Welcome to the Family Harlow, Kai and Tabitha!!

       

We have had the new babies about 15 hours so far.  Things are going well!!  I woke up to Kai and Theo playing and wrestling - I think Kai is a bit like Violet in that he is very vocal.  Theo is so thrilled to have a rough and tumble boy around.  I am happy for him as I think it was rough on him losing both Clooney and Finn in such a short timeframe.

Let's start with Harlow - she is a beautiful coppery, latte, creamy ferret - she is built similarly to Madison.  She is very, very interested in toys and has already started to make a pile in the closet. Tabitha looks much like Violet did when Vi was a baby.  She is creamy white in her under coat with gray, black and silver in her top coat.  She is similar to Violet in that she doesn't love to be held and is pretty independent.  Kai is a big crazy boy - he is the same creamy butterscotch color as Theo but his legs, a patch by his shoulders and his tail (all but the tip) are a darker brown.  Kai is quite the leaper and he is obsessed with feet - he likes to stand on them and check out your toes.

Bringing them into the family has not been challenging at all - I think the gang is used to it now.  The other ferrets were fine - there has been no squabbling and Violet settled in for a nap with the new babies shortly after they arrived.  Ollie and Phoebe have already been playing with them, Emma has introduced herself and the babies are not afraid of either the dog or the cats.  Zoey and Aggie are in denial that we even have ferrets....Winston doesn't get access to the ferrets - with his pokey hooves and his size I think its too dangerous for him to be around them - I am afraid he will step on them and injure them so we just have ferret land upstairs and piggy land downstairs and kitties and dog who float between the two.

All in all I am thrilled that Theo has a brother, that we kept the three together, that Maddie has new babies - she is the matriarch and that my husband is a saint.  We are officially the Grant dozen - wow!

Reinforcements!

Today has been a relaxing and uneventful day for the household - we needed it!  Our only trip out today was to hit the hardware store to try to find reinforcements for the hallway room divider.  We need to keep those rascally ferrets in....

My solution for keeping the ferrets on their side of the room divider is as follows:

The old eye screw - I put these in the side of the room divider.  Into the wall I put these:

This prevents the herculean strength ferrets from sliding the room divider and making their escape.  So far only one jail break - we made a slight adjustment and its been quiet since.  Fingers crossed this does the trick.  Love those little weasels - wanting them to have more space to play.

Gobble Gobble!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  Today was a great day - in critter world I think the gang is pretty happy and content. Emma and Winston had lots of  special treats today.  The kitties had a few bites of turkey and they were allowed to lick a few plates.  The ferrets didn't have much in the way of food or treats - Madison did manage several jail breaks over the course of the day so we are thinking of ways to make the room divider more secure.

As I type this at 7:30 in the evening I am the only human or furry family member who is awake - everyone is sacked out - kitties, dog, pig and husband all snoozing around the fire and ferrets all sacked out upstairs.  I have cleanup left to do - trying to get motivated...

Hoping you and yours had a great day!

Ferret Freedom

I am so happy that I have finally come up with a solution for giving the ferrets access to more of the house without giving them access to Winston.  The solution ended up being quite simple - I love it when that happens.

When Winston came to live with us we had the ferrets in our room during the day and then the swap would occur with Winston going upstairs and the ferrets having run of the house all night.  Now that Winston wants to be a full time downstairs pig this poses a problem - how do we let the ferrets have some freedom without putting them in jeopardy by allowing them access to the pig and the chance of getting stepped on?

I finally found the perfect thing - a heavy faux leather room divider.  I stretch this across the hallway and now I can leave our bedroom door open and the ferrets can have free run of our room, the upstairs bath and the craft room.  They seem happy to have more space and they are trying to figure out how to escape but the room divider is too heavy for them to move and the faux leather is not climbable.  WOOHOO!!!

I have taken an additional precautionary measure - installing industrial strength velcro at the top and bottom of the room divider and the door frames which the corners attach to - this protects kitties and piglets from pushing it open.  It's not super lovely but it makes me more comfortable knowing that its one more level of "security" to keep the ferrets safe.  So far no jail breaks....

So happy to let them have a bit more freedom knowing they are safe and sound upstairs.  The other nice thing is that this keeps Emma from sneaking downstairs at night to do naughty things on the carpet.  It will also give us the ability to boot obnoxious kitties out of our room without giving them access to wail at the top of their lungs at the closed bedroom door.  It solves a multitude of problems - so pleased!!!

Christmas With a Pig

So - Christmas at our house is going to be interesting now that Winston has joined our happy little family!!

Trees - he thinks they are - well - trees...which pigs eat and chew on and scratch against.  So - no large trees that sit on the floor this year - everything will be table top.

Ornaments - they are just toys in his mind so you can't have any within his reach - he will munch them....

Gifts - the pig LOVES paper so wrapped gifts on the floor are out of the question.  He is more obsessed with finding out what is in a bag than the ferrets are - no gift bags in his area either.

Stockings are safe I think - they are high enough that he shouldn't be able to access those....

It will be a bit different but it's so worth it - love that little pig....

Thanksgiving Treats for the Critters

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is this week for those of us in the US - where did 2014 go???

I found this article from the ACPCA with some great reminders for keeping your furries safe on Turkey Day. For us - Emma and the kitties will get a bit of  turkey, Winston will get some veges like sweet potato and green beans, and the ferrets will get offers on several things but likely only Theo will try anything as the little girls are not very adventurous in the food department.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!!

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also for possible distress for
our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if they munch on undercooked turkey
or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic
drink.

Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling Thanksgiving that your
pets can enjoy, too.

Talkin’ Turkey
If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s boneless and
well-cooked. Don't offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain
salmonella bacteria.

Sage Advice
Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.

No Bread Dough
Don't spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts,
when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal's body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and
bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.

Don't Let Them Eat Cake
If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the
batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that
may lead to food poisoning.

Too Much of a Good Thing
A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don't allow your pets to overindulge, as
they could wind up with a case of stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse—an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In fact, it’s best keep pets on their regular
diets during the holidays.

A Feast Fit for a Kong
While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer
them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner—perhaps with
a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables (try sweet potato or green beans) and dribbles
of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to
extract their dinner from the toy.

Pet Product Review: IRIS USA, Inc. Airtight Pet Food Container Combo Kit

Remember the treat box fiasco with Winston while we were out of town at the beginning of the month? We took measures to ensure that Mr. Piglet did not have access to food and treats again.  I ordered three sets of these:

Since Winston uses his snout to push things around we opted not to put the wheels on.  They work just great.  We have one with kitty/ferret food and treats, one for Emma's food and MilkBones and one with Winston's food and treats.  The scoops have lines on the inside that show how much food you are dispensing.

Winston is strong enough to push them around but not tall enough to tip them over or open them - although he is tall enough to  move the handle.  I am also liking how fresh and soft this is keeping Emma's food as well.  All in all a great purchase for us.  Would highly recommend - available on Amazon

General Updates

In general - I think things at the Zoo are going quite well.

Let's start with the kitties.  They all seems to be feeling pretty good.  Phoebe's allergies seem to be settling down a bit.  Oliver is doing well - he enjoys playing and snoozing with the pig - they are actually quite good friends.  Aggie is going strong - feeling good and hanging out with me most days.  Miss Zoey is going through a pet me phase (as opposed to a touch me and get snarled at phase).  All in all - life in feline land is great!

Emma - the pup is doing well!!  She and Winston play a lot and seem to enjoy each other's company.  The squabble over food some days but for the most part are good friends.  Emma has mellowed a bit on the neurosis side of things since she got a pig companion which is great!.  Her health seems good and she seems like a happy dog.

Ferrets - Theo, Violet and Maddie are all doing just great.  They are playful and full of energy and the three of them are together non stop.  They sleep together quite a bit and are quite playful with each other and with Oliver.  Hubs and I have discussed that this is the fewest number of ferrets we will ever have - it has to be three as I have seen the impact of losing a ferret family member on the group so I would never want to be at a point where we had 2 and then had something happen to one of them so we will stay at 3 or more forever more!

Winston is doing just great.  We are doing just great in the potty training department - only one accident all week long!  He is a pretty chilled out piglet - during the day he entertains himself and plays with Emma and Ollie and doesn't demand my attention while I am working.  Winston is pretty much a full time downstairs pig now - spending the bulk of this days and sleeping down here at night.  I miss having him in our room but I will admit that its much quieter and I love not getting up as early.

The critter Christmas card is done and off to print - I love how it turned out and will share it here next month. Finnegan's last insurance claim got faxed off this week - I hate doing that task when we lose a critter - its so final and depressing....

We have slowly starting to put up Christmas - its very early this year but I needed something to get me out of my Finn funk and I do so love Christmas.  Christmas with a pig is going to be interesting - I will post about our experience so far soon....

Allergies and Hairballs - Having Critters is Glamorous

I have three critters who are seasonal allergy sufferers in our household - Oliver, Phoebe and Theo. This fall has been particularly tough for them and for the humans.  Ollie and Theo have been less impacted than Phoebe.

There are a few things I give the critters to help them with allergies.  The first is colloidal silver.  I put some in their water and it really seems to help them.  The second is probiotics - also in the water - this seems to help them from an immune system perspective.  Lastly - in extreme cases like we had tonight with Phoebe - when they are congested - a drop of Ephrine Nose Drops.  I have only ever used these on the kitties - never on the ferrets and like I said - only in rare cases.  Phoebe was sneezing and wheezing so I put one drop in one nostril and like magic she cleared right up.  She is sleeping away - no worse for the wear and is feeling better.

In addition to sneezers - the kitties are putting on their winter coats as are the ferrets.  This means more hair and more hairballs....ugh.  I gave all the cats and weasels a little shot of hairball meds tonight to keep everything moving through their systems.  The good thing is that the meds usually make things come out the back end rather than the front....if you know what I mean.

Glad that Miss Phoebe is feeling better and that in general my little zoo seems pretty healthy....

Miscellaneous Snaps

I have lots of snaps that never make it to the blog....some examples.  They are not fantastic pics but some of them aren't bad either.  We will call them November mid month snaps....

Winston Update

My little piglet is growing up!!  Not only is he physically getting bigger but he is changing and maturing in other ways as well.

First - I posted about changing our routine up a bit so that he could sleep downstairs.  He doesn't love being in his pen any longer so we have been letting him sleep downstairs on his own.  He seems to like it and I enjoy getting to sleep in a bit later.  He spends some time upstairs - some with us - some alone so the ferrets have time to burn off some energy but for the most part he is a downstairs pig.

The beauty of having him be a downstairs pig is that he is doing fantastic with his potty training downstairs.  Don't get me wrong - we still have an accident now and then but I would say 95% of the time he is using his potty patch or going outside.  Thank goodness!!!  Upstairs he is not as reliable so I am happy that he is liking downstairs as much as he does.

During the day he is good about entertaining himself - he seeks out your attention when he wants it but isn't super demanding.  He plays with Emma and with the kitties during the day.  I have pretty much restricted him from having much interaction with the ferrets - he is totally unaware of them or your feet or anything else for that matter and he could very easily step on them and injure them.  Believe me - it HURTS - just ask my feet when I am getting his dinner ready.  He is heavy and his hooves are tiny - think cat standing on you X 1000.

All in all I am pleased with the way things are progressing with him.  I could do more tricks with him and we need to work on breaking him of being so pushy when you have treats or other food.  I keep reminding myself - he is just a baby still - only 4.5 months old.....

Miscellaneous Saturday Stuff

It's Saturday night - here's what's happening around here....

First - I found a super cute Christmas pig decoration that of course I had to get.  Check this out:

Second - a few months ago I found a super deal on Living Social.  They had vouchers for photos printed on canvas for $5 each.  If you go on the website to purchase regularly they are 79$ - holy heck. So - I finally got my butt in gear and selected the photos.  I had 11 vouchers so I did the nine members of the zoo.  With the other two I got a print of Finn and one of Isabel.  I already have a fantastic set of pictures framed of Nigel and Clooney.  I decided I would put the 9 pics on a blank wall in the dining room.  Here's what it looks like:

All in all - today was a pretty darn good critter day.  Everyone seems happy and healthy - with the exception of Phoebe who is having some allergy issues.  I think she is better this evening than she was this morning.  Maybe this super cold hideous weather is freezing the sneezy stuff in the air.  Glad its only Saturday - way too much to do tomorrow before its back to work on Monday....

Closure

This will be a tough post to write - I haven't been in a place where I could get through it until now but I thought it was important to share:

When Clooney passed it was very tough on all of us - but especially on Theo.  He was somewhat withdrawn and he started acting out.  I did some research after his passing and found out that whenever possible you should let the other ferrets see the deceased member of their little ferret family.  We did not do this with Clooney and as a result Theo spent some time searching for him.  He had no idea where his friend went.

When I found Finn I remembered that information and decided to let the others see him before I took him to the animal hospital.  It was heartbreaking to watch as each of his siblings came to say goodbye.  They each tried to wake him, Violet bathed him - they each stayed for a few minutes and then went on about their way. I also let Oliver see Finn - he did some bathing and said his goodbyes.  Then my husband came home and picked us up and we went to the hospital to drop Finn off.

I believe that letting the others see Finn before we took him made a big difference.  The ferrets were subdued for a couple of days but nothing like when Clooney passed.  None of them were looking for Finn and there were no bad behaviors.  Now - 11 days later they are happy and carefree as ferrets should be. We are moving ever closer to a new normal....

Pen - itentiary

Winston really hates being in his pen that we have set up for him in our bedroom.  The only time he is in there is during the late evenings and overnight.  He is so strong that he can easily move the pen which makes a ton of noise....usually really early in the morning.  The main reason we put him in there is to keep him separated from the ferrets.

Since we went on our weekend trip he has been much more interested in staying downstairs so I think we will try changing up our routine a bit.

Current routine looks something like this:

Piggy wake up between 3 - 6 am
Downstairs with pig - ferrets upstairs
Pig downstairs all day - upstairs around 5
Ferrets downstairs around 5 with free run until the morning
Rinse and repeat

I think we till change it up a bit to something like this:
Before we go to bed - ferrets upstairs and piglet downstairs
Piggy downstairs for the night - I will move his bed I think
Piggy downstairs for the day until around 3
Pig upstairs and ferrets downstairs from around 3 - 10 or so which should give them ample time to run off some energy and play

Last night we sort of did this - I let him downstairs around midnight.  Once I got to sleep it was nice to sleep straight through until the morning until the alarm.  We will see how it goes - would be great to get the pen out of our room and the ferrets seem quite content in there - even with free run of the house they spend all their time in there with us anyway.  We have the downstairs camera set up so I can look in on them when I have to be in the office - I may set up the other two so we can check on Winston during the night without having to get up - ahhhhh - technology!

Stories of the Day

Winston -

I have been trying to keep him up more during the day in an effort to have him sleep later - so far this is not working.  Falling back has everything outta whack.  He was up at 3:30 this morning.....cripes.

He had a good day today - playing with Emma and Oliver, spending some time outside, getting lots of attention....  he has had his dinner and is upstairs playing in our room.

Emma -

The pup is doing well - hanging out and going with the flow.  She enjoys time with Winston and they played quite a bit today.  All in all she is doing great I think.

Kitties -

Oliver has been fairly well behaved today - not requiring 100% attention.  He and the pig played and now he is wrestling with the ferrets and with Phoebe.

Phoebe spends much of her days upstairs with the ferrets - she seems to love hanging out up there with them. As I type this she is wonking Madison on the head...crazy cat.

Zoey spent some time in my lap today - she goes through spurts of wanting tons of attention and then being pissed if you dare to touch her....

Aggie - my sweet girl - never demanding, never in trouble, she hung out with me all day....

Ferrets -

Finn is home with us now - I picked up his remains today.  It was more difficult than I thought it would be.  I am happy he is here with us and I hoping that soon I can shake this overwhelming sadness....

Theo - my wild boy is attacking my feet while I write.  He is happy and joyful and full of piss and vinegar. He and Violet helped me make the bed today - that is always good for a few laughs.

Madison had a zillion kisses for me today and is busy antagonizing Oliver.  She is so joyful and sweet.

Violet is playing with Theo - they are running through their tunnels and having a grand time.  She is such a vocal ferret making all sorts of happy noises - it makes me smile.

In general - I can tell that the weather is changing.  Violet is putting on her winter coat - she doesn't look nearly so tiny.  The kitties are leaving me all sorts of lovely hairball surprises as they transition to thicker coats - oh joy!  Emma's summer shave has grown back and now she is leaving me hair tufts as well....

All in all - a good critter day today...

Finding Our Way to a New Normal

This has been a very crazy, emotional, tough week for us.  Losing Finn was such a shock.  Now we are working through the difficult task of finding our way to a new normal.

The ferrets three:

Maddie, Violet and Theo are doing well.  They have been quite patient with me this week - I have checked on them about a zillion times.  It's difficult not to be totally paranoid.  They all seem quite happy and healthy and they are finding their way to a new normal as well.  I think Theo is having the toughest time - he lost his sleeping buddy and his wrestling mate.  Mid day I have been moving him from his regular spot where he used to sleep with Finn in with one or both of the girls.  He seems to like it as he curls up with them and goes right back to sleep.  The little girls are both well - they have been spending lots of time together. Violet has been taking up residency in Clooney's old bed...  :)

Kitties:

The kitties are doing fine.  Ollie is missing his play partner but is still engaged with Theo and Maddie. Aggie is going strong - playful and happy - so thankful that's the case since she is 17.  Zoey and Phoebe are both doing well - spending lots of time with the humans which we enjoy.

Winston and Emma:

The piggy and the dog are both just great.  They are playing well together and finding a good co-existence level where they can both just hang out without getting on each other's nerves.  Piglet is active and engaged and doing well.  Emma is happy to have Winston around I think - carpet scratching is almost a thing of the past - woohoo!!

All in all - our zoo is working towards finding a new normal.  We are missing Finnegan immensely - his remains should be back in a few days.  I will be relieved to have him home with me and in with Clooney.

Simon's Cat - Let Me Out!

Oh good lord - its like he knows my Oliver personally.  Ollie hates it when the door is closed - he wails and jumps for the knob and knocks things off tables and plies things up in an effort to be taller to reach the knob. Too funny!!!

Save the Piglet Mission

So - we went out of town for a quick overnight this past weekend.  We decided to leave Mr Piglet home "alone" as we were gone for about 36 hours total.  We have 9 cameras setup throughout the house so we can keep tabs on him and the kitties and the ferrets.  Emma went to visit Grandma for the weekend.

Winston did great on Saturday - no issues, did not seem distressed - played with toys and with the kitties and slept in his bed Saturday night.  Sunday everything was going great until mid day when somehow he managed to knock over a giant box of treats which spilled all over the kitchen floor.  Oh no!  This is bad - pigs will not stop eating when they get full like a cat or a dog - they will eat until they get sick.

We called the standby neighbor and were not able to connect with them.  I called my mom and she and a friend headed to our place.  They connected with the stand by neighbor who could not lay their hands on the key so they had to break in to the house in order to save the piglet!  What an adventure!

Long story short - he is just fine - he did not get sick from eating too much.  He did not, however, get any dinner that night.  He was completely unaware of the trouble he caused.  I am just glad he is okay!!  On another note - Winston did great about using his box while we were gone.  I found only one accident in the house - I think he is finally getting it....  :)

Happy Birthday Madison!

We need a reason to celebrate around here this week - what better reason than my beautiful Madison's third birthday!?!  Madison is a sweet, affectionate and joyful baby - she is tiny but fierce and we absolutely adore her!  She is always at the ready with ferret kisses and she loves and mothers the other ferrets.  I can't believe my girl is three years old.

Happy, happy birthday my sweet one - here is to many, many more years of celebrations!

Pet Product Review - QPets Automatic Feeder

We did a quick overnight trip over the weekend and decided to leave Mr Piglet at home.  He is doing well with his litter box usage so the only thing we needed was a way to feed him and give him his cookies.  When we first got him I had purchased an upright feeder that has a chute and sends food into a bowl at the designated time.  That simply didn't work as the piglet was obsessed with getting to the food  - so much so he ended up scabbing up his nose by putting it up the chute in an effort to get the food.

I ordered the QPets automatic feeder:

I am quite happy with this product.  It's a little quirky to program but we did a test run to make sure it would do what we needed while we were gone.  I had to secure the latches and around the rim with duct tape to keep Winston's snout out but other than that it did great.  There is a sliding door that covers up the first meal until its time and he was not able to break in - not for lack of trying.  He really abused this little feeder and it stood up to him standing on it and trying anything he could think of to get to the food.  I also like that it has a recorder that you can use to leave your pet a message.  This 6 second blurb plays when his meals are delivered.  Winston was fascinated by hearing by voice when he could see that I wasn't talking.  We had the feeder give him his meals morning and night and mid day open up with a surprise of some of his favorite treats.

I velcroed this to the kitchen floor so he couldn't push it around.  That also gave me an opportunity to put a camera on it so I could make sure that he was getting fed.  Lastly - I stuck a small sticker in each one of the six feeder cups - each a different color so I could tell if the feeder was moving for each meal.

All in all I would give this a thumbs up.  We can use it for days when we will be gone for longer periods of time so he can get his meals at the appointed times - believe me he knows the appointed times.....  :)

Finnegan - January 2013 - November 2014

I am up early this morning after not sleeping well.  Losing Finn yesterday was a pretty crushing event.  In some ways his death is easier to deal with than Clooney's - it was fast and there was no decline in his quality of life.  He was fine just hours before - playing with his ferret siblings and enjoying life.  In some ways its much harder because with Clooney there was time to prepare myself as his health got worse.  Either way - I never imagined that we would lose him this young - its devastating.

Finn and Violet came to live with us in March of 2013 - they were litter mates and the hubs surprised me by picking two babies from the pet store to be friends with Madison.  That friendship was pretty instantaneous - Madison loved them both immediately.  Clooney - not so much.  In August of 2013 we added Theo to the mix and Theo and Finn became best friends - inseparable boys who played and wrestled and spent endless time together.  Over time Theo was able to convert Clooney into a ferret lover and the three boys became the three musketeers - friends who truly loved each other.  I was so thankful that Clooney had this time with his brothers and now Clooney and Finn will play together at the rainbow bridge.

Finn was also friends with Ollie and some days with Phoebe.  He was a very gentle ferret and curious.  We called him Dr. Finn as he would check you out each day - sniffing your eyes and nose and once when I had dental work - he spent a week checking out my mouth to make sure it passed approval.  He loved to cuddle, wrestle, play - he was quite the jumper and would fly through the air to get your hand or his brother. He was my toy lover and my toy hoarder.  There were piles of toys - big and small in each room that he created - not unusual at all for him to steal dog toys much bigger than he was.

Finn was also an extremely handsome ferret - very classic markings.  His face was precious and kept him out of trouble for there was no possible way to be mad at him for anything.  He was my darling boy and my heart is broken.  I never dreamed I would be using the ferret urn again so soon.

Goodbye my sweet, lovely boy.  I miss you so desperately and would give anything to have more time....

Helping Critters During the Holidays

It's almost November - wow - this year has flown by and now we enter into holiday season.  Did you know there are lots of ways that you can help critters during the holidays and get things for those on your gift list at the same time?  Here are some ideas:

1.  Adopt a zoo critter.  I did this last Valentine's day and it was a big hit.  Many zoos have adoption programs and you get an adoption certificate, stuffed animal and information about the kind of critter you adopt.  The money goes to assist in the care and feeding of the animals at that zoo.  Check out my post here to see what we got when we adopted critters from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO.

2.  There are stores that help critters when you purchase their goods.    My favorite is The Greater Good Store - Animal Rescue Site.  They have a ton of cute animal themed gifts you could purchase for your family and friends and each purchase helps rescue sites and shelters feed and care for animals waiting to be adopted.

3.  Annual membership to the zoo.  Are you buying for a family with kids?  What a great gift idea - an annual membership to your local zoo!!

4.  Trying to buy for someone who has EVERYTHING?  How about a donation to a shelter, zoo, or wildlife charity in their name?  Donations could be cash, supplies like food, toys, bedding, or your time volunteering.

There you have it - a few ways that you can help critters in need this holiday season - I hope this gives you some ideas....

Pig Slippers

We are on a kick of all things pig around here lately.  On my beach trip I found these adorable pig slippers.  They are warm and comfy with a no slip bottom and best of all - they are super cute:

Finnegan is my toy hoarding ferret and he is completely obsessed with this slippers.  When they are on my feet - if I stop moving he heads over and bites the ears and pulls like crazy in an attempt to steal them.  He also does the "prey kill" head shaking to make sure they are dead before he puts them in the toy pile.  At night when I take them off he steals one or both of them and puts them in his toy pile in the closet.  He is a silly boy....