Cat Days of Summer

Yesterday set a record for being the hottest day of the year in our area, reaching over 45C.  I felt bad bringing the dogs around the block after work but they had to go outside to do their business!

We were walking back through our subdivision when Murray started wagging his tail and trying to dive in to the hedges.  I saw a flash of little green eyes and knew he had found the little stray cat we see hanging around the neighbourhood occasionally.

Taking pity on the poor thing, I brought the dogs home, fed them dinner and then ran outside with a container of cat food and one with icy cold water.  When I found her in the bushes however, I knew something wasn't right.  Not only was she panting, she seemed unresponsive and couldn't keep her focus on me.  I put down the dishes and gently picked her up.  She seemed hesitant but didn't have the energy to fight me so I carried her back to the house.

Since she's a stray I couldn't bring her inside in case she was carrying a disease that could easily spread to our pets but our garage was significantly cooler than being out in the heat so I shut her in there.  I brought down a spare fan we weren't using and turned it on to keep the air moving.  Then I brought her more food and water.  I didn't have an ice pack so I brought down a frozen pack of freezies wrapped in a dishtowel and set her on it.  She didn't even budge.  I tried to get her to drink some water but she wouldn't, so I resorted to syringing it down her mouth.  I also soaked her with cold water from a spray bottle I keep around for my bird.  I didn't know if what I was doing was right but I didn't have time to go browsing the internet in fear that I might lose her and figured anything would be better than just leaving her in that hedge.

After about an hour she started coming around.  This is about the time Hubby came home from work and agreed we could keep her in the garage overnight, then let her go in the morning.  The first thing she did was drink half of the water in the bowl I had out and then she finished off the food!  The poor thing was thirsty, starving and skin and bones.  However she didn't seem infested with fleas or mites and also didn't have any wounds or anything to be concerned about.  That being said we still made sure to wash our hands and change clothes before going back in the house.

I continued to fill up her food and water dish throughout the evening and spent some time with her.  She seemed to realize we were there to help and even hopped in my lap purring.  When I took the dogs out before bedtime we let her choose whether or not she wanted to leave the garage.  She initially left but hung around our front door so we ended up putting her back inside for the night like we had originally planned.  With the humidity they had also been calling for thunderstorms and I didn't think I'd be able to sleep knowing she was out in that.

I let her out this morning and she was happy to be outdoors again although she spent all day hanging around our front yard.  We've put food and water down the side of our house for her so we know she's getting the nourishment she needs and are hoping to find a home for her as she is a beautiful and sweet little thing.

Introducing Sir Sampson McSqueakerbox

3 weeks ago we added Sir Sampson to our family.  Phinni has been an amazing Guinea Pig but I knew he was lonely.  Every website and book made it clear that guinea pigs should always have a friend but it was convincing my husband that I was worried about.  I brought it up one night and surprisingly Hubby said he had already been looking!  I immediately set to work calling some places and checking ads online and the next day we came home with Sammi!

Of course Phinni had to show Sammi he was the boss so there was some rumble-strutting and mounting but overall it went fairly well.  I introduced them in a neutral spot and gave them each a bath so they would smell the same.  I cleaned out their cage, washed all plastic toys and took out anything I couldn't wash so when I placed them in there Phinni wouldn't feel like Sammi was in his territory.  Phinni was also a little bossy with the food at first so I put a second small litterbox at the opposite end of the cage with an extra water and food dish and hay.  We knew it would all work out though, whenever I took Sammi out of the cage, Phinni would start wheeking for him!

And now they're best buds!  Sammi follows Phinni everywhere he goes.  You will hear them making their little noises in the cage or calling to one another if the other finds something exciting!  Sammi is pretty quiet still but coming out of his shell, he wheeked for veggies for the first time the other day!  We're pretty excited, especially that Phinni seems very happy now that he has a little friend.

Introducing Sir Phinneus Fluffytocks

Hubby and I talked about getting another hamster.  I think they are adorable and cute and initially we thought when we found the right one we would bring it home.  But then I stumbled upon this adorable little guinea pig.  Hubby and I had a talk about the pros and cons of getting a guinea pig instead.  It ended up the pros were a lot more than the cons.  Of course a guinea pig needs more attention and more space but when it came down to it I liked the idea of having an animal that wasn't nocturnal (there were many nights I wouldn't see one of our hamsters at all because they wouldn't be up before we went to bed), one that had a longer lifespan (as I felt I would just be getting to know my hammy and they were taken away from us) and also an animal I had researched, watched countless adorable videos on but had never owned myself.

A few days later I brought home Mr. Fluffytocks.  He was this giant ball of adorable floofiness that I couldn't ignore!  At first he was very squeamish which immediately had me thinking 'Oh no I'm going to have to go through socializing and taming all over again' but within minutes he had stopped frantically squealing and was sitting in my lap while I rubbed his back making soft wheeking noises.  My husband laughed and made a comment about me really having a difficult time with this one.  I'm known as Dr. Dolittle or the Animal Lady around here.  Animals seem to gravitate to me wherever I go and know I'm not a threat.

Now it's been a week and what a turn in this little cutie!  He still gets nervous around me, but he happily lets me cuddle him (once I've caught him that is!).  I haven't gotten him to eat out of my hands but he gets pretty excited about the fresh greens I've been giving him.

The most exciting was when I set up a pen for him to play in, in the rabbit room.  He likes the rabbits, especially Ollie, who stares at him through his cage bars.  Phinni frequently calls to him which brings Ollie running.  Although Phinni is a lone guinea pig he has the bunnies to keep him company, although I don't want to put them in the same pen.

Anyways at first Phinni was a little nervous and hid behind his litterbox (which he is very good at using) until he saw the basket of hay I had put out for him.  Before I knew it he was wheeking and burrowing his way through the hay basket, munching and squeaking all at once in excitement.  About a half hour later he started exploring and then suddenly, a popcorn!  His first after being brought home!  I guess he realized how much space he had because then he was popcorning and bouncing around like a crazypants, chattering away.  And then he had made himself a little piggy run and began running laps!  So as you can see we are quite smitten with the little cutie!

Here is a video of him being silly in his pen!  Make sure you listen to it with the sound up, it's hilarious!

Farewell Lucy

It is with a heavy heart that I write this and say goodbye to our Syrian Hamster Lucy.  Lucy joined the Zoo in January of 2010 when I stumbled upon her while shopping and instantly fell in love with her cute mannerisms and look.  She was extremely skittish at first but quickly warmed up to me and my husband.  She was always a late sleeper and many nights we wouldn't see her at all.  Occasionally I would wake up in the middle of the night and hear her running miles on her wheel.  She never got used to her hamster ball - whenever we put her in it, she preferred to take a nap or groom herself instead of exploring.  Lucy was a little pokey, never trying to escape the homemade cage we built her and never curious to check out the surroundings beyond her home.  She contentedly cuddled in the crook of our arms, our lap or just in the palm of our hand while we pet and kissed her.  She was also an amazing model for many of my animal photography feats as I would put her where I wanted and she would wait patiently for me to take the shot.  In the last few months we knew her life was coming to an end - she was sleeping more - sometimes to the point where I was waking her up to make sure she was still with us.  She rarely went on her wheel and was eating less and less.  Finally at just over 2 years of age, the time came when Lucy was ready to peacefully go to the Rainbow Bridge.  She is joining our first hammy Calvin.  We will miss her dearly but are very grateful that she passed on so calmly.  We gave her the best hammy life we could on this Earth and now wish her nothing but everlasting peace and happiness wherever her soul has taken her. <3

For The Love Of Dogs

Genevieve completely exhausted after vacation at Patti's

I have to tell you about the amazing in-home boarder we use for our dogs when we're away on vacation.  We stumbled upon this business accidentally while we were fretting about who would look after the pups last summer when we went to Watkins Glen.  My husband was actually at work and Patti, the owner of For The Love Of Dogs In Home Boarding came in to do some printing.  He got talking to her and immediately called me to check out her website.

I have to tell you I had looked around everywhere for the right people to look after our two spunky Golden Retrievers.  It would be our first time leaving them for more than a night or two (in which case we had family stay with them) and the thought of them being thrown in a barn with 20 or so other dogs or being stuck in a kennel all day broke my heart.  I wanted somewhere that I wouldn't have to worry about how they were being treated, or how much love they were getting or how much exercise they were being given.  I wanted to know that they were having a fun vacation just like we were!

Well I checked out the website and was so excited we began e-mailing back and forth right away.  Patti is very thorough, making sure all dogs are up to date with vaccines and flea programs.  She even requires a puppy play date in advance at her house to make sure the dogs are suitable to being in a group setting, get along well with her young Golden Retriever, Jack and so that we can tour her setup.

It was so hard leaving them for our first vacation that summer.  I had no doubt in my mind they would have a great time but it was our first time leaving them, and with people we didn't know!  Well Patti took care of that!  She updates her website daily with a quick blog on what dogs have come and gone, what's happening and even adds photos so you can see just how great of a time your dog's having too!  That first trip we were on her website every morning to make sure Genevieve and Murray were being treated well and you know what?  They were having the time of their life!

Murray slept for 3 days after he got home!

For our second trip, Genevieve and Murray were there for just over a week and I didn't worry about them once.  Sure it was hard to leave them (especially when Genevieve started whining at the gate) but the daily updates showed us just how much fun they were having without us which meant I could have fun without them!

The best part was how tired they were from a week's worth of playing and running around!  We were exhausted when we came home but didn't have to worry about them, they were asleep in the back of the truck before we even hit the highway!

So if you're in the Durham or Kawartha area in Ontario and your dogs are an important part of the family there isn't any boarding establishment I'd rather recommend than Patti at For The Love Of Dogs In Home Boarding.  Her and her husband are truly amazing people and are running the business for the right reason: because they love dogs!

Bunny Beds

Last week I picked up some adorable pet beds for the bunnies.  I wrapped them in fuzzy blankets to discourage nibbling and put them in a corner of each of the rabbit cages.

Honey and Rocky couldn't care less (boo!) but Ollie and Willow have loved having something snuggly to cozy up in!

Ollie having a snuggle in his new cushy bed!

Willow curled right up in her new pink blankie!

And later that day she was fully buried except her cute little bunny behind!

And a week later.....still hanging out in the bed!

I think it's safe to say the beds are a hit with two out of four bunnies!  Willow loves spending hours 'making' her bed by rearranging her blankie just so before snuggling in.  Ollie just loves having somewhere to relax.  Either way, whenever I go in their bunny room to check on them, they're always lounging in their snuggly beds!  It is just so cute!

Home Cooking Dog Food

First of all, let me start by saying making your own dog food is a lot of work.  I dread dog food days, I even find myself counting down the days until the next day I have to make it again because that's how much I hate doing it.  So why do I continue?  Because the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Genevieve and Murray have always had sensitive stomachs.  It took us about 6 months to find a food that both of their tummies could agree on when they were younger.  They seemed fine on this for just over a year but it was costly.  We were spending $80 every 3 weeks!  And Murray had hives off and on and they both had regular ear infections.  Since they're Retrievers I didn't think the infections were because of their diet but because of their floppy ears.

Then last Fall, Genevieve started throwing up and having diarrhea off and on.  At first we thought maybe she had just eaten something she shouldn't have on a walk because other than that she was acting completely normal.  After about 2 weeks though she couldn't keep anything down.  After about 3 or 4 visits to the vets, tests and meds our vet came up with nothing more than an allergy to her food.  Genevieve also had a parasite in her intestines for the first 8 months of her life which he said could have done some permanent damage.

I had looked in to home cooking before but because of the work involved wasn't sure about it.  Now I felt I didn't have a choice.  So I looked at the back of some dog food packages to see what kind of fruits, veggies and other foods they put in it and made a list.  We also suspected that Murray was allergic to grains so I made sure to keep those out of the food.  Well within a day of making up a batch, Genevieve was back to normal.  Within a week Murray wasn't scratching and the hives we frequently found all over his body were gone.  And in over a year there has been the odd ear infection here and there, not monthly.  Both dogs have lost the extra weight they were holding (Murray was getting to be quite the heffer) and they're now more active and their coats are bright and shiny!  Our vet was amazed at how healthy they look and also the variety I put in to their food!

So what do I feed them?

• 8 cups of rice
• 2 2/3 cups of oatmeal
• 1 zucchini
• 3 carrots
• 6 large potatoes
• 2 yams
• meat
• 2 apples
• 1/4 cabbage
• 1/2 container of cottage cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 large can of each kidney beans, chickpeas and green peas
• 3 stalks of celery
• Any other fruits and veggies I have lying around except mushrooms, spinach and onions 

I cook up the rice in 8 cups of water and 4 cups of beef or chicken broth.  The oatmeal I cook in 6 cups of water.  A food processor becomes your best friend with all of the veggies.  I chop them up then throw them in 1 or 2 veggies at a time and pulse them enough to get them small enough.  If you add too many veggies at once by the time they're all chopped up you'll have made veggie stew.  The processor is also great for the meat.  If you don't have ground burger then cutting up a steak and throwing it in the food processor for a few minutes will mince it enough to make it easy to mix in to their food.  I heat up the beans, cook the eggs and stir fry the veggies in oil and garlic.

All of this food lasts my dogs 5-6 days so we usually spend an entire day making up 6 or 8 batches to get about 4-6 weeks worth.  Of course if you have a little itty bitty dog one batch may last you a few weeks or even a month.  Lucky you!