If They Were People...

There is a thing going around social media where you google your name and paste the first image that comes up.  So - if my critters were people supposedly they would look like this.  This was a ludicrous exercise and in some cases - creepily accurate with how I would envision them....

Theo:  LOL - could totally get on board with this....

Violet:  Yep - pretty and an author - fits her to a tee....

A cute tomboy - I could totally believe that for Miss Madison

Yeah - I could see this being Harlow....

Emma:  I could live with this one....

Kai:  oh yeah - I can totally see this one

Tabitha:  well - I always picture her older but sure - I could go with this one....

Winston:  Um - maybe?

Aggie:  Um - no - she is an older kitty but not quite this old....

Zoey:  Hmmm - not what I had pictured in my mind - but it could totally work...

Ollie:  Definitely not what I would envision him looking like - although this guy is kinda handsome...

Phoebe:  I could totally buy this one...

Away Time

Evidently we were gone for to long today - we had multiple birthday celebrations today and that meant that Emma and Winston were home alone for about 8 hours.

8 hours is too long....there were some messes to clean up when we got home.  The good news is that they didn't damage anything of any importance.  Winston did do his dreaded chair tipping in the kitchen.  Other than that they got into some empty boxes that were on the couch.  They made quite a mess in the living room.  Sadly for the piglet the humans had things to do upstairs so he didn't get much attention even after we got home.  He has had his nighty cookies and has had a big fresh drink and has settled into his bed.

Tomorrow starts a new week and the much preferred regular schedule.  Winston doesn't really adapt well to changes in the routine so I know he will be glad.  Personally I could do with another couple of weekend days before heading back to work...

11 pm

What does 11 pm look like for our little zoo?

Emma - she has had her dinner and her nighty cookies and she is sprawled out on the bedroom floor snoozing away.

Winston - he has his dinner early - around 5 pm.  He has had his nighty cookies as well and he is curled up in his bed worn out from play time at Grandmas and general orneriness today.

Aggie and Zoey are snoozing downstairs, Ollie and Phoebe are up here on the bed sleeping.  The three thyroid kitties are medicated for the night.

Theo and Tabitha are up and about.  I haven't seen the other four since we came upstairs - finding them is next on the list.

We have a pretty good nightly routine down and so long as we wear the ferrets out before we go to sleep, for the most part everyone sleeps through the night.  Winston is an early riser - thank goodness for springing forward - he lets me sleep in til 7.

Little Smarties

Winston's new agility stuff came today.  It has a tunnel, hoop and weave poles.  The pig is freakishly smart - it literally took him one cookie to understand he had to go through the tunnel to get a treat.  Now we are working on sitting before and waiting til asked to go through and then sitting after.  Winston also goes through the hoop with no issues as well.  He gets pretty excited when there are cookies around so we might be working on sitting before and after for a bit.  Emma doesn't care for going through the tunnel but she will some of the time.  More work to do with her as well.

Winston is also learning to keep his treat ball on the carpet.  The command is "bring it this way" and he pushes the ball in whatever direction you are.  I would say it works about 80% of the time.  I ordered him some baby toys based on some videos I watched and will be working with him on those in the next few weeks.

I am still surprised at how smart the pig is - he learns things so quickly and then the bulk of your time is spent finessing and getting him to do what ever it is your want on the first ask.

How Cats "Help" with Chores

I found a cute article in one of our local non - profit's newsletter about how cats help with chores - and its so true:

Cleaning closets As soon as I start removing items from closets or cabinets in preparation of cleaning or organizing, here come the cats. They love closets and cabinets and feel like they should be involved in whatever I’m doing to their spaces.

Working or playing on the computer When I pull out the laptop, my cats are like, "What are you doing? Can I see?” Then they decide they want to cuddle so they can be with me and watch everything I’m doing. Of course, this usually makes the process of reaching the keyboard an ergonomic nightmare.

Wrapping gifts My cats insist on "helping” every time I haul out wrapping paper, scissors and tape. All three of my kitties have been known to descend upon me as I wrap gifts. They typically sit on top of everything I need and stare at me like they think they could do a way better job.

Making the bed Putting clean sheets on a bed is impossible when a cat’s in the room. They’re completely obsessed with being in the middle of the bed while we attempt to stretch sheets across it. I think they judge the way I fold (or rather wad up) my fitted sheets.

Folding laundry A warm basket of laundry is a cat magnet. My cats usually insist on testing the laundry before I begin folding it. They won’t tell me why they’re testing it, but it’s part of the routine, so I go along with it.

And the No. 1 way cats "help” us is … drumroll, please!

Unpacking a box So UPS just delivered a box and it’s time to open it. Cats want to be involved in every part of this process. First they thoroughly sniff the cardboard and packing tape (sometimes they have to taste the tape). Then when we open the box, they must look inside before we pull any of the contents out of the cardboard container. I swear they’re like little TSA agents, and every box is highly suspect. After the box is unloaded, it becomes the best spot ever in which to sit or nap … that is, until the next box arrives.

(retrieved March, 2015 from http://www.catchannel.com/cat-lifestyle/10-ways-cats-help-with-chores.aspx)

My additions:

The ferrets are the big helpers with bed making - they love it.  I challenge you to try to make a bed with 6 ferrets and 4 cats helping out.  It turns into a long and adventurous chore!  The piglet loves to help with laundry - straight out of the dryer is one of his favorite things.  Unpacking boxes is popular with the pig as well and if you have something small in there and the ferrets are around you run the risk of  things going missing.

I love it when my furries "help" with chores....

It's Been a Few Days...

I haven't blogged for a few days.  Things have been busy for the humans but mostly its because things have been pretty status quo.  I am actually quite thankful for a few easy, uneventful days.  So what has been happening around here?

Well - Emma has been enjoying daily 5 mile jaunts with the humans.  We logged over 40 miles last week!  With the exception of her continued, somewhat obsessive carpet scratching she has been pretty well behaved.

Winston has been doing great and he has been a well behaved pig.  He is quite engaged and seems happy.  We will be going for a piglet outing this weekend so he can burn off some energy.  I also ordered him an agility kit.  He loves to learn new things so we will give that a whirl.  I think Emma will like it as well.

Kitties are well - hanging out in all stages of laziness.  They have been enjoying our spring weather - laying in the sun and hanging out in the open window sills.  They all seem to be doing well.  Ollie, Zoey and Aggie spend the sleeping hours downstairs and Phoebe typically bunks with us.  She is fairly easy going and not a bed hog.  Her worst habit is "styling" her hair with her teeth and tongue.

Ferrets are just great - happy and active.  Kai continues to settle down bit by bit - he is becoming quite affectionate and frequently dishes out kisses.  He and Theo have been up to mischief as usual.  The girls are doing well - playing and hanging out.  I love that they seem to pair up in different combinations.  No favorites it seems.  This morning Maddie and Harlow were playing and Vi and Tabby were sacked out behind the TV cabinet.  Later in the day Maddie and Tabby were curled up on the bed and Violet and Harlow were sharing the dresser drawer.  They truly are one big, integrated family.

Other than status quo not a lot to report.  The new vacuum arrived and I love it!  I found sweet potato fry dog treats that both the pig and the dog are crazy about and I decided to switch back to pine litter from pine bedding.  Even though the bedding is cheaper and works well - wow - is it messy.

General Updates

So - the last couple of days have just been average days around here.  This is actually a good thing - sometimes things going according to plan and schedule is a good thing.

Since his muddy romp outside Mister Piglet has been pretty well behaved.  He is still tipping my chairs over - he just bites through the zip ties so now I have ordered one of those cables they use at restaurants to keep you from stealing the outside furniture.  Maybe that will work.  Other than chair tipping and flooding the kitchen with his water bowl - everything is great with him.  He is a very sweet and affectionate piglet....

Kitties are doing well - they are as lazy as ever.  Health for all of them seems really great and they are hanging out with the humans quite a bit.  It's all good in feline world.

Ferret world is pretty darn happy as well - all the weasels are doing just great.  Kitties and ferrets got flea meds today - kitties don't mind but ferrets hate it.  Luckily they don't hold a grudge and after a minute all is forgotten.  They are off and running and all is forgiven.  I went to the pet store today to pick up dog food and cookies - there were ferrets there - danger!!  They were brown ferrets like Maddie and one of them was giant - a male I am guessing - who really wanted to come home with me.  I made it out ferret free - he was really cute though....ugh.  Just call me the crazy ferret lady.

Emma is doing well - she has had some angst as we had some rainy weather the last few days and she does hate the rain.  All in all though she is doing well.  We have decided to hold for now on her liver test - while the number is elevated - it has been exactly the same for some time.  Seems like if there were something really crazy happening in there that the number would go up.  So - we will monitor and take her in should things worsen.  For now she has absolutely no symptoms of anything that I could find with the exception of this slightly elevated number.

Our vacuum bit the dust today - I am not surprised - it gets a daily - most times more than daily dose of abuse.  I really like the Shark brand so I ordered a new one and it will be here on Saturday.  It's geared towards pets so it should work like a champ.