3/31/25 – Well, here it is the end of March already. Where has the time gone? 3 months of the new year has breezed on by. Oh boy, where do I start?

January was a roller coaster of challenges with Igor Dove and his damaged beak. On January 5th, he began singing again which hadn’t happened since before his attack on 12/24. On the 12th, he stopped singing and was losing weight & feathers since I ran out of the critical care formula 4 days prior and had to use the baby bird formula while I wait for delivery. Back to feeding 3 times a day and he was still losing. Besides ordering the Rx formula, I also ordered a non-Rx bird formula and hoped that one would work just as well. January 15th I received the formula. Igor began gaining weight but was still not eating seeds which concerned me. However, he gave me one hoot when I got home that day but no singing, but the great day was the 19th when he started his daily song again. Yay!

The damaged part of his beak fell off on 1/23 which left a definite size difference between the upper and lower beak. He required tube-feeding three times a day. I scheduled a vet visit but couldn’t get in until the 28th. By then he was beginning to eat some seeds. The vet said it looked good considering it was a parrot pinch. It could have been so much worse. She wanted me to send photos weekly of the growth as it would probably need reshaping later. Like everyone else, she thought he’ll eat vegs and fruit all mushed up. He’s 15 and went from crop milk to seeds and millet. Never had mushed anything. She suggested putting seeds on top of his formula. Okay, I tried it and once his beak touched the mush formula, he jumped off his dish and never went back. LOL.

February was a much happier month except that the 1st marked the date mom passed in 2022. I tried not to dwell on my loss and believed I accomplished that. But wait, on 2/6 Igor was acting “off”. Not normal. He was making a weird call and dance. February 7, he did it again. I thought perhaps he was trying to go the bathroom or had something stuck in his crop. So, I held him and stroked his crop. He did the dance and hoot several times and then stretched his neck and upchucked a yellow ball. OMG, it was a dried pea that manufacturers put in dove seed. What the heck? However, it wasn’t dried. It had been expanding a bit because of the water he drank and tube-feeding. This poor boy. These peas are too big for a dove like Igor’s beak but because it’s damaged, he was just trying to scoop up anything he could. It was a happy day on the 14th when he weighed in at 161 grams which was the weight he was before the accident but getting him to maintain this weight required at least one tube-feeding per day with at least 15ml of formula. Once a day was fine and manageable but it would be nice if he could eat more seeds. 

On the 10th of this month we visited the vet for a beak shaping. She trimmed the bottom until it bled and did a little sanding on the top tip. Four days later both tips had turned black! The vet was gone on a three week road trip. I have no idea if this was her intentions. He was in pain for several days and I gave him some meds. He fought me with the feeding but I didn’t blame him for it as I’m sure he didn’t want it touched. The dead pieces fell off yesterday and he still has a beak that is not proportioned. In fact, it doesn’t look any different from before the reshaping! Go figure.

Today, he is singing, maintaining his weight, eating what seeds he can and I still tube-feed him every night. Sooner or later we will get back to normal.

Let’s move on to Max. He was uninterested in food around the first of the year for several days, but his stools looked okay. So, not sure what his issue was. Then again several weeks ago, he started leaving food. It was either a fur blockage or March weather. I upped his cod liver oil a little and added laxative to his water dish. For three days, he was on and off with the food and finally passed his fur ball on the 17th. Yay! I am trying to comb him daily to help with the fur shedding. It will take several months for him to get down to his slim, brown coat.

Recent YouTube videos – Hello 2025 and Unleash the Fur

The weather has not been cooperating with us and I haven’t been able to spend the time I’ve wanted with Max. If it’s too cold, my fingers freeze. If it’s raining, I get wet. However, here are a few photos of him.

1-19-25

1-27-25

2-8-25

3-14-25

3-16-25

All of my other animals seem to be doing well. Porkchop Hedgehog has gotten really fluffy! Burt Parrot is still very vocal and likes to steal Igor’s seeds. She knows how to open a Tupperware container! Poppy rabbit turned 11 in February and Lil Bun turned 3. The Chin sisters, Ruby & Pearl are well too. I upgraded their cage to a 2nd one with platforms that they can leap from one to the other. A friend gave me the idea and they love it. I have plans on adding a few more platforms but will need to wait until I get some spare funds. Frannie Ferret is slowly losing her fur due to adrenal gland disease and her tumor surgery scar is completely gone and the fur is growing back. She is so spunky when she’s awake but does sleep a lot. (no photos of her) My two cats continue to mark the furniture although being on medication to calm this behavior down. So, I have kept the pup pads up in the spots they still mark. It’s down to a week or so between markings and is very frustrating but not much I can do. I love them. I will up their medication dose and see if that helps.

Ruby & Pearl’s new setup

Burt stealing Igor’s seeds

Lil Bun 3yrs 2-24

Poppy 11yrs 2-10

Porkchop!

Lastly, I will tell you about what’s going on with me. I started having AFib back in July of last year. I noticed it during one day and then looked at my smart watch and it seemed I was doing aerobics in my sleep, too! I mentioned it to the doctor in September, wore a heart monitor for 2 days in October and results came back in January. She put me on a blood thinner and I went to the cardiologist who put me on a heart med. He wanted two meds but insurance only covered one for which I’m glad as I don’t want to be a walking medicine cabinet. I was very emotional at first and then through research and time, it’s like no big deal now. I had an ultrasound done on my heart and then wore a monitor for 2 weeks which by the way was horrific. With such sensitive skin, I needed to wear the monitor with 5 wires and special electrode pads. The hives and blisters were bad and dealing with all those wires frustrating. This was back in February and I haven’t heard anything about the results. I saw the cardiologist again earlier this month and basically, he blames my sleep apnea for the AFib because the ultrasound was okay with a small valve issue when I go into AFib. I haven’t been using the CPAP machine because I hate it. It’s like being in prison although I’ve never been but you know what I mean. So, I go back in 6 months. I asked to be taken off the heart meds because it makes me tired but he said no. He thinks my tiredness is due to the sleep apnea although I wasn’t tired before I started the meds. Jerk. Do you think they would ask me how many cups of coffee I drink? No. Do you think they would ask me if I take OTC sinus meds? No. Both of which could contribute to the AFib. Also, diet and exercise which I do neither. I decided to take my health into my own hands and have reduced my coffee intake along with going to half-caffeine. Nothing I can do about my sinuses although when I can’t breathe through my nose, my heart beats faster. I probably should go to a ENT to have it checked out but I’m tired of doctors. My last change is I’m hitting the treadmill and trying to be more conscious about what I’m eating. I have gained some of the weight back that I lost three years ago. Thankfully, only 10 pounds but 10 too many! I have a goal! Additionally, I’m trying to go back to the CPAP machine but it’s not working out so great. Baby steps.

Well, there you have it… news of my zoo crew and myself. It’s not all bad. I get lots of love from them, my family and friends too. By the way, Max will be turning 14 on May 4th. Any idea as to what I should get him?

4-20-24, heavy sigh. A lot has been going on in my household. My shoulder is healing well but I have some numbness in the forearm, bicep and shoulder blade. The doc said all should get better and that my nerves are aggravated. Hot packs and the tens unit have helped. Time is the therapy.

Pearl Chinchilla developed an eye lesion. A trip to the vets to have it removed on 3/27, but then it didn’t heal. Another trip and it really looks bad. She’s on antibiotic drops and pain meds. Both can be challenging to administer but she’s getting better about being held. She sees an Ophthalmologist this coming week. Praying for the best outcome because Ruby really needs her.

On Easter I noticed the smell of cat urine in the house at the same time I saw Skipper spray the couch. I was mortified! Yes, I have 5 cats but I keep the litter boxes clean. I don’t know how long it had been going on but I made my rounds sniffing everything and ended up scrubbing furniture, walls and washing cushion covers. Evidently, Skipper was stressed and I didn’t know why. I had already put a calming collar on Tigger because he has chronic soft stools. I figured it might help. I even put him on a sensitive stomach dry cat food but then Sam is a bully and would push him aside to eat his special diet. I would then yell at Sam and that scared Tigger and stressed Sam to the point that he began licking his belly bald. So, I put a collar on Sam too. When I saw Skipper spray I thought perhaps he’s stressed because I yell at Burt Parrot for yelling and Sam for bullying. So, Skipper received a calming collar. I also installed two diffusers. I cleaned and cleaned and he continued to spray. Then I saw Theo, his brother, spraying. I nearly lost it. I placed towels all around the base of the couch, my chair, the hedgehog bench and they continued to spray the towels and I would wash them. A collar is now on Theo. I’m stress eating and gaining the weight I lost back. I’m not happy. I haven’t put one on Smokey because he’s 17 and already pretty chilled. I have stopped yelling at the bird and since the special diet didn’t help Tigger, I stopped that which now Sam has no need to bully. Plus I’m giving Sam extra loving so he’ll stop licking his belly. After doing multiple washes in one week, I have progressed to cardboard pieces to protect the furniture. Of course they sprayed that and I sprayed it with enzymes along with other behavioral spray or peppermint essential oil which they pretty much stay clear of. I think it’s slowing down. I think. I hope. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. I have ordered more collars and diffusers because I read that sometimes it takes a couple months. I look back at the last couple months and perhaps Skipper got stressed because I had surgery and then had my friend, Deb, come in several times a day to help me. BUT he knows her because she use to cat sit for me when him and Theo were kittens. I don’t know. He is back to lying in my lap which is a good sign.

Max is fine! He’s currently at 46 pounds and seems to be stuck at that weight. He really needs to lose more but I’m sure once it gets warmer, he’ll become more active. I continue to comb his winter fur out and that’s going well. I learned that he loves raw shrimp. Spoiled? You know it. When I was in his enclosure the other day, I noticed several severely rusted panels. It will be my priority this summer to clear the grass away from the areas, sand, and treat with Rustoleum.  Several plexiglass sections were either destroyed by Max or the wind. I’m not sure if I’ll purchase more as it can be expensive. I might be able to salvage a few. It’s always something. I think I would drop dead in disbelief if I didn’t have a summer of nothing to do with his enclosure. LOL

Frankie & Frannie are hanging in there for old ferrets. They haven’t lost any more fur since receiving the hormonal implant for adrenal gland disease. Those two are so much fun and sweet!

Burt Parrot, Lil Bun Lop and Porkchop Hedgehog are all well and so is Ruby Chin.

I’m already booking programs for summer and it looks like it’s going to be a busy one too! 

Just one of the panels that need rust removal

4-15-24

3/10/24 – I had my post-op appointment on Friday, 3/8 and I was relieved of my sling. He had me move my arm up to the side and in front of me and it hurt. I got it up a little and was told that was fine. I’ve been so good about wearing the sling and behaving appropriately. I’m pretty headstrong and so this was a challenge to obey the rules. The new instruction is to not do any heavy bicep lifting for a month or I will pop the tendon. When they got in with the camera, they saw that my rotator cuff was beautiful thanks to the surgery I had in 2015. The bicep was frayed and torn. They snipped it and secured it back to the bone. However, they drilled bone out of my clavicle to make anchors. Bone takes 6 months to heal and I’ll have pain for that long. Yesterday was tough but today was better. Sleeping is getting better too. I head back to work on Tuesday but will be taking it slow. At the grocery store I was able to lift the 20 pound bag of kitty litter from the shelf to inside my cart using only my left arm. Dang, I rock! LOL. But I did ask for help at the checkout and a young man loaded my car. I had a friend help me unload the litter and 16 pound bag of dry cat food when I got home. I’m not opposed to asking for help!

I am back interacting with Max for a short time. He got really excited last Tuesday 3/5 and scratched me a good one on my left arm. So, it’s 5 minutes or less with combing or any other type of interaction. Once I get strength back in my right arm, that cat will be getting his nails clipped! OMG, they are razors!

We did a brief video between my work time – Max Canada Lynx – We’re Back!