Charlie

So, Charlie is a Maltese Yorkie mix. I got him on August 30, 2010. He was about 2 months old. He is so darn cute. Charlie is white with black patches and super fluffy. he reminds me of my previous dog Osiris. At first Lex and Henry were very cautious about him. I think they thought he was a bit crazy. He had so much energy and would charge at them. Charlie just wanted to play. Luckily, he mellowed down and they accepted him fairly quickly. Now they are all buddies. Charlie and Lex will chase each other around and play outside. Henry lets Charlie sleep next to him. Charlie is such a sweet heart and full of energy. He behaves very well, but doesn't always come when I call him. He is getting better every day. Today I got him registered and micro-chipped. He was so good. It hurt him a little bit, but he was a good boy. Now I h=just have to teach him to walk on a leash. He refuses to move.....so I always have to carry him around. I've never had a dog that wouldn't walk on a leash. We'll see how that goes.

George my chinchilla

George is my very furry, super soft, friendly and curious chinchilla. George will be five years old on Monday May 31st. At first when I got him, many people were unsure of what exactly a chinchilla was. They said he looked like a mix of animals. He looks like he's part mouse, part bunny, and part squirrel. I just find him all around cute. Chinchillas like rabbits are part of the rodent family. I've had rabbits before but I prefer having a chinchilla. Chinchillas are super clean. Did you know they love to bathe themselves? That's right! George enjoys taking baths. It's like a treat for him. It's not a normal bath like you and I would have. Chinchillas bathe in a white volcanic sand. This is also why there fur is so soft. I mean incredibly soft. I love petting George and resting his fur against my cheek. Here's a link on information about chinchilla bathing.

I always get asked where chinchillas come from. Chinchillas are originally from Peru. Specifically the Andes. They are very quick and great jumpers. Chinchillas have very strong back legs like rabbits do. What I like the most about the chinchillas is that they do not have any claws. There hands and feet have no claws and no nails. Just imagine your fingers without any nails. That's what a chinchillas paw feels like. Here's a link for more information on chinchillas.

I already mentioned that George loves to take baths. A bath is like a treat for him. I have him take about two to three baths a week. However, George also likes other treats. He loves these dandelion snacks that I give him. I also give him raisins. Chinchillas will go crazy over snacks. George always comes out to greet me and to get his snack. I don't like saying no to him, but I have to make sure that he doesn't have to many snacks. He has to have a balanced diet, which includes pellets, plenty of water, and plenty of timothy hay. I also have to make sure he has some wood to chew on. Chinchillas like rabbits need to chew on something. There front teeth never stop growing so they have to chew on wood to keep them healthy and from growing too long. Here's a link to food enjoyed by my chinchilla.

Here's a video I found on a chinchilla getting petted. George loves to be petted too. He looks just as happy as this chinchilla in the video does.

My friend Tiger

Tiger is an orange Maine Coon that likes to eat mangoes. He is 7 1/2 months old. My friend rescued him from the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter back in December. Tiger went from being homeless and caged in a shelter to having an owner who takes very good care of him. Tiger is actually now a little spoiled. He has many toys, gets groomed, and has plenty of "Tiger time" every day. Nevertheless, Tiger is a very sweet and loving cat. He'll give you cat kisses!!!



This is a picture of Tiger. Yes, he is sticking out his tongue. This act is what inspired this particular blog. When I saw him sticking out his tongue I couldn't help but laugh. I asked my friend if there was something wrong with him. I guess that got him thinking and he looked it up. Turns out that it's normal. Cats groom themselves with their tongue. It turns out, that they just forget that their tongue is sticking out. It usually only happens when their kittens,so if you ever see your cat with his or her tongue out it's a perfect opportunity to snap a picture. They look so silly.
Here's a link to some more information. Why does my cat stick his tongue out?

After looking up why they stick their tongue out, it got me thinking about their actual tongue. For those of you who have never been licked by a cat, it's different. I remember being at a friends house many years ago and his cat Baby came next to me and started licking my hand. I was taken by surprise and looked at my friend kinda freaked out. I was like..."Is your cat biting me?" He started laughing. He explained that that's how their tongues are. They are rough like sandpaper. So if you've never been licked by a cat, I just gave you a heads up. I found these links just in case you want to find out some more about cats and why their tongues are rough. Why does my cat's tongue feel like sandpaper? and Pawprints and Purr Inc.

Going to the Vet

Last Saturday I took Henry to the vet. Nothing major, just his regular check up and booster shot. I find him to be very interesting. I can never go to the vet by myself. He just can not go into his crate and in a moving vehicle. He has no problem with being in the crate...as long as it's not moving. So, I always have to carry him. This was easier when he was a kitten, but now he's all grown up, and I can't hold him and drive at the same time. So my solution is to have someone else go with me.

For this visit I took my friend. She had just got a new puppy. Her puppy's name is Coco. She is a chihuahua pug mix. She is very sweet and tiny. She is only 7 weeks old, well now she's 8 weeks old. So,my friend called me to ask when she should get her first shots and I told her that it was time, and that she should go with me. For those of you who don't know, it's crucial for puppies to get all there shots so that they don't get sick. You especially have to be careful with them getting Parvo. If your puppy gets Parvo, he/she only has a 20% chance of surviving. Just to let you all know, there is no cure for Parvo.

The visit went well. Both Henry and Coco did well. Coco was asleep most of the time, and Henry is fine as long as he's not in the car. I really like the vet I go to. I've always had a good experience. Here are two good vet places that I've gone to. Pico Rivera Animal Hospital, and North Figueroa Animal Hospital. Both of these places are not close to me, but I'm willing to drive. Although, North Figueroa does take a long time. This is why I usually go to the Pico Rivera animal Hospital. I should really find a vet closer to me.

Here's a link on vaccination recommendations, it tells you when a puppy should get them and what exactly they are being vaccinated for.

Here's a picture of Coco, on her first visit to the vet.

Henry

Here's a picture of Henry the birthday boy! :0)
He's a very curious and adventurous cat. He decided to climb one of the trees in our yard.

April 27, 2010

Ok. So last Thursday was my cat Henry's birthday. He is two years old in human years. This got me thinking, about how old he is in cat years. I always thought that it was seven years for every human year, but I was wrong. It was interesting to find out the truth. For those of you interested, here it is:

Cat Age-------------Human Age

6 months----------- 15 years
1 year-------------- 24 years
2 years------------- 28 years
3 years------------- 32 years
4 years------------- 36 years
5 years------------- 40 years
6 years------------- 44 years
7 years------------- 48 years
8 years------------- 52 years
9 years------------- 56 years
10 years------------ 60 years
11 years------------ 64 years
12 years------------ 68 years
13 years------------ 72 years
14 years------------ 80 years
16 years------------ 84 years
17 years------------ 88 years
18 years------------ 92 years
19 years------------ 96 years
20 years------------ 100 years

Here is a link to a cat years calculator.

Isn't it interesting!!!

I also decided to look up dog years.

When a Human is:		A Canine is Approximately:
8 Months	...............	13 Years
1 Year	...............	16 Years
2 Years	...............	24 Years
5 Years	...............	32 Years
7 Years	...............	44 Years
9 Years	...............	52 Years
11 Years	...............	60 Years
13 Years	...............	68 Years
15 Years	...............	76 Years

Here is a link to a dog years calculator.

How about Chinchillas you may ask? I was unable to find a chart like I did for dogs and cats. However, chinchillas can live for 8-10 years in the wild. In captivity they can live for 15-20 years. Chinchillas are definitely growing on popularity as a pet. I remember, when I would mention that I had a chinchilla, most people had no idea what it was. The most common chinchilla is the gray chinchilla, but they do come in different colors.

Here's a link to some information on chinchillas.

If your interested in adopting a chinchilla, Forever Feisty Chinchilla Rescue is a good site.

Below is an image of two chinchillas. One is the common gray colored chinchilla, the other is a white chinchilla. There are also beige, black, and silver chinchillas available.

April 21, 2010

Today, I set up my blog account. I've decided to blog about something really important in my life. My Pets! My pets are a huge part of my life, and define a bit of who I am. I couldn't imagine what my life would have been without them. This includes all my past and present pets. Presently, I have a black Chihuahua named Alexander, a grey Tabby Cat named Henry, a grey Chinchilla named George, two love birds and seven cockatiels.


This is Alexander. I got Alexander in February of 2008. I had a white Pomeranian named Osiris before him. Osiris was stolen on February 16, of 2008. I would go to shelters to search for him everyday. One of those days I decided to go into the clinic area of the shelter and Alexander was there. I wasn't searching for a new pet, but we had a n instant connection. Alexander was only four months old. He was in the clinic area because he had a broken leg. After seeing him I couldn't leave him there. I inquired about him and found out that he had already been at the shelter before. They took him and returned him with a broken leg. It broke my heart. It was meant for me to take him home. Plus it was my birthday. I figured, that when I found Osiris he would have a new brother. Unfortunately, I never did find Osiris. I still miss him very much. :0(



This is Henry. Henry also came to me in an interesting way. It was an unusual day in July of 2008. I was at Sea World and on my way back home, it was raining and there was thunder. I didn't think much of it. The next morning my mom told me that a cat had gotten into our garage and she couldn't get it out. I never had a cat before and imagined a big cat hissing and was worried that I was going to get scratched. I decided to see what I could do to get this cat out of our garage. My mom said that he had gone behind some boxes and couldn't get him out. I slowly and cautiously moved the boxes and to my surprise, there he was. He was a small, frightened kitten. I thought to myself, poor little guy. He's more afraid of me. I quickly went to get some turkey and ham to lure him out. He was so sweet and came to me. Once I got him out, I gave him more food, some milk, and some water. I decided at that moment that I wanted to keep him. I never had a cat before, but I figured that he was sent to me. I later learned that he was only three months old at the time.


Finally, this is George. George will be 5 years old in May. I use to have two chinchillas. the other chinchilla was named Andy. Andy passed away. I got Andy and George from a friend. He realized he didn't have the time to take care of them. I had always wanted a chinchilla. I think they are so cute and interesting. It made sense for me to get them. I was the one who showed my friend what a chinchilla was. Interesting story about George. My friend was going to give the chinchillas to someone else, but then he figured that if I had them, he would still see them. A month after I got them, the girl who wanted to get them had a fire at her house. If she had gotten them, George would not be here today. He was meant to be with me.

So, as you can see I rescued all my pets. They are now in a loving home.

Here are some useful links:
For more information on where you can adopt a pet (This is where I got Alexander from).
Los Angeles County Animal Shelter

This is also a good shelter. Pasadena Humane Society

One more shelter. San Gabriel Valley Humane Society

Remember...always think about adopting a pet first!!!!