Had some extra time this evening to play with some of the “fun” critters. Hope you enjoy the pics. “Wally”, the mini donkey has outgrown “Ringo” the Border Collie now. Feeding the Zebu their dried distillers grains cube “treat”. “Papoose” is an orphan mammoth donkey. (Drinking her milk) The other current bottle babies. The brown girl in the first pic is a little odd. Maybe a bit of oxygen deprivation from a hard birth. She didn’t have a sucking reflex for the first two days and had to be “tubed” with an esophageal feeder.
Rescue cats. At the office. At the warehouse. In the house. Outside the house. But we limit the number to 3 indoors and 4 we take care of outdoors. We will NOT care for feral cats. However, we will care for abandoned house cats as outdoors cats. Currently, I am trying to get 2 sibling adult orange cats that live on our porch - can come and go as they wish - a much bigger black cat who is envious we feed - leading to a turf battle - and the only runt raccoon that I feed that tries to raid that cat's food. Gradually I've been conditioning the black cat and raccoon they will only get food at specific different outside locations at the same time - and the orange cats on the porch also at specific times. For other times, I will run off the black cat (though pet it when feeding it) and run off the raccoon at other times. It's starting to work but it takes time. The indoor cats have been from a tiny abandoned kitten to an old starved house cat at least over 10 years old - probably had been some elderly person's pet. One of the house cats ran in with I opened the door during a hurricane. Came for no where. A bit on the small side, about a year old. It is the most lovable, expressive and unusual cat I've ever known. The only cat that makes different pronounced facial expressions and has a real vocabulary in twitter sounds. Everyone who comes to our house immediately falls in love with that little guy. They all comment how unusual and wonderful he is. A perpetual kitten personality.
Anyone doing some holiday special consideration for their critters. Just off the web. Not mineLooks like Kitty & Floosie Recently I found 2 of 3 cats like kefir. Whole milk, not low fat. Usually they let it sit for a few days but, lately finish it in 2. Floosie the runt tiger stripped hisses at Kitty who has the same dark gray tiger strips. Also at my latest room mate for over 1 year. She and pretty boy get along. Floosie doesn't hiss at anyone else. Just hiss, no "violence". BTW Kitty reshaped herself and lost that bowling ball shape eating Science Diet Kitten dry food chicken flavor at will. Kitten formula is lower carbs. Moi
Thanks for the kind words. It’s only fair I admit I fail my animals from time to time. On occasion, even with the best of intentions, I make the wrong decision on treatment or care and some innocent suffers. I’m sure everyone who has had pets/animals experiences that at some point, but it’s small consolation. Oh, and I refuse to “tube” a goat unless there’s no alternative. My wife is a pro with tube feeding goats but refuses to tube feed a calf. I’m pretty good with calves and terrible with goats. LOL. She gets the credit for the pictured goat!
Avita Liebe at 4 mo. sitting down for her breakfast bone... Only the best Angus grass fed for her particular discriminating palate; interestingly she doesn't like getting near the cattle herd, though she doesn't mind dining on them, lol...
Reminds me of a cat that I cajoled over a number of wk's to trust me... (college years living off campus in So Cal). Tuna meals bid / tid for her. She just had an inexplicable fear of buildings so I could never get her to go more than a few feet beyond the threshold of the house - freaked out in utter 'fight of flight paranoia' more than a few times with others around. (Segway)... Tis part of the reason why, when it comes to the considerable financial investment in a GSD addition to the family, I just can't do the shelter thing. I have young nephews now & I have to absolutely trust my GSD with not only my safety when I'm in a vulnerable situation but with all that she / we may encounter over the nest 12 - 14 years... The Thousands of dollars invested now could pale in comparison should a GSD go 'rogue / snap' unexpectedly... Sorry for the aside, got sidetracked in my frame of though I guess.
I'd luv to get some cats but they would have to be 'indoor / outdoor' cats to mesh w/ my lifestyle. I just don't want to subject myself to the heartache of the inevitable loss of loosing a cat to the wildlife in my area...
Avita probably smelling some of this last Nov. hunting season on this awesomely utilitarian 6.5 Grendel hunting rig. She had her vet apt. recently & she's 44 lbs. growing fast ~ but despite her ravenous diet, still looks lean. She's on track to be a bit bigger than my previous female GSD I suppose...
Ironically funny, my German Shepherd Doggie is 'kept on the move' by the herd of cattle as we walk through their pastures; has actually become a boon for 'heel' training as she stays glued to my left leg without a leash, of her own scared volition, lol...
Thought I’d share the newest “pets”. Our first foray into drafts. This is the Percheron mare. I’m 5’10” and she’s taller at the hip than I am. We’ve had her less than 48 hours and I’m loving it. They are beautiful and impressive animals.
Some fool hen sat on an egg and hatched it in December—just one. Far too cold to be raised outside by the hen…..so…..It’s my pet for a couple more days until it goes to live with my in-laws. Pretty easy to imprint a single chick.
I absolutely love the draft breeds. I had a Friesian/Percheron mare some years back, what a gentle soul.
I currently have 1 Tuxedo cat that used to be feral, he arrived at my husband's place of employment as a hissing, spitting kitten, he's now a fat lap cat. I also have a 4 year old German Shepherd and 2 horses, a 13 year old Friesian mare and, a 20 something year old Quarter Horse gelding. My Ragdoll cat recently lost her life to cancer.
Did your mare ride or drive? I’ll bet she was beautiful with the Friesian mane and tail. I’m so far impressed with the Percheron temperament. I did get flattened by one last week—like a cartoon character being run over by a steamroller. Somebody was supposed to come buy a couple paint mares that aren’t halter broke in the early afternoon. They didn’t show up until after dark. So we were attempting to run the whole mob of quarter, paint, and Percheron mares into a round pen to sort, but being dark gave them an excuse to run past the gate. I tried to stop them and turn them in the gate but this young Percheron mare apparently can’t see in the dark and flattened me. She’s a very friendly easy going horse so it’s my fault for not telling the buyers to come back in the daylight.
She just rode, she was gorgeous, jet black with a white star. She passed away in 2008, while at the equine hospital, she had Laminitis, which was being treated, she then developed gastric ulcers, the vet was so concerned with treating the one thing, he overlooked the symptoms of gastric ulcers. He called me on July 4th, 2008 to get my permission to put her down.......she was down and, pretty much gone, he said. Then, a month later, a friend of mine who breeds Friesians called and asked if I wanted a friesian filly, a 5 month old weanling. That was 13 years ago.
