My furry kids (some are just devils in cute clothing), as they age all have their quirks and special little needs. And it's very much a part of my genetic makeup that I worry about things all the time. My friend loves animals, and so we visited a bit and I got to talking about some of my kids' quirks and personalities. Hey it's what mom's do best right?
That being said, I talked about Yummy and his considering new caretakers as suckers and he works very hard to escape on them. He thinks he'd like to be an outdoor kitty, but I just don't allow him to. In past when he did manage to escape me or the house and run off for a day, he thinks he's a lion and must dominate all small dogs and other kitties in the neighborhood. I am afraid if he got out here, we'd be evicted. But he has a weakness, he simply loves to "graze" on grass, or greenery, and will run to the first green bit he spies and start munching, so he's pretty easy to catch, and usually he only escapes out the back door into the high fenced yard.
Then I moved on a bit to Mushy, my dear old man, he's coming up on 19, and he gets a bit frantic if we leave. But he likes people so will be ok as long as someone is in to visit with him. However, as I warned her, if he feels the water in his bowl is not fresh enough or there is too much hair or dog slobber in it, or he perceives it to be dirty, he'll sit at your feet and tell you all about it and how you should really clean it all out, and give him some fresh water. As he's telling you all this, he'll keep looking at the bowl pointedly and back at you and then the sink. I figure as he's made it to this age in the spunky health he's in (he still plays like a kitten) he can make a little demand like that. Oh and he'll certainly bawl you out if you are overly late in feeding him, he really likes routine.
Djinn may probably the sanest and easiest out of the bunch of kitties. He's a bit shy till he knows someone, and is normally a good kitty for anyone, (he drives me nuts in the mornings though, loves to play with things on the bathroom counter while I am trying to get ready for the day), and he really doesn't ask for much.
Moving on to the three dogs.... Oh my, what a bunch, or rather a small herd of chihuahuas. Lil'Shit is the eldest 14+, he's going blind and deaf. He mostly sees shapes and shadows or some movement and he used to hear sharp whistles, but doesn't really hear them anymore. But he loves everyone except the vet or if you have a hypodermic in your hand, then you might get bit. Otherwise he wouldn't hurt a fly. And he'd want attention while we're gone. Poppy is next, she's about 12, and is a very cranky old lady. My advice for her was to just leave her alone, ignore her, and try not to step on her, it makes her mad. Then there is Thumbelina, Lil'Shit's daughter, she truly is the devil in cute clothes. She'll bark nonstop at you till she thinks she's told you off enough and that you might be ok to just give dirty looks too. Problem is she's so tiny and so cute, everyone wants to pick her up and love on her. Truth is she's scared to death of new people, until she's seen you often enough.
But overall, they aren't bad kids, they have their routine, one shouldn't have to handle them much and it's better for them and less stressful than trying to board them somewhere.
This evening long after I gave my friend all the lowdown on my kids and just little things to watch for that I forgot on the list, I realized I must have sounded like the crazy animal lady or a mother who was scared to death to trust her children to another person for a time. I am sure I sounded nuts. But I know that I will have left all possible information to cover every contingency or emergency I can. I even have someone as back up in case one of my twilighters decides to check out, I didn't want the kid to be burdened with the after effects or want him to feel guilty that he did something wrong.
All that being said, I am grateful to have found someone to care for my kids at home, and realized that I am glad I don't have one at this time with real special needs.
Now the serious part, it is good to leave as explicit instructions as possible for the care and feeding of your pets. Have a first aid kit available for the sitter, notify your veterinarian that you will be out of town and that you have someone caring for your pets in case of an emergency. Have emergency numbers for the sitter to contact you or a close friend or relative. Always make sure you have enough food and staples for them, because sometimes they might give a little more than you instructed. Case in point, my father cannot say no to sad, hungry puppy eyes. And once upon a time he took care of our critters for us. He paid no attention to the amount and size of the measuring device we used to feed the dogs with. He just found a big scoop cup and fed them that twice a day. Oh My Lord! We came home to doggie bowls overflowing with kibble, and at least two little doggies (who couldn't regulate their intake) almost as wide as they were high. And they didn't want to eat another kibble for at least two days, then when put back onto their normal amount, gave me the look that said I was starving them. It took me a year an a half to get Poppy back to a normal weight. So the moral here, is make sure you have food, because there are some folks who just cannot resist the "I'm so starved" look.
And if you have a pup who has a tendency to have a delicate system as to what they eat or irritable bowel problems, be sure to keep a supply of paper towels and pumpkin for the sitter. Pumpkin will plug up the squirts, paper towels to clean up the squirts.
Hmmmm, as I read back over this, methinks I am starting to ramble now. No wonder I probably sounded crazy going over the directions. HA HA HA!
The devil in cute clothes (aka Thumbelina)
Lil'Shit
Yummy
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