Rainy Friday.

Today was a rainy day and it seems that tomorrow will be too... The cats mostly slept except for a small play session between Sunny and Smokey. Sunny likes to sleep on high spots or on my bed, and Smokey likes soft places like chairs, my bed, or her bed. I was a little concerned about Sunny earlier this year because she was very thin but after feeding her some high calorie treats and keeping her on kitten food instead of adult food, she has gained weight. Smokey is slightly overweight so it is complicated to get Sunny to the right weight AND make Smokey loose or keep the same weight. Fiona's cage has had to be cleaned a lot more than usual (more than once per week) due to a leaky water bottle but that was fixed today because I got a new water bottle for her! About a week ago I used an exercise ball (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10378+11158&pcatid=11158) for the gerbils and they (unlike my first gerbil) LOVED it. They were VERY good at making it roll and turn and were seemingly happy in it. Gex has also been doing well and is getting more and more active as the weather gets warmer. The fish tanks are doing well although the nano reef needs some maintenance work. A few weeks ago I added swordtails to the big (47 gallon) freshwater tank and they are doing well. As usual, Smokey has been putting her soft (plush) toys in her water dish (does ANYONE know how to stop this?). Hopefully the weather won't be too bad tomorrow. Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful day tomorrow!

Sunny's Travel Problems (and solutions)

Well, as you may know, I raised Sunny from a week and a half old and therefore, I had to take her with me if I was going to be gone for more than a couple of hours. That meant I had to feed her in the car. I was able to do this (after some practice bottle feeding) and she would eat, and then go to sleep. On her first vet visit she was fine in the car but when we got to the vet, she freaked out (understandable since she was getting vaccinated) and ever since, it has been a nightmare to travel with her because she gets carsick. Well, I know that she doesn't have an inner ear problem so she just freaks herself out. I have been working with her and getting her used to the carrier and today I made the step of taking her with me for a short trip in town. She was nervous but was NOT sick and was calm for the most part! So I would say we had success! Now for longer trips...
Happy Traveling!

Tuesday!

Well, Tuesday was HOT! I have had to turn my fan on and use it to cool Fiona, Lewis, and Clark because they don't like the hot weather. My fish tank heaters have, needless to say, not been on at ALL lately. Gex has been more active and has been out of hiding more lately too. Smokey and Sunny have been just lounging around and drinking LOTS of water (GREAT for them because cats tend to be slightly dehydrated). I have fixed Fiona's wet cage problem. Her cage was getting wet and dirty really fast and I was tired of changing her bedding ALL the time (I usually do it once a week) so I tried to find out what was wrong and discovered that her water bottle was being pushed up against the gerbil cage and it was being squeezed so it leaked. I moved the water bottle and the cage is not dirty as fast now. I plan to add more fish to my tanks pretty soon and will post pictures as soon as I do. It was very pretty (from inside the house) today with blue sky but if you went outside, it was HOT!
Have a good (cool) day!

Easter!

Today was Easter! The cats got a special food as a treat (a Whiskas Purrfectly Fish pouch!) for breakfast and also lots of treats! I let them pick out some different toys to play with (out of their toy box) and they got some turkey and cheese to eat. I gave them catnip to play in/with too! Fiona got a special salad to eat and Lewis and Clark got some treats (carrots, Yogies, etc). I re-decorated Gex's cage the other day and will post pictures as soon as I can. The weather has been beautiful for the past few days (except for a storm Friday night) and I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Unfortunately I was not able to spend much time with them because I visited with realities.
What a GREAT day!

Just an update: As some of you know, Sunny broke her leg in November and she was in a cast for 3 weeks. She has been out of the cast for a while but still favors the other leg when sitting down (when she walks, you can't tell she ever broke her leg). But she has basically made a full recovery!