wraithfodder | Entries tagged with critters

Under the "wow, finally got something done" category, we got some of the damaged pine tree from Hurricane Sandy chopped up (see post at http://wraithfodder.livejournal.com/493940.html for the 'before' photos). Here is what part of yard looks like now!

The stack of logs in the middle is the remains of the pine tree trunk that was splayed out in the yard all winter long. At right is the smaller stack of the remains of the poor dogwood tree. It took me about 10-15 minutes, but I was able to dig out a branch (about 6 feet long), half of which was driven straight into the ground. I found several branches like that, most small but the big one took more time to remove. The tree, alas, remains, as done the big scattered pile of BIG pieces of chopped pine (seen more to the left, between the brown stack of dead pine needle branches and the stacked pile of logs).

But then again, the big logs now serve a purpose. Continue reading!

( Read more...gobble gobble! )

My little Ian is gone :(

( Detail under cut )

Here's a video of my fat squirrel, stuffing its face on the bird feeder which I decided to fill cuz nobody's getting anything for the next two days. Shot this around 8:00 a.m., October 29th as Hurricane Sandy starts ramping up at noon.

Well, last week the little fella got sick; started with some inappropriate peeing on the bed (all that stuff in part #4). Well, he ended up at the vet again, but at least I got him back at the end of the day. He was dehydrated. SubQs are now every two days, and probably, forever. However, his kidney levels were better, but he had a urinary tract infection (now pretty much fixed with liquid antibiotics). However, he had one retina half-detached (it can happen with high BP with renal failure). But he's never exhibited high BP. He went back today for a checkup (he's seen the vet more this year than I've seen doctors). His retina has partially reattached, and there is the chance it could rectify itself. Otherwise, he's doing fine.

As for the sheep comment, when he came back from the vet, he'd been subQed twice, so was ... puffy. He reminded me of sheep from animated/stop motion cartoons, as seen below:

He was sorta like a plush toy for a while. When we give him subQs, he gets a puffy hump between the shoulders (you injected in the area where mom cats grab the kittens).

I awoke to the sound of streaming cat, aka, he peed on the bed, well, his part of the bed, which is protected by the bed pads. I didn't yell at him, since, well, he'd had subQ the evening before but did go "nnonononononononono" and grabbed kleenex and stuck it on the blanket so it wouldn't soak all the way through. Needless to say, I started the day with washing the blanket. What annoys me is I have a kitty litter box in the room, which he refuses to use, so I just put it down next to the other one, and now he uses it. *headdesk*. I also boiled him up an organic chicken to make chicken broth. Alas, the fat from dark meat seemed to have infused in the dark meat and he had some runs. Ack. So, it's back to frozen white chicken and we'll eat the rest. No loss.

Amazing how he'll let us stick him with needle but pills, forget it. Shall try again tomorrow.

The Emmys used to be better, I swear. I haven't watched one all the way through in ages. Just tape it and speed search for any good stuff, if any. Otherwise, went to a dog show, even though I don't have a dog, but did meet some Shelties, so that was fun, and got so many free food samples I'll donate them to the food bank (dogs have to eat too). Got some cat food and will check to see if it something the evil little creature can eat.

Otherwise, waxed floors, did wash, mowed the lawn again as since the back go to a foot high *hangs head in shame* it didn't cut properly. Also saw mom deer and two teen does. No sign of Three, my 3-legged deer. Hope she's still around.

TV-wise, with new season starting. Tried out Revolutions. Think it would be better without the teenagers. I'll try another episode. Shame they killed off my favorite character in the first episode! Of course, season openers of NCIS and Person of Interest are my priorities. I watched Haven but fell asleep then woke up to repeat but felll asleep again. Long week. I'lll catch up later.

Well, the evil pilling is about over, but... we did the SubQ Saturday evening, and what did I wake up to at 2 a.m.? Wet bed! ARgh! This is the 2nd time he's done it after the subQ (but he didn't do the first time), so I'll talk to the vet. I hate to think the little guy is getting incontinent after the SubQs... in the meantime, I have these bed pads (from when my grandmother was alive) and am putting them up his part of the bed as I don't want to have to wash the entire bed if it happens again...

First off thanks to everyone who commented in the previous post. It's much appreciated!!

Part 2: during one pilling session, he fought like a wildcat, then, because his back was to my chest, he slammed his head up and smacked me in the face, drawing blood with one fang. Fortunately it was just one single hole. I make it a point to wear my glasses so I don't lose an eye!

So, pilling is, er, difficult...We're grinding up the pill and injecting it with water into mouth. Still a nasty process, but less chance of being bitten again.

The subQ, however, is placing cat on ironing board, grabbing skin, sticking needle in (he made a brief noise and attempted to bolt but then settled down).

I must admit Iet my brother the former EMT do the honors of jabbing it, although I am going to have to do it.

Odd that stabbing cat with needle is easy, but prying open the mini Jaws from hell is difficult. Aieee...

Alas, the poor kitty, now age 16, started showing some bad behavior around the kitty litter box (and rugs!) so of course this happens on a holiday weekend, and we took him to the vet as soon as they were re-open. Alas, it was as I feared. His kidneys aren't doing well :( His BUN level was 48, when it should be no more than 36, and his WBC (white blood cell count) was up to 22.68, pretty high. He also has some pancreatitis. He spent two days at the vet, on an IV to flush his system plus now he's on Baytril, Pepcid, senior cat vitamins, and oh yes, the Lactated Ringer's drip which we must administer as a SubQ injection/whatever, twice a week, I suspect, for as long as he lets us do it, or rest of his life. The vet said he could, if he does well, last for a few more years, or.... we'll know in a month when he goes back to rerun the numbers.

Here's the little guy at the vet, with the IV things in his arm. Not a happy camper. He's lost a bit of weight over the last half year, which we thought was due to being a picky eater and well, just being an older cat. We hope to get some weight back on him. We can give him cream cheese, to help with the pilling, which was sheer hell the first couple days. He bit me. We think we have now perfected the 'burrito cat' roll: swaddle him up in the big thick blanket, wrap twice, pin to chest, quickly (that was the secret) pop open mouth without shedding my blood, and have pill tossed in, then clamp mouth shut. Afterwards, I gave him some cream cheese to make him happy.

( More under the cut )

Current Mood: tired

Well, I bought cherries, and I still can't eat them. Allergic to them now, if they're raw. However, if they're baked into a pie....

These are the now pitted cherries, mixed up with sugar and stuff, before I baked it.

Um, did some taste-testing. Had to make sure it was done, right?

And then there were a bunch of cherry pits. Did a quick google, then put them out on the patio, for the ravenous rodents...

burp!

I was coming back from shopping. I bought a little pot of miniature sunflowers (which will spend a lot of time in the kitchen so the squirrels/chipmunks/etc./etc./etc. don't devour it) and was coming up the driveway when suddenly - eek! the creature bounded onto the dashboard and began beating its arms against the windshield, trying to get out. So I stopped the car and got my camera out.

Cute little fellow!

Then he went to side window. "Let me out!" I could imagine him/her screaming.

Once outside, it was happy. Very happy. It didn't seem to mind me at all. Was fascinated by the camera - kept crawling all over it. I released it on a tree full of leaves where it rapidly just vanished amongst the greenery.

Oh, and here's one sunflower bloom.

And then, I was in the garden weeding (never-ending job) when suddenly, a flurry of sounds like something beating against a bush. Then a young hawk flew off. Think it got a chipmunk, of which we have.... too many. Didn't see any bird feathers (usually a few or more left in an attack) so.... bye bye chippie...

Oh, and saw a doe and a young buck in yard yesterday morning. Beautiful...

In fact, here's a picture of a deer (they all sorta look alike to me, except my 3-legged deer, who I saw last week).

If only I'd had a camera in hand, but I had clothespins and wet clothes. I was just outside hanging some wash when I spied movement in the overgrown backyard. Deer. Two does and two gorgeous, very energetic little fawns. One of the does is my three-legged deer, who is obviously still doing well. The little fawns were running all over the place, then they vanished into the bushes, so I figured, that's it, then one came back, shooting across the upper portion the lawn, then the adults came aorund with the other fawn, then... one fawn just shot down the lawn and stopped within three feet of me. I just stood there, water dripping from a shirt in hand, and watched. One doe ran up but stopped twenty feet away, having seen me, then did a U-turn and went back up into the bushes. A moment later the fawn ran past me to join the adults. Oh, if only I'd had a camera or better yet, a camcorder in hand.

UPDATE: Wed. And the three-legged deer was in back yard this morning when I went out to feed the birds. We stared at each other and she hopped off. And she's eating the wild patch of vines, etc. Yes, eat, eat! Less hacking for me.

Last year, I spied a deer from the upstairs window, and was somewhat mortified to see it's one hind leg was a nasty mess. I'm assuming she got hit by a car and the femur totally broken, so that the muscles contracted the leg upwards. I figured she'd be dead in days, but to my surprise, she's still alive. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the mild winter we had with just two days of snow (and one of those was the Halloween storm). Next winter, probably not so lucky.

( Videos under the cut )

Here's the snake that I almost stepped on the other night, down in the basement. I stuck it in a cooking pot, as it was handy, and it was tiny, a young hatchling. I put on plastic gloves cuz I know from experience as soon as you pick up a snake, they exude this awful stench (aka piss) all over your hands. Yech! It was cute, and good thing to know, non-venemous. I released him in the pachysandra patch.

ringneck snake

Meanwhile, I spied a young buck in the backyard. He glared at me, of course, although I was a distance away.

buck / deer

Now to sort out and load up my Hurricane Irene pictures...

Here are some shots of the one (1) sunflower that popped up in my garden. All the ones I planted? Nada, zilch, but this sucker grew up on its own. I figured I should take a picture before some wild animal destroys it (more on that later).

And here is a video of my arch-nemesis, the chipmunk. I suppose it doesn't help I feed the critter sunflower seeds... I suspect our house will collapse into a massive sinkhole one day, and billions of chipmunks will pour out. Yeah, they're EVERYWHERE. A couple years ago one chewed the bottom of my remaining sunflower plant - TIMBER - and then ate just a tiny piece out of it. Grrr...

Now I knew the squirrels and chipmunks dined regularly at the bird feeder - heck, they're waiting on the patio every morning for me to refill the feeder, but tonight I caught this litlte guy (gal?) helping itself to the feed.

raccoon

THIS is probably the critter that keeps trashing the garbage cans but it's so cute I can't throw rocks at it. Flashlights scare it off anyway.

No, he's not a Goa'uld, but then again... hmmmm....

I posted this on a 'cute' community, but thought I'd post here too

Adorable picture of young orphaned spider monkey at

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363806/Baby-spider-monkey-Estela-rejected-mother-birth-clings-stuffed-animal-love.html

Here's one picture

Too cute. Seriously, they are so cute when they're young. A pair of little platypus, or platypi, or platypusses ;)

Found the link on twitter, and umm... Ah, via @squishable, the folks who make giant squishable toys.

These have to be the cutest shots of bats ever.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344988/Crowded-baby-bat-clinic-barometer-Australias-bad-weather.html

A bunch were regrettably orphaned in the bad Australian floods, and are now being taken care of by humans. Love how they use clotheslines to help the little tykes.

Too good not to share.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/pictures-of-the-year/8224257/Pictures-of-the-year-2010-bizarre-creatures-and-funny-animal-photos.html or http://bit.ly/erFTd9 is where I found this photo and there a bunch of other strange and cute animal photos there.

A perfect, post-Christmas funny video about why cats and Christmas trees do not necessarily mix ;)

I got his ashes back last week. I wanted him to lose weight, but this is ridiculous! ;) He's in a little tin. I'm still trying to decide on his final resting place (as in what kind of box). I keep thinking 'cookie jar' since he liked those so much.

And although he's been gone for weeks now, dog fur is still attaching to me. It's everywhere, despite vacuuming. It's in the car. There's still dog 'snobber' on the rear driver's side window, and eh, I'll clean that off in the Spring when it's warm enough to do it. I still think during the day, usually at night, something I must do, which is put the dog out.

I remember when our last dog died over a decade ago, the squirrel always came to the back door. We'd named him Little Buddy as every single morning, without fail, I'd come downstairs and there'd be a THUNK on the door and I'd open the door and the squirrel was clinging to the screen door (yes, she eventually ruined the window). And then I'd open the door, she'd drop and the dog would chase her. This went on for years. When the dog got toward the end, I was sitting outside with him, with a blanket over him and the squirrel walked right up to him and sniffed him and wanted the dog to chase her. After he died, Little Buddy still came to the door but then realized the dog was gone, and soon, Little Buddy was gone, as the Mafia Squirrels, as I'd named them (they'd gotten 'tarred' on face and feet from neighbor's gunk on trees) moved in. Too much competition.

Rory didnt' have a little buddy, but he always launched out the back door and bark and the squirrels would fly off the bird feeder, and he'd run over and BITE the gutter drain. All the paint is off and now it's nostalgic. And other remnants are... chewed furniture from his puppy days, a hole in basement tile (yes, he chewed through the floor!), dog nose spots on wood floor. I put away his leash and brushes (except one, which the cat likes). I'm tossing his remaining special dog diet food out to the wild critters since it's so cold. Will check to see if they eat it tomorrow.

I'd like another dog, but that will take time and as much as puppies are cute, I don't think I have energy or time (unless I win powerball and don't have to work!) I hope to adopt a dog, a Sheltie or border collie. After watching other dogs over the last week, have realized how much I love Shelties, despite all their fur.

The cat still runs around the house and screams, for him, or maybe for me to feed him NOW. Hard to tell, but he realizes Rory is gone now.

Came across this article on the ducklings that were blown across the tarmac... http://www.thestar.com/news/article/903519--video-of-windblown-ducklings-at-woodbine-racetrack-goes-viral?bn=1 - "Video of windblown ducklings at Woodbine Racetrack goes viral."

EXCERPT:

No ducks were harmed in making the video, Matthew Stevens, the Woodbine Entertainment Group cameraman who captured the moment, assured the Star.

“We were under a wind delay at Woodbine. It’s a little dangerous for the horses to race in wind like that,” Stevens said Wednesday.

Braver than thoroughbreds, the duck family had tried twice before to get from the racetrack paddock to the walking ring. They picked themselves up after getting blown across the concrete, the ducklings got back into formation behind their mother, and they all ducked into a sheltered spot.

“We made sure none of the little ducklings would fall into the storm drain,” Stevens said. “They were fine.”

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

So, nice to know they all made it out okay!

Here's the original video, which is all over the web, of mama duck and her ducklings battling it out with the high winds in Toronto. You can go to YouTube and find more (somehow, this doesn't seem to fit with rap music, but someone did it).

Spotted on @splodefromcute. So cute! My cat would probably disembowel the stuffed animal ;)

Today, at nearly 11 years old, Rory succumbed to the cancer. We put him to sleep this afternoon.

Rory and his stuffed alligator

( More on my Rory )

First, want to thank everybody for your comments in my previous post on Rory. They were very very much appreciated!

Rory's still hanging in there. The prednisone is giving him some extra time, although how long, we simply do not know. Could be days, could be weeks. I let him spend a lot of time outdoors this weekend as the weather was fortunately mild.

( More under the cut )

My poor dog, nicknamed Frankenpooch, got through the eye surgery fine. It was healing just great. Then Rory started feeling poorly, being lethargic. Last night, his breathing was just not good, and when I touched his side, he yelped, so first thing this morning I took him to the vet. I had to leave him there, and the vet called me in the afternoon.

I had thought at first, something awful happened to his stomach or esophagus from the doxycycline, or it was a liver or kidney thing.

Unfortunately the vet told me that they x-rayed his chest, as when they listened, it was 'murky,' Now up until a week ago, besides not liking the antibiotic and such, he'd been fine. But.... the breathing problem was caused by fluid buildup around the lungs, in turn caused by a whole bunch of tumors. His lungs are full of cancer. There was never any indication, and the last time he'd been x-rayed he'd been fine, that he had any kind of cancer.

The news was simply devastating. I sat at my desk and cried, then left early. I won't go to work tomorrow becuase for all I know that could be his last full day with us. The vet said they coudl aspirate the fluid, but... it's painful, it has risks, and it will come back. We would just be prolonging the inevitable. He's now on steroids which will help inflammation, pain, etc., and lasix(sp?) to drain the fluids, but... it's possible he could have a couple weeks, or a week, but I'm thinking maybe more like days.

It's just horrible. He's been such a wonderful dog, despite chewing up my underwear, eating a hole in the floor, bringing ticks in the house and shedding nonstop... It's horrible now, and will be worse when we finally must take him to vet to let him go. I did that with my cat many years ago and had hoped I'd never have to do that again :( And now his one eye will never grow out the fur, so he'd look at me with that wink. He would have been rather handsome, even with only one eye...

Current Mood: depressed

The dog, now nicknamed Frankenpooch, is home. Considering the sewn-shut eye, redness, swelling (all typical of surgery), he seems to be doing fine. He's sleeping a lot, but that's okay too as he's on some painkillers. He's got a good appetite, and he hates the cone of shame, nickname for the plastic e-collar he must wear. He looks like a zombie dog, due to all the shaved-off hair and surgical stuff. For those curious and who are not easily squicked by post surgical shots, a photo of him in the e-collar can be viewed here

The cat has sniffed him up and is glad he's home, and so far doesn't mind being locked up downstairs during the day because I just don't want the two mixing up and getting into trouble - like dog wedging head somewhere ;) And he's gotta wear that collar for at least 12 days till stitches are out.

Fortunately it's raining outside and dog does not like rain, so he'll stay inside more.

You know those TV shows, where someone rushes into the emergency room, carrying small child in arm. Everybody at the desk, staff and patients, all stop and stare and then someone yells "Triage needed!"

That was me, on Halloween night, with the dog.

( More under cut )

If only this were a Halloween contact lens. Alas, it is not. Poor pooch...

Came home from work yesterday and family member spotted a glint in the dog's eye. Once we shone a light into eye, we saw it was blood red. An intraocular hemorrhage. ARGH!!! He'd bumped smack into my brother's knee, so we were worried about eye trauma. Luckily there is a 24-hour emergency vet clinic (the kind that depletes your checking account).

( Read more... )

Well, since I didn't break my neck, this sounds more out of a sitcom. There I was, with this gorgeous green jar (which I just bought today) in hand:

as well as a pack of lightbulbs and a container. I was going down the stairs. Foolish me did not turn on the lights, so did not see cat, but suddenly I'm stepping on something 'smooshy' and it shot out from under foot and everything in my hands went flying as I was doing my best not to do a header down the stairs. So, there go the lightbulb pack of three, the container (plastic, so no big deal) and my precious 7" green glass jar made in Belgium.

I ended up on my butt on the stairs with an aching foot (oh yes, I need damage to foot like a hole in the head - Comic Con is next weekend!). Shall tape it or ice pack I think. Meanwhile, after checking on cat (he's fine, phew phew), I go downstairs and OMG, the green jar is intact!!! I checked, held it up to light, no cracks, nada. Man, this stuff from Belgium is strong! I just picked it up at a local tag sale for the grand price of $1, but I love the green - hard to find - so once it's dried out from the washing, I'm stuffing it with, hmm, cookies. :)

And oh yeah, the liglhtbulbs - squiggly kind - seem to be okay!

Just look at this shot:

and then toodle over to

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8018069/The-secret-life-of-the-harvest-mouse-cute-pictures-by-Jean-Louis-Klein-and-Marie-Luce-Hubert.html for 17 adorable pictures that will just make you go all gooshy.

yawn!

Since I'm one of the few apparently not at the Chicago Con with Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, et. al, or... DragonCon next weekend with David Hewlett (insert heavy sigh of deep suffering, etc. etc.), I will annoy my pets.

The cat. He really does not like the out doors. It sort of freaks him out. You can't see me holding him down to get the shot because his eyes look so pretty outside.

Siamese cat

And the dog, who has a new job weeding the yard. So much for that wisteria plant (and no, he ate none of it, he just ripped it apart in the same manner he treats any paper towel that falls to the floor.)

( Video below )

before he's toast.

This is probably why Joe Flanigan likes dogs over cats - besides that they're smarter than him ;) - because one moment you've got the cute kitty...

ian the cat

Who then becomes THIS.... (warning, evil kitty picture ahead).

( Meow! )

I really need to video a squirrel so I can yell "SQUIRREL!" but anyway, I was upstairs, looked out window and saw this young bambi on the lawn, so grabbed camera and shot. Couldn't try for a better position as it noticed me at the window and eyed me suspiciously...

Adorable pictorial.

A mallard duck nests on a ledge beneath the corporate offices of Sterling Savings Bank in Spokane, Washington. There has been a nesting duck in the same place for at least three years, although bank employees think that this particular one has only nested there for two years

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/7894964/Duck-rescue-American-banker-Joel-Armstrong-catches-ducklings-as-they-fall-from-a-building.html

Here' s a photo from it. There are 18 in total. Adorable story.

and, a photo I've tripped over on several news sites. An owl cools off.

owl

Last night, well, early this morning... at 4:00 a.m. or so, I was awoken with sharp pains, of tiny cat claws walking all over me, poking me, poking me. Ouch! So, this morning, I trimmed them all down to where they should be. He's no longer the scary Siamese with evil long claws. Just the very loud demanding Siamese with claws that will grow out all too quickly....

Fortunately he doesn't mind being trimmed, unlike the dog, who tries to run away.