When a door closes, a window opens

Last night about 11:15, we lost our beloved Buddy. Our, soon to be three year-old, guinea pig. John and I had noticed in the last couple of weeks he had lost a lot of weight. He was also having trouble finding his food when you would hand it to him. He loved snatching food right of our your hand before you dropped it. Then last week I noticed he did not have all the function of one of his back legs. He would drag it more than walk on it. Early last night, we noticed he was not moving and John said he had not drank for a bit. I held the water bottle for him to drink some and told the girls I wasn't sure he was going to make it much longer. About eleven, he rolled onto his side. A few minutes later he was gone. We will miss you our rodent friend.



And a window opens...

Last night after we squared Buddy away for the evening, I took Rosie out to potty. I haven't done that in a long time, but the last few nights I have been taking her. So out we go and both cats, Momma and Cat Black, are there too. On the way back inside I heard a shuffle on the porch. All the animals were on the sidewalk with me. Luckily, I had my flashlight. There inside the cat house were four little eyes staring back at me. Yep, Momma brought her kittens. Two little kittens that in the dark one looked jet black and the other looked just like Cat Black (whom we still believe is one of Momma's kittens). We knew both of our cats were pregnant. And yes we are going to have them fixed, but they cannot be fixed while they are nursing...so much for that right now. :)

This afternoon we discovered Momma as three kittens. That Momma is so smart. I was wondering what had happened to her kittens because she had been hanging around the house the last few days rather than leaving (which is her usual). But coming home this afternoon I noticed a fur ball next to their winter blanket. No fur ball. Kitten bottom! They are under the cat house. Three sweet looking little things. One has the same coloring as Momma, one looks like Cat Black and one. Well, this one is unique. It has white on its face with markings that resemble a Mardi Gras mask. We will keep that in mind when we choose a name.

While we will always miss Buddy, we will enjoy the kittens while we have them.