And Then There Was Sanaki....(lots of pictures!)

NaBloPoMo Post #22

All The Nyans, Part Nine

Back in June we had a hard rain than caused a lot of flash flooding of small creeks and rivers. The water went down pretty quickly, but for a while a lot of people had some flooding problems. Eler Beth got a call from a former workmate who had saved a small kitten from the flooded creek near her house. She said it was a very young baby, and would Eler Beth like to take care of it and try to find it a home because she wouldn't be able to do the bottle-feeding every day? So we hopped in the car and drove over to pick up this bedraggled orphan.

She was a very small torti calico with a pointy face and huge green eyes. She was skin and bones, so she'd either been an orphan for a while, or her mother was a stray and hadn't been in great shape either. We brought her home, and Eler Beth gave her a bath. She was a perky little thing, very interested in her surroundings, and didn't seem shy or scared of us at all. 

We housed her in the upper room of Remi's condo, no longer needed for Soren and Illyana.  We had been expecting to have to bring out the bottles and formula and start that process all over again, but we soon realized that although this kitten was tiny, she was not as young as we had been told. As a matter of fact, from her teeth, her eyes, and her demeanor, we were pretty sure she was at least five weeks old, possibly older. She could eat regular kitten food and lapped water just fine. It wasn't long before she was doing her business in a litter box.  

We kept her isolated from the other "Nyans" until we had her checked out and were pretty sure she was healthy. Then we introduced her to the others while still putting her up in the upper room at night.  Remi was taken with her right away -- she was just another playmate for him.  Soren and Illyana, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with her.  Bryant was happy to have another baby to care for. 

We called her Sanaki, or Naki for short. Nothing phased Naki. Bryant irritated her when he tried to clean her, but she put up with it. We'd take the kittens outside for a few minutes, and she was ready to wander off and explore while the other two stayed very close to us. She was about a third of their size but had an attitude three times bigger! 

We thought we had found a home for her, but that fell through.  I was skeptical as to whether she'd ever be pretty -- she was so skinny and that little face was so pointy. But as she started to put on some weight and fill out, her cheeks rounded out and her eyes didn't overpower her face so much.  And now I have to say she is quite beautiful. She has round, owl eyes, that look like big, green jewels in her face. She is serene and sweet and plays like it's going out of style.

We'd had her for about four weeks when we decided she was not going anywhere. Any other orphans that might be taken in in the future would have to have homes found for them, but Naki was already part of the family. Sori and Illy had finally adjusted to having a little sister, and our little "Scoop o' kitty" as we called her was here to stay.

We love all four of our little "Nyans."

  

Remi, Soren, and Illyana when they are all just a couple of months old, snuggling up together in Little Bit's bed.

Below, Remiel the night we first got home with him. Eler Beth fed him, and then he dropped off to sleep in her hand. He was only 5 weeks old.

 
 Soren also was very good at falling asleep in your hand!

Right, Remi being cute!

Below, Remi and Illyana, snuggled up together. Remi likes to look out the window. 

~ ~ Lori

More About Fennec Foxes....

 

NaBloPoMo Post #17

Cats, and Dogs, and Foxes Can Mix! All The Nyans, Part Eight

 

Despite the fact that Fennec foxes are the most social of foxes, and that they have been domesticated and owned as pets for many years, there are still the facts that they are actually wild animals,and they are very, very fast. So there are certain things you have to know about them before deciding to own one. Although they love to socialize and can become attached to their person, they aren't necessarily lovey, snuggly pets like other mammals. They must be on a leash and preferably a harness if you take them outside, and they don't usually even like going outside or going to visit other places. They like their own little territory and their own people and pets and are shy with others. They spook easily, especially by noises. Their big ears are so sensitive they can hear very well, and something we think isn't very loud can seem explosive to them. So if they were to get out of your arms or off their leash, they could run off in fright and you might never get them back. They should be housed indoors exclusively and if you do have them outside, they have to have a structure specially built for them that they can't dig under or climb or jump out of. 

 
Remi became very loving almost right away. He doesn't want to be held often or for very long, but there are times when what he does want is to be petted, cuddled, and snuggled, and he absolutely loves his mom, Eler Beth, and all of his cat and dog siblings. 

 
Fennecs can be litter box trained, but not always, and Summer makes it plain to any interested buyer that this is the case. Even when they do use a litter box, they don't always use it. We were pleasantly surprised with Remiel in this area, too. From the beginning he started using the litter box. He has a small "corner" box in his condo, and there is the larger box in Eler Beth's room that he and the cats use. He almost never has an accident, as long as the boxes are kept clean. But if he comes out into the rest of the house where there is no box, he might leave a "golden nugget" on the floor as he's playing. He spends 90% of his time in his room -- which is what he prefers -- so that's not a big deal. 

Eler Beth has trained him to sit on command for a Cheerio reward. I don't know if he'll ever learn anything else -- and really, we don't expect him to -- but he at least knows that he'll get a Cheerio if he sits. It's very cute to watch him do it, too.   

Bryant had proved he was good with babies. When we introduced him to Remiel he was very excited. As far as he was concerned we had brought him a new baby to take care of. We only let them have time together under supervision while Remi was so small, as we were doing with the kittens. But soon, as the little ones all started growing quickly, Bryant discovered that cats and Fennec foxes like to play, and he was happy to stop trying to clean them and just play with them. 

Remiel became acclimated to his new room and his "condo" very quickly. He also decided that he really liked Little Bit's dog bed. And he LOVED Little Bit, who of course hated him!  Little Bit is a toy fox terrier, 9 years old, and very set in her ways. She doesn't want ANY new animal on the premises, much less babies of any kind. She is very possessive and protective of me, but she had to learn to put up with Bryant, and now she was going to have to learn to put up with the kittens and the fox. She sleeps in Eler Beth's room at night because she is not allowed in our bed, and she will try to sneak in if she's allowed to roam the house at night. I don't like to keep our door closed all night long, so the solution was to make her sleep in Eler Beth's room. 

At left, Little Bit trying her best to ignore the sleeping Remiel, snuggled up behind her bed.

At right, we've given Remi his own plushy bed, and he snuggles up beside his plushy rabbit.


Remi began doing his excited "Whee! Whee! Whee!" call whenever Bryant or Little Bit came into the room. If "mom" (Eler Beth) left the room and came back in, he would "Whee!" And he even started doing it when I came in or if he could hear me or Thomas coming down the hall. He developed a little game to play with me. As soon as he knew I was coming in, he'd grab a toy, "Whee" all over the room and "keep" me from getting it. He'll lie down with it in his mouth, "whee'ing" the whole time, and I'll say, "You give me that toy," and either try to take it (and fail, of course) or just give him a good petting. It makes him so happy to think he's keeping that toy from "grandma!"  I'll have to get a video of that.

To the left, me with a fox sleeping on my head. :)

Not long after we got Remiel, Eler Beth and I went on a five-day trip and we took Remi with us. The kittens we left at home, and Thomas took care of them. He got so attached to them that by the time we got home, he said we could keep them if we wanted. We had felt that he was turning toward that decision but we hadn't dared ask, so we'd just been kind of holding our breath. Now we could breathe. It was a good thing, too, because Remiel, Illyana, and Soren became fast and loyal friends. As far as the cats were concerned Remi was just one of them, and he, because he'd nursed with kittens, seemed to think it was just a matter of course that he had cat siblings in his new home.

So Eler Beth was very happy. She had Bryant, her companion dog, her best friend, who came to us at a time when he was really needed. She had her fox that she'd planned for for 8 years. And she had cats in the house, which she thought would never happen again.

And in June there was to be another addition to the menagerie....

(See previous posts for more of the kittens' and Remiel's stories.)

~ ~ Lori

Bottle Feeding Kittens, Soren and Illyana....

 

NaBloPoMo Post #4

All The Nyans, Part Two

 

Back in April, as we were preparing for the arrival of Eler Beth's Fennec Fox, we got a surprise handed to us -- two orphaned new-born kittens.  A friend of ours called to say that a friend of hers had found them on the side of the road. Their eyes were not open, but began opening within a couple of days, so we estimated their birth date as April 15. 

This wasn't the first time Eler Beth had bottle-raised a small animal (and I knew it wouldn't be the last!), and she was thrilled. We quickly stocked up on kitten formula, bottles, nipples, bottle brush, pee pads, and second-hand baby blankets. The little girl, the buff colored one, she named Illyana, and the gray male she named Soren. 

We had no intention of keeping them. After all, she already had Bryant in her room, and soon the Fennec fox would be here. We didn't think it would be any problem to find a home for them when the time came.  

Bryant quickly showed that he was going to be really, really good with a little fox, because he went right into "dad" mode with the kittens. He LOVED the babies. They were HIS babies. He would go check on them in their carrier periodically. He cleaned their little bums. If you asked him, "Where are your babies?" he would go right over to them and look at them. And if I came into the room and took them out with me, to feed in another room or to bathe them, he would get a little agitated until I brought them back.

Now the only thing we ever worried about regarding getting the fox was how Bryant would be with him. He'd always been good with small dogs and puppies, but we weren't totally sure how careful he'd be with the fox. Our fears were put to rest when these kittens came.

They thrived under Eler Beth's care, with a bit of help from me, and of course we became attached. We never dared voice our attachment because Thomas, we knew, would not want a cat in the house. He has an allergy, although in recent years it doesn't seem to be as bad as it used to be. But after our last cat died, he said he didn't want any more because he didn't want to have to deal with it if it died. But with these two every time I'd say something about Eler Beth finding them homes, he'd say, "You don't hear me rushing you." Or I'd say, "You know she's going to be very picky about who she gives them to." And he'd say, "Of course she is. I'm not rushing to get rid of them."  We knew there was hope!! :)

As you will see if you read future posts, circumstances occurred that caused Thomas to become VERY attached to the kittens, and they are now part of our family. I'll go into that more as I continue the story of the Nyans which extends into the stories of getting the Fennec fox, another surprise rescue kitten, and....  But I'll just leave that for now. 
 
Illy used to love to sleep under the desk on the keyboard tray. She's too big to fit there now!  The last picture here is of them last month when they turned six months old. More on the little ones of the family soon! Happy blogging all!

~ ~ Lori 

Remiel, The Fennec Fox