Month In Review - March

March was a pretty good month for the critters.  I was on business travel when it started.  Clooney fully recovered from his ECE virus.  He and Madison made slow progress to a happy cohabitation.  Maddie is doing well and is on the insurance policy now that we have had her for more than 60 days.  Wow time really does fly.  Kitties are doing well.  Zoey's health continues to be very stable.  Phoebe seems like maybe she is growing another keratin cyst - which is not all that concerning but I did find a supplement I might start her on to see if it helps.  Nigel recovered from his toenail accident and seems to be doing quite well.  Emma has had walks and hikes and for the most part has been a very good doggie.  All in all - I have no complaints.  On to April....

Almost April

Wow - its almost April - this year is flying by!  My furries are enjoying spring time with lots of open windows and screen doors.

I am convinced that Phoebe has seasonal allergies - she has been off and on sneezy over the past few weeks.  I give her a bit of colloidal silver and some vitamin C which seems to fix her right up.

Madison is a pain in the butt around the front door - little Miss Fearless just runs right out if you don't watch it.  I really need to set up the porch so we can spend some time outside - everyone loves it - especially Nigel.

We have birds - lots of birds.  The house finches and the chickadees have been fighting over the next in the flower arrangement on the porch.  It seems to be resolved now with the house finches taking the existing nest and the chickadees building a new nest pretty much right next door.  I am hoping for many many babies.

All in all its been a lovely spring - Isabel's plant is already outside and has a bunch of new leaves and I bought a columbine plant - I was raised in Colorado but have never seen one here.  It's lovely:

Pet Peeves - Volume 11

Hmmm - what will my pet peeve be for this month?  So - its not really a pet peeve per say - but it does make a mess and it is a pain in the butt to clean up.  Miss Madison LOVES to pull garbage bags out of the box.  It doesn't matter if its the folded bags or the ones on a roll but its not unusual for me to go downstairs in the mornings to find bags everywhere - literally - hundreds of them.  Her latest round - 70 kitchen bags and 150 large black bags.

Even though its a pain to pick them up I leave the boxes where she can get them because I have seen her during her bag playing and she makes her happy little squeaky noise and she has so much fun.  Its my own fault.

Not much of a peeve for this go around.....

Ferret Friends

http://www.planetjune.com/blog/2007/05/ 

How about a status report on the friendship between Madison and Clooney (or the lack there of).  Wow - it has been SLOW going.  But - I do believe that we are making some progress.

Encounters now get lots less "bitching" from Madison.  Now that she is closer in size to Clooney he is a bit less bully-ish.  I have noticed that they are hanging out in closer proximity without "fighting".  They can both be downstairs in the kitchen in the mornings for Ferretone and treats.

I even witnessed Clooney go into the closet and seriously consider beating up on his sleeping sister but then just turn and walk away.  This more peaceful co-existence is better but I am still holding out hope that these two will be friends, playmates, snugglers, etc.

Totally Content

I like to think my furries are content and happy.  Sometimes I catch picture of them where they look pretty darn content...here are a couple of examples:

Zoey is always happy to get a bath from Aggie

And then after the strain of a bath - a nap is a must....

Then there is Miss Madison - total sack out mode....didn't even stir when the flash went off

Monthly Snapshots

Here are some additional random shots from this month:

Clooney or as my dad calls him - Mr. Ferret

My lovey girls - yeah right - minutes after I took this Zoey bit Aggie on the butt

Miss Agatha

Ollie snoozing in the guest room

aha!  Take that Miss Emma - a picture of her hiding under the bed

Ollie, Zoey and Aggie

Since Phoebe got her own post yesterday I thought the other kitties should get some air time as well.  Phoebe is definitely the most cooperative of the cats when it comes to getting her picture snapped.  Here are my other feline babies:

Phe-Phe Kitty

The beautiful and funny Miss Phoebe kitty.  She is way too cute for her own good:

On the back of the chair 

Playing with Emma's ice cube before the dog gobbles it up

Heading over for some grub

Lounging in the kitchen

Sleeping with her Odie toy

Handsome, Handsome Boy

Clooney has been so social these days.  He is the total poser - whenever the camera comes out he stops and freezes - as if to say "take my picture".  He is so handsome.  Here's a handy hint - you can always tell Madison and Clooney apart by the nose if nothing else.  Clooney has a ton of detail where Madison is pure girly pink.

Rug Doctor - Doctor My Rug

So I finally did it - rather than renting the carpet shampooer for 2 days and then killing myself to get everything done in the allocated time I decided to bite the bullet and buy the Rug Doctor from Costco.  If I use it three times it will pay for itself...and I can do it on my own schedule now....

I went to Costco the other day - on a Saturday - HUGE mistake.  First - the place was filled to maximum capacity with stupid people.  Second - they didn't have the machine.  It was one of those "give me my membership dues back" kind of trips.  So - I decided to check online - they had it and a deal on free shipping so it was only the loss of the 5 days you have to wait for delivery.

Its here now and I have been sucking up the remains of ferret naughtiness, Emma naughtiness and kitty hairballs.  I will say that the hedgehog is great about waiting til he goes back to his cage and can use his box - so no hedgehog messes for the Rug Doctor so far.

What's New at the Zoo??

In a word - nada....

Nigel's toes are all good - he is running on his wheel and is no worse for the wear it seems.  He has been spending his days with me outside his cage sleeping and he seems to be doing great.  Whew!

Madison is her wild and crazy self.  She continues to grow - I think she will be bigger than Clooney.  She loves Oliver to pieces, plays like a wild child and is starting to like getting loves and pets.  She seems to be doing fantastic.  Since I have had her for 63 days I was able to enroll her on the insurance policy earlier this week.  The first 60 days you are on your own so the insurance company can feel good that you didn't get a sickly little creature.  So far she seems very healthy and the vet has actually seen her while she was boarding.....not an official appointment but if there was something funky going on they would have seen it.

Clooney is doing well.  He seems completely over his virus episode and is active and interactive.  He hangs out with us regularly.  He still chases Madison and tries to bully her but now that she is almost the same size as he is the "fight" often ends in him running away because Madison gives him a piece of her mind.  I am happy that he seems to be out of his funk and appears to be a content little guy once again.

Kitties - Not much to report here - kitties are all doing well.  They are loving the spring weather and the fact that we have had the windows wide open for days.

Emma - The pup extraordinaire seems to be doing well.  She has enjoyed some walks and play time outside.  Still not loving the camera - she is a bit neurotic.  All in all she seems to be doing great as well.

So - long story short - not much to report here.  With 8 critters - no news is good news.....

Excuse me...Trying to Sleep Here....

Geez Mom - I know I am cute but I am trying to nap here....

Madison sleeping in the dresser drawer - she makes me smile...

My Two Youngest Kitties

So - technically the vet estimates that Zoey and Oliver are close to the same age - but we will go with it.  Here are my Ollie and Phoebe kids....

The Two Eldest....

Ah - my two eldest kitties showing each other some love:

At Last - Emma

So - evidently the trick is to distract Emma so she doesn't realize that she is getting her picture taken.  We were out for a 5 mile hike the other day and I was able to sneak in a few snaps on the trail:

Enjoy - who knows when the elusive one will let me get a few more shots.....

Sleeping Weasels

They spend lots to time sacked out - here's where:

Clooney in his chair-

And Madison giving me the stank eye for waking her while sleeping in the dresser drawer:

The Littlest One

She's not really the littlest - that would be Nigel - but she is the youngest....and the most wild....  As a side note - it is the one year anniversary of my blog.  I have written something almost every day for a whole year.  Its fun to go back and read and see the pictures....here's to another year!