often as he has gotten older - he is a big boy who can take care of himself.

He very much enjoys playing downstairs where he has lots of room to run around and investigate.  All in all things with the little guy are going great!

February...already?

I know I always say this but time just goes by too fast.  I can't believe we whizzed though January already and here it is February....

Here's a cute one of my ornery boy Ollie - he keeps me on my toes for sure.  He has been spending lots of time with Phoebe and he plays so patiently with Madison who absolutely adores her older brother.  Even though he loves to make trouble he is such a sweet boy he more than makes up for it....