Hmmm

I've talked before about cats and rats and how even though Saké and Penelope definitely interact with each other, I would never trust any of my cats with the girls out in the open.

Thus it probably isn't surprising that this video astounds me and also makes me really uncomfortable:



Craziness.

Pillows Part 2

Continuing yesterday's theme, footage of a tiny rat playing in pillows.

Explorers

Sushi had fun playing in a pile of pillows the other night.

Sushi

I was a bit surprised to see her playing on them however, because they were not in the most stable place.

The pillows made me nervous, but not Sushi.

Saké was wise enough to stay out of the way.

Saké waits off to the side.

Regardless of her choice of hang out, Sushi wins the award for adorable explorer rat.

Look at those feet!

Finally...a Meme Turns to Rats

I was tired of this meme until I saw this on another rat blog (which is a fun blog and you should check it out). Suddenly, I'm back on board.

In Need of a New Home

I'm not sure why the girls are destroying their new nest when their old nest (which was identical) lasted forever.

However, I do like that they are stacked inside.

Sisters

This speaks for itself:

Mondays

The girls don't like getting woken up anymore than we do.

Sleepy Sushi

Sushi's Eyes

I was asked recently about the crud on Sushi's eyes. She always has a lot of crust and grossness on her right eye when she first wakes up. In fact, this is one of the things that alerted us that something wasn't quite right with her when we met her.

One cute rat...one crusty right eye

It is only Sushi's right eye that gets crusty. It seems to drain constantly, which I think must be a side effect of all of the dental issues she has - perhaps she also has sinus issues? It doesn't seem to bother her and her breathing is normal, so other than being aware of it, we don't pay a whole lot of attention to it.  

Bomb Sniffing Rats on CNN

I have posted before about the use of bomb sniffing rats in Colombia (bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/11/service-rats.html). I was surprised to see a video at cnn.com yesterday on this program.


I am fascinated by this. It is really great to see the coverage and to see these amazing animals in action.

Pants Party

Little known fact: pants make an excellent place to hang out.

Saké Builds a Fort

Anyone who has studied history can tell you the importance of building your fort near a water supply. Evidently Saké has learned that lesson.

Messy Sushi

Since it's Friday, footage of a tiny rat giving herself a wash.

Fat Saké

This past Sunday we took our dogs to a local fundraising dog wash. We donated money to a good cause and the dogs received much needed baths (with the mess and smell kept far away from our house). While there we encountered a lovely black lab, who was as obese as he was sweet. Overweight pets are touchy subject for me, since I think it is the responsibility of the owner to keep their pets as healthy as possible, and this means not feeding them to death.

Fast forward a couple of days. We often add a bit of cold cereal (such as Cheerios or Rice Chex) to Sushi's mush of lab blocks and baby cereal. We do this mainly to give her some variety in her pretty boring diet. However, her sister also eats Sushi's food on a regular basis.

On the night in question, the cereal was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I noticed Saké happily eating a piece of it and thought to myself how adorable she was and grabbed the camera. Then I thought about the overweight dog from the fundraising wash and realized that I had no more excuse than that dog's owners. Thus I present the last picture that will ever be taken of Saké enjoying Cinnamon Toast Crunch. If there is anything our fat rat doesn't need, it is empty calories.

Saké

Saké

Saké taunted me with her adorableness over the weekend, yet when I grabbed the camera she retreated to the back of the cage.

Shy Saké

She's usually front and center when she sees the camera, so I'm not sure what the deal was.

Sleeping

When I first saw Sushi sleeping the other day, I thought she was dead. She was in such an unlikely location that I couldn't imagine her choosing it as a spot to nap.

One eye open 

Before grabbing the camera I poked her (and ended up waking her up) to make sure she was still alive.

Awake but sleepy

Panning out, you can see that someone else chose a more comfortable lounging location.

Saké

Sushi the Acrobat

It's Okay to Use Your Hands When You Eat

Sushi relies a lot on her paws when she eats. She often uses them to put food in her mouth and then either shakes the remaining off her paws or wipes her paws on the towel lining their cage (I'm not kidding). She just woke up in the following picture, hence her sticky eye, but look at the adorable paw action:

Shoveling it in...

Dinner Time

Proving that her missing teeth don't bother her anymore...

Sisters

They look like they are up to something...