What Did You Eat?

WCB: Major Cuteness Alert

I learned a new word: disgruntled.  That's what I'm feeling lately.  I used to be the cutest thing in the house, but now my status is threatened by a squirrel. Mom got her from a nice young couple a few days ago, and all she does is coo at it and let it sleep in her shirt pocket.  Ugh.

What's the big deal?  Yeah, it's tiny, and doesn't have its eyes open yet.  But, it can't do anything but drink milk. 

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this week by Kate and the beautiful Puddy at A Byootaful Life, (They're having double birthdays there).  Bad boys Othello and Kashim, at The Cat Boys Relm, are hosting The Bad Kitty Cats Festival Of Chaos, and The Friday Ark is, as always, at The Modulator. 

Finally, very sad news. The beautiful Bonnie Underfoot, Attack Tabby has passed away, leaving her loving family.  Poor Victor has lost his good buddy. We will all miss you Bonnie.

WCB: Hot!

Things haven't been happy around here.  Mom has a big frown on her face because we're having a "heat wave".  It was 101 degrees today, and she keeps saying it isn't even (expletive deleted) summer yet . Well, I really don't know what she's talking about, except she's grumpy and worried about her baby snap beans.  Again, don't know what the heck that is, since they're outside and I never get to go there!

She brought Skidget the squirrel inside because it was hot and needed to be cool. And she put that thing in MY cat carrier!  Now it has squirrel cooties.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this weekend by Chey's Place.  The Bad Kitty Cat's Festival Of Chaos is at Bad Kitty Cats Journal, The Cat Carnival is at Artsy-Catsy, and last but not least, The Friday Ark is at Modulator.   Have a great weekend everybody!   

WCB: Guest Hosts, The Squirrels

This week vermin are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging.  If you wish to take part, leave a comment here or e-mail us at upsie {AT} yahoo {DOT} com.  We will add each kitty at the end of this post, as they come in.  Don't forget The Friday Ark, Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Cassie & Gang at This That And The Other, and The Carnival of the Cats at Justin's Random Thoughts.  Signed, Upsie

Hi, remember us?  We are almost growed up and everything.  Tomorrow mommy is going to put us in the big outdoor cage.  We are very happy about that.  Remember what we looked like a couple months ago?  Well, things have changed.  The Western Gray squirrels left a couple weeks ago to be wilded up in Sacramento.  They were really scary dudes.  In case you forgot, we are Fox squirrels and we aren't as big as the Grays.

Mental Health Week

People are sending me e-mail asking if I'm OK. Yes, I am--and thanks for caring.  This week has been exhausting.  Squirrel season is coming to an end (or so I'm promised), but someone needs to tell that to  the babies that keep falling out of trees.  I was thinking of blogging my dinner for last night, ramen noodles and bagel chips.  But, I doubt anyone would be interested in that.    Right now, eating is on the fly, but I intend to organize  some menus for next week.  Organizing my life. That's an interesting idea.  And thanks to everyone who left comments!  They lift my spirits.

Goodbye Atticus

Sorry to say this, but Atticus died early this morning. I knew he was fragile, but hoped he would be able to make it.  Most likely he had a failure to thrive and wasn't gaining weight as fast as most baby  squirrels.  He was a sweet little thing, and as often happens with an animal that requires a lot of care, I developed a great deal of affection for him. My tears have been shed.   There is some comfort in knowing he died in a safe, warm environment. Hope he's climbing a big tree right now near the Rainbow Bridge.

Boo Radley and Scout are thriving and graduated to a nice big cage.

Squirrel City

If I seem careless about answering my comments, please know that I am reading them. Finding time to read my favorite blogs, leave comments, and answer my own is more complicated right now because I'm caring for three baby squirrels.   I may not have mentioned it, but I'm a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, which means I've taken classes on wildlife care, and was licensed by California to do this work. And work it is.  It's very gratifying, but squirrels are complicated little devils and require a lot of attention while they are young.  That's why I urge anyone who finds injured squirrels, or any wildlife for that matter, to contact a Wildlife Rehabilitation group to handle the care.  All wildlife have specific nuitritional requirements and if these aren't met, the consequences can be terrible. We often see things like metabolic bone disease in animals fed an inadequte diet.  Plus, adorable as they look, they are wild animals and become difficult to deal with when they're older.  OK, lecture over!

The top picture is Boo and Scout, a male and female Fox squirrel.  I recently saw To Kill A Mockingbird again for the umpteenth time--hence the names.  I don't know the back story on Boo and Scout, but I would bet they fell out of their nest, a very common occurrence with baby squirrels. They are healthy now and full of energy.     They're probably around seven weeks old and still drinking formula.