The Vent and Rant Thread

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

wait a minute, didn't you have a cat, as well ? was that hamster suicidal ?? please tell me that no harm came to it !

First the nursery hampster, then the cat arrived later, once the daughter was safely at school.
My sister managed to keep two cats and a hamster. It used to escape, only to be chased by one of the cats. The hamster developed a stange ability to jump about a foot (30cm) so as to escape from the jaws of death.

I'm beginning to think that a hamster (or three) would be a good idea. they are largely nocturnal and spend hours going round a little treadmill. Perhaps they could power my computer when I'm working late.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Patricia

First the nursery hampster, then the cat arrived later, once the daughter was safely at school.
My sister managed to keep two cats and a hamster. It used to escape, only to be chased by one of the cats. The hamster developed a stange ability to jump about a foot (30cm) so as to escape from the jaws of death.

ah, okay. i understand better. it seems to me that cats and a hamster make a very dangerous combination. i wouldn't want to have both...

I'm beginning to think that a hamster (or three) would be a good idea. they are largely nocturnal and spend hours going round a little treadmill. Perhaps they could power my computer when I'm working late.

heh. that sounds like a good idea to me. you try it out and let me know if it works. i might be able to think of something for my cats. although they are lazy buggers, i don't know whether i could get them to run on a treadmill, they'd probably just want to go to sleep...

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

oh no ! i'm so glad she is okay. i know just how you must have felt. i used to have a mesh folding laundry basket with two cloth handles. although i tried to discourage her, my cat loved to sleep in there. one night i was woken up by a strange scuffling noise ; somehow she managed get *both* the handles wrapped around her stomach, so tightly she was completely stuck (and really scared). it was so tight and so tangled that i had to cut both of them to free her, and i was really afraid when cutting them i might hurt her. it really scared me, and i was so glad it happened when i was at home ! i don't even want to think what would have happened if i hadn't been there (and been a light sleeper). now i am really careful to make sure there is nothing around she could get tangled in. i hope she learned her lesson and won't try to fit through any more tiny holes.

Well just in case she doesn't, I've plugged all the holes up in that death trap as best as I could.

Originally Posted by Patricia

Oh my. It seems as though if there is a tight space then some pets will just head straight for it.
Dylrob's story reminds me of the time (decades ago) when I used to babysit the nursery school hamster, during the school holidays. She was an accomplished escape artist too. At the nursery she seemed to be quite content in her cage. At my house she'd escape on a regular basis and turn up in all sorts of strange places. In the end I had to wire the cage shut, and would take her out every evening for a few hours in my daughter's playpen.
(Mind you, a hamster is not the best pet for a nursery because it is liveliest at night.)

That reminds me... I used to have a bit of a Hamster escape artist myself. Somehow he would manage to unwork his little wheel from the side of the plastic cage.

Originally Posted by Patricia

I wonder whether ferrets have nine lives, like cats?

Well they do share quite a few other traits in common, so maybe.

[yvanleterrible]

I used to have white mice and a very interested cat that spent hours near the cage, stressing the little animals but one. A few weeks later, I woke up to find the little critter by the bars inside the cage, not moving... headless. I still don't know how the cat could have done it.
Some time later, I found out that one of the other males had violent tendancies as he'd managed to kill a few babies a female had had two weeks before. Some of them I never found and the others were horribly mutilated. Cannibalism?

Mice that are not free and that are continually threatened by a predator will develop abnormally strange behaviours.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Dylrob

Well just in case she doesn't, I've plugged all the holes up in that death trap as best as I could.

good plan. i got rid of that stupid laundry basket too.

That reminds me... I used to have a bit of a Hamster escape artist myself. Somehow he would manage to unwork his little wheel from the side of the plastic cage.

hm, they're more ingenious than they let on, apparently !

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

hm, they're more ingenious than they let on, apparently !

Not letting on how ingenious they are just shows how ingenious they are.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

I used to have white mice and a very interested cat that spent hours near the cage, stressing the little animals but one. A few weeks later, I woke up to find the little critter by the bars inside the cage, not moving... headless.
...

Currawongs pulled the head off my canary through its cage bars. I never much liked currawongs, though they're only doing what they do (or, I'm confused, and the canary was protecting me, and detects coal gas by self-decapitation). Currawongs have a nice song though, if not as good as our magpies.

I like magpies. Crows are nice too. Noisy Miners are cool (that's a bird...I'm not just circling back to the canary thing...in fact this particular post is going nowhere, which is what I was saying the other day down at the beach...)

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Currawongs pulled the head off my canary through its cage bars. I never much liked currawongs, though they're only doing what they do (or, I'm confused, and the canary was protecting me, and detects coal gas by self-decapitation). Currawongs have a nice song though, if not as good as our magpies.

I like magpies. Crows are nice too. Noisy Miners are cool (that's a bird...I'm not just circling back to the canary thing...in fact this particular post is going nowhere, which is what I was saying the other day down at the beach...)

I like those black bird families too. They are rather intelligent, more than dogs. Crows can live up to 130 years and learn surprising behaviours.
The black birds around here are a species that lives in tribes of around 20 individuals. They spread in an area of about 200 yards and you can hear them discussing loudly. You know they do when agitation stirs the lot of them and they converge to a common ennemy. They used to control the territory around my house and chase cats off the lot.
Surprisingly what chased them off my property was a rogue squirrel. He was feeding on pine nuts in two big trees. The black birds had nest sites in those trees so the squirrel preempted by pushing all offsprings out to their death. Squirrels can be rather nasty. It still kills young birds and now it pushes egg out, I've seen it do that. Creepy when he stares at me from 10 feet away...

[badgoodDeb]

Eeek! No wonder LazyScot hides under the bed. I think I'll hide too!

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

There should be a law against getting flu in summer. Am now going back to bed, and will hopefully not dream of spiders again :shudders:

[Verencat]

Sending you dreams of beautiful butterflies and wonderful gardens!
Get well!

[kazbates]

Feel better soon, Am.

[Verencat]

OMG!!!! I'm so stupid!!!!!
Since I'm home all the time, I just don't turn my cell phone on! Now I just opened it because a friend called me home complaining she can't leave messages it's too full! And I leave my cell phone number as well as my home phone number on job applications!!!!!! I missed a call from a library last week!!!!!!!!!!
I called back and left a message, and I just hope the job is still available!!!!!!!!
How can I be so stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by Verencat

OMG!!!! I'm so stupid!!!!!
Since I'm home all the time, I just don't turn my cell phone on! Now I just opened it because a friend called me home complaining she can't leave messages it's too full! And I leave my cell phone number as well as my home phone number on job applications!!!!!! I missed a call from a library last week!!!!!!!!!!
I called back and left a message, and I just hope the job is still available!!!!!!!!
How can I be so stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck! It usually takes places a week or so to set up interviews, etc. so, maybe, you still have a chance. Thank goodness your friend got in touch with you! Hey, next time you fill out an application, tell them to contact you through MR! I'm sure they'll get a hold of you then!

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Verencat

OMG!!!! I'm so stupid!!!!!
Since I'm home all the time, I just don't turn my cell phone on! Now I just opened it because a friend called me home complaining she can't leave messages it's too full! And I leave my cell phone number as well as my home phone number on job applications!!!!!! I missed a call from a library last week!!!!!!!!!!
I called back and left a message, and I just hope the job is still available!!!!!!!!
How can I be so stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, bless your heart, hon! ((((((((((((((big hugs)))))))))))))).