Amy's cats, rabbits, etc!

[kirbyultra]

Amy, I'm glad the buns are getting to work on the cottontail cottage. I should show you what the architects in my household are doing to the cottage. I can't believe it's still standing with all the parts it's missing.

 

[undergunfire]

I'd like to see a picture of it, Helen :biggrin:! I can only imagine our Cottage will be nothing fairly soon, as I have seen what Molly has done to just a cardboard box!

 

[kirbyultra]

Okie dokie, here is the good work of my boys!

The threshold of the doorway is missing

The side is starting to wither away

Looks normal until you peer through the 2nd floor window

Oh my - The cottontail cottage has termites with fur and big ears

One of these days, I bet one of their bunny butts is going fall right through the 2nd floor!

 

[undergunfire]

Hahaha....mine is starting to look kind of like that in the inside already, too !

 

[kirbyultra]

My boys are union termites. It's taken them months to get this far

ETA: I have to say though, they do an immaculate job. They actually EAT the cottage. They're not just tearing it up and leaving a mess on the floor for me to clean up. I guess I'm paying for their clean services too. lol

 

[undergunfire]

Lucky!!! Molly is leaving all of the shreddings behind :grumpy.


---------------


I have to go to Big Lots and Walmart later to price out runner rugs because I need to buy a few really cheap ones to put down in the living room for when I move Molly and Morgan out here. Then for the bun room....I am thinking about moving Ruby's cage to the floor and putting Brody up top, that way Ruby and Marlin can "get to know each other" for their bonding after she is spayed. Eh..so that means Marlin is going to be the new free range bunny in the bun room.

I REALLY hate how this has to happen, but Molly is discusting and I can't cleaning her pee/poop off the carpet 2 times a day - even though my MIL is going to send us money to replace the carpet with wood floors, I really can't imagine what the carpet is going to look like by this fall when we are supposed to replace the floors (now she doesn't have a choice...the carpet is very ruined). So, we will just see how Molls and Morg do in a cage in the living room and see how Marlin does free ranging. I hope it won't be too bad for my pair, as the cage will be open whenever we are home (which is a lot, we never go anywhere or do anything really).

 

[undergunfire]

Okay, so I came up with a different set up because I wanted to try this before putting Molly and Morgan in a cage in the living room....

I decided to move Marlin and Ruby into the living room . They are in a "bonding pen" set up (which is pre-bonding as Ruby isn't spayed yet, but will be soon). Each side is 2x3, so the whole thing is overall a 3x4. It does take up more space in our already small living room/computer area, but oh well....

Then I decided to move Brody into Marlin's old cage (was Ruby's for almost a week, lol). I figure this way Molly doesn't have an excuse to pee all around the bottom cage because a rabbit will not be living in it. I'm going to give her a few days and if she keeps peeing, then I am going to have to switch everyone around AGAIN and put Molly & Morgan in the cage in the living room. I just hope this set up works for us because this gives Ruby and Marlin cages RIGHT next to each other, which will work out in our favor when it comes time to bond them - yes, I REALLY want them to bond....I am falling in love with Ruby and so far her & Marlin just ignore each other (through cage bars), but sometimes one will stick their nose through the bars begging for kisses .

Theeeen if Marlin & Ruby bond, we can get the perfect cage system down and not have to mess around with all of this crap, LOL. If they do not bond, then Ruby will be adopt out as planned (as she is just a foster, after all)...even though I REALLY love her and am already so attached, I just don't need another single rabbit if they won't bond. So, needless to say...I will actually be bonding very regularly for these two, not half-butted like I did with Molly and Morgan (because Molly was taken in to be mine forever in the first place...she wasn't a foster).

 

[undergunfire]

I just got back a little while ago from helping at the local humane society's adoption center in the mall - I went to check up on a bunny there with teeth issues (like Marlin's) and saw something that I was NOT happy with. My heart is aching and I'm so sad for these two boys ....

Yes....that is a Petco mouse cage (which is even too tiny for mice) - 15" L X 9" W X 9" H.

The boys WERE living on pine bedding and eating rabbit/piggie pellets...they are skinny and their coats aren't soft or shiny. Who knows how long they have been on this diet - I am surprised they are still alive. I ran down to PetSmart and got them a rat food mix (best I could do for now), aspen bedding, and a Greenies as a treat. I would have bought a cage, but I don't have $30 to spend on a decent sized one only for it to be given away when/if the rats get adopted out (the HS never keeps cages, which they should do for cases like this one).

They look around 8-9 months old - one is a agouti hooded and the other is a black hooded. These boys are VERY friendly and very curious....they don't deserve what has been given to them. They have been stuck in that tiny cage for 3+ weeks - they were adopted out on Wednesday, but returned Thursday (yesterday) because the person was allergic...they had planned to keep the rats in that tiny cage!!! The HS here is not educated on rats and its not organized...volunteers don't have any training for small animals and to be honest...the small animals suffer.

I am VERY concerned these rats will go as snake food or to a home where they won't be given what they need. The HS charges $5 per rat, so there is a high chance they could get separated and they seem very bonded to each other.

I do not have a spare cage or else I could have brought them home...so the best I can do right now is go up to the adoption center every few days to play with them.



I posted on Facebook and the rat forum, but there isn't any rat lovers around here that I know of...so needless to say I am very worried about them....

:sad:

 

[undergunfire]

Bunnies always brighten one's mood .....

Marlin is out running around right now .


We went to Big Lots and bought 2ftx6ft runner rugs for $6 each....we bought 3 and its worked really well for the bunnies to run from their cages over to the dining area rug .

 

[Jessyka]

That cottage is so cute! I think Bayou is a bit too large for it. I love that last picture. :biggrin:

 

[kirbyultra]

Poor rats. No animal deserves that...

Ruby is really pretty... We currently have a bun at the shelter named Lindsey who looks just like her. Very sweet girl. Toby's markings look a lot like that so it always gives me a fuzzy feeling

I'm really jealous of you because I love your rabbit room! It is really lovely for buns, and so clean. I can see how Molly is driving you nuts with her litter habits. It's enough to make a person nuts as I'm living through the same thing. Hopefully the new arrangements make it better for you. The bun can't help it but what can us poor bunny slaves do but cope?

 

[Dragonrain]

Ruby is so pretty, and looks like a sweetheart. I hope the bonding works out for you so you can keep her!

Those poor rats! I don't even know all that much about rats, and I can tell that cage is too small for them. It looks like they barely have room to move around, let alone to have toys and all that. I hope someone rat knowledgeable adopts them and they get an awesome home.

 

[irishbunny]

Poor ratties
People can be so dumb, all it takes is a quick google search and 15 minutes reading to at least know the basics on how to care for an animals correctly

 

[butsy]

i feel so bad for those rats !!!

 

[BethM]

I love Ruby, she is so beautiful!!

 

[Myia09]

Remember the ratties have a big cage and a warm foster home over here!

I wish I could have met you at the ballpark...but I know what you mean about them being contagious to your ratties. I just can't drive all the way to Prescott.

And ruby is beautiful!

 

[undergunfire]

Ugh...everything in me tells me to go and get those rats - but that would require taking the time for 2 more rats (which means 2 gross sets of *goolies* and well know how much I loooove those :rollseyes), spending $40 on a new temp. cage (until I bought a used cheaper & bigger one and could return the temp. one), taking the time to actually find a responsible home to adopt them, and risking my 4 boys to any Myco (respiratory) illness - even though I do have the meds here to treat everyone.

Plus...we have to fly out to Kansas on June 10th-13th because Ryan's grandpa died yesterday (its sad, but i mean he was old and really was his time due to medical issues). I'm waiting to hear back from my friend right now to see if she can come over and watch the pets those 2 full days and 2 half-days, if not then I have to stay home.

 

[undergunfire]

Well, my friend can watch the bunnies/mouse/rats/cats while we go to Kansas for Ryan's grandpa's funeral the 10th-13th. I just need to make sure my parents can watch Sammy (our dog).

I thought about it and I am not going to go and get those rats to foster. I just can't do it, as much as I'd like to. I'm going to check on them again today to make sure their cage is clean and they have food...but other then that that is all I can do. I did contact a rat rescue down in PHX (2 hours away) to see if they could get transport down here to pick them up, so I hope they get back to me soon and can do it.

----------------



I have Marlin and Ruby out together right now. I know, breaking the rules as Ruby isn't spayed....but she's 1.5 years old, acts like a spayed rabbit (no hormones in this girl!), and her & Marlin have been kissing through the cage bars a ton....soooo I just decided to try it. She's getting spayed in about 2 weeks.....I am $20 away from being able to afford it - I've just been selling things like rat hammock & cage liner sets & a swamp cooler that we bought 2 years ago but never really used.

Its been going really well and they have been out together for like an hour...running around the living room then going back into Ruby's cage to snuggle (yeah, breaking another rule there). Marlin humped her & wouldn't leave it alone for about 2-3 minutes (I watched and kept pulling him off), and Ruby just laid there and let him do it.

I also have Brody out playing, but he is on the sun porch/storage/cat/useless room since its a really cool day outside. Excuse the stupid curtains...my MIL hung them up and my cats have pulled them down...we need to rehang them or find some other way to keep sun out of there (as it gets too hot).

----------

I am having a very lazy Sunday! Bunnies are all out playing, the rats have a pen around their cage so they are out playing, and Sammy is outside playing/laying in the sun.

Ryan and I got voucher tickets to get our hair cut at a salon from a girl at his work - she is going to Africa and needs help funding it, so a salon in the mall is offering $10 hair cuts with the vouchers and donating the money to her. I'd love to chop all my hair off, but I think I will just get it trimmed up for right now until I decide if I really want to get it all cut off. I haven't had a hair cut in like 7 months because we haven't really been able to afford for me to go and get a $40 cut at the girl I usually go to (well, we can afford it....but its not high on the list of things to spend money on right now). Soooo...this is going to be a treat today getting all of my dead ends cut off ...then I am going to go to Sally's and buy hair dye to dye my hair tonight .

 

[butsy]

post a [pic of ur hair

 

[undergunfire]

Well, here is my rescue/foster boys ...

Damon is the black hooded and Stefan is the agouti hooded. I am suuuuuch a huge Vampire Diaries fan and these names really just fit for the rat boys...Damon on the show has black hair and Stefan has light brown .

I can't get over how MASSIVE and GROSS their goolies (ehh.....bawwwwls). are :expressionless. My boys are neutered for 2 reasons: no pregnancies from when my female rats were still alive and also so I didnt have to look at their big bundles.


Anyway....now I just foster them until foster space opens up at the rat rescue 2 hours away . Damon is shy, but very licky (will lick your hands) and Stefan is VERY curious and such a happy guy! I know it will be really hard to let them go, but I know I want/need a very long break from rats after my 4 boys pass...I need time to grieve and to rebuild my passion for rats.