Friday this 'n' that
Mar. 11th, 2011 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithTomorrow is Vet Day for King, who is getting the works. Shots. Blood draw. General physical. Gaby is coming along for a Bordatella vaccine. Hoping for no surprises in either case.
All winter, Gaby's digestive issues were nowhere to be seen. Three small meals a day, all eaten with gusto. Snacks on occasion? Yes, please. No worries, mate. But ever since the snow melted and the ground thawed, there have been episodes of either upchuckage or skipped meals. Tonight's dinner wound up taking a return trip, and bits of grass were spotted. Herself has also killed two mice in the last two days. I was able to get yesterday's kill away from her, but couldn't find today's. However, no remains were spotted in the wreckage, so it doesn't look as though mouse consumption was the cause. A good mouthful or two of grass and dirt, on the other hand, may have upset the delicate balance that is her gut. Much has been revealed by the melting snows, and I can't keep track of all of it.
She's not nauseated. She is perky, and her ears are up. She came in from outside, and wanted a biscuit. Given that it was a hypoallergenic one, I let her have it. She is now dozing.
The specialist vet said there would be days like this.
Prior to Fun at Dinner, I outfitted Kuro with a barrier to keep King from jumping into the front seat once we get to the vet's office. It's a 2-piece unit consisting of bars that attach to the headrests and a heavy mesh screen that fits the gap between bucket seats. I hope it works. I've tried a barrier that stretches from floor to ceiling, but King needs to step onto the floor before jumping onto the backseat, and the bars prevent him from doing that. Kuro's moonroof also made it just about impossible for me to secure the thing in place, so I needed to try something else. I hope the new set-up works.
Mouse Wars continue. I've been working in the garage for a half-hour or so every day, clearing out what frankly turned out to be an awful mess, and it's starting to make a difference. I've dumped old rolled up area rugs and blankets, the bale bag that used to hold the straw for King's kennel, bags of grass seed, boxes, every rag and towel I could find. With fewer places to hide and less food, the mice had no choice but to hit the trap. I found five critters in it this morning, and a few more this afternoon. A couple tried to flee the scene only to meet Herself, as noted above. I still need to sweep out a mess o' grass seed, though I may invest in a shop vac to avoid kicking up too much dust. A vacuum would work better anyway.
So, progress. It took me a couple of weeks to clean out the basement back in '09. I expect this to take some time as well. So far, the losses have been limited. The rugs and blankets were old, and used for packing and cushioning. One seed starter tray was trashed. A couple of styrofoam ice chests. I'm sorry about the bale bag, since it was a nice one. But the mice had chewed holes in it and taken up residence, so it had to go.
Oddly enough, the critters left one starter tray alone, so if I get some potting soil I can start my seeds this weekend. They also left the corn gluten weed killer alone, as well as the special organic grass seed with rhizomes. Given all they did attack, I wonder if there was something about this stuff that turned them off? I hope so.
Needless to say, I really don't have time for this.
I just want a quiet weekend.
All winter, Gaby's digestive issues were nowhere to be seen. Three small meals a day, all eaten with gusto. Snacks on occasion? Yes, please. No worries, mate. But ever since the snow melted and the ground thawed, there have been episodes of either upchuckage or skipped meals. Tonight's dinner wound up taking a return trip, and bits of grass were spotted. Herself has also killed two mice in the last two days. I was able to get yesterday's kill away from her, but couldn't find today's. However, no remains were spotted in the wreckage, so it doesn't look as though mouse consumption was the cause. A good mouthful or two of grass and dirt, on the other hand, may have upset the delicate balance that is her gut. Much has been revealed by the melting snows, and I can't keep track of all of it.
She's not nauseated. She is perky, and her ears are up. She came in from outside, and wanted a biscuit. Given that it was a hypoallergenic one, I let her have it. She is now dozing.
The specialist vet said there would be days like this.
Prior to Fun at Dinner, I outfitted Kuro with a barrier to keep King from jumping into the front seat once we get to the vet's office. It's a 2-piece unit consisting of bars that attach to the headrests and a heavy mesh screen that fits the gap between bucket seats. I hope it works. I've tried a barrier that stretches from floor to ceiling, but King needs to step onto the floor before jumping onto the backseat, and the bars prevent him from doing that. Kuro's moonroof also made it just about impossible for me to secure the thing in place, so I needed to try something else. I hope the new set-up works.
Mouse Wars continue. I've been working in the garage for a half-hour or so every day, clearing out what frankly turned out to be an awful mess, and it's starting to make a difference. I've dumped old rolled up area rugs and blankets, the bale bag that used to hold the straw for King's kennel, bags of grass seed, boxes, every rag and towel I could find. With fewer places to hide and less food, the mice had no choice but to hit the trap. I found five critters in it this morning, and a few more this afternoon. A couple tried to flee the scene only to meet Herself, as noted above. I still need to sweep out a mess o' grass seed, though I may invest in a shop vac to avoid kicking up too much dust. A vacuum would work better anyway.
So, progress. It took me a couple of weeks to clean out the basement back in '09. I expect this to take some time as well. So far, the losses have been limited. The rugs and blankets were old, and used for packing and cushioning. One seed starter tray was trashed. A couple of styrofoam ice chests. I'm sorry about the bale bag, since it was a nice one. But the mice had chewed holes in it and taken up residence, so it had to go.
Oddly enough, the critters left one starter tray alone, so if I get some potting soil I can start my seeds this weekend. They also left the corn gluten weed killer alone, as well as the special organic grass seed with rhizomes. Given all they did attack, I wonder if there was something about this stuff that turned them off? I hope so.
Needless to say, I really don't have time for this.
I just want a quiet weekend.
