Animal Nursery Status Report

Squirrels

There are seven of them! One is tiny, eyes closed. The others all opened their eyes over the course of this past week.

The older ones I have transferred to a wire cage outdoors. Within the wire cage, on the floor of it, is their nest basket. They haven't yet become very adventurous. Four times a day, I haul each one out to bottle-feed it, and I make a point of NOT putting it back in its basket. I put each one on the side of the cage, clinging to the wire. Some of them have found their way back to the nest basket; others just start screaming for help after a few minutes, so I put them back in the basket myself.

One or two of them have been sniffing at the Cheerios and apple chunks I've left inside the cage, but none has tried tasting them yet, although I've checked and they all have both upper and lower teeth. I'm going to have to cut down their bottle feedings, but it's a couple of days too soon, I think...Starting tomorrow, though, I'll get up in the mornings at 7:30 instead of 7:00, and I'll feed Demetrios and the kittens first, then the squirrels. If they get hungry beforehand, let them find the solid food!

Kittens

They are brothers, Blackjack (solid black) and Stormy (grey tabby, fluffy). I said, "It's a shame the black one isn't a female, so her name could be, 'Miss Fortune.'"

"Jacky" is a pistol, full of vim and vigor. He goes prancing all over the sunroom where the kittens live. Stormy has a more subdued personality. They're both snugglers.

Jacky comes running to Demetrios every time he sees him, and trots around at his heels like a dog. Demetrios has fallen in love! He GIGGLES and giggles and giggles when Jacky accosts him. Picks him up, lets him sit on his lap, sleep under his chin during afternoon nap, talks to him. He plays with Stormy, too, but Jacky is his darling. Demetrios has even taken an interest in what I'm feeding the kitties. Next thing you know, he'll be overseeing the food preparation, to be sure I'm doing it right!

I've told him he'd better not become too attached, as his owner is to return on Monday to retrieve her sweeties; we're only kitten-sitting.

In his own mind, I know from experience, Demetrios will remember all this as "the time you wanted to keep that little black kitten." !

UPDATE: Now there are 8 squirrels. The six big ones are in the wire cage, and that left the little one all by himself in his basket inside. So this evening I picked him out a little "sister" from among Chris' THIRTY squirrels, because you shouldn't raise a wild baby in isolation from his own kind. (Obviously, Chris was very glad for me to take that little critter, and would've been even gladder if I'd taken half a dozen!)