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Dougal's Pet Corner
The place for your pet stories and pictures, let me have them |
CHINCHILLA
Chinchillas are a really good pet for an older child. They are timid by nature and cannot
cope with rough handling, they need consistent care and can live for up 20 years. They
will become friendly and inquisitive through gentle handling. The initial outlay can be
quite expensive for the housing and accessories but the ongoing financial commitment is
not great although they do require a lot of attention. Chinchillas are happy to be kept
alone or in groups. The best way to handle a chinchilla is to hold it close to your
chest, facing you, with one hand over its back and one hand holding the base of the tail
gently but firmly. Gradually get the chinchilla used to being picked up and lightly
stroked and they will gain confidence. They are part of the rodent family and love
to chew everything; therefore its essential that their cage is made of wire mesh to ensure
that it is escape proof! The cage should ideally have several levels with a large enclosed
nesting box, it must be placed somewhere, which does not get damp and is well away from
draughts. |
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| Branches or cuttlebone should be provided
which they can gnaw to wear down their teeth. Do not feed your chinchilla with sunflower
seeds, peanuts or flaked maize. Provide chinchilla pellets daily and a bottle of water
with a feeder mechanism. As an occasional treat they enjoy breakfast cereals, dried fruit
and toast. Chinchillas groom themselves continually but once used to being handled
you can groom them gently with a small animal comb to remove bedding and food particles
from the coat. |
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Jezebel, the black kitten from North Walsham Waste
Disposal Site became ill, diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and had to be
put to sleep. FIP is a fatal disease, occurs in cats infected with Feline Coronavirus
(FCoV). |
Although FCoV is very contagious and infects
nearly all cats that encounter it most cats that are infected, do not develop FIP.
Harvey, the other kitten is older and has not shown any signs of being
infected so we are keeping out fingers crossed for him. Although we have not caught any
other cats from the site we will ensure that any other cats are treated as and when they
come into care. Another kitten, Bobbie, who came in with mum and her five littermates, had
no tail. Unfortunately this little kitten also had another deformity (possibly as a result
of inbreeding) and also had to be put to sleep. Harry, a cat who has been living in
my garden since last autumn has also had to be put to sleep as he was involved in a road
traffic accident and was too badly injured to be saved. I am very grateful to Karen, the
nurse who came and helped catch him and to Sharon the vet at Westover who looked after
him. Fortunately, these are isolated incidents. We still have lots of other lovely
cats and kittens coming into care, all looking for loving new homes.
There does not appear to be an end to the “kitten season” yet with kittens
arriving every week, sometimes unexpectedly. We are fortunate to have Jackie, Margaret,
Olive and Sharon, who are prepared to care for the kittens in a home environment. At
present Jackie is caring for 4 kittens that arrived when they were 2 days old. At this age
the kittens need to be fed every 4 hours. Jackie (with help from her daughter Kay) is once
again getting up during the night to make sure her “little babies” have their
bottles.
Rags and Vicky have both now joined their new families, as have Tippex and Mollie. These
last two cats had been with us some time so we are especially delighted that new and
loving homes have been found for them.
At present we have the following cats looking for a lap to sit on. Caspar, a
beautiful 9 years old tabby girl. This lovely cat joined us because her owner has gone to
live abroad. She loves attention especially from the children of her foster mum.
Tabitha, another tabby girl, is only two years old. Tabitha is still a little shy although
she is making good progress. She came in as a stray with her five kittens. These have
already found new homes.
If you are looking for a cat or kitten, call Stephanie on 01692 535858. Alternatively you
can visit www.northwalshamcats.co.uk
for a description of the cats before giving her a call. |
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