R.I.P. Midas

Poor little guy hadn't been looking well for some time. The other day he started having convulsions in the lower half of his body, causing him to whip his tail around involuntarily and slam against the sides if the cage.

His breathing was fast and labored, and his feet and nose were bluish because he wasn't oxygenating well. He was euthanized earlier this afternoon.

I will miss him, but it is a comfort to know he is no longer suffering. My poor little guy.

Progress

The new rabbits, Molly and Ella, are still skittish and nervous around me. If I try to pet them, they may sit quietly for a few seconds, but they eventually run away, or one tries to hide behind the other. It's weird because I'm used to the other rabbits, who will climb all over me if I sit down, and often come up to nudge my ankles. Sometimes, though very rarely, one of them will even lick my foot or hand, which is so adorable. I'm hoping the new ones are adjusting okay. We have had a break-through, though. Now, when I shake the treat bag to get them back into their cage, they sort of realize that I want them to go in there. Once they're in there, I give them some treats. I tried holding out my hand for them to see if they would eat from it and Ella did. Molly was too afraid. Now, they both do, and they don't even look nervous. It makes me happy that they are feeling more comfortable. Still anxious for them to get out of the adolescent stage...

Silly gato.

Milo is on a mission to drain my wallet.

Recently, he had several visits to the vet for an abscess near his mouth. The vet believed it was a rotting tooth, but I disputed this claim. It turned out to be unrelated to his teeth. He had them cleaned anyway and was put on antibiotics and steroids to clear up the infection which most likely occurred from a scratch.

This was finally cleared up and after several re-checks, he was cleared and able to receive his rabies shot. This last visit was on Friday of last week. Today I noticed his lower lip is severely swollen. It doesn't seem like he's in any sort of pain, and I have no idea what caused this. I suppose I will have to make another appointment for him this week. There goes another few hundred bucks. Ugh! Why do I have to be a crazy animal lady??

I'm sorry I'm slacking...

And I'll bet you can't believe it, but I got MORE animals last month. I'm starting to think I might, indeed, be crazy. I just happened to be perusing facebook one morning and saw a post by the Animal Welfare Association, which is a shelter, that same one I got the rats from, actually. They posted about a woman who found rabbits in a cemetery behind her house, where people apparently drop off animals they don't want anymore. The shelter offered to take in all of the rabbits and their litters (21 in total). Before they could accommodate these, however, they needed to clear out the rabbits they already had.

They mentioned 2 that had been at the shelter for 8 months! I didn't need to hear any more. They were mine. I went and bought a new cage and supplies and picked them up that day. They are half New Zealand albino and half lionhead, so they are pure white with pink eyes and have long hair behind their ears. They are absolutely adorable and I can't believe they were stuck in a shelter for most of their lives. Their names were Mara and Elsa, but I renamed them Molly and Ella. I just think they fit a little better. So yeah...

My current zoo is now at a record number of 8. Between vet visits and the ridiculous amount of hay and bedding I have to buy, I'm broke. But my critters are happy, as am I.

Another vet bill?

I noticed the other day that Cuppie's eye wasn't opened all the way. (She's one of my rabbits) I examined it more closely and noticed that her eye lids seemed to be swollen and were really red. I immediately made her an appointment which I took her to yesterday. The doctor put a stain in her eye to check for scratches. She definitely has an abrasion. He believes it looks like a chemical burn, but that isn't possible. There is absolutely nothing near the cage that could cause that and they are never let out without close supervision. I think her sister probably scratched her because Cuppie also has hair missing on her nose where her sister pulls it out when they fight. Either way, it ended up costing me $102. Just for the visit, the stain, and eye drops that I have to give her 3 times a day, which I'm not even home enough to do.

She was very stressed out by her visit. After I gave her the drops last night she went into a corner under my desk ans lay there, refusing to move or go back into the cage. I left her out as long as I could while her sister jumped and danced around the room. Once her sister started being a nuisance, I had to chase her back into the cage and drag her sister out of the corner to put her back as well.

All I know for sure is that these animals make me a nervous wreck.