Mamamontezz's Mental Rumpus Room

Denita...

I have come to the conculsion that Denita is the most recent and rodent reincarnation of Harry Houdini with a little Einstein thrown in just to make it even tougher on us humans.

After her latest escape from the big cage, I re-did the latches, double checked the seams, and straightened out the place where it looked like the door didn't meet the cage wall tightly. Then, after days of playing, eating, and sleeping with Lovey the cat, Denita let her rattie guard down and I snagged her. She remained snagged and in the cage a total of maybe 10 minutes.

You know, if it werent the fact that she's not exactly litter trained and has a decided taste for phone cords, I wouldn't have a problem with her being lose for periods of time. But it gives the Spousal Unit the willies when he feels her climb up onto the bed and settle in between his feet or behind his knees with whichever cat is already there curled up and asleep.

Yes, she sleeps with the cats. And they with her. And they let her eat out of their dish. And they play tag. Lovey and Denita spent the better part of yesterday evening (pre-capture) laying on my feet under the computer desk while I built a blog for someone and constructed a banner for it.

Time to redesign those cage doors... I'll figure out something. In the meantime, it's time to hit the dollar store for phone cords.

Rats Out

Skittering through unlocked door,
Making your way down to the floor,
Moving in manners rodentine,
Freedom for ratties, so divine!

Under the sofa, round the chair,
'Twixt the loose pillows, on the stair,
Into the bedroom, through the toys,
Curious wonders, steeped with joys.

Pestering cats along the way,
Pausing for naps and meals and play,
Fanciful pleasures keenly sought,
Wrestling matches bravely fought.

Ruckus and tussle, squeek and squeal,
Patter and scatter, taste and feel,
'Til Mistress sees you've run away,
Having Rat Independence Day.

Traitorous cats betray your lair.
(Felines are hardly ever fair!)
Spying you, she puts up a chase,
Capturing you in young embrace.

Another time will come, and soon.
Just bide your time. One night or noon
Fortune will smile upon you, then
Freedom will find you once again.

GGMR Disorder

Yes, we have a new addition to the Montezz Menagerie.

Ain't she cute? This is Beth, named in honor of Beth from Yeah,Righ,Whatever. the human version is wonderful, but this little rodent one's pretty darned cute too.

And not to worry. That's not the permanant abode. I just have to do the "Bathtub Rat Social" to introduce everyone and let the Old Timers get aquainted with the New Kids while the big cage is cleaned out and made ready. This is just for overnight.

The Great Escape

Oh, we had us some fun this morning. About an hour or so ago, I hear this yelp from the bedroom, followed by my husband asking where the rats are. I ask him why, and he informs me that one of them had just walked across his face while he was asleep in bed. Needless to say, that pretty much woke him up really quickly and not in the best of moods.

I look into Cecilie and Dumpling's cage and lo and behold, there are no rats. The cage wasn't as secure as I had believed it to be, and they had worked their little ratty way out of it and into our bedroom. AND they had chased the cat out of the bedroom on top of all that.

Let me tell you now, rat-catching at 4am should be a spectator sport. At one point, he had the box spring and mattress standing up on one side, while he "shushed" and "tsk-tsk'ed" behind them, trying to herd them under the bedframe on my side so that I could catch their little rodent selves and recage them. Him in his underwear, mad as hell, herding rats. It was hard to bend over and catch them because every time I almost caught one I'd get tickled and miss.

Well, needless to say the cage is now much more secure and they have been returned to it. They're not happy about it, either. They snuck down to their previous escape place, only to find it clipped tighter than Fabio's G-string. I actually think they're pouting.

It could have been worse. At least they didn't climb up to the Misha's and Slagle's cage and let themselves in for a rat-soiree. I do believe they're smart enough to do it, if the springs weren't as snug as they are.

Little boogers.

Dumpling and Cecily

Well, we have had our little furballs for almost a week, and we have all learned a valuable lesson about our rats: They do not like to be picked up inside the cage. They prefer to be allowed out onto the table through the open door of the cage, where you can pick them up with ease.

This lesson was hard earned by us all, and we are all sporting Bandaids on at least one knuckle. Even the Spousal Unit, who insists on calling them vermin and had proclaimed that he will never warm up to them, was given his lesson this evening when he attempted to retrieve one from inside the cage. He'll never admit he wanted to hold her, but hey, he reached in there didn't he?

He said later that after his bite, Anna the Progeny opened the door, let one out, and happily played with her on the couch for almost an hour and a half. Picked her right up off the table unscathed and remained so during the entire playtime.

Ah, the learning curve. It's a wonderful thing.