How is Sparkle doing?
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How is Sparkle doing?
She's doing really good.
We can separate our house in half by closing doors.
We've been keeping her in one half and keeping our other animals in the other half - both sides have a door leading outside.
She keeps hanging around the door trying to sneak out.
I don't know why she wants outside so bad.
This morning I had to put her in my bathroom so she couldn't run out with all the morning commotion that goes on her - she meowed the whole time and didn't want to be in there.
Other than that, she's great...
We're just waiting. This should be the week.
I think she probably wants out so she can find a place to have her babies. If she was outside for a couple of months she would instinctively look for a place in the woods that she could hide to have her babies. She would have learned what wild animals have to do to survive, and that is one thing.
Have fun keeping her in. :D In my experience, when a cat is determined to get out, they will try their hardest. They learn to hide in a corner near the door where you can't see them and go flying out just when you close it.
LOL!Quote:
They learn to hide in a corner near the door where you can't see them and go flying out just when you close it.
That's exactly what she's doing!
We've been having to crack the door, wait a moment (she pops out of hiding), close the door, chase her away, then run out the door as quick as we can before she has a chance to escape.
I guess maybe that's what's she's doing.
I think she spent her whole life outside before now.
She won't get in the box I made her.
And when I put her in it, she tries to resist going in, and then hops right back out.
She hasn't been nesting like she was before (or like I would think she should be).
Maybe she wasn't nesting before, she may have just been exploring.
We have cats that never were outside and they try to jump out at unexpected moments. Cats that were out before are doubly hard to keep in. I know you said she doesn't like being locked in a room, but it wouldn't hurt to leave her locked in a room while you are gone, just in case. Then you know where she is, and you won't have to search the whole house looking for her.
If you know of a favorite place of her's, like in the corner of the second bedroom on the second floor, or whatever, you could just put a towel there and move her into the box when she starts having kittens. She may not even keep them in the box. One of ours used to drag them out and under the sofa, so I bought one cage to keep them in. This was right when we moved into our house, so it's been about 3-4 years.
Also, all our cats started having the kittens betweem 10:00 pm and 1:00 am, so if you get up one day and she doesn't look quite as fat, you may want to start looking. I found this web page that's a pretty good read. My sister just got a kitten that is 6 weeks old, so I sent it to her. It gives some pretty good facts you should go by for young kittens, and some are just good for cats in general.
How to Care for Your Kitten
Thanks for the link.
You're right. I need to be putting her in a room when were not at home just in case she has them... and I guess at night too.
Especially now since it's getting so close.
Sparkles stomach has been tightening up and releasing every now and then for 2 days.
I thought she was going into labor, but I guess not.
Did any of your cats do that?
It's like it will tighten up and you can feel the impressions of the muscles? Or maybe the babies?
Everything gets real tight, but it goes away and then nothing...
Is that normal in your experience?
I can't find anything online about this.
I called her vet yesterday and today and NO ONE called me back - I think they think I'm a pain in the azz
Because I've had to call them several times recently about some issues with one of my dogs...
And I called them about her twitching thing and they told me (with an attitude) that she probably had an itch...
The woman told me that I was a paranoid mommy... I guess that was a hint not to call them so much...
I don't think I ever felt my cats stomach when they were close to giving birth, so I don't know. I found an emergency number in Wisconsin and called and asked them and they said you should probably take her back to the vet tomorrow, it sounds like she's in labor. She shouldn't have contractions for more than two or three hours (+/- some time) before they start coming out. I can ask my parents, too, if you want, but I won't be able to reply until tomorrow morning or afternoon (depends on when I see them.)
I think your vet needs an attitude adjustment. They should be answering your questions, not acting smart and giving attitude. It's only right that you would want to find out if she's having a problem. Not to be rude, but I would be finding another vet.That's why I take my cats to a vet a half hour away instead of the vet that's five minutes away. I called the one close to me once and asked them a question, a couple days after I had been there, and they were rude, and that was it. I refuse to go there again, unless it's a true emergency. They even made me make another appointment before they would answer my question. The one farther away just answered it, no questions asked.
Let me know if you want me to ask my parents.
She had her kittens this morning.
Everything went well.
That's great. :D I'm so glad everything went good. How many are there? :confused: How cute are they?
Oh goodness...
I was in such a hurry I forgot to tell you 3 adorable kitties.
2 black and white and 1 black.
They are tiny too.
They seem to be doing real good.
They are so cute!!
I have a question. I went to walmart last night to get some ice packs for my knees (chiropractor suggested), and stopped in at the fish tanks. In the africans tank, they had some that were all orange. No other color, no stripes, just orange. Kind of made me think of a goldfish, but even more orange than that. Do you have any clue as to what they were? Alas, no pictures to show you. I was wondering. I kind of liked them, and thought maybe I could write it down for the future. They also had another one of the blue ones that I have, but my fish are at least twice as big, so I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to get one. So I didn't. Although I would like another one. Guess it wouldn't be a good idea unless I got another big tank. :) Not going to happen anytime soon.
Oh, and undergravel filters? Any thoughts on them? I don't know anything about them, was looking at prices and such when I got my tank, but forgot about it and thought about it yesterday.
Thanks
Daisy :D
Did they look like these?
The older they get, the more orange they get.
Also females are not as bright orange as the males.
They are Red Zebras...
Attachment 3725
Attachment 3726
They sort of look like those, but I thought that the mouths didn't stick out as much. Don't know really how to describe it except their faces were flatter and rounder. The color looks right on, though, so maybe. Maybe I could see if I could get a picture. Sneak in with my digital my dad gave me and snap one quick. :D It would be easier to compare, then.
They do look like how you described.
These pics really do their heads no justice.
It would be cool if you could snap a pic or 2 of them.
The only orange Africans that I know of are the red zebras.
There's another orange cichlid called the red devil, but they are not Africans, they are central American.
They look quite similar when they are young.
I'll be leaving tomorrow, I'm not real sure if I'll have internet service or not.
If I don't, I'll be back online Tuesday or Wednesday.
Oh the under gravel filter, I forgot... sorry.
I don't use them personally because the dirt gets sucked under the
Gravel and under the filter itself and builds up under there.
Because the dirt cannot be removed out of the water by replacing
Filter cartridges, the water always has suet in it causing it to always have a bit of a cloud to it.
I like being able to remove the dirty cartridges.
This is the best that came out. That camera isn't very good. But I looked at the face closer this time at the store and they do look exactly like the ones that you said they were. Thanks. I like the bright colors. That's one of the reasons I bought the bumblebees and the yellow one. Definitely going to start a list for future fish to get.
They are among my favorites too.
I love the bright colors...
You did good snapping some pics in Walmart!
Go Daisy!
The kittens are so cute!! You know it's going to be hard to give them up when you find homes for them.
I think right now, while their young, a more appropriate name for those fish would be electric orange. :D
I know, I've fallen in love with them.
My favorite one is in the first picture (of the ones I just posted).
It's the only girl and she's the brave and curious one.
LOL you know what's funny about the fish is that they never turn red. LOL
They're electric orange... That should be their name...
LOL That is funny. Maybe the person who named them was color blind.
I bought a new decoration for my tank. I think my fish love it, because they are around it a lot and one of my raphaels is always in it. My other raphael is always in the fake driftwood. And my bumblebees are twice as big as when I bought them. They already killed half of my plants. I heard that they are okay with java fern and java moss, though, so I was thinking about trying those. Have you ever tried those in your tanks?
I have to fix the bubble stones in my tank... good thing this is the weekend I need to clean the tank.
It looks so good daisy! I love it! Looks real clean too!
I love java moss! The stuff is great!
It spreads and attaches to stuff. Almost undestroyable!
It doesn't root like regular plants, the fish can move it where ever and it doesn't die.
Just have to have good lighting (which you already bought) and a little fertilizer every now and then.
That would be a great choice for your tank!
I don't know about the fern, never had those.
The fish look great!
How many are in there?
You could probably add a red zebra if you wanted...
Thanks, I will definitely have to check out the moss, and research the fern.
There are ten total fish, including the two plecs and two raphaels. I would eventually like to get a tank just for the plecs and raphaels, since they are such peaceful fish (at least they are at the moment). When I put the food in for them, the others try to eat it and carry it around. I have no clue if the plecs and raphaels are even getting food. Although the plecs are bigger and the raphaels do look kind of fat. But I thought if I got a couple more kinds of plecs and raphaels, and put them in one tank, it would look pretty neat.
The only thing I was worried about if I got one of the red zebras is that they would get eaten real quick. They are half the size of the smallest fish I have, and the smallest fish (the kenyi) is about a quarter of the size of the biggest fish (the convict) I have.
I would definitely consider putting the peaceful fish in another tank before your rowdy gang grow up... LOL...
They're still babies yet and have not yet reached their full evilness LOL
Petsmart should have some bigger ones.
When and if you do decide to add another one, remember the trick is to
Take away the claimed territory.
Separate all the fish by taking them out and putting them in separate containers.
If you put them together in the same container they will kill each other.
I made that mistake once by putting 2 together in a 5 gallon bucket,
1 got pecked to death and it was only in there for 10 minutes...
So anyway, place them in separate containers and rearrange your tank (this is messing up the claimed territory).
Add the new fish first and let him settle in, then one by one place your other fish back inside the tank.
Let them get settled before you add the next.
Add the most aggressive fish last...
Then all the fish (including the new one) have to reestablish new territory
All at the same time.
Sounds too hard... LOL just kidding. If I can find appropriate containers to put them in, I will definitely go get one of the red zebras. I can see it now. Fourteen cats all running and trying to eat all of my fish from the containers AFTER they play with them, on the rug, for ten to twenty minutes. One of them did that to a betta I had a few years ago. That poor betta.
LOL!
You know what works really good...
1 gallon zip lock bags.
Fill half with water and leave half air, seal it except for a little corner,
Put the end of you air tube in the corner to blow up the bag with air, seal the rest of the way shut.
If the bag has any slack in it, twist the top until the bag becomes tight.
Then rap a rubber band around it so that it won't unravel, then stack them up in a bucket.
Works like a charm;)
Thanks. I never would have thought of that. I can see how it would work, without even doing it.
Have you ever heard of this? I sort of thought it was an interesting article. Only sort of because it's a little long for my attention span.
Aufwuchs
Oh boy, oh boy. I went to the store to see how much the red zebra's were at petsmart. Let me just say, I have no self control. I didn't buy the red zebra's, oh no. I bought an AC something or another and one from the assorted cichlid tank. I thought about getting the zebra too, but had at least that much self control. I don't want to put too to many in the tank.
I was looking at the second one when I got home, and it looks kind of like the one my brother has called a blue johanni(?), but its not even close to the color of his or even ones I saw on the internet when he got his. They all had dark stripes, and had neon blue coloring. This one has a slight blue coloring, and dark stripes, but they really aren't that dark. Looks more black and white than black and blue. Sort of looks like the kenyi, except the stripes are going the opposite way. I'll have to see if I can get pictures of them. They are out and about, but they won't stop moving long enough to snap one. And I got some other type of plant to try. Can't remember what it is, though, probably something that they'll kill in two days. Oh well. They didn't have Java Moss. Java Ferns, they had, but I don't like the way they look.
Do all of the fish need to have some type of plant supplement or something in their diet? I stuck in like 10 algae wafers, I figured that at least two of them had to be left for the plecos, but no, they didn't leave any, they ate them all. GRRR. That frustrates me.
Oh yeah, I tried your suggestion for the fish. I could only catch three of them. That took me almost an hour. My dad sat there the whole time watching and laughing at me. Then the cats got into the container I put them in and started poking holes in the bags. Uhh. Next time I guess the container will have to go outside. I didn't think they would be able to get into it. Boy, was I wrong. Everyone's okay though.
I GOT PICTURES! WOOHOO! It wasn't easy, I'll tell you, and somehow in one of the pictures I got both of them. The new plant is in the background of one of the pictures too.
I have heard this, but not in the same way.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyDaisyLou
I let the algae (all forms of it) grow in my tank on the big rocks and fake plants, but nothing else. My Africans seem to love it.
I feed them African cichlid attack and super soft spirulina made by HBH.
Attachment 3766
The solid blue fish I think looks like a cobalt blue zebra. I have one of those (if they are the same fish)
He was my avatar for a long time. I believe there are some pics of him somewhere in here.
I have no idea what the one with stripes is. I don't think I've ever seen that before.
He's really gorgeous though.
I'd love to know what he is as well.
Sorry the bag thing didn't work out for you.
LOL, yeah, those buggers are quick and hard to catch.
I use a net the size for a full grown Oscar.LOL easier for me that way.
What do you think? Do they look the same, my fish and the blue johanni picture in this link?
Electric Blue Johanni - Tropical Fish Forums
The second fish, his fins are yellow. I remember your picture, I found it today and showed it to someone, and she loved it. Anyway, I figured out how you spelled the name, but I have no clue how you pronounce it. It is in this link.
Species Profiles -- Cichlid-Forum
All of the fish seem to be doing okay. (Crossing my fingers and knocking on wood :D)
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