Category: Critters

Boss has been separated from his mom and put on the equine equivalent of baby formula after we found that he had a broken rib. Unfortunately, he’s also now experiencing diarrhea, so he’s far from out of the woods, especially since he’s already underweight. I’m taking off the next several days from work so I can feed him and keep an eye on him. I’ll probably be staying with him in his pen in the overnight hours. God only knows when I’m going to sleep over the next week.
Olivia provided me with some entertainment today; I started to draw a bath and closed the bathroom door, precisely because she’s already mastered the art of the flying leap into the empty bathtub. I realized I had forgotten something in the bedroom, and when I opened the door, a little furry grey streak shot past my legs, over the rim of the tub, and…splash! The water was barely even an inch deep, so she just got her tail and legs wet, and shot right back out of the tub again. Poor kid! Chloe once did something similar, except in a full tub, and then she promptly scampered out of the water and went to hide in her litterbox…which was full of clumping litter which would almost instantly harden around anything wet. For obvious reasons, Olivia didn’t get to go to the other bathroom where her litterbox is for a little while…
I’m hoping that we’ve taken the first step in saving Boss. Heck, maybe I can even get some sleep at some point in the next six days.… Read more

Seems like just this past Sunday morning, I said:

That she still hasn’t willingly let him nurse yet is a big problem; it could mean we get to go out there and bottle-feed him every couple of hours. And yet, she doesn’t completely hate the little guy – she’s very protective of him, and very solicitous of his welfare. We’re hearing that it may take a day or three for things to normalize – assuming they do.

Things have not, in fact, normalized. Having spent two nights going out to the barn and holding Hannah still on a halter and lead rope so Boss can chow down, I think it’s clear to see that her disposition toward the little guy has not improved. If anything, it’s gotten worse, and as you might imagine, her feelings on the two-legged creatures who keep coming into her stall every two hours to make her do this aren’t getting any more charitable either. Particularly at 3 in the morning. This is the part where it’s actually become a dangerous exercise – I’ve sustained a couple of bites from Hannah (one for each of the past two nights), something we’ve never had to deal with before from her. She has also gotten less shy about nipping at the colt (even if he’s just walking beside her) and has charged him a couple of times. My gut feelings are that we need to get him out of there and get the milk substitute started. Granted, it’s still a trip out to the barn every two hours. But it’s a trip that wouldn’t entail standing in an enclosed space with something that might randomly decide to do you some serious harm. Naturally, I seem to be alone in this assessment, but given the deterioration of Hannah’s mood over the past 36 or so hours, I think Boss is potentially in danger and I don’t think 2 or 3 more days with mom is going to change that. His ears may stand level with my shoulders when they’re perked up, but he’s still a delicate little guy right now.… Read more

An update on Hannah’s colt: thankfully, he’s getting to nurse and get some more mother’s milk, but she’s still attempting to reject him. The good news is, it now takes only one person to hold Hannah on a halter and lead rope to get the little fart fed. (Not quite 24 hours ago, it was taking 3-4 people to keep Hannah from biting her kid while he was getting his milk, and Hannah had to be twitched as well as haltered.) She’ll still attempt to nip at him if you give her too much room to maneuver. I’ve had the “overnight shift” of going to the farm every two hours to try to buy Boss half an hour of feeding time. … Read more

2:00 am
I’m writing this at almost 2:00 in the morning, standing outside and looking at our new colt. Hannah finally had her baby, at about 9:30 last night, and it was no free ride – the vet had to be called in to “tow” the baby out with special chains that, believe it or not, are intended for precisely that purpose. Hannah was in quite a bit of pain, and was trembling for some time after delivering her first baby. Like I said, he’s a baby boy, and quite a determined young buck too – he stood up on his own and walked around within half an hour of coming into the world. Right now I’m patiently waiting to see if Hannah is going to let the little guy nurse within 6 hours, which is vital. The colt seems to be approaching her with that intention, but she isn’t letting him get in there just yet; it wouldn’t be completely unprecedented for her to reject him, as his birth caused her a lot of pain.
… Read more

Remember some time back when I said that my wife had vetoed Shakespeare names when we were naming our kitten? It turns out you just can’t shake Shakespeare, because in the end, the kitty got a Shakespeare character name anyway – like it or not! Olivia happens to be a character in Twelfth Night (and I had forgotten this until just recently), a “countess of high social standing and great beauty” according to absoluteshakespeare.com – well, that much fits.
Nyah nyah! You just can’t beat the Bard. Now, since it’s Friday and we could all use a big goofy grin, enjoy this new video of Olivia playing Galaga.… Read more

😆
That’s the great thing about a tiny kitten. She can fit anywhere.… Read more

She just finished chasing characters all over my LCD monitor while I was running MAME, and has now curled up on my desk to snooze. And to keep an eye out for any more fast-moving critters made of light, should any appear. 😀… Read more