It has been a long week here. Hamilton the baby piglet has passed away due to a congenital problem. I received the phone call the other morning from my future son-in-law that something was wrong with “Hammy”. I jumped up and got dressed and my daughter was at work. We decided not to tell her right away because there was no need to upset her if it wasn’t serious.
The vet checked Hammy out and ran tests but sent us home to wait for the results. We told my daughter. Hammy was not getting better so we called the vet back and brought him back in. By the time he was rushed back the vet said to get him to Tufts Animal Hospital right away.
To make a long story short I was home with my family and my daughter called me hysterical. Hamilton had passed away in her arms 15 minutes from the hospital. There was absolutely nothing I could do to help my daughter feel better. They went to the hospital because Kay had to know what happened and they told her it looked liked something he had been born with. They took Hammy home and asked if I wanted to be there for the burial. As you all know I helped raise him and I had to be there for the kids.
We are all still heartbroken. My daughter and her fiancée are still grieving. I received a phone call that night and this is exactly what was said to me, “Mom, I feel as though I have lost a baby and it shouldn’t hurt this bad.” My heart was so heavy and I was so frustrated because there was not ONE thing I could say to make her feel better.
Even her brothers ages 13 and 10 years were grieving. My 13-year-old son walked off on his own and just stared out at the river. He couldn’t deal with his sister and her fiancée actually crying. My 10-year-old son stayed close but I could tell he didn’t know what to do. He wanted so much to say something but had no clue what words to use.
When we left my daughters house and returned home we still needed to have dinner. My boys told me that they would give all of their money to K and C to help pay for the doctors for Hammy. My heart lurched again.
I have now learned that there are times when we will really have to watch our children hurt right from the core of their beings. And that there is nothing we can do to stop it but give them love and space.
Being a parent is so much work but seeing the love in my kids does make me so proud. RIP Hamilton, you will certainly always be in our hearts.
Okay, I know it’s not the most glamorous topic in the world, but it is important if you have a cat or are thinking of getting one. I adopted my very first cat less than 15 years ago. Before that time, I had decided that “I wasn’t a cat person.” I love all animals great and small but that doesn’t mean I want to own all of them.
Then - into my life - walked a cute little gray and white kitten, who I named Sadie. I was hooked. Two years later, I ended up adopting a precocious black kitten who I named Ozzie – aka The Million Dollar Cat. Now, I am a bonafide cat expert!
Well, maybe not quite but I do know a lot about cat litter. Not only have my cats tested just about every kind of cat litter there is — I also worked in the pet industry for two years. Because of this, what I lack in personal experience – I learned through the experiences of others.
How hard can it be to pick a cat little anyway?
Here are some of the main types of cat litter. There is clay litter, clumping litter, corn, newspaper, pine, wheat, crystal, scented, unscented, natural (and not so natural), heavy and light weight. The main things people want to know are; which one lasts the longest, hides the odor and it the most eco-friendly? There are really so many things to consider. Who knew? I will explain some of the pros and cons of each and then reveal my MOST favorite cat littler in the whole world!!! 
Found on Amazon.com
- Clay Litter is probably the cheapest option, but it is heavy and doesn’t clump. This means it may need to have a complete litter change more often to prevent bacteria and odor. Clay litter may contain some chemicals to supress the odor. It also emits a lot of dust.
Found on Amazon.com
- Clumping Litter this can be made of any number of materials but essentually it clumps so it is easy to dispose of liquid waste. Most of these can help to supress odor and come in scented and unscented versions. The clumping clay litter still emits quite a bit of dust though.
Found on Amazon.com
- Corn, wood, newspaper, wheat, etc are biodigradable and most are natrual. You’ll have to check the pacakging. Some may be scented and some may contain chemicals for clumping purposes. I have used the corn, wood and newspaper varieties and the corn was my favorite for odor control. The pine litter I tried smelled great when I first put it in the box but it soaked up the liquid waste and got funky fast. Now, they offer a clumping version which I have not tried. I imagine it works much like the corn.
Found on Amazon.com
- Crystal litter has become popular in recent years. I have never tried it but people who have seem to like it. Many of them use it in their automatic litter boxes because it doesn’t get stuck in the tongs like some of the other litters can.
- Scented or unscented? This is up to you. Ozzie developed an allergy to one of the scented clumping litters I used when when he was a kitten. Sadie never had any problems but Ozzie’s paws got chapped and even started bleeding. It was horrible. That’s when I switched to an unscented version that the vet recommended. If your cat is prone to upper resperatory infections you should choose a low dust unscented cat litter.
Now for my VERY favorite cat litter! I absolutely adore this brand for many reasons…
Found Amazon.com
This wondrous litter is made using corn cobs and baking soda. It contains a light fresh scent which I love and luckily, Ozzie’s paws haven’t had an adverse reaction to it. I tried another corn litter before but the fine particles stuck to my cat’s paws leaving dusting cat prints all over the house.
If you have a cat I highly recommend this litter. They aren’t even paying me to say that — but they should!!!
Of course, not all litters work for all cats and owners, if your cat is having issues using their litter box, it is best to consult the vet. Cats are really good about going in their boxes, so if they suddenly stop doing that – it may be the sign of a bigger issue.
TIP: When switching litters, it is best to mix a little of the new in with the old and slowly make the transition. Cats can be finicky and if you totally switch it might throw them off and they may refuse to use the box all together.
If you have any questions or suggestions of your own – I would love to hear them.
Thanks for reading!
~Christie
Family Pets
We all want our children to grow up to be responsible adults. We spend time nurturing and teaching and guiding so that we can form or mold them into responsible citizens. And when we look at how well they are doing we breath a sigh of relief. Parenting is not easy, there are no books and we learn as we go.
An event took place over the weekend that has made me realize just how responsible children can be. My daughter and her fiancée decided to get their first pet. This pet is a mini potbellied piglet. Because their home is not ready they asked me to help and “pig sit”. What wasn’t planned is that the piglets in the litter were pulled from mom too early and sent to a person who was the middleman.
Being the responsible grandmother that I intended to be in the piglet world I went with the kids to pick up the “baby”. Okay, can anyone guess what happens next? Long story short we have twins. And being dehydrated they need constant care.
I have learned that two boys ages 13 and 10 can be excellent caregivers. If piglets can get these boys up at 5am to help bottle-feed then I should have done this long ago! I have also learned that my daughter and her fiancée are going to be excellent parents to human children someday. Kids, if you are reading this please hold off on the human grandbabies until I recoup from piglets.
Teaching our children is not always easy. We have the usual homework battles as well as the getting up for school issues. We certainly are not the Brady Bunch. But watching my family care and nurture the piglets has made me realize just how far these children we have raised have come. Will they turn out to be responsible adults? I hope they will!
We as parents tend to get caught up in the everyday tasks of life. We are often so busy that we don’t take time to actually stop and see just how our efforts pay off.
Even before having children of our own we hear and read just how hard parenting can be. Truth is, the experts are right, it is tough and overwhelming at times. There is something the experts can’t show or tell us though. They can’t make our hearts swell with pride anywhere near as well as our children can!
So parents give yourself a pat on the back….we continue the tough job but we manage to get the job done with great rewards.
Well we have a new pet in the Welch household. I got to work on Friday and one of my employees had something to show me. Somehow, he managed to spot this tiny little 1″ lizard sitting on the concrete floor of our warehouse. I am amazed that he was able to spot it as it’s just a baby and very very tiny. I don’t know how it got into our warehouse, whether it came in from the outside or hitched a ride on one of the packages that arrived is a mystery but there he was. He asked me if I wanted it to give it to my two boys and I jumped at the chance.
My oldest son, Harrison, is in full Dinosaur mode. He loves them and can’t get enough. If he isn’t watching Dinosaurs on TV, he is drawing them, asking us to read books about them or playing with his toy dinosaurs. So, I lied and told him this little baby gecko is his very own baby dinosaur. I think he knows it’s not, he knows dinosaurs are extinct and this is just a baby lizard but I don’t know for sure. Half the time he talks about it he refers to it as a lizard but it’s those times when he pretends it’s a dinosaur that are the most fun. Much to this tiny little baby lizards horror, Harrison was marching around the room where we have the lizards new home, roaring and trying to teach the lizard how to be a proper dinosaur. He feels it’s his job to teach it since it doesn’t have a mommy or daddy. Probably not the best way to acclimate this baby lizard to it’s new surroundings but it was too cute to stop right away.
Before bringing it home, I took it to the local Petco and found someone that sounded like they knew what they were talking about. He said it’s a gecko but wasn’t sure what type of gecko it is. He got me hooked up with the basic supplies needed to take care of it and was quite helpful. For food, he gave me a container of live wingless fruit flies and told me to shake a few in each day. We set the little guy up with a nice home with sand, places to hide, water and put in a few flies. So far, all of the flies seemed to have crawled into the water dish and died. It doesn’t look like he has eaten any and we have had him for 3 days. It’s making me a little nervous since the kids will be crushed if their baby dinosaur dies this quickly. Most of the info I found online concurs with what the Petco employee told me so I am just going to wait and hope that when he is hungry or thirsty enough, he will eat and drink.
My wife hates reptiles, especially snakes, so I wasn’t sure how she would take it but when she saw how tiny it was, her heart melted for the little thing. I think she has shown more interest in it than me.
All in all, we are happy with our new addition, we have been petless since we had to put our Bulldog down a year ago and the kids have been asking for a new pet. We are so busy and our house is so small we decided to wait a few years before getting another pet but this baby gecko is a good compromise, doesn’t take up much room and seems pretty easy to care for.
If any of you out there know anything about lizards and can tell me what type of gecko it is, I would greatly appreciate it!
Choosing the right pet for your family can be a tough decision and it should never be taken lightly. It’s not like going out to buy a sweater, or even a car; this is a commitment to take care of another living creature for the rest of its life. When you bring home a pet – you are making a promise – to provide it with whatever it needs to live a full, happy, and healthy life. You need to do a lot of research, ask yourselves some important questions, and really search your hearts to decide which pet is right for your family.
Here are just a few of the questions you should start to ask yourself – and your family – as you begin the search for your newest family member:
- Why do we want a pet?
- Who will take care of it?
- Do we want a pet that will require a lot love and attention?
- How will the pet impact our family life (traveling, cost, time)?
- Do you have space for the pet?
- Can you and will you provide everything your pet needs? They depend on you for almost everything.
There are so many types of pets available to suit just about anyone’s lifestyle. Let’s examine some of these, based on how much maintenance and care they require.
Low
These pets are perfect for a first time pet family. They will require minimal care. They aren’t the snuggly cuddly type of pet that will want to be touched or played with a lot. You can love them, you can care about them, but the less you mess with them, the happier they will be. Some examples of a low maintenance pets are:
- Fish
- Lizards
- Hermit Crabs
- Snakes
Remember, low maintenance, does not mean — no maintenance!!! You still have to care for these pets and provide them with the best environment possible, so they will thrive.
Medium
These pets require a little more maintenance as far as their care is concerned. Generally, you’ll want to dedicate around 30 minutes to cleaning and feeding them each day. Even though there isn’t a lot of care that goes into these pets, most of them still need your attention and most importantly your love. The more love you give them, the more they will love you back, and enrich your lives.
- Cats
- Small birds
- Small animals (hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, guinea pigs, etc.)
- Rabbits
High
Dogs are a high maintenance pet but to their owners, they are worth every single second of it. Dogs have many requirements and you have to be particularly diligent in educating yourselves, to find the breed (or mixed breed) that is right for your family. Far too many dogs end up in shelters or worse, because people don’t take the time to find out if they are capable of such a responsibility.
Some dogs are small and do well in small spaces, other dogs need to do a lot of running and some are happiest when they are working. You have to keep in mind how much time you can spend with them and the activity level of your family as well. Many dogs can suffer from separation anxiety and they can become destructive because they are bored or simply miss you. With proper training, quality care, and lots of love, you will have a loyal family member, who values you more than you may ever know. If you can’t make them an important and highly cherished family member then you should probably find a different type of pet.
Dogs require:
- Daily feeding, grooming and walking
- Obedience training
- Love, Love, Love
- They need someone to take care of them when you go away on vacation
- They need regular vet visits to keep them healthy
There is so much that goes into selecting the right pet. I urge you to go to your local library, surf the web, talk to your friends about their pets, go to pet stores, contact local rescues and humane societies to do research (volunteering is a fantastic way to help the animals and get a feel for what really goes into pet parenting), and obtain all the information you can before you add a pet to your family.
One more thing I’d like to add; there are so many pet rescues that have pets just waiting to go to their forever homes. They don’t just have dogs and cats; many have a variety of animals. Some pet stores will even have small animals, birds, fish or reptiles that have been relinquished by their owners, which are also for adoption. Open your heart, open your home and most of all love and enjoy your pets.
Christie
