Dead Cat Or Sleeping Cat?

I was saying yesterday that it would have been the perfect day if I didn't have a dentist appointment. Well, it ended up being pretty perfect after all. The dentist said it was a superficial filling and I could chance it without having my mouth froze. This meant the rest of the evening wasn't ruined by numb gums,

When I got back Jakers and I decided to go for a walk to make the most of the nice evening. We dandered up through the park to Sentry Hill where I spent a good few of my teenage years drinking cider and hooch. We realised that when we were kids we lived round the corner from each other. It's so strange to grow up in a town like this and never have ran into each other before we were 25. Just before we were leaving I asked if we could go to the clearing where we used to hang out. It's obviously not a popular hangout spot anymore as it's totally overgrown. Then I saw something and I asked Jakers "Is that a sleeping cat or a dead cat?". As it turns out it was neither, it was a teenage fox cub enjoying a siesta in the sun. It stirred slightly and we stood and enjoyed the moment for a while before letting it dream of cunning ploys to catch chickens. It maybe wasn't quite as magical as when I stumbled upon Freddy's encounter with a fox but it definitely made it a perfect day.

A Nearly Perfect Day

Every morning I wake up and look into the rats tank and check they're ok. This past few mornings I've noticed that they're food bowl is upturned. The food's always lying scattered about so they don't do it as a protest for more food. I think it's much more likely that they're trying to suss out a way that they can use they're bowl to escape.

They've been very lazy ratscals today but right now Rocky is giving Pepe's ears a thorough grooming. Pepe is still a bit nervous when we take them out. Rocky gets more and more confident by the day. Balls? Ha, who needs them? We are discovering that sliced ham is definitely one of their favourite treats. They prefer red grapes to green ones and they don't seem to like the special chocolate drops we got them.

Today has been, without a doubt, the nicest, warmest, sunniest day of the year. Let's hope it's not the last either. I met Zoe and Martha in the park and gave Zoe back some books that I'd borrowed about 4 years ago! At the minute I'm reading The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho.

Now I have to go to the dentist and get a nasher filled. Could have been a perfect day if it wasn't for that.

Parklife

There's only one thing better than seeing my niece once a week and that's seeing her twice a week. On Tuesday my friend and I took Miss Martha to the park. You can't go wrong at the park really, unless there are no ducks and no bouncy horsey thing. Martha enjoyed feeding the pigeons but she didn't think much of them pecking at her lovely shoes.

After a spell on the slide, swings and the bouncy horsey thing I took her up to meet the rats. At first she was a bit annoyed at Jakers taking her pram up the stairs. I think she thought he was stealing it. It occurred to me that Martha is already aware that the pram belongs to her and her mummy and without it she wouldn't be able to go to all the nice places, like the park, so you could see why she wouldn't want anybody stealing it.

When she saw the rats she smiled but the closer she looked at them the more confused she seem to be. She said 'bird' and she said 'dog' and then, when she realised she didn't know what they were, she got a little fretful and didn't like them quite so much. On Thursday we done a bit more hanging out at the park and hanging out with Gra' and Great Gra' She loves her Gra's very much.

Rocky's definitely healing up pretty good and doesn't seem to hold anything against us for taking away his manliness. Pepe did a good job at looking after him and though there still a bit nervous around us they seem like they're pretty happy rats. Rocky has a little adventure under one of the chairs when my mate Emma let him free range round the floor. Of course, I was completely nerotic and thought he'd be there forever or we'd squish him trying to force him out. We got him out eventually and he seemed rather pleased with his first proper adventure. It will be the first of many no doubt.

A Trip to the Vits

Rocky survived his operation. I left him in yesterday morning and picked him up in the afternoon. I have to say, I wasn't overly struck by the Vet's staff. When I phoned up to check if Rocky was ok the receptionist left me on hold for for ages, long enough for me to to convince myself that Rocky hadn't made the operation, he was dead and nobody could face telling me. I was left on hold for so long I hung up. I tried to phone back about a dozen times and each time the number was busy. I texted Jakers telling him I thought Rocky might be dead. I phoned the Vet's again. They answered. It was a different receptionist and she went to check on him leaving me on hold again. I thought I was going to be left for ages but then she came back telling me that Rocky was ready for home. The relief. Honest to God, if this is what I'm like with a rat what kind of mother am I going to be?

So we went to pick him up and were greeted by a different receptionist who felt that it was too much effort to say 'Hello, how can I help you?'. I told her we were there to pick up Rocky the rat and, without smiling, she clicked a few buttons on the computer and said "That's thirty-six pounds fifty". She was so dour Jakers said he was expecting her to say "Computer says no". And when the vet came out with Rocky in his shoe box she wrinkled her nose and asked why anyone would want to keep rats. To be fair, she knew her stuff and answered all our questions but why would you be a vet if you didn't like rats?

Anyway, we got Rocky home and he felt very sorry for himself but still managed to eat. Pepe was pleased to see him and went in for a cuddle but when Rocky lay in his clear plastic tube, writhing in pain and discomfort, she knew to let him be. Rocky spent the night in a separate cage and Jakers reunited them this afternoon. Rocky is still not rightly at himself. He's a bit more comfortable than he was last night but he's doing a lot of sleeping and lying on top of Pepe. He's also doing a lot of munching so he must be on the mend.

Yet Another Post About....

.....RATS! They're adorable and maybe, one day, I'll stop writing about them so much but for now I'm just going to indulge myself. Though they are brother and sister they are very much a couple. It's been consummated. Rocky is the more dominant one. He stands over Pepe to protect her when he's nervous about something. He also steals food from her. Right now they're nesting in a clear plastic tube. They've dragged over some of their cotton wool bedding to lay over the side. I guess they're preparing for babies but it will be the first and last litter they have.

Rocky makes his wee trip to the vet on Wednesday. I can honestly say that phoning up and registering him with the vet is the first thing that's ever really made me feel like an adult. I did, however, give them my mum's address because I still don't know what my new post code is. It's a shame we have to get him neutered though because we were just building up our trust with him. And I guess getting his balls chopped off is gonna make him hate us. I hope he can be appeased with apple and kiwi fruit.

Right now the rats are having a tussle with each other, letting out little squeaks every once in a while. They stop fighting periodically to groom each other. Full of mischief so they are. I'm away to play with them.

That's How They Knew I Was a Boy

I love days like today. I spent most of it hanging out with my niece, who was hanging out with her granny and great granny. The great granny, which is my granny, said she was in right good form today so that pleased me. After a spot of lunch we took Martha to the park where she swung and slid and spun to her little heart's content. I wished that I could swing and slide and spin but I'm pretty sure an adult having more fun than a baby at the park is frowned upon.


It is becoming more and more clear that Rocky is definitely a boy. I told my (male) friend that we were pretty sure he was a boy due to the fact he was growing a set of balls. My friend laughed and said "Well I know that's how they came to the conclusion that I was a boy"

So, to avoid us having loads of inbred baby rats I have to take Rocky to the vet to get neutered. I feel awful about it but I would feel more awful about taking Pepe back to the pet shop to replace her with a male. Rocky and her have already bonded and to give her a taste of a life that she could have and then take her back to the pet shop is just unthinkable. So Rocky's balls have to go. Poor thing.