9 posts tagged “pet”
Last Sunday (Father's Day) was one of the scariest days of my life. Ed, my kitty of two years, went missing for a day. I hope I never have to go through that type of experience-- with a kitty or a child-- ever again. That type of fear is something no one should have to go through. It's deep, and it hurts. It sits in the pit of your stomach and refuses to go away until something good and/or miraculous happens. Ed, I learned that day, was a big walking furball of miracles.
The day started off well. Shawn and I had moved in to our new apartment the day beforehand and we were pumped up with excited energy about finally getting out of Milwaukee. Since we didn't have our internet set up at the new place yet, Shawn had to stay the night at our old apartment because he was on call for work and needed instant access to the internet. Kathleen, who helped us with the move the previous day, stayed the night with me instead. We had brought over the kitties and Fru during the move and I didn't want to leave them alone in a new environment on their first night.
After unpacking more things that Sunday, Shawn showed up to make sure everything went well with the cable/internet guy. He brought along more of our stuff from the old place, and he and Kathleen started moving it in. What I didn't really take note of at the time was how they had left all the doors to the apartment (leading outside) wide open so it would be easier for them to move heavy objects into the building. After they finished, and Kathleen left, Shawn and I noticed that Ed was MIA. At first, I figured that she had just found a new hiding place between all the boxes, or in the cabinets. (I discovered Ed could open all the cabinets herself that morning.) After searching every corner of the apartment for a few minutes with absolutely no luck, I started to get that panicky feeling inside.
Ed. Was missing.
I then pointed out to Shawn, who was very calm, that all the doors in the apartment had been left open. I started to think. "What if she decided to explore and ran outside?" The idea seemed unlikely at the time since Ed is afraid of everything, but we were out of ideas. We started to search our apartment building and then the grounds around our building outside. After 25 minutes (during which the cable guy decided to show up), there was still no sign of Ed. I called Mom and asked her for ideas since she had been in this situation many times in the past. (She's taken in over 200 lost and stray cats during her life.) She helped me remain calm and made sure I followed her instructions to check all the bushes and small hiding spots, and then to talk to everyone I came across to ask them if they had seen a black and white kitty with a black dot on her nose. (-__-)
An hour passed. Still no Ed. By that time, Mom, Beth, Kathleen, AND Jeremy were on their way to help us out with the search. Shawn had to stay inside with the cable guy so I was mostly doing the searching at first. They arrived and we spread out, searching not only my whole apartment complex's neighborhood, but also the surrounding neighborhoods. We double and triple checked both the outside apartment grounds and my apartment, the whole time calling, "Eeeed! Come here, honey! Come on, come out, sweetie!" Something just wasn't sitting well with me; Ed is afraid of everything and doesn't even come out of hiding when there's a lot of commotion (like people moving stuff into the apartment) around her. There's no way she would go anywhere near our apartment door with Shawn and Kathleen moving stuff in. I kept checking my apartment periodically, because I kept thinking that she could still be inside, laughing it up while all of us looked for her. Everyone else did the same thing.
Four more hours went by. It was over 90 degrees outside with no trace of Ed, or even a cool breeze to keep us somewhat sane. By that time, Beth and I decided to take a break. We headed into my apartment and sat on the floor and talked about Ed. Something still didn't feel right about the whole situation. After about fifteen minutes, I heard a shuffle from the next room. I figured it might be Isis, or just my imagination. And then it happened.
Ed walked out of the kitchen, sat down right in front of Beth and me, and acknowledged us with a yawn.
I screamed, "ED!" and ran over to her, throwing my arms around her big (she's quite huge) neck. I picked her up and swung her around while Beth laughed and ran over to us. After everything all of us had been through-- the worry, the panic, the dehydration-- Ed had been inside, in a very secret hiding place, the entire time!
Beth and I followed her back to her hiding place a few minutes later. As it turns out, Ed had opened the cabinet door under the sink and crawled into a hole in the wall that was barely seeable to the human eye. How in the world did a cat of her size get into that hole in the wall? No idea. At that point, I didn't even care: Ed was back and she was safe. That "little" trickster got the best of ALL of us.
I know, I know. Fru looks a lot like Yukimo. What's a girl to do when she falls in love with a new hammy, even though it looks like a previous hammy? Get the hammy anyway, that's what. ^__^ Needless to say, Fru was my fate... Here's her story.
After Yukimo passed away, I was devastated. It was difficult getting myself up in the morning because all I could think about was how Yuki was no longer at my side. She was always the first thing I saw when I woke up, and the first sweetie I would talk to during the day. While Shawn was at work one day, I started texting him to get out some of the emotions that were going through me. He felt so bad for me... He suggested that we consider getting a new hammy. When Shawn first said that, I didn't know what to think. A new hammy would feel like I would be replacing Yukimo, and I didn't want to have her replaced so easily. Even Mom suggested that I not get a new hamster after Yuki because it would be time to focus fully on Ed and Isis instead. After all, I had wanted kitties my entire life; I should be grateful for them. But something just didn't feel right in my life. I had become a true hammy lover.
Later that day, just two days after Yukimo passed away, Shawn and I went to the same pet store where we got Yuki. I wasn't really planning to get a hamster that day-- it still seemed way too soon. But fate stepped in and showed me that a new hammy was an absolute must in my life. It was time to move on.
Shawn and I walked into the room where the hamster cages were kept. Slowly, I walked across the wall that was full of furries. <3 Peaking inside the cages, I tried to locate at least one hammy, but they all seemed to be buried deep underneath the woodchips. Finally, when I came up to one cage, I saw her. As I walked closer and put my head near her cage, a little white, furry head poked up. She blinked. I got so happy to finally find a hammy in this horrible mess of a haystack, so I waved my finger at her and smiled. As soon as I waved my finger, she put her hand up to where I was-- just one hand at first, so little and so friendly, as if to say "Hi there!" I got even more excited so I continued to wave. And when I did that, she put her other hand up to the cage to try to get closer to me. I wanted to cry.
My heart was immediately stolen, and I was almost near tears. I looked at Shawn and said, "I think we have to hold her now." Shawn agreed and went to get an employee so we could have him take the hammy out of the cage. Holding the hammy for the first time was one of the best experiences of my life. Unlike other hamsters, this hammy was thoughtful; she moved slowly to inspect everything she touched. She was so curious about me, and I loved it. After holding her, I knew that fate had matched us up.
I named my new hammy Sukifru. I know that it's a lot like Yukimo, but that was completely accidental in the naming process. I wanted to use the same naming process, but I also wanted Fru to have her own identity. "Suki" means "love" in Japanese, and "fru" is short for "fructose." So when the name is broken down, her name is "love sugar." (After all, she does look like a big lump of sugar. ^___^) Shawn and I call her Fru for short to help us avoid calling her something too close to Yuki's name.
While Fru may be a white dwarf like Yuki was, she's a completely different being. In fact, it's amazing how different the two hammies are from each other. Not only are Fru's movements the opposite of how Yuki would move, but her mannerisms and habits are crazy-different. Some things that I've come to totally adore about Fru are:
- Fru likes to tunnel like crazy. Sometimes she forgets where certain tunnels are in her woodchips, so she accidentally falls into them and looks confused.
- Fru is super chubby. When she stands on her two legs and brings her two upper hands close to her, she looks like a big, round fluffball. O__O
- Fru squeaks when she sleeps. Sometimes it'll just be one random squeak, but other times involve a long string of squeaks. ^o^
- Fru loves running around in her ball. If she doesn't get enough ball time, she starts to get antsy and begs to come out of the cage. When she's in the ball, she has the habit of following Shawn around the apartment. Wherever he is, she finds him.
- Fru demands attention when I'm sleeping. She bites her cage bars and scratches the roof of her towers so she can come out and explore. Once I take her out, she calmly likes to explore her surroundings.
There's so much to learn about Fru. I've only had her for a few months now, but I'm so in love with her. And my fear of "replacing Yuki" isn't something I ever worry about now. Fru is just a new member of the family, someone to keep me company and love every day she's with me.
Note: Fru's fur is actually all white with a few touches of black around her ears and eyes. The reason her fur looks slightly brown in these photos is because she did a lot of tunneling in her cage before my photoshoot. She was completely covered in woodchip dust!
On Tuesday, September 23, 2008, Yukimo passed away. After two perfect years of friendship and companionship, it was just... her time to leave.
On that particular Tuesday, the both of us had woken up on a pretty, sunny morning. Although Yuki had become weaker because of her old age, she didn't show any signs of illness that day. As I was wrapping up work and getting ready for my night class around 4:30 in the afternoon, I noticed that she had become extremely slow when walking around the cage. Within just an hour, I realized that she wasn't going to make it.
Her passing is by far the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. Honestly, I don't know how to bring up the courage to write this post... which is one reason why I had to wait a month to announce her passing. Shawn and I went through an extremely emotional period, but I have to say this: Yukimo, whether healthy or sick, was just amazing.
In early August, I had woken up on a Saturday morning to find that she had suffered from what looked to be a stroke and something happening with a tumor during the night. The shock hit so badly that I couldn't eat for the next few days and almost ended up in the emergency room. I had never felt that much pain before, both emotionally and physically. Yukimo meant everything to me. Somehow-- through some miracle-- Yukimo came back to me for an extra month and a half after that horrible happening. Even though she had lost half of her blood in those few days, I was able to nurse her back to health by feeding her and giving her water and juice by hand. After two weeks of hand-feeding her, she was back to her old self. I was in another state of shock-- a good one though. Seeing her run so fiercly in that wheel for those extra weeks was the best gift I could have ever hoped for.
So when September 23rd came around, the shock wasn't as big as the first time. I had been preparing myself for letting Yuki go... but it still hurt so much. The pain is still unbearable and I sometimes have to take a breather from whatever I'm doing to calm down and try to remember what good times I had with her. I guess this post is just another step towards moving on. I loved, and still love, Yukimo. I always will. Like I've told so many people: Yukimo wasn't just a best friend to me; she was my companion. She was with me every second of the day when I was at home, and I miss her so much.
To commemorate Yukimo and the time we had together, I'm posting the first video I ever took of her (back in 2006). In it, I'm introducing Yuki to Mom and Kathleen (since Beth and I were away at college). It's the first visual aid I have of Yukimo.
In memory of Yukimo, September 2006 - September 2008.
About four months ago, only a week or two after I wrote about Yukimo becoming sick, I was completely caught off guard by a crazy discovery.
Yukimo *gulp* is a boy. Yuki is not a girl like I had thought for over a year and a half. No, Yukimo decided to play the trick of all tricks on me by changing sexes (er, genders?). Oh Yukimo, what will you do next?
Here's what happened. While I continued to worry about the "womanly bleeding" (chuckle, chuckle) that Yuki was going through, I noticed that her slower movements were changing into what she used to be like when I first bought her; she started running around her cage and in her wheel with the energy of a young, baby hammy. I'll admit that I was really happy that Yukimo was finally coming around and turning into her old self. I had my doubts for a while though-- usually little happy moments like this don't last for long. I figured that she was just getting a second wind or something. I was wrong though.
One day, while holding Yuki and checking to see if she was still bleeding down there, I noticed something extremely odd about her lower "womanly parts." Something else was there instead-- something manly. At first, I became worried and thought her intestines might be falling out (seriously, hammies are too unpredictable for that not to happen), but on a closer look I realized that Yukimo was, indeed, a boy.
When thinking back, I'm positive that Yukimo was once a girl. Not only was she in the girl hammy cage at the pet store (where workers at pet stores often make mistakes with this kind of thing), but I made sure to check a lot over the months she was with me. I had mistaken other boy hammies for girls when I was younger, but the reality of the situation always became evident after just a few weeks of them living with me. Yukimo was with me for too long for me to not notice. I just know she used to be a girl; it's a feeling.
Here are my thoughts on this unexpected discovery: the old Yukimo must have passed on (er, died) and this version of Yukimo was reborn. Back when she was sick, Beth kept telling me that I should probably start to think about letting go of Yuki. She exhibited too many signs of old age and sickness to think otherwise. We've experienced the loss of small pets before and it's better to come to terms with death instead of ignore it. I started to think about it more but I had to stop when I realized that Yuki was suddenly full of life again.
Yukimo must have gone through some sort of reincarnation in her sickness. Either that happened, or she's a hermaphrodite hamster (meaning she has both male and female parts). I wouldn't put this odd happening past Yukimo. She's a crazy trickster who loves to mess with peoples' minds!
Since Yukimo's rebirth, she's been just as lively as when she was a baby-- even at the old age of over a year and a half. Also, the bleeding has completely stopped. (Yay!) I really do think there's a connection between the discovery and the bleeding, but I can't quite pinpoint what happened. I'd like to talk with a hammy specialist sometime.
I'm still in shock over this whole thing. Every time I see Yukimo running her little heart out in her wheel, or jumping up on the bars because she wants attention, I can't help but be grateful for this huge extra amount of time that I'm being given to spend with her. I had hammies when I was little and none of them ever lived such a long, happy life. Not like Yukimo.
I've decided that even though Yukimo has revealed this secret, I'm still going to refer to her as a girl. I tried replacing all my uses of "hims" and "hers" and "he's" and "she's" but it was too difficult to break the habit of referring to Yuki as a girl. I figure that I'm at least acknowledging this discovery by telling people about it (and how amused I am by the whole thing), but for now, Yukimo will remain a "she" when I'm talking about her. ^__^
She's the best hamster I could have ever hoped for-- and definitely the trickiest!
I'll say it straight out: I'm worried about Yukimo. For the past few weeks, she's been having "womanly" bleeding. She showed the same thing a few months ago, but it only lasted a day or two. After doing some research back then, I found that dwarf hamsters don't have regular menstrual cycles; girls actually only have a period maybe once in their lives, and the period only lasts for a day or two.
Yuki's problems seem a bit more serious though. Within the past few weeks, there's been a lot more bleeding in that area-- to the point where she leaves little trails of blood on whatever she walks on. The bleeding isn't continuous though. It lasts a few hours and then stops anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
I decided to do a little more research this time, and I found a very helpful thread on a hamster forum. That girl's hammy experienced the very same symptom as Yuki. In fact, my situation sounded identical to what was posted in that thread. From what I've discovered, it sounds like Yukimo could either have an infection or a tumor, but the only way I would be able to find out is if I take her to the vet (something that I am against at this point in time). The vet could give her antibiotics for the infection, or he could recommend Yuki having surgery. Honestly, I would never give such a small animal surgery, especially Yuki. She's lived a long, happy life and I know that putting her through something so traumatic would most definitely hurt her more than anything else.
In the past, I've had hamsters and guinea pigs who have also displayed health problems. Whenever I took one of them to the vet though, they died shortly after the visit. The main difference between Yukimo and my past pets is that Yukimo isn't super sick like they were. When thinking back, all of my piggies and hammies were deathly ill, ready to pass on... so I suppose it isn't extremely weird that they died. I guess that one of my worries is that something will happen to Yukimo if I take her to the vet. She's so small and trips never sit well with her. If anything, I can see something about the trip making her nervous, which is the last thing she needs right now.
The good news about Yuki right now is that bleeding is the only thing that seems to be wrong with her right now. Other than that, she's as happy as ever in her one and a half years! She's running (well, trotting... since she's getting pretty old now) in her wheel almost every night. She's eating great and getting a good amount of water every day. She's active whenever I hold her. Of course, the only real things that are different compared to when I first brought her home is the fact that she's a bit slower than before. Instead of walking, she wobbles around. Instead of running everywhere when she's outside of her cage, Yuki likes to walk around and sniff things when exploring. She doesn't have that teenager-like mindset that makes her think she needs to do everything at once. She just likes to explore things-- in a more mature fashion, tee hee. Boy, that hamster wisdom has really kicked in!
So, despite her current health situation with the bleeding, Yuki is doing really well. I think I'm going to try to speak with a vet to see if there's any way I can get antibiotics for Yuki (to see if she has an infection) without taking her in to the vet. I just want to make sure I cover all the bases when it comes to keeping my little hammy healthy. She's had a great and happy life so far; I want to make sure she continues to have one for however long she's still with me.
I thought I'd wrap up this post with a very funny video I took of Yukimo back in early January. I had been staying at my parents' house for a week or so, so that meant that Yuki was on her own at my apartment for a few days. I made sure to stop in, check on her, feed her and clean her cage so that she knew I was still around. Needless to say, Yuki showed how much she missed me... by hopping around with a piece of lettuce! (And yes, that's me narrating, along with Kathleen. ^__^)
I love you, Yukimo.
For the last few weeks, Beth and I have been on the search for two kitties. We were pretty anxious to get the search over with, because we were sure that having new companions would make the depressing times a bit more warm and happy. So far, we both admit that we were partially right... and a little wrong.
Beth searched around online for a while, trying local animal shelters and sites like Craigslist. Finally, she came across a girl from our own university, who lived only a few minutes away from us, was putting up two sister kittens up for grabs. Beth and the girl corresponded through emails for a couple of days and finally settled on a meeting time. Although we couldn't meet the girl, her boyfriend was able to hand over the kittens to us-- for free and with a few supplies.
Our first impression of the kitties should have probably tipped us off. As beautiful as they were, they were also a little cold. I'm used to dealing with animals though; I know that not every pet warms up right away. Having a relationship with a new companion can take time, especially with cats who have been shipped off from one home to the next since they were born. Moving around as much as they have had to have been difficult. I know that if I were a cat, I wouldn't want to have to adjust to a new home every few weeks. Hell, I'm going through the same thing as the cats with moving from apartment to apartment, so maybe the fact that I can relate with them made me soften to their distant relationship to us.
After only a few hours of being with us, they were ready for some cuddling. They spent the first two days in my room so they could adjust to their new surroundings a little at a time. Shawn was sweet and bought the majority of their supplies on his way over to my place. I had been worried about how Shawn's allergies would be around the kitties. Even though Shawn has three cats at his own house, he's never been able to hold back with the teary eyes and stuffed nose. (I'll admit that I was very disappointed when I found out that the boy that I loved had allergies to the animal that I wanted my whole life. *sigh*) So far, Shawn's allergies haven't acted up at all. In fact, I walked into my room the first night the kitties were here, and Shawn was laying down on the floor cuddling up with the grey and white one. I couldn't stop smiling after I saw that.
At first, Beth and I tried to claim each one of the cats as our own, but after spending a little more time with both of them, we've come to realize that they're both a package deal. Beth and I basically have one cat, yet we feed two, haha. The ringleader, explorer and friendly one is black and white. I've also come to know her as the kitty with the purring problem: she just doesn't stop purring! She's a little motorboat.
The grey and white kitty (the one I thought would be "mine") is the quieter one. Sadly, I found out later that she's a bit less friendly and more skittish than her sister. (It's amazing how different the two are, yet their love for each other makes them seem somewhat the same.) Even though she's more distant, I still feel drawn to her. I think her regal stance is what I really love. That's one reason I decided to name her Isis. Isis is an Egyptian goddess, which was known to be "Queen of the throne." She was the wife of Osiris, the Egyptian god of "life, death and fertility." (Thank you, Wikipedia.)
Osiris happens to also be one of Shawn's kitties, one of my favorite cats that I've ever met. Osiris is extremely intelligent, witty and suave; I've always thought of him to be the most human cat I've known. So although Isis is a little shy compared to her sister, I think that air of mystery is meant to be, considering she's the wife of Osiris. It's only recently that I discovered what a little trickster she is. Underneath all of her regal qualities lay a really funky, crazy kitty. I think knowing how connected her and Osiris are (in my mind) makes me bond with her more. That's what I'm hoping for in the longrun.
Isis' sister doesn't have a name yet. The reason behind that is most likely because Beth and I are still deciding whether to keep the sisters or not. As much as we love cats, and as much as it hurts me to admit it, I didn't feel a connection with them over the first few days they stayed with us. I'm not the person to give up though, especially on something as special as a cat. Beth and I were determined to love them and let them know that we really care for them. Our plan has been working so far, and I know this because they've become more and more friendly over the past few days.
What we had been worried about the most was the relationship they shared. Because of their extreme closeness with each other, we were unsure that they'd bond with us at any point in their time with us. The idea of sister kittens is really wonderful, but the experience has been made into more of a test-- one that I'm still hoping to pass with flying colors. Letting them walk around our apartment and have the freedom to explore throughout the day has made them feel more at home, I think. Plus, we realized that their attitudes changed. Ever since Beth mentioned possibly giving them up to the Humane Society, they've warmed up to us by following us around, waiting for us outside of closed doors, and purring even more (if that's even possible). It's amazing how in tune with us they are. I think we're finally speaking their language.
Isis and her sister are adjusting to their new lives. Beth and I still aren't sure if we'll be keeping them with us, but we want to give the new living arrangement a try. We figure that a few days of trying to bond with each other will give us a better idea of what to do. They're still young enough to go through a bit of change, so I figure that we can test out the waters for a few more days.
Things seem to be looking up at the moment. Isis, her sister and I just spent the day in the main room-- they lounged around next to me while I worked. They seemed to like my laptop a lot. In fact, they showed their love for it by trying to climb on top of the keyboard while I was typing.
If that's not love, I don't know what is.
I've been slowly trying to fall back into a comfortable routine in the past week or so. Previous to that, I had been so focused on getting things done that I didn't take any time to just enjoy... life? In between my last post and the one I'm writing right now, I've had some not-so-good experiences, times that I'll be happy to forget about.
I wrote two posts this last weekend. Only one post made it to the public, and even that one stayed just a few minutes. Something about the posts didn't quite click. I'm very particular with what I share with people, and that side of me isn't something I'm proud of. To those of you who caught that post, thank you for the private messages. You will never really know how much I've been soaking in your advice and your concerns about my life, but just know that your words are fueling me to just keep going through all the bad stuff. I'm pushing my way through this bad time in my life thanks to you. Even though I haven't responded to a lot of comments and private messages, I plan on doing so soon. You're all so wonderful-- thank you.
Instead of ranting on and on about the bad stuff, I thought I'd wrap it all up in a nutshell. That way, the reality of everything seems less harsh and somewhat distant.
Basically, the move was more difficult than Beth and I anticipated. Our apartment was one big mess, one in need of a lot of repairs. The air conditioner was broken for a week, leaving Beth and me with an apartment that was 95 degrees after walking (a long walk) home from classes every day. The manager of our building suddenly left her job and left us with no one to contact as far as repairs and Beth's parking space went. In the end, Beth found out that the parking space promised to her from before we even signed the lease was unavailable. This wouldn't be a huge deal, except for the fact that we live in a busy city, on a crowded college campus. Having no transportation is proving to be difficult (and boring).
Since the air conditioner was broken, the only source of ventilation we had was opening the windows to hot, but breezy, weather. The window in my room was broken and let in swarms of flies, spiders and mosquitos. I'm still recovering.
From day one, the cable company has screwed up our phone, wireless internet and cable TV. Over the past week, Beth and I, together, have probably spent over four hours arguing and pleading with the company to get everything around our apartment to work. Tears were involved on my part. (I have a love/hate relationship with technology.)
The good news about my situation is that I was given a few days to rest this weekend. Surprisingly enough, I discovered that working doesn't even seem like real work anymore. Work is more of my getaway from all the crap that classes give me. I've never dreaded working for Vox (the first job that I actually enjoy), but it still seemed more of a structured routine a few weeks ago. I realized that classes make work seem more fun. Work is freedom. In the work world, I'm an adult with responsibilties, not a student who has to do homework assignments. In a way, I've already graduated from college just because I know how ready I am to be in the working world. That's a nice thought, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of this transition-- a little at a time.
One perk about my new place is that the apartment building allows the tenants to have cats. (This is the part where I jump up and down, squeal, dance and make merry.) *dances* As mentioned in past posts on my blog, I live for cats. I have always been drawn to them, but I've never had the opportunity to have one as a companion for myself. This apartment, as horrible as it may seem right now, is giving me that chance to finally have a kitty for myself.
Beth and I went to the Humane Society to check out the kitties this last weekend. Our experience with the people that worked there was anything but good, but in the end, we did get a better idea of what we're looking for as far as cats go. ^__^ For the next few weeks, I plan on checking online ads, newspapers, other animal shelters, and friends of friends who have ads for giving or selling kitties. I know that raising a new kitten can sometimes cause a little more stress, but for me, it's the kind of companionship that I need right now-- with or without the stress. Animals have an amazing calming power on people, and I can only see good things happening with the new addition(s) to our little apartment family.
The only part about getting a cat that made me hold back was Yukimo. Small hamsters don't always bode well with kitties running around the house, but I think I can make the situation work. I'm confident in myself as an animal lover; I can train a cat well enough to not want to eat or "play with" Yukimo. After all, Yukimo is a huge part of my life already. I wouldn't even think about getting a cat unless I was positive that Yuki could handle the change.
Yukimo's a fighter. She can take anything! I think I can, too. (Yukimo's inner fighter must be rubbing off on me.)
This is the story of a girl who wanted a kitty but somehow ended up with three guinea piggies and a hamster...
Yukimo and all my guinea piggies mean the world to me. Dad never allowed my family to have the pets we wanted when I was growing up, so that meant I was never able to have a kitty (my favorite animal) of my very own. Mom always tells me how lucky I am to know that I'll one day be able to have my own place with as many kitties as I want. I know she's right, but I can't help but feel sad knowing that I'll have to wait a few years to live in a place of my own. Because my apartment has a "no pet" rule (with the exception of small animals that don't cause problems, like hamsters), I still can't have a cat. Shawn always tries to make me feel better by telling me that, despite his allergies to cats, I can have as many as I want. I wish Dad could have been the same way; I wish he could have put his dislike for cats and the idea of loving pets aside.
I've received a few messages telling me to write a few random facts about myself. I'll break a rule or two (because hey, it's my Vox, right? ^_~) and talk about a few facts about a specific topic in this entry instead instead of dedicating a whole post to random facts.
Two out of three times when I walk into and out of a pet store, I start crying. The very idea sounds so petty, but walking into a store that has the one thing, a true companion, that I really needed when I was little really breaks my heart. This first started happening after my first guinea pig, Hercules (also known as Herc and Hammy), died. Since Dad was always weird about cats and dogs, Mom was able to get away with sneaking small animals that required little maintenance inside the house. Because I loved animals so much, I tended to throw endless amounts of love into my relationships with my small pets. Having Herc pass away was so difficult-- it was a reality check. After he died, I was given the chance to pick out a pet of my very own. Beth, Kathleen and Mom had usually picked out a pet to call their "own," even though we all loved the pet, but I was finally able to pick one. Going into the pet store only a week or so after Herc left us was so hard. I had to walk past the cage of four kittens, my dream pet. I didn't find a guinea pig that day so I ended up leaving the store without a pet and with memories of our Herc still lingering. When Mom and I got into the car, I burst into tears, unable to stop all the hurt from flooding out. Mom asked me why I was crying, and I mumbled out a response about how hard it was walking away from the pet store without a kitty and how angry I was at Dad for not allowing me, an adult, to have a pet. Part of what I said was focused on those feelings, but a lot of the pain was from losing Herc. It hurt so much!
I ended up picking out the best guinea pig ever and she surprised us with two baby piggies. After waiting about two weeks, Mom and I tried the pet store again. A new litter of guinea pigs had arrived, and I was immediately drawn to the one sitting on top of the food bowl: a tiny girl who was white with dark brown and honey-colored fur. I named her Pixie because of her obvious spunk and low temperment. She didn't like me at first, but I soon found out why she was so bitter towards people. About three weeks after taking her into my home, I woke up one night to strange sounds coming from her cage. I warily took Pixie out of her cage and held her at arm's length, afraid that she was going to explode. (Of course, I had to pick the "defective" pig!) With Pixie in my arms, I ran to Mom and Dad's room, tearful, because I thought Pixie might be dying. Mom rushed her to the bathroom and had a closer look. A tiny buldge was coming out of her lower body. O__O Mom, being the nurse she is, wasn't afraid and pulled out the buldge. Inside the water sack was the first baby, a little boy.
I was in shock. Out of all the guinea pigs at the store, I had picked the pregnant one. A few minutes later, Masamune's baby sister came into the world. I named her Rini, which means "little bunny" in Japanese, and Masamune was named after two sword pieces in the video game Chrono Trigger. Without even thinking about it, the two babies stayed with us and their mommy, Pixie. To this day, they all still live at my parents' house.
After Pixie's pregnancy, she warmed up to me, yet she didn't express the same amount of warmth to anyone else. I made sure to go out of my way to express my friendship to her. She had felt threatened by the presence of the two new piggies, even if they were her own children, but with a little extra love, she learned how to show affection. To this day, she only talks to me and cuddles up to me, and no one else, because of the extra attention I gave her after that night. We have a special bond.
Since I didn't want to put all the piggies in shock (small animals are less resiliant with change), I decided to leave them at home when Beth and I moved to our apartment. We still see them whenever we go home, and we try to shower them with as much love as possible. After Beth started going out more, I realized that I was lonely at the apartment. Shawn's solution to that was getting a new baby for the place: a hamster. That's how Yukimo came into the picture-- she's my savior! So now I not only have three piggies at my first home, but I have a sweetheart I get to have with me 24 hours a day at my second home.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night just to hold little Yukimo. Because I'm such an introvert, I find comfort in having smaller friendships, like the one I have with Yukimo. If I have a bad dream or I just feel like having company, I'll wake up at night to hold Yukimo. Since she's nocturnal, she likes walking around to displace some of the pent up energy from being in her cage while I sleep. It's amazing how pets will make all the bad seem good.
Yukimo and Pixie are the little I love yous that I need for comfort. ^__^
Note: The photos of Yukimo in this entry were taken by Beth. I held Yuki while Beth snapped away!
Getting photos like this of Yukimo is honestly one of the best gifts I could have hoped for. She was holed up in her tower again, and the cute ball of white fluff that she curls herself into is always tempting, so I decided to try for some photos. I think I was just lucky today.
Hamsters weren't always the apples of my eye. Well, I've always liked them, but I never thought I would have another one at the age of 22. I had them when I was little, because Dad wouldn't allow Mom, Beth, Kathleen and me to have a cat. Everyone in my family, except Dad, is a cat lover, especially Mom and me. Dad has been against cats ever since I can remember, and I've always held a grudge (along with many more) against him because of his lack of understanding towards Mom and, well, all of us. Before Mom reached the age of 30, she took in and helped raise over 200 cats. Even when she first met Dad, she had two or three cats. He "let" her keep them, but after they died, we haven't been allowed to keep anymore. Dad's excuse is that he has allergies, however, I know better. I know that he doesn't like competition. Dad has never been close with any of us, and having a cat in the family might draw our attention away from him even more. For this fact, I'm still very bitter. There have been a lot of family politics over the years, but this one stemmed from when I was young, and the fact that I've never been able to have a cat of my own has stayed with me ever since I was little. Grr.
Mom got around the whole "no cats" rule with other animals... smaller animals. Over the years, we've collected guinea pigs and hamsters. Sometimes we could get away with taking in wild cats and training them without Dad knowing it (at first). My three guinea pigs at my house are perfect, but I didn't want to cause them trauma by moving one, or any, of them so late in their lives. I decided to leave them all at the house, because Mom wanted that most. I know that having Beth and me gone at college for a long time hurts her a lot, so she needs the company. Plus, taking Rini or Masa away from their mum, Pixie, (or vice versa) could emotionally harm them. I wouldn't dream of doing that.
The solution to wanting company of a pet? Why, that would be Yukimo, of course! Yukimo is my little hamster dream. She's quirky, loving and very gentle. Because I've always handled her delicately, and because I've spent so much time with her, we've bonded at a level I never reached with past hamsters. Yukimo is so precious. She was truly meant to spend her life with me.
So, without further delay, I would like to introduce Yukimo to the Vox community through a video I took of her a few days after I brought her home from Pet World. She had warmed up to me already, but she was as energetic as ever. In case you've missed some past entries of mine that mention Yukimo, she is a dwarf hamster, so she's extra tiny compared to regular-sized hamsters. I'm sorry if the video quality is low, but Vox still hasn't fixed the video-posting problem. >_< There isn't much sound, because I was too focused on keeping Yukimo in front of the camera, but there's a tiny bit near the end. Anyway, Yukimo says, "Hello, Vox friendsies!"
