Hehe 3piggles, I now wrap my arms in strips of old towels for Reuben's baths. It works(mostly!)!
Been awhile since I updated. Sooo....We have lost a few, and gained a few. Cody and Beaudine are still alive, but Cody isn't looking so great lately. He's pretty old, so I'm just glad we've had him this long.(about 12 years, if I remember correctly)
Chucky, Pepa, Rocky, and Elsa are all still here, as is Reuben. However, of all the rats, only Rilian is still alive. I am very thankful to still have him, considering a year ago, no one expected him to live. Jasper made it to three years old, but gave in to lung scarring, and had to be pts. Shiloh had a pituitary tumor, and was pts a week beforehand. Corin was going great, kinda frail, you know, the way they get. Still happy, enjoying life. He was a bit upset when the new boys arrived, so I spent the evening cuddling him on his own. Twently minutes after I put him back in his cage, I heard him gasping, and picked him up. He died in my hands. I believe it was a stroke. Bree was pts last week. He was just so old, he was no longer living.
I also have two new rats, and two new cats. The rats came from the spca, one cat came from my bro, who had to move flats, and couldn't take him, and the other was a stray who has recently just adopted us, despite all dad could say. heheh.
Ignore the scratched paint. That's courtesy of Beaudine.
This is Samson, the aforementioned stray. Vet reckons he's about 18 months, so about Elsa's age. These were taken the day after his neuter.
Getting cuddles from mum.
Chin rub!
Leaving mum's room...I had a series of these pics where his eyes kept getting brighter, and everything else darker. Lamplights!
Fluffy tail. Couldn't resist this one!
Ohai, Chucky!
Unfortunately, I missed Chucky taking a swipe at him and snarling.
Where's he gone??
There he is!
*guinea pig swiftly removed*
Uh, hi?
Samson is very friendly to other cats. The other cats aren't. He's starting to lose his friendly approach to other cats, and being a bit more cautious around them. A bit sad. :?
Don't ask me what he's doing with his ear here!
Pepa has just realized a new cat is in the room. He is unsure whether to flee or not.
In front of the fire.
Chillaxing.
His eyes aren't squinty, but they look it in nearly every pic. Bah!
And, Chucky getting head rubs to sooth him.
Keeping an eye on him.
And, unfortunately, I seem to have only uploaded one picture of Scruffy. May upload them later. Anyway, he came from my brother, who had to move flats, and couldn't take him with him. Before that, he belonged to a retired couple who moved to Raratonga, and couldn't take him. I'd just like to point out no one in my family would ever name a cat Scruffy, especially a gorgeous boy like him.
My gorgeous, slightly tubby, boy.
Scruffy, Reuben, and the rats are mine, and it's an on-going fight as to who Samson belongs. So far my sister is winning, mostly because my Reuben and Scruffy, and mum's Elsa, and Dallas's Beaudine, are all jealous little horrors. Justina's Rocky doesn't mind Samson, so she wins!
Dodger and Oliver were given to a boy, who took them home. His horrified mother promptly rang the spca. *sigh* That particular one doesn't really have faculties for rats, so my friend, who fosters for them took them in. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep them long term, and was worried what would happen to them if they went back. I managed to persuade mum to pay for the petbus for my birthday present, and here they are! Best present ever.
Dodger.
Oli
both together!
Oliver
Dodger, with Oli under him
Reuben! Sometimes, with sick, and grieving, and dying rats, Reuben is all that saves my sanity. If it is safe, which sometimes everyone, myself included, doubts.
It is NOT fat! It's just FUR!
And a few older pics of Rilian.
Always my smilie boy. <3
He has a nasty big lump, that I decided not to have removed because he's been getting a few respiratory infections lately. Now I'm just kicking myself, wishing I had gone ahead and done it while it was smaller. But he's still active, and it isn't bothering him yet. His brother Bree was pts a week ago, and he's on his own, because Dodger's being a bit difficult with intros. Mean while, he's spending most of his time with me; even going to the library with me! He also sleeps in my bed at night whenever Scruffy doesn't. His seizures have never come back(did I ever post on here about them? Can't remember) for which I am truly grateful, because I don't know if even his fighter spirit could handle them at this stage. He is about two and a half.